Masks
Ayvah's POV
The delegates were to arrive in an hour, and so here I was, a reluctant member of a meeting which should have been held yesterday, the cup of coffee from which I was sipping, the only good thing that had happened to me since I woke up this morning.
Their words and the meticulous presentation was but a background noise to the terrible pain that raged in my head. The meeting which would follow soon was important for me, yet for all it's worth I was unable to get that focused look in my eyes as a sharp wave of pain nearly caused me to balk, as if to remind me of its existence.
The meeting was unnecessary, each word of the presentation already imprinted in my brain, yet the charade had to be kept up and so here I was listening to their incessant chatter, and trying to appear as if I cared.
That was when Aaron decided to speak, or rather tried to throw me under the rock by pointing out my lack of attention. What he didn't know was his accusations worked in my favour, let him think his words got to me. I allowed my eyes to darken for a moment so that anybody who would be keen enough to notice it would dismiss it as a trick of the light. Then I allowed a scowl to punch through my emotionless facade, and then as soon as I was sure that he noticed it enough to not dismiss it as his imagination, my face again smoothed into that stone cold mask I always wore, with the exception that I allowed my eyes to dance with amusement as if I couldn't contain it in my mask.
Let them think of you as unreadable, then give them a glimpse of yourself, a glimpse that they want to see. Wear your mask well, yet let some emotions dance in your eyes for some keen eyes. Let them think that they can finally understand you, play into their expectations until they think that they caught you and then surprise them again.
So the voice of my memories spoke and so I allowed it to dictate my actions. And so I obeyed. Then I gave them the surprise which Aaron had so kindly set the stage for. He wanted my opinion, didn't he? He would get it and much, much more than what he had bargained for. A little token from my side.Since he wanted to know whether I was listening, so I gave them all something worth listening to. I gave them a list of their mistakes. Ones which were not important in the least, yet the lack of which attracted the best clientele to us, the ones which made us the best, which made me the best: The missing commas, a colon wrongly placed or an apostrophe which should have been. I willed my voice to come out as a drawl, my eyes to still flicker with amusement and my mask to hide all but a lazy smirk which graced my lips.
My words no more than another facade, another wall to confuse reality. My pretty little speech completed, I looked at them to see them all gawking at me , as if they had seen the very devil itself. How close to truth they were, yet how far away.
"Leave." One word, one command said so calmly, yet much more powerful than if I had roared it out, and definitely more powerful than a myriad of others. Few understand the power of words, especially those said calmly; few well placed words and all bowed before it, just like many who had done so centuries before they existed and many who would continue doing so centuries after. Scampering to get away from me, it seemed that they were not all fools, yet he remained, reinstating my opinion of his foolishness.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, yet a flick of my hand was enough to dismiss him. I was in no mood to entertain. A queen dismissing a servant. The headache returned with a vengeance, yet I shut out the pain like I shut out my emotions.
He was leaving, trying not to look like a wounded dog, trying to make it seem as if it was his own will which urged him to leave the cabin and not me dismissing him like a pet who fell out of favour. Sweet. Had his humiliation made him slow or was it deliberateness which caused his steps to slow, I would never know and it grated on my nerves. He was still outside my cabin door when my phone rang.
His steps stopped.
As if me dismissing him was not enough, he stood outside the door. It may have been the headache or the fact that I had not slept well last night, my sleep plagued with nightmares but genuine annoyance flashed on my face. I quickly masked it but it still left me unsettled. This was not good. Not at all.
I picked up the call and willed my voice into a husky drawl, more so to assure myself that I was in control than to mask my emotions. Let him think that my little slip up as due to the call.
My voice resonating with the usual attitude and sass which had earned me the title of the ice queen of this office. Another tit-bit of information which they thought I didn't know, another piece in the puzzle.
My words were no more than a whisper of shadow when I wanted them to me, yet I spoke loudly just now, waiting to see if he would leave.
He didn't.
My tone became more clipped, leaving no room for argument. I didn't need another problem to deal with.
It seemed he found nothing unusual in my conversation, my tone dripping with self assurance as it usually did for he looked thoroughly bored and was about to leave. Good but not good enough.
The lights overhead flickered and I knew it would bother him as he was something of a perfectionist. I was correct. It distracted him for a few seconds. Seconds which were enough for me to say a few words and end the call.
Time to play.
I stalked towards the gate and opened it to find him still gazing in the distance with a contemplative look on his face. He had still not noticed me. Fool. I called out his name, my tone depicting my anger though I kept my voice low, not wanting to drag unnecessary attention towards us. I gestured him to follow me inside, making sure to maintain a prowling gait. Another way to depict anger, another card on the deck .
He opened his mouth to speak, no doubt to come up with some useless excuse for trying to eavesdrop. His expression was almost hilarious, so I allowed myself to laugh. It felt strange as my eyes crinkled with mirth and the sound of laughter bubbled out of my mouth, but it was worth the shock which was written all over his face.
My anger had almost caused him to forget about the phone call, my laughter giving another much needed push.
I opened my mouth as if to say something when one of my employees knocked on the door. Impeccable timing.
I allowed my shoulders to tighten almost as if the knock had awakened me from my stupor, as if the laughter had been a slip up from my side. I stalked towards the gate.
" I'll be there in a moment, Sheldon." An agreement and a dismissal all in one.
The tightening of my shoulder and my prowling gait had not gone unnoticed, just as I wanted. Nor had the use of Sheldon's first name.
"This never happened." Three words and a warning. Trying hard to prevent my slip up from becoming public knowledge, ever the raging prodigy.
Play into their expectations and win.
With those words I stalked out, and moments later he followed, my name like a prayer on his lips. The phone call nothing but whispers in his loud cacophony of memories. Excellent.
Also there is an edit which I would love to share but it's only available on Wattpad (and it's free)
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My URL is LucyQueenOriginal21
And the book is named Shadows
Also there is another book I'm working on called Manacled and it's exclusively available on Wattpad (for free!!) Please check it out...
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