p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"Parties. A cacophony of sweaty bodies pressed up together in overpriced attire in various states of losing their inhibitions to alcohol. Personally, Christine Daaspan style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"é/spanspan style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;" had never cared for parties. She would much rather remain at home curled up watching TV but unfortunately her friends were rather vivacious people./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Remind me why I agreed to come with you?" she implored as she pulled her black shawl tighter around her shoulders./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Because otherwise you would be cooped up at home. It's New Year's Chris, lighten up a bit?" Sorelli encouraged and Meg nodded in agreement hastily./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine felt her eyes roll with indignation, but it was too late to back out now that they were here. Of course, Sorelli would be the one dragging them to her work's New Year's party. Unlike Christine, Sorelli thrived in a party. Even from outside the hotel venue, the throb of a bass radiated from the room. The doors opened and the three women made their way into the throng of people. Tables orbited a dance floor set up in the centre of the room and a band played relentlessly at the other end of the room. They found a seat before Meg and Sorelli wandered off to abuse the open bar leaving Christine vulnerable to the threat of social interaction. Just when she could spot her friends returning, two men approached her. The smaller one swayed slightly from one too many drinks and the other looked out of place with a black mask obscuring his whole face./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Look here Erik-" the shorter man with broad shoulders and tanned skin pointed at Christine./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"She felt her palms grow clammy and her pulse increase. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Before anything else could be done, Sorelli swooped in to save her although her real intentions lay with flirting with Nadir, "Nadir! It's lovely to see you, I see you've brought lanky bones with you." she gestured towards the taller man who did admittedly seem more of a skeleton than a man, "Christine this is Nadir and Erik, they're my colleagues. Watch out for old creepy Mr Skeleton!" she joked, however Erik did not seem to find it so amusing and he stalked off to blend in with the shadows elsewhere. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine winced at Sorelli's crude joke but Nadir found it funny; at least as he chuckled pleasantly, "I apologize on behalf of my companion. He didn't want to come here tonight."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Sorelli's face lit up, "Neither did Christine! Oh Nadir wouldn't it be funny if we played a game of matchm-"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine didn't let Sorelli even finish that sentence, "No. No nononononono. No!" she insisted causing both Nadir and Sorelli to laugh./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Erik does not bite although he does sometimes try to be threatening. He's as harmless as a puppy, I assure you." Nadir tried to persuade her however she was stubborn./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"I'm sure he's a great guy and all but I'm not really looking for someone at the moment. Thank you anyway."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"He shrugged and wrapped an arm around Sorelli's waist to pull her closer towards him. Blood rushed to Christine's cheeks and she took this as a subtle signal to leave them to it./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"It was nice to meet you." Christine said a little bit too politely as she moved away. She felt rather sorry for the Erik. Sorelli was rather blunt at times and his friend Nadir seemed to have a similar air about him. Not that it detracted from his personality. Like Sorelli, Nadir was a people magnet – people simply gravitated towards them./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"The evening passed with no other incidents, Christine stayed exclusively with Meg to avoid another catastrophe. Although her mind kept replaying the catastrophic introduction between herself and Sorelli's colleagues earlier that evening. Gradually, the tension in the room grew as time passed. Everyone was eyeing up everyone for that traditional kiss at midnight. By the time the countdown began, Christine had resigned to sulking in a corner to escape from Meg and Sorelli's attempts to get her to kiss someone. She stumbled backwards over her own feet into what she thought was the wall. Unfortunately, fate was not on her side tonight. She had fallen into a man whose quick reflexes had saved her from tumbling over completely. Christine felt long skeletal fingers digging in around her waist and she gazed down. In comparison to her vibrant red dress, the grey skin that stretched over his fingers was jarring. Suddenly, the cheers and claps of everyone roared through the small venue. It was midnight. She gazed upwards at the man she had so recklessly fallen into to see a pair of amber eyes locked onto her blue ones. