12

After lunch, Ava and Gabriel headed back and found the salon. They were greeted by a small woman that had energy rolling off her. She was happy and sparkly, and Ava found it contagious. She introduced herself as Tammy, Jill’s friend.

“I love your hair colour. The honey blond is so right for you. We will make it into your signature look. We’ll just have to work a little on the style. When was the last time you went to the hairdresser?” Tammy asked Ava as Ava sat down in her chair.

“Oh, let me see. Five years ago?” Ava said hesitantly.

“No, I dragged you to one when Joan got married. That is like three years ago,” Gabriel corrected her.

“That’s true.” Ava nodded.

“Oh my. Well, that explains it.” Tammy said.

“Is it that bad?” Ava asked.

“No, not at all. It just has no shape. I would love to just put in some layers and freshen it up a little. Would that be okay?”

“You’re the professional. I trust you,” Ava said. Ava spent a couple of hours being pampered, getting her hair and nails done while she, Tammy, and Gabriel chatted. Tom and Ryder were always nearby. Ava felt bad for them having to sit through all of this. But they didn’t complain or let it show if they were bored. They sat, drinking the coffee they had been offered, and flipped through the magazines that were laid out in the waiting area. Ava found it sweet.

“What do you think?” Tammy asked as she let Ava look in the mirror for the first time since they had started. Ava was shocked when she saw her hair. It looked fuller and had a bounce to it that it had never had before. It was still long but looked shinier.

“I love it. You are amazing,” she told Tammy.

“I had a good product to work with,” Tammy said, fluffing Ava’s hair with her fingers.

“How do I get it to look like this?” Ava asked. Tammy gave her some styling tips, but told her that Ava could just let it air dry and it would look good all the same. She gave Ava her card and told her to come back if she needed a touch up or if she wanted some professional styling. “I’m beat,” Ava said as they were walking outside.

“Same here. Getting you dolled up is a lot of work,” Gabriel sighed.

“I was going to offer you a ride home, but if you are going to be mean about it,” Ava joked.

“You know I love you,” Gabriel said.

“I know. I love you too. And because of that I insist you let us give you a ride home.”

“I would appreciate it,” Gabriel told her. Tom and Ryder didn’t object to the detour and dropped Gabriel off at his apartment complex.

“I’ll call you and let you know how things go,” Ava told him as he got out of the car.

“You better. I need you to check in, so I know you are okay and that you haven’t forgotten me,” Gabriel said.

When they finally were on their way back to the mansion, Ava felt nervous and restless. She wondered if she had spent too much money, if she had chosen the right things, and if she would look okay when she got ready for a night at the club. She didn’t know why it was important to her. She was being forced into doing all this. But Ava always did her best. No matter what task she was given, she excelled at it. She tapped her fingers against her knee as she looked out of the window. Her new nails felt strange on her hand. She had opted to keep them relatively short. She was a nurse and long nails were a no, no. Ava reminded herself that she wasn’t a nurse anymore. She had asked for a traditional French manicure, but Gabriel and Tammy had convinced her to sex it up a little by replacing the usual white tip with gold flakes that formed a gradient into the pink. Ava was worried about how all of this would change her. She didn’t want to become someone that just shopped and sat around. Ava couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been working, either at home or in an actual job. But now she lived in a house that wasn’t her own, with people that did the cooking and cleaning. She wasn’t allowed to go to work, but was expected to look sexy and be around all the time. So what should she fill her days with? They arrived back at the mansion, and Ryder opened the door for Ava.

“We will make sure the things are brought up to your room, miss A. Why don’t you relax for a bit,” Ryder said.

“Thank you, Ryder.” As Ava walked into the house, she saw Spenser standing at the stairs. She realised he was waiting for her. “Hello, Spenser.”

“Miss Ava, may I speak with you?” he asked.

“Of course,” Ava agreed. Then she realised she didn’t know where they should go. It felt wrong inviting him up to her room.

“Why don’t we head into the library? It’s usually empty,” Spenser suggested.

“After you,” Ava said, as she did not know where the library was. Spenser showed her the way, and they exchanged pleasantries as they walked. The library was enormous, with a central reading area with armchairs, a couch, and an open fireplace. Other than that, the room was filled with bookcases that almost buckled under all the books. I could spend a lot of time here, Ava thought as they sat down.

“I went to your house,” Spenser began. Ava nodded. “I met your aunt and uncle. They were both fine, but your uncle looked pretty beaten up. They were… “Spenser paused as if he tried to find the right words.

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it for me,” Ava said. He looked at her and then he nodded.

“They weren’t happy about me being there, collecting your things. I got the feeling they expected to keep the things for themselves. It’s not my place to say, miss Ava, but I would suggest you look over how to keep your things safe while you stay here,” he told her. Ava sighed. She wasn’t surprised, but she was disappointed. But then, if her aunt and uncle didn’t have an issue with selling her body, why would she expect them to respect her property?

“Thank you, Spencer. I will look into it,” she said.

“I handed your things over to Anna. She made sure they were placed in your room,” he added.

“Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time and telling me about my aunt and uncle.”

“It wasn’t a problem. If you need my help in the future, just let me know,” he said.

“Thank you.” Ava didn’t know what Spencer actually did in Zane’s organisation, so she didn’t know if she would need his help in the future. But it was nice of him to offer. Most people in this place had been nice to her, Ava thought, as she made her way up to her room. She still had two hours before she would meet Zane. She could take a nap, but that would ruin her hair. Ava decided to call her work and resign instead.

As she expected, her boss wasn’t happy about her quitting with short notice. She tried to make Ava work the remaining shifts until the day she would end her employment. But Ava pointed out the amount of overtime and paid vacation time she had left. If the hospital would let her leave, Ava wouldn’t demand they pay her for that. Facing a huge setback if Ava were to insist they pay her for the outstanding overtime and vacation, her boss let her off the last shifts. When Ava ended the call, she felt both defeated and proud of herself. She hated she had to give up her work and felt bad for leaving her co-workers in a tight spot, but she was proud that she had stood up to her boss. Now she really needed to get ready if she were to meet Zane at six.