"Are you going to abandon me?" Ellis shot upright, turning to glare at Cormac.
Cormac told the chauffeur to "look after Ellis" as he had no time to look after his child. He then raised his hand to open the door and get out of the car.
The chauffeur looked troubled. "Where will you be going, Mr Dreyer? And Mr. Ellis? Shall I take him back to the old house?" Cormac glanced at Ellis, staring into the bulging, furious eyes of his son. Too late he said: "No deliver him over to the Bennetts for their dinner", deciding against sending Ellis back to the old house.
"Is Mr. Dreyer letting Mr. Ellis go to a dinner party on his own?" the driver had thought to himself. "He is just four years old!" The man had been startled.
Cormac stepped out of the car now. "Aren't you going to pick out a wife for me?" he said in a cold voice as he put his hand down to pat the little boy's soft head. "Select one now, please!"
Astrid had just stepped off the metro elevator by the time Cormac clearly took in the direction of fall and ran for the escalator.
On the other hand, once Astrid had gone, Coraline soon recovered and leant out over the steering wheel to get her breath back.
Coraline was ashamed as well as frightened when she remembered how Astrid had sounded just before she went.
Not a helpful assistant. Broke ethics of her profession.
Leaning on the wheel a few times and taking deep breaths before she woke up. She grabbed her phone and clicked the button. "Hey..."
She was about to carry on when a woman's bright voice called down the other end of the line. 'Coraline, are you all right?'
Coraline sounded exhausted. Sure. She caught the tube ages ago.
Fantastic!" Verity jumped up gleefully. "I've arranged it all down at the underground. There'll be reporters and a few paid men there. When those men see Astrid, they'll run after her, and when she gets into the train, they'll surround her—and muss her dress dreadfully. Then the photographers will take pictures of her. So long as those photographs keep on appearing in the press, her career will be ruined!"
"Hehehe!" Verity went on dreaming, transported with delight. "Is there something suggestive or indecent in a society-girl millionaire trying to ride downtown in a pigsty? Society Bud Takes Dare Underworld Men Chase Beauty Through Subway Trainload of Thugs Mashes Pretty Face Miss adorns garbage scow! Weekly Exposure Darkens Her Social Future!"
She had several not-very-nice ideas momentarily. Her expression made Coraline ask her next question. "Would it be too nasty?"
"Too much?" Verity scoffed. "Is there even anyone more extravagant than her? God, you're so sheltered Coraline. Astrid is rude constantly. She's also been making life difficult for Iona because she's the Bennett heir. Iona is a saint and will only say anything bad about Astrid in confidence and under duress. How was she meant to fight back when she wouldn't even speak badly about Astrid?
Verity grew angry now. "You don't know what Astrid has been up to. We're all just warning her and giving her a taste of her own medicine! Not too much; just enough to make her feel shitty!
"Still..." Coraline couldn't help but worry.
"Oh for God's sake!" Verity interrupted her. What is there to be worried about? It's not like we are taking pornographic pictures here. It's just a couple of picture of her in the metro, squeezing through people, with a dress on. And Iona has been very nice to you. Don't you want to pay Iona back?
About Iona, when she spoke of her Coraline became silent.
She had been recommended by Iona to be Ginevra's assistant.
She owes Iona thanks for being kind enough to recognize her worth, and for helping with many things throughout her life and career.
Coraline said, "Let's take this time back for her."
Astrid gripped her phone and peered out the window as the metro elevator's doors opened. She did not step outside.
She did not step outside after the other passengers on the elevator left.
After awhile she just reached up, pulled the first floor button and let the doors close. When she got off, there were people in the elevator car with her. The rest of us looked at her quizzically and wondered why someone so stylish would be on a subway.
Astrid was alone in the elevator on her way up.
There is no interest in competition or being the winner. She did not compete with those she played against, it was their weakness that made her victorious most of the time.
Astrid prioritized family above all else, including her own husband!
But that didn't mean others didn't care.
The other girl had, after all, spent many a year trying to stomp her into the mud. Astrid didn't really want to wrestle and she definitely didn't want her face in the muck.
Her had still stung from the Bennet house disaster the last two times.
God she hated when people tried to set her up!
Coraline had used too harsh a tactic. Astrid didn't know what her goal was, although there were only two possibilities. Either she was going to some dinner at the Grand Chancellor's place and since she would be late for that, one of their tactics would be - they'll try and make me look bad in the photos by asking other people to block my view on the subway train.
"How could she resort to that stupid tactic against me?" Astrid cursed inwardly.
Astrid pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number as she walked out of the elevator.
In a few minutes an R.v drove to where she was and her aid came down to unlock it.'Ms. Bennett, the stylist, and makeup artist is here."
Astrid nodded and stepped into the RV. It was equipped with a wide variety of different items. In addition to the hair styling tools and makeup, she had also ordered two dresses from a clothing line that Vanguard Enterprises was in the process of launching.
Astrid owned a large stake in Charm, one of the sub-
She had a high privilege status just because she worked for Vanguard Enterprises and was also research and development's grounding.
Astrid closed her eyes. "Take me there. To the Bennett home."
The makeup artist and stylist was already on Astrid when the RV started without problem.
"Ms. Bennett, do you want me to put in a life helper for you?" the assistant turned toward the passenger side.
Astrid hadn't used to anything but work all day in the lab, then possible return back home and crash. She didn't need a life assistant because she didn't spend much time with people. She would need one now though. It was too bad that there were many rules and trivia in the Bennett household after all. "You do it." Astrid answered off handedly.
She did not even consider the notion of owning a life assistant . She had only moved back in with the Bennetts because of her grandpa, and she wouldn't be staying long anyways.
Not that that would happen again, or anything.
"Coraline!" Verity yelled just as Astrid was returning. "Did Astrid really go to the metro?"
Coraline was on the phone to insurance people. She paused for a moment after she heard Verity, and then she said- "Yes. I watched her getting out of the lift. Why? What's wrong? Is something wrong?"
Coraline asked, and then her heart sank.
She isn't here. No one came down the elevator. Verity's voice shook a little with fear.
Coraline's heart jumped into her mouth and suddenly she felt sick. Are you sure, maybe she was dressed different and you guys just didn't see her? Or maybe there was someone else there?
"Not at all!" Verity sighed angrily. Three people wuz all who got out the lift. How could nobody not have seen her? I even showed those three people a photo of Astrid that I had in case none of them knew what she looked like."
'She didn't take the tube!' Verity was now both confused and scared.
She hadn't put Astrid in that position to harm her, though; she didn't want anything bad to happen to Astrid. If Astrid made a fool of herself, nobody would care why she'd looked like a fool—they'd only care that she had.
But that wouldn't be true if something happened to her. If someone hurt her or made her go away.
You couldn't trick the Bennett family. They'd be on your tail by then for sure. Get too far from civilization and they'd probably come looking.
Iona was too scared not to ask, and it didn't matter if anyone fount out.
She was Iona's helper after all.
It would look as if Iona had convinced Astrid to do it and nobody would think that the assistant had chosen to do so willingly.