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"I'm so sorry! This is a terrible start to the year! Will a kiss make it up to you? It is customary after all." she offered despite the fact her face now matched the shade of her dress./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"His trembling hands retracted from her waist and he drew into himself before he regained his composure (for a moment the little woman had intoxicated him more than any wine could) but he could not go down that path again; it never ended well for either party./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"No. I do not want a kiss. If I wanted a kiss I would have asked someone who is actually pretty. Be more careful where you walk next time. It's incredibly rude to walk into people, you know?" he sneered before sauntering off, as soon as he was at the other end of the room he collapsed into a ball in the corner. He wasn't sure what stroke of genius inspired him to get so damn defensive, guilt soon ensued when he realised he'd called that poor woman ugly. But before he could apologize, Christine ran off to Meg and Sorelli with glazed eyes./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Erik could only watch as her bottom lip quivered and eventually she burst into tears so she was whisked away by her friends./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Later, once they were back at their flat, the two older women were desperately trying to console the over-emotional Christine who was still a sobbing wreck from her failed social interaction./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"So let me get this straight, you walked into Erik Dubois – the owner of the company we work for, a billionaire and famous musician? And he called you ugly?" Meg was bemused to say the least./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Y-yes... Meg you're not helping!" Christine sniffled as Sorelli handed her another tissue./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Chris, it's okay. He's a real scumbag, I don't know why he even came to that party. He's such a damn recluse and none of his workers actually like him." Sorelli chipped in./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Yeah, don't take it personally. He's rude to everyone." Meg continued, "Christine you need to grow a thicker skin if something like this made you cry."br /"It's not me I'm crying for... I just feel guilty... First Sorelli humiliated him and then I walked into him as if he wasn't even there... I made a lousy start to his new year."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"That's no excuse for snapping at you. There was no need to be rude, if anyone deserves to be snapped at by him it's Sorelli. She's the one who made him look stupid." Meg teased and Sorelli stuck out her tongue childishly./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"I'm just going to go to bed... Happy New Year." Christine retreated to the comfort of her own bedroom and her friends could only sit back on the sofa and watch. The cloud of shame loomed over Christine as she tried to get comfortable in her little bed. Unbeknownst to her friends, Erik had somewhat been an idol of hers back when he was in the music industry. In fact her miserable shell of a bedroom was plastered in posters from his album. His handsome face smiled down at her from all angles in the posters. The feeling of his eyes burning into her conscience made her heart deflate. She hadn't recognised him with the mask on, she hadn't known that he was the Erik Dubois. The musical prodigy turned architect. He was part of the reason she had pursued this internship and not only did he dislike her but he found her unattractive?! It had not been her utmost intention to seduce Erik but still it stung that he, her teenage celebrity crush, could call her ugly without a second thought. He was so much prouder than she had imagined, Christine was more than aware that celebrities were not as saintly as they tried to appear but to have her dreams shattered in such a manner... That was unbearable. If it wasn't for the contract she had signed, she would have left that night – not that she had a home to go back to any more./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Dubois architecture firm made sure that every worker had a place to stay; happy employees meant more productivity. Although it made Christine feel as though she was at university again living in a dorm. But at least the rent was affordable and her flatmates – Meg and Sorelli – weren't too bad. At least that was the mantra she spoon-fed herself. Tomorrow marked the beginning of her internship and she honestly could not wait to push aside the mess of that evening. Why did it always have to be at least a tad messy? Why couldn't it have just gone right for once? Because she was Christine Daa/spanspan style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"é/spanspan style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;" – a world renowned recluse. The product of a lonely childhood and a lack of social skills. Even Christine found herself pathetic at times. But all she could think about was that poor man she had just insulted. She didn't even care if he was technically her boss or that he was famous, she still was consumed by guilt. Christine knew how it felt to be ignored and she had gone and made someone else experience that agony. Even if it was unintentional, the guilt remained./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Sleep was but a mere dream now, it would be a waste of time to pursue it now that her mind remained wide awake. She sat up and examined her surroundings, the white walls formed a perfect rectangular cage around her. Her duvet chained her to her bed with nothing but her pillow