There’s a knock on the door across the hall. Rosie jumps up and hurries out. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she says over her shoulder.
I tidy up the rubbish from our snacks and check my reflection to make sure I look presentable. I then flick through the news on my phone for a bit.
Rosie reappears in my doorway.
“Ready to go?”
I grab my handbag and follow her out.
“Yep.”
I just hope I’m not making a mistake by taking Rosie in to meet Kannika.
The last thing I need is more drama.
THIRTEEN
I’m relieved Kannika doesn’t seem to be around when we arrive.
Lek is there, though. She’s behind the counter serving a customer and waves to me as I enter. I like her. We haven’t talked much, because her English isn’t great and my Thai is non-existent, but she always seems quite happy.
“This shit is so cool,” Rosie says, wandering around the shelves. She helps herself to the bottles, opening them at random and inhaling.
“Ah, Chloe, you’re here!” Daniel enters the shop and smiles at me. Rosie turns to look at the new voice and her mouth drops open.
“Uh, yeah, hi. I took longer at the consulate than I expected. Sorry.” I feel my face heating up at my lie, but Daniel doesn’t seem to notice.
Rosie strides over to Daniel and looks him up and down. “Chloe, you didn’t tell me you knew such a handsome man!” She holds out her hand. “I’m Rosie. I’m staying in the same building as Chloe.”
Daniel reaches out and grasps her hand with both of his, smiling. “It’s great to meet you.”
I notice he doesn’t let go immediately, and I feel a bit conflicted. He looks at her intently, and I experience an irrational stab of jealousy.
After what seems like forever, he pulls away. “Here, let me make you a fragrance. On the house.”
Rosie beams. “Sure. Thanks!”
I watch as Daniel collects a bunch of bottles from around the shop and puts them on the bench. I suppose I should feel flattered that I’ve been given a tour out the back and I was allowed unlimited access to the lab, rather than being kept out the front, but I can’t help asking myself why Daniel didn’t want to make me a fragrance when we first met.
I try to shrug it off. Obviously, it would have been inappropriate on the first night, and then maybe he just didn’t have time after that. I realise I’m being silly and that I should be paying attention to Daniel at work in his element. And also, why am I obsessing over someone who is not Aaron?
He goes behind the counter and grabs one of the mixing jars. I watch him do the now-familiar process of dropping small quantities into it and swirling them with a toothpick.
He dips a strip in and smells it before handing it to Rosie. She takes it and breathes in.
And then she starts to tear up.
“Oh my God,” she whispers. She inhales again, as if she can’t get enough of it.
I look at her, confused, and then back at Daniel. He seems pleased, but slightly sad.
“Is it OK?” he asks.
“It’s perfect,” she chokes out. “You’re a fucking magician.”
That must be some perfume.
“Do you mind if I smell it?” I ask hesitantly.
“Oh, of course.” Rosie hands the strip to me and I inhale.
It’s pretty. I can smell ocean and soap and frangipanis…and I mean, it’s nice, but it doesn’t make me want to cry. I must be missing something.
“I don’t know how you did that,” Rosie continues, “but I need this perfume. How much?”
Daniel shakes his head. “Don’t be silly. I said before it was on the house.” He pours the contents of the jar into an atomiser and tops it up with solvent before handing it over to her. “I’m glad you like it.”
I have so many questions. Why are Rosie and Daniel acting strangely? Why isn’t he charging her for the perfume? And why doesn’t Daniel think it’s odd that Rosie is crying over a fragrance?
I don’t know her very well, but I get the feeling she isn’t the type of person to cry at the drop of a hat. But maybe I’m mistaken.
Daniel puts the materials back on the shelves and then finally looks at me. “Chloe, are you free to help out this afternoon? I have a workshop in Pattaya starting next Wednesday, so I need to get all the starter kits ready for the students.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Rosie, are you all good?”
