0.1 | No Exit from Deception ?

0.25 | Lights, Camera And Actionnn!!

"Eek! My hairstylist has applied that sticky thing, what you call it? Yes ─ glue. She glued my hair, so it will stay in place."

"It's not glue, that liquid substance is called gel." He looked away and smiled. Enough of joking now, he thought. The time had come where whatever he had made her learn and whatever she would contribute should ultimately help his plan to shine or die.

She was able to catch his genuine reaction and smiled to herself. Yes, she did make him laugh.

"Joseph, I'll talk to you about something really important," she said and was answered with a frown from Joseph. "Later--not now."

Joseph got out of the car and a bouncer ran to open the door for Ruby. She paid him a smile and saw Joseph giving the car keys to another man, suited in all-black. He hopped inside and drove the car straight until it disappeared into the impenetrable darkness.

"Don't panic. Just remember the face of the person closest to your heart. That's the recipe for success. Got it!" Joseph scooted closer to her before entering the avenue of the grand building. He squeezed her shoulders for one last time. His obsidian eyes dilated at the sight of a shiny diamond pendant resting on the first button of the black silk shirt she had on. He wanted to know where she got it from; it looked valuable. But after contemplating the delicacy of the moment he reserved the question for another time.

***

"Good Evening Joseph Sir and Elizabeth Ma'am! We welcome you to The Warners Residency," said one of the Vietnamese-looking maids. "Please come this way."

Facing the main entrance was a small open shrine, consisting of a cornice and dome upheld by four pillars. The place was not quiet though, the highest degree of silence was maintained by people walking in and out of the mansion, who were clad in their Sunday bests.

Walking behind Joseph, she seized every source of enchantment within her journey. The showstopper was the 5400 feet of rustic cursive letters on the wall. "This place can be both a powerful tourist draw and a major source of employment," she wondered.

The maid guided their way through the frontage to the palatial hallway and Mrs Warner's office. Her heels clicked against the marble floor with erratic beats pumping behind her ear. Where the hell was her office? She had been jogging in those punishable heels for the last fifteen minutes. Shucks.

After casting a worm's eye view, she swiftly took off her heels and carried the pair in her hands. It turned out to be an error, when another maid, wearing the same uniform popped up from somewhere. "Ma'am, do you need any help?"

Ruby cocked her eyebrows and lifted her shoulders. "Don't really need one."
Then she left, smiling.

However, Joseph didn't skip their conversation and threw words out of agitation, "Wear. Them. Now."

"My legs are hurting. I don't know for long she is going to make her slog. You work here, then you should know the shortcut to her office," Ruby whispered back, as her face twisted in displeasure.

In the meantime, the maid's ears perked up and she impeded hesitantly, "You are almost there, just a fifteen-meter distance away."

Ruby rolled her eyes before sliding her feet into her heels. "Fifteen minutes, fifteen meters . . . oh, gosh this would take fucking fifteen years."

Upon entering she saw wood and smelt wood. She could see the ancient parchments hanging onto the walls about their great-great-grandparents' history. There was a large, 18th-century French table made out of sandalwood, leaving a fragrance that promised to last for decades. The heavier fringed sofas with lots of demi-sized pillows.