"Cheers To Me."
Rio had gotten an extortionately priced taxi to the location Agatha had provided for their meeting, feeling a mix of nerves and frustration as she approached. It was a fancy Greek restaurant not far from the office, the entrance marked by a grand marble arch, intricate designs carved into the pillars. Several couples and groups, all dressed up in effortlessly expensive-looking outfits, were making their way inside; it was clearly a ritzy place, with Agatha written all over it.
Rio couldn’t help but feel slightly underdressed as her taxi pulled up on the pavement. Having shoved most of her usual clothes in her suitcase the day prior, she was left with a form fitting green dress she’d recently sewn that cut off above the knee and a pair of slightly ripped fishnets. Ditching her usual combat boots, Rio had opted for a pair of black strappy heels she’d bought for a prom years ago and never worn since. No wonder, seeing as every step she took felt like a knife through her feet. The outfit had looked fine in the mirror at home, but now she was actually here she felt a twinge of insecurity, tugging at the hem of her dress.
As soon as Rio stepped onto the street, she saw her.
Agatha was already sat down, leant back in a window booth with one bare leg crossed over the other, already holding a large glass of red wine in one hand and her phone in the other. She was wearing a rather simple black dress that just screamed class. It was clearly one of hers, an HH logo on the cinched waistband. The neckline was low, showing off just a bit of cleavage, and she had offensively large string of pearls around her neck. Of course she looked fucking gorgeous. Rio groaned as the brunette waved obnoxiously, her lips -which were tinted a deep mauve- curling into a sickly-sweet smile.
“Rhiannon, I’m over here darling!” Agatha called over the chatter as Rio walked in. She rose her hand dramatically, beckoning the younger woman over to the table.
“Well! If it isn’t my favourite PA!” The older woman said, a little louder than necessary.
Rio shot the neighbouring tables apologetic glances to the neighbouring tables and sat down on the cushioned chair opposite.
The younger woman forced a smile, straightening her dress.
“Hi Ms. Harkness” Rio said awkwardly, her gaze quickly drifting to the menu so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with Agatha. Considering she lived off instant noodles, chinese takeaways and whatever slightly stale baked goods Jen would give her, Rio had no clue what half the food at this restaurant was. Plus, the menu didn’t have any prices on, which was probably a bad sign. She didn’t quite know if Agatha intended to foot her bill, but it felt wrong to ask. It was only fair really, seeing as the older woman had dragged her here for this meeting, though she wouldn't be surprised if Agatha simply took the charge off this month's paycheck.
Agatha had been looking Rio’s outfit up and down, suppressing a laugh. The younger woman looked as though she’d gotten dressed in the dark, and judging by the way she walked in in those stilettos, it was clear she didn't get out much.
It was sort of cute, and the dress she was wearing was admittedly quite nice.
Deciding to break the silence, Agatha snapped her fingers at a nearby waitress who was clearly busy with another table.
“Here!” she called, still snapping her fingers. The waitress, clearly intimidated, abandoned her attempts at serving a group of men in suits and darted over the Agatha’s side.
“I’ll have a top up on my wine.” she demanded, tapping a purple acrylic nail against the now drained glass. Rio almost did a double take as she realised how quickly the older woman had drank it.
“And a glass of the same for my assistant here. Quickly” She added, before shooing away the poor waitress with a careless flick of her hand.
“Actually, I don’t-” Rio began, before Agatha shot her a look that could only be described as murderous.
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Safe to say, the pair ended up with matching glasses of red wine and a portion of complimentary olives sat between them.
Popping an olive into her mouth, Agatha smiled, straightening up.
“So, Vid-ahhhl," she purred, letting out a small hum of pleasure as she bit into it. “I assume you’re prepared for next week? Nicky is very much looking forward to it”
Rio sighed.
“Absolutely no guests in the house.” Agatha began. "No boyfriends. No strangers. Especially no children except for Nicky. And I’ve got cameras in there, so don't think you’re getting away with it.”
Cameras? Is she joking? Probably not, judging by the expression on her face.
Agatha continued her relentless tirade of rules before Rio could ask.
“No drinking, no smoking, no looking through my stuff. Nicky’s bedtime is 8pm sharp. And I’ll be able to tell if you’re letting him stay up too late. Don’t let him stay on his video games for more than two hours a day. No fast food, no microwave meals. I have a chef for a reason. Don’t use my ensuite bathroom, don’t mess up my workroom, don't spill anything on the suite, don’t cough on anything...” Agatha seemed to go on and on, listing rules that got more and more specific and petty. ‘Poor kid ’ Rio thought to herself, before realising she’d missed the last five minutes of Agatha’s spiel.
“Got it? It’s simple really, just common sense” The older woman smiled, biting down on another olive. Rio had never seen anyone eat something with such passive aggression.