Rosie still seems a bit rattled by the events of the past few minutes, but manages to pull herself together. “Yes. Hey, if you’re free tonight, do you want to go out for a drink or something?”
For a moment, I wonder if she’s hoping Daniel will invite himself along, but she’s only looking at me.
“That’d be great. I should be done by six. Is that OK, Daniel?”
He nods. “Maybe sooner. But definitely by six.”
Rosie holds up the bottle in Daniel’s direction as she leaves. “Thanks again for this. I don’t know how you did it, but I am super appreciative.”
He waves a hand dismissively. “Don’t mention it. I hope it helps you.”
I watch Rosie leave and then feel confused again. It didn’t seem like she was interested in Daniel in a romantic way. Was Daniel keen on her? Apart from that one moment when he shook her hand, there didn’t seem to be any sort of vibe zinging between them. Not that it should matter to me. But it was just so strange. And what did Daniel mean when he said he hoped the perfume helped Rosie?
I’m about to quiz him when Kannika walks in. She’s standing out of Daniel’s line of sight and glaring at me.
Of course she would show up the second Rosie has gone. Daniel looks over. “Ah, Kannika. Do you mind holding the fort here in the shop while Lek and I go out for a bit? Chloe can help you if you need anything.”
Her eyes twinkle evilly as she stares at me. “Sure, Daniel.” Her tone is syrupy sweet. I’m surprised he doesn’t notice how fake she’s being.
Daniel heads to the door. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
Once he’s gone, Kannika surveys me like I’m some exhibit in a zoo. I act like everything’s normal. “I’ll just work on the starter kits like Daniel suggested,” I tell her. “I did some with Kitty the other day, so I should be fine to figure everything out on my own.”
“Uh-uh. Not so fast. Daniel said you’re to assist me.”
“Fine. What do you want me to do?”
She holds up some amber bottles. “Fill these with civet essence.”
“No problem.” I know what she’s trying to do, but I’m not going to let her get to me. She’ll have to try a lot harder than that if she thinks I’d be put off by a synthetic chemical that smells like animal musk.
I go into the lab and find a canister of the material. I bring it back and sit down at one of the tables in the shop, carefully pouring it into five of the amber bottles Kannika left there.
“And when you’re done with that, you can do the same with skatole.”
“Will do,” I say sweetly.
Kannika makes a hmphing sound. I don’t know how she expected me to react, but this is clearly not it. Good.
I fill up the five bottles and then move on to skatole. Admittedly, instead of musk, this one smells like animal droppings and is a little gag-inducing. I breathe through my mouth as I siphon off some from the canister into five more amber bottles.
I stand up and pick up the canister, ready to put it back in the lab, when Kannika sweeps past me and knocks all ten bottles off the table.
Several of them smash, and the contents splash all over my legs and shoes.
“Oops,” she says, pretending to be horrified.
My initial reaction is to have a huge meltdown, but I know that’s what Kannika is hoping, so instead, I keep my expression neutral.
I put the canister back down and go to collect my handbag. “Good luck cleaning that up.”
She blocks my path. “I don’t think so. Daniel said for you to
do what I asked.”
Does she seriously think I’m that much of a doormat? Maybe Rosie was right and I do need to be more assertive.
Well, this is as good a time as any.
“Too bad. You made the mess, you tidy it up.”
“No. You clean it up!” she demands.
“Nope.”
I push past her and walk out without looking back. Fuck Kannika. I don’t know what her problem is, but I’m not playing her stupid mind games.
And if Daniel sides with her, he’s not the man I thought he was.
FOURTEEN
I want to get drunk.
Crazy, blurry, wake-up-with-no-memory drunk.
I go back to the apartment and spend half an hour scrubbing the persistent animal scent from my body. I then head out to a nearby market and buy a tiny black dress to wear for my evening with Rosie. I’m sick of being sensible and normal. Tonight, I want to get wild.
