Emily stepped off the kerb Newark Liberty International. A horn blasted as a yellow cab swerved to avoid her.
Shit!
She was still half asleep. The eight hour flight from Edinburgh plus the time she'd spent hanging around the departure lounge had left her with little energy. She checked her phone. Three missed calls from Tony.
She was supposed to be representing the company at a conference in New York. Usually her boss Tony handled these things but he had been struck down with a particularly bad case of man flu so he'd asked Emily to step up in his place. It was a huge opportunity for her, but it was beginning to look like a bust already. A storm had meant the flight was delayed by almost 12 hours and she would need to go straight to the venue instead of the hotel to freshen up.
She caught sight of her reflection in the bus shelter window and groaned. Her usually shiny curls looked matte and straw-like and her pale skin was now a sad grey tone. Despite being a youthful 25 she could also see dehydration lines forming around her mouth.
Ugh, kill me now.
Emily opened the Uber app on her phone and was relieved to see that 'Vince' was now just one minute away. She scanned the street for a white Toyota Prius. Almost every car in the pick up bay was white.
What the hell did a Prius look like?
Just then a sleek hatchback rounded the corner and a young, Italian looking man emerged shouting her name. "Emily Parkes?" She waved and wheeled her small suitcase over.
Vince, tall and slightly skinny with a mop of dark brown hair, reached out to take Emily's luggage from her, but Emily stopped him. "No, sorry. I need to keep my stuff with me." His dark brown eyes narrowed suspiciously "Stuff?"
"Oh no, I mean I need to get myself ready for a conference I'm late for." Emily explained. Vince hesitated, "Lady, this is my Dad's car, you can't be getting make-up all over it." He gestured to the immaculate upholstery as if to prove his point. "Oh don't worry," Emily beamed at him, "I'm a pro!"
"Pro?" Vince suddenly looked at her like she's just asked to take a shit in his car. "N-no, I mean a pro at putting on make-up in moving cars." Emily realised how ridiculous this sounded and Vince seemed unconvinced.
She could feel herself beginning to panic. If Vince refused to take her, she'd need to wait another 30 minutes for a new driver, and that was assuming he didn't put her on some kind of blacklist. "Look, I really need to get to this work thing. Can you help me out? I promise I won't make a mess." Vince studied her, as if weighing up whether this job was worth the hassle. "Fine," he said eventually, "but I'm going to check for any mess before you leave."
Before he could change his mind, Emily slid herself into the backseat of the Toyota and pulled her small suitcase in beside her. Vince eyed her skeptically for a moment before closing the door behind her and hopping in the driver's seat. Once he started up the engine she let out a sigh of relief. Smiling at him pleasantly in the mirror, she then pulled out her make-up bag to begin her attempt to make herself presentable again.
She could see Vince watching her closely in the mirror as she re-applied her tinted moisturiser. Her skin was clear so she didn't need a lot of coverage, just a smidge to give herself a healthy look. She held a tiny compact mirror up to the window and added a little blush to her cheeks and was pleased to see that her grey skin was now glowing again. Vince seemed to relax too when he saw that she wasn't about to start drawing all over his car. "Good flight was it?" He asked, trying to make eye contact through the rear mirror. "Mmm." She replied. She didn't really have time for small talk.
Next, Emily pulled out a bright red lipstick from her purse. It was her favourite colour. Not many women can actually pull off red lips, but paired with her porcelain skin, it made her look like a 1940s screen siren. Vince watched her closely as she expertly applied it to the bows of her lips. She was pretty sure he was holding his breath. She held his gaze for a moment, he was actually pretty cute, then a horn blasted and he suddenly slammed the breaks on. Emily managed to pull the lipstick away from her face in time. A car had just cut in front of him. He cursed and apologised then went back to concentrating on the road.
Emily picked up her eye pencil next and briefly wondered if it was worth the risk but she thought better of it and tossed it back in the bag. She could do without. "Are you from England?" Vince asked casually. "Scotland." She corrected him. "Wow, cool. I love Whiskey. My uncle's neighbor was Scottish. I think his name was Frank. Maybe you'd know him?" He continued. Emily rolled her eyes and tried to focus on how she'd fix her hair next. She rummaged through her bag for some hair clips and managed to pin her long curls into a loose chignon. She caught a glimpse of herself in the window reflection. White skin, black hair, red lips. She looked like a china doll.
Maybe she could pull this off after all.
Vince eventually ran out of inane questions and turned the radio on. The temperature in the car was beginning to rise so Emily removed her thick coat and folded it neatly beside her. She was used to the cold temperatures of Edinburgh but it felt like it was 100 degrees in this car. She absentmindedly picked a piece of lint off her black shirt then to her horror noticed a large brown stain on her top, running from her chest all the way down to the waistband of her skirt.
Shit. She must have spilled her dinner on the plane.
Emily for a moment fondly remembered the roast beef and gravy the BA flight attendant had served.
No way could she show up to the conference like this.
She rummaged through her suitcase for a minute, remembering the white shirt she had brought for emergency purposes just like this. It was a little tight across the bust but it was better than a big dirty beef stain. Holding it against her, she looked back at Vince in the mirror who was busy concentrating on navigating the busy freeway and pondered her options. If she was quick he wouldn't even notice.
Emily looked around at the cars outside. Whizzing past at such speeds, no one would see.
Fuck it
, she thought and quickly pulled the ruined top over her head revealing a lacy black bra. However it was barely off when Vince suddenly turned around. "What are you doing?"
Shit.