“Yep, I've got it”. Rio smiled. She definitely had not 'got it'
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“Darling, have you decided what you want to eat yet? That idiotic waitress has been looking over at us for ages!” Agatha said rather too loudly. The waitress scurried away, her face flushing bright red.
“Uhh, I don't usually eat out, I’ve not had like, any of this before,” Rio said flatly, gesturing to the fancy-looking menu. She’d been trying to keep up a cheerful pretense but was swiftly losing her patience.
Agatha looked as though Rio had slapped her.
“You’ve never had Greek food!? Honey! Did your mother never feed you?!” Agatha chuckled slightly. “I suppose it’s not much of a surprise. You don’t look like you’ve consumed anything of nutritional value in your life... Well, tonight's the night honey. Prepare to be amazed.”
She clinked her empty wine glass against Rio’s full one in a mocking salute.
“Cheers to me.”
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Their next course came out a couple of minutes after Agatha had demanded two salads from an unfortunate waitress.
The woman hadn’t stopped talking for the last hour, only pausing to take a bite of her food while Rio sat opposite her, unable to get a word in edgeways.
“Oh, and I was thinking darling. While I’m away, I want you to do a couple more designs for me, yes? Better than the ones you showed me last time I mean, something truly inspiring.” Agatha scoffed. “I want something good Vidal, and I’m getting fed up with waiting for my designers to produce anything interesting. I’m hoping I’ll find a bit of inspiration in Paris. I’ll have to see if any of the smaller, pity-invite fashion houses have anything nice I can borrow for our company.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” Rio said weakly. It was clear Agatha didn't particularly care for legalities.
“Oh Rhiannon, I forget you’re so naive darling! I’m only taking a bit of light inspiration. It’s not illegal if I tweak the design enough, and nobody will dare sue me. The last person who did ended up dead in a ditch” she laughed, taking a bite of her salad. “Financially I mean. I haven’t actually killed anyone yet , but who knows?”
Rio couldn’t help but feel a little impressed. Thank fuck she was sat with her for dinner and not fighting her in court.
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As the evening wore on and the pair continued eating what had become a five-course meal, Agatha found herself on a roll, bragging about her past successes. Rio had stupidly thought that this meeting would mean discussing fashion week and what work she’d have to do, but it was seemingly just another opportunity for Agatha to boast. She was leaning back in her chair, her legs crossed, smirking at Rio.
“Did I ever tell you about that time i single-handedly bought an awful, failing fashion house and turned it into a multimillion-dollar business? It was quite the feat of course, but I’ve always had a knack for seeing potential in things that others overlook.” Agatha gloated, looking at Rio pointedly.
“I mean, who would have thought a scrappy little thing like yourself would be capable of palatable design work? But I see your potential darling. You never know, one day you might be as fabulous as me!”
Rio forced a laugh, trying to keep a straight face at Agatha’s comment. She’d love to reach that level of self-delusion someday. Rio wasn't stupid; she had seen the recent reviews and the falling sales and the angry emails from investors. In fact, she was the one answering most of them with empty words and false promises.
It was clear as day that Agatha’s business was on the decline, but the woman continued to revel in her self-appointed glory.
“Maybe someday.”
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Once Agatha had finally run out of nice things to say about herself, she decided to start fishing for a bit more information about Rio’s personal life. The younger woman had been silent for far too long, and despite the pair spending pretty much every working day together for the past few months, Rio remained an enigma.
“So Vidal, tell me. How old are you now? Twenty-six? Have you gotten a boyfriend yet?” Agatha questioned.
Rio almost choked on her sip of wine as she shook her head.
“No, no, uh, that’s not really for me...”
“What, a girlfriend then?” Agatha raised her eyebrows, smirking.
Rio’s cheeks flushed at Agatha’s follow-up question, fidgeting slightly in her chair. She should have expected this, knowing how much the older woman enjoyed prying into her employee’s personal lives.
“Not yet” she answered, her voice just a tad higher pitched than usual.
“Ah!” Agatha pointed a purple nail at her accusingly. “So you’re looking for one. I knew it.” she smiled, relishing her assistant's discomfort.
“I... well, I guess you could say that” Rio said finally, keeping her response deliberately vague to try and avoid embarrassing herself further in front of her undeniably gorgeous boss.
“Oh, darling. You should really put yourself out there more” Agatha said condescendingly. She sat back in her chair, a slight grin on her face. Rio could tell she was in for another dose of self-centred reminiscing.
“You’re far too pretty to be sitting at home every night. I mean, even after my divorce I didn’t wallow in self pity, no siree! I went out and had some real fun” Agatha winked over exaggeratedly.“You should do the same darling!”
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Rio felt exhausted when she finally got back to her flat at around twelve am. Both her social battery and her will to live had been drained significantly after being exposed to so much Agatha. She glanced at the bursting suitcase that sat in the corner of her bedroom, a mix of dread and excitement brewing inside her. She was going to be in for a long week.
At least Agatha had paid the food bill.