I tie up my hair, leaving a few loose tendrils hanging around my face. I don’t bother with foundation, seeing as it will just melt off anyway, but I do put some bronzer on my cheeks and go with a bright red lipstick.
I finally knock on Rosie’s door and she flings it open, smiling approvingly.
“You look hot, babe. I take it you’re up for a big night out?”
“Yes, please. I need to dance and drink and forget about that little bitch, Kannika.”
“Oh, so she showed up after I left? That’s a shame.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to waste any more energy on her.”
“Good for you.” She steps to the side to let me in. “I’m not quite ready. Come in and have a drink while I finish up.”
She then stops and sniffs the air. “Babe, I hate to tell you this, but you smell like a farm.”
I sigh. “Yeah, sorry. I tried to get the smell off, but there was an incident at the perfumery.”
“Did Kannika have something to do with it, by any chance?”
“How’d you guess?”
She shakes her head. “What a psycho. Her, I mean. Not you.” She then points to the fridge and heads to the bathroom. “Help yourself. I’m guessing you need it. I’ll also loan you some of my perfume to hide the smell.”
I open up the fridge. Its contents are ninety percent alcohol and ten percent food.
I retrieve a bottle of opened champagne and look at the label. All the writing is in French. I have no idea what it is. “Is it OK to drink your champagne?” I call out.
“Yeah, go for it.”
I pour myself a glass and take a sip. Mmm…
“This stuff is great!” I say.
“It better be. I paid almost two hundred dollars for it.”
I almost spit out my mouthful, but manage to swallow it down in time. “Did you say two hundred dollars?”
“Yeah. I got it from this little boutique place in the city. I only drink vintage champagne.”
Coming from anyone else, that would sound incredibly pretentious, but for some reason Rosie can get away with it. She clearly has money to burn.
“Well, thank you for letting me drink it. I’ll owe you several glasses in return when we go out.”
Rosie finishes up in the bathroom and joins me in the living area, carrying a small bottle of perfumed oil. It isn’t the one Daniel made for her. “Don’t be silly. It’s no big deal. I can afford to pay my own way.” She shoves the oil at me. “I figure oil might have more staying power than an alcohol based-fragrance.”
I quickly dab a few drops of it on my arms and legs. It smells like roses.
“Is rose your signature scent because of your name?” I ask, smiling.
“Oh, yeah. It’s kind of lame, but I do actually like the smell.”
I screw the lid back on and place the bottle on a side table. I then check out Rosie’s outfit. She’s wearing a sky blue dress with a low cut halter-neck and open back. I don’t know how it manages to cover the important bits and yet reveal so much skin. I feel positively frumpy beside her.
She pours herself a generous slug of champagne and downs it one gulp.
“I like that one,” she says, nodding at the now-empty glass. “I’ll have to go get some more tomorrow.”
I really want to ask what she does for work, but it doesn’t seem like the right time now.
She grabs my hand, and we head out into the humid Bangkok evening.
“Let’s get our party on!”
***
Rosie seems to be quite familiar with Bangkok nightlife. Thankfully, she doesn’t drag me back to Khaosan Road, and instead heads away from the tourist areas and over to a place called Club Sapphire.
Inside, the percentage of foreigners is quite low. It makes me feel more comfortable. Aaron would be happy there aren’t any English speakers to hit on me. But then perhaps not. I’m not sure he would approve of me clubbing anywhere without him.
I go to the bar and order a couple of cocktails. The décor is all blue and purple, with metallic trimmings. There is a massive dancefloor at the far end of the club and a DJ booth set up, facing the crowd.
I collect our drinks and follow Rosie to a corner, where we plonk down on a small bench seat. The music is loud, electronic and full of bass. It isn’t conducive to conversation, so I don’t try to talk much. But Rosie doesn’t seem fazed by the volume and starts yelling in my ear.
“So what’s your story? Do you like guys? Chicks? Do you need me to be your wing-woman tonight?”
I laugh. “No, I don’t need a wing-woman. But thank you for asking. I have a boyfriend back home.”