for company. That contract was making her believe she was a prisoner in the home of a fraud. Maybe it was a bit of a stretch to call Erik a fraud but she felt mislead. In all of his books, interviews and CDs he seemed so friendly and down to Earth, she had been sold a blatant lie. Her guilt evolved into anger. She wasn't a huge fan of Erik's but her papa had been a huge Dubois fan before his illness consumed him so Christine had adopted his love for Erik's music as a way of keeping her father alive in some capacity. Not only had Erik deceived her and the media but he had also made a fool of her father./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine came to a decision in that moment. She wasn't going to stand by and let that billionaire leech off of her emotions. This meant war. Was this dramatic? Yes. Definitely. But did he deserve to be told off for being rude? Of course. She bet no one ever told him off, everyone was probably too busy trying to get on his good side. Christine wanted to prove him wrong. No one called her ugly and got away with it that easily./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"A plan of revenge formed within her mind: seduce him and then crush his heart the way he had crushed hers. This made the guilt return. Why was she angry with him? He was just telling the truth. She was ugly... It was also rude to walk into people... Her confidence depleted and she curled up underneath the duvet. She wouldn't walk into her first day at the office and make a fool of herself by wearing something revealing. Christine had more class than that. Perhaps making him pay by breaking his heart was cruel and terribly unrealistic. She was going to be an intern, nothing more than that. The chances of a rich man such as him even turning up to run his company were slim to none. Even then, he probably wouldn't notice an intern. But at least she could wear something nice and have the confidence that she looked pretty. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"She climbed out of bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the back of her door. Her eyes blinked back at her, a stray golden curl falling across her round face. Meg had once told her she looked similar to an owl and she wasn't sure that she should trust something Meg had said whilst she was that drunk. But she saw it as a compliment; owls were wise creatures and she liked to think that at least she had her intelligence to fall back on. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"The Christine in the mirror scowled back at her, she was being vain and she hated that. So it was back to her usual dosage of self loathing and back to bed. She knew her value didn't lie with her looks. But instead her value was in where her hard work had gotten her. This internship was highly sought after. Candidates were chosen by Erik himself. Though that begged the question, did he really dislike her that much already if he had hand-selected her for this internship?/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Remind me why I agreed to come with you?" she implored as she pulled her black shawl tighter around her shoulders./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Because otherwise you would be cooped up at home. It's New Year's Chris, lighten up a bit?" Sorelli encouraged and Meg nodded in agreement hastily./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine felt her eyes roll with indignation, but it was too late to back out now that they were here. Of course, Sorelli would be the one dragging them to her work's New Year's party. Unlike Christine, Sorelli thrived in a party. Even from outside the hotel venue, the throb of a bass radiated from the room. The doors opened and the three women made their way into the throng of people. Tables orbited a dance floor set up in the centre of the room and a band played relentlessly at the other end of the room. They found a seat before Meg and Sorelli wandered off to abuse the open bar leaving Christine vulnerable to the threat of social interaction. Just when she could spot her friends returning, two men approached her. The smaller one swayed slightly from one too many drinks and the other looked out of place with a black mask obscuring his whole face./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Look here Erik-" the shorter man with broad shoulders and tanned skin pointed at Christine./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"She felt her palms grow clammy and her pulse increase. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Before anything else could be done, Sorelli swooped in to save her although her real intentions lay with flirting with Nadir, "Nadir! It's lovely to see you, I see you've brought lanky bones with you." she gestured towards the taller man who did admittedly seem more of a skeleton than a man, "Christine this is Nadir and Erik, they're my colleagues. Watch out for old creepy Mr Skeleton!" she joked, however Erik did not seem to find it so amusing and he stalked off to blend in with the shadows elsewhere. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine winced at Sorelli's crude joke but Nadir found it funny; at least as he chuckled pleasantly, "I apologize on behalf of my companion. He didn't want to come here tonight."