- your saving grace -
Arshile led her to a small patio off the kitchen, where there was a team of two cooks whipping up their lunch. “Your home is beautiful,” she said as she sat, thanking a server as she poured Rue some water.
Arshile was happy that the girl looked a bit more upbeat than before. Of course, that must have been really hard on her, but his chest swelled with… pride? happiness? He wasn’t sure, but he assumed it would mostly be relief from knowing she would be in good hands.
“Thank you, although it’s not mine yet.” He explained. “It’s going to be mine when I finally become the boss.” Arshile smiled and he thanked the server as well. “We have today a very light dish, we didn’t know what could suit your taste or if you’d be alright to eat something too heavy, so we decided on a very light menu with little fat. I hope that’s fine for you.” His eyes looked curiously at her. “Now, would you like to tell me how you ended up there?”
The boss? Rue didn’t want to think too much about what that would entail. Arshile seemed so kind, she didn’t like imagining him like the cruel monsters she saw in movies. “Oh yes,” she said, looking sad as she recalled what she’d done to get herself in that mess.
“My cousin, Vincent. He’s the only family I have left. He got himself into some trouble. He asked me to meet him at his apartment, that he needed my help. When I got there, he had some men in suits over. They said he owed them a lot of money, that they’d kill him if he didn’t pay it. They had guns, I knew they were serious. They said I could help him pay it off, that I’d do work for them and he would too. So I signed a contract they gave me and...” saying it out loud, she sounded so foolish. “I didn’t have anything. No savings or prospects. I didn’t think I had anything they could take... but as soon as I signed it, they grabbed me and I blacked out. I woke up at the auction.”
She got quiet as servants came to lay out their food. It was a salad, with watermelon radishes and other fancy ingredients she’d only seen on TV, and a sautéed fillet of fish. They set a basket of bread between them, with softened butter. Her mouth was watering. Did he live like this every day? “You must think I’m such an idiot...” she muttered as she started in on her meal.