“Oh. That’s a shame. You want to be my wing-woman then?”
“I can try. I don’t know how helpful I’ll be, though.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“You’re not interested in Daniel?” I ask casually.
“Daniel? The perfume guy? God, no.”
I feel offended on Daniel’s behalf.
“Why not?”
“He is totally not my type. Besides, I know you like him. I don’t want to get in the way.”
“Hang on! I just told you I had a boyfriend back home!”
“So?”
“I’m not a cheater.”
“I didn’t say you were. And you do realise you’re allowed to be attracted to someone else even when you’re in a relationship, don’t you? It’s what you do about it that matters.”
I don’t say anything. What does she mean by that? That it’s OK to have a crush on Daniel as long as I don’t physically touch him? I kind of think that if Aaron had a crush on some other woman, I’d be upset, even if he didn’t do anything about it. Or would I? The alcohol is starting to numb my processing abilities.
“Well, either way, if you did want to make a move on him, I’d be cool with that.” I don’t know if I would, but I feel like I should say it anyway.
“You’re so full of shit,” she teases. “But you have nothing to worry about.” And then she sits up a bit straighter.
“He, on the other hand, is totally up my alley.”
I look in the same direction as Rosie and freeze.
That can’t be a coincidence.
“What the hell?” I mutter. I wonder if I can make a run for it.
Rosie narrows her eyes at me.
“What’s wrong?”
I sink down in my seat and cover my face.
“I’ve seen that guy before. At my hotel when I first arrived. Twice.”
“It could be a coincidence?” she says, sounding doubtful.
“I don’t think so. Once was when I was out by the pool, and another was that same night when I was at the bar. Sure, those two could have been chance, but here too?”
“Let’s go ask him!”
“No!” I shriek.
“Too late.” She stands up and manages to break away when I grab onto her wrist, striding up to the guy and planting herself directly in front of him. I watch from afar. I cower even further in my seat as she turns and points to me. The guy doesn’t loo
k impressed and shakes his head.
Phew. It must be a coincidence after all.
But hang on! Why isn’t Rosie leaving him alone? Is she trying to hit on him now? She doesn’t look very flirty. In fact, she seems kind of angry. Why is she being so rude?
The guy holds up his hands in surrender and then seems to talk quickly. Rosie grabs him by his shirt and drags him over to me. I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life.
“Tell her what you just told me,” she demands.
The guy looks mad and doesn’t say anything.
“Tell her!” she repeats. God, she sounds evil. If she talked to me that way, I think I would say anything she wanted me to.
It appears that the guy feels the same way. He sighs.
“I’ve been hired to keep an eye on you,” he says.
I look at him, puzzled. “What? By who?”
“Your boyfriend!” Rosie interjects. She looks quite indignant on my behalf.
“Aaron hired you?” I ask in disbelief.
He looks away. “I’m not gonna get paid now, though.”
“So you’ve been stalking me ever since I landed?”
He doesn’t respond.
I think for a minute. “Then why didn’t you help me when I was pickpocketed? I was stranded!”
“I was going to. But then you found that perfumery and you were fine. Besides, that wasn’t really the brief…” He trails off and I find myself feeling even more confused.
“Hang on, Aaron had you spying on me, but it wasn’t to keep me safe? What the hell was your job then?”
He tries to walk away, but Rosie steps in front of him. “Explain.”
He rubs his hand through his hair. “I guess it doesn’t make any difference now. He asked me to make sure you didn’t go home with anyone.”
I almost squeal with rage. “He fucking what?”
“He didn’t want you hooking up with anyone.”
I look at Rosie, who shrugs. “Sounds like an asshole to me. I say ditch him.”
“So what have you reported back so far?” I start to panic, wondering if this guy has seen any of my interactions with Daniel. Even though they were completely innocent, there’s a chance they could be seen as inappropriate from an outsider’s point of view.
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