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Sorelli's face lit up, "Neither did Christine! Oh Nadir wouldn't it be funny if we played a game of matchm-"/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine didn't let Sorelli even finish that sentence, "No. No nononononono. No!" she insisted causing both Nadir and Sorelli to laugh./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Erik does not bite although he does sometimes try to be threatening. He's as harmless as a puppy, I assure you." Nadir tried to persuade her however she was stubborn./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"I'm sure he's a great guy and all but I'm not really looking for someone at the moment. Thank you anyway."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"He shrugged and wrapped an arm around Sorelli's waist to pull her closer towards him. Blood rushed to Christine's cheeks and she took this as a subtle signal to leave them to it./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"It was nice to meet you." Christine said a little bit too politely as she moved away. She felt rather sorry for the Erik. Sorelli was rather blunt at times and his friend Nadir seemed to have a similar air about him. Not that it detracted from his personality. Like Sorelli, Nadir was a people magnet – people simply gravitated towards them./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"The evening passed with no other incidents, Christine stayed exclusively with Meg to avoid another catastrophe. Although her mind kept replaying the catastrophic introduction between herself and Sorelli's colleagues earlier that evening. Gradually, the tension in the room grew as time passed. Everyone was eyeing up everyone for that traditional kiss at midnight. By the time the countdown began, Christine had resigned to sulking in a corner to escape from Meg and Sorelli's attempts to get her to kiss someone. She stumbled backwards over her own feet into what she thought was the wall. Unfortunately, fate was not on her side tonight. She had fallen into a man whose quick reflexes had saved her from tumbling over completely. Christine felt long skeletal fingers digging in around her waist and she gazed down. In comparison to her vibrant red dress, the grey skin that stretched over his fingers was jarring. Suddenly, the cheers and claps of everyone roared through the small venue. It was midnight. She gazed upwards at the man she had so recklessly fallen into to see a pair of amber eyes locked onto her blue ones. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"I'm so sorry! This is a terrible start to the year! Will a kiss make it up to you? It is customary after all." she offered despite the fact her face now matched the shade of her dress./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"His trembling hands retracted from her waist and he drew into himself before he regained his composure (for a moment the little woman had intoxicated him more than any wine could) but he could not go down that path again; it never ended well for either party./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"No. I do not want a kiss. If I wanted a kiss I would have asked someone who is actually pretty. Be more careful where you walk next time. It's incredibly rude to walk into people, you know?" he sneered before sauntering off, as soon as he was at the other end of the room he collapsed into a ball in the corner. He wasn't sure what stroke of genius inspired him to get so damn defensive, guilt soon ensued when he realised he'd called that poor woman ugly. But before he could apologize, Christine ran off to Meg and Sorelli with glazed eyes./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Erik could only watch as her bottom lip quivered and eventually she burst into tears so she was whisked away by her friends./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Later, once they were back at their flat, the two older women were desperately trying to console the over-emotional Christine who was still a sobbing wreck from her failed social interaction./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"So let me get this straight, you walked into Erik Dubois – the owner of the company we work for, a billionaire and famous musician? And he called you ugly?" Meg was bemused to say the least./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Y-yes... Meg you're not helping!" Christine sniffled as Sorelli handed her another tissue./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Chris, it's okay. He's a real scumbag, I don't know why he even came to that party. He's such a damn recluse and none of his workers actually like him." Sorelli chipped in./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Yeah, don't take it personally. He's rude to everyone." Meg continued, "Christine you need to grow a thicker skin if something like this made you cry."br /"It's not me I'm crying for... I just feel guilty... First Sorelli humiliated him and then I walked into him as if he wasn't even there... I made a lousy start to his new year."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"That's no excuse for snapping at you. There was no need to be rude, if anyone deserves to be snapped at by him it's Sorelli. She's the one who made him look stupid." Meg teased and Sorelli stuck out her tongue childishly./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;""span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"I'm just going to go to bed... Happy New Year." Christine retreated to the comfort of her own bedroom and her friends could only sit back on the sofa and watch. The cloud of shame loomed over Christine as she tried to get comfortable in her little bed. Unbeknownst to her friends, Erik had somewhat been an idol of hers back when he was in the music industry. In fact her miserable shell of a bedroom was plastered in posters from his album. His handsome face smiled down at her from all angles in the posters. The feeling of his eyes burning into her conscience made her heart deflate. She hadn't recognised him with the mask on, she hadn't known that he was the Erik Dubois. The musical prodigy turned architect. He was part of the reason she had pursued this internship and not only did he dislike her but he found her unattractive?! It had not been her utmost intention to seduce Erik but still it stung that he, her teenage celebrity crush, could call her ugly without a second thought. He was so much prouder than she had imagined, Christine was more than aware that celebrities were not as saintly as they tried to appear but to have her dreams shattered in such a manner... That was unbearable. If it wasn't for the contract she had signed, she would have left that night – not that she had a home to go back to any more./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Dubois architecture firm made sure that every worker had a place to stay; happy employees meant more productivity. Although it made Christine feel as though she was at university again living in a dorm. But at least the rent was affordable and her flatmates – Meg and Sorelli – weren't too bad. At least that was the mantra she spoon-fed herself. Tomorrow marked the beginning of her internship and she honestly could not wait to push aside the mess of that evening. Why did it always have to be at least a tad messy? Why couldn't it have just gone right for once? Because she was Christine Daa/spanspan style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"é/spanspan style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;" – a world renowned recluse. The product of a lonely childhood and a lack of social skills. Even Christine found herself pathetic at times. But all she could think about was that poor man she had just insulted. She didn't even care if he was technically her boss or that he was famous, she still was consumed by guilt. Christine knew how it felt to be ignored and she had gone and made someone else experience that agony. Even if it was unintentional, the guilt remained./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Sleep was but a mere dream now, it would be a waste of time to pursue it now that her mind remained wide awake. She sat up and examined her surroundings, the white walls formed a perfect rectangular cage around her. Her duvet chained her to her bed with nothing but her pillow for company. That contract was making her believe she was a prisoner in the home of a fraud. Maybe it was a bit of a stretch to call Erik a fraud but she felt mislead. In all of his books, interviews and CDs he seemed so friendly and down to Earth, she had been sold a blatant lie. Her guilt evolved into anger. She wasn't a huge fan of Erik's but her papa had been a huge Dubois fan before his illness consumed him so Christine had adopted his love for Erik's music as a way of keeping her father alive in some capacity. Not only had Erik deceived her and the media but he had also made a fool of her father./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"Christine came to a decision in that moment. She wasn't going to stand by and let that billionaire leech off of her emotions. This meant war. Was this dramatic? Yes. Definitely. But did he deserve to be told off for being rude? Of course. She bet no one ever told him off, everyone was probably too busy trying to get on his good side. Christine wanted to prove him wrong. No one called her ugly and got away with it that easily./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"A plan of revenge formed within her mind: seduce him and then crush his heart the way he had crushed hers. This made the guilt return. Why was she angry with him? He was just telling the truth. She was ugly... It was also rude to walk into people... Her confidence depleted and she curled up underneath the duvet. She wouldn't walk into her first day at the office and make a fool of herself by wearing something revealing. Christine had more class than that. Perhaps making him pay by breaking his heart was cruel and terribly unrealistic. She was going to be an intern, nothing more than that. The chances of a rich man such as him even turning up to run his company were slim to none. Even then, he probably wouldn't notice an intern. But at least she could wear something nice and have the confidence that she looked pretty. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"She climbed out of bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the back of her door. Her eyes blinked back at her, a stray golden curl falling across her round face. Meg had once told her she looked similar to an owl and she wasn't sure that she should trust something Meg had said whilst she was that drunk. But she saw it as a compliment; owls were wise creatures and she liked to think that at least she had her intelligence to fall back on. /span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"The Christine in the mirror scowled back at her, she was being vain and she hated that. So it was back to her usual dosage of self loathing and back to bed. She knew her value didn't lie with her looks. But instead her value was in where her hard work had gotten her. This internship was highly sought after. Candidates were chosen by Erik himself. Though that begged the question, did he really dislike her that much already if he had hand-selected her for this internship?/span/p