Office Duties Box Set #2

  Davies stepped up to the bedside and sat down next to her. He softly placed a hand on her belly. She didn't know what he planned, but she was beyond caring as the pain flared up for another time.

  A glowing substance began to emanate from his fingers as his whole body let out a faint light. The substance was a pale, transparent gas similar to what he emitted during their sexual encounters, but the smell was different. It was more like the herbs from the small shop to which she and Slinky had followed Smith.

  The pale fog moved over the entirety of her stomach and almost immediately she began to feel a sense of calm come over her restless body. The spasms stopped and her red skin faded back to the healthy pink. Her breathing evened out and the pain faded to nothing.

  Sam stared at Davies in utter shock. It was as if he'd suddenly cured her terminal cancer with a single command. She felt well enough to sit up, and she did just that without any twinge of pain.

  "Easy there," he commanded as she tried to get out of bed. "That might just be a little too quick for you."

  "What...what did you do?" she asked in awe.

  "Merely perform a small miracle," he teased. He turned to his assistant. "Perhaps she'll be needing a small bowl of food, but nothing more."

  "Yes, sir, right away." He went off to the kitchen to prepare the 'snack.'

  "But how did you do it? What the hell was it?" She was so confused, and that led her to be scared. She didn't understand what had just happened, and tears of frustration rose in her eyes. "What's wrong with me?"

  "None of that now," he soothed. He took her hands in his and smiled at her. "That was merely a...a complication. You may not have another for quite some time, or even at all."

  "But what's happening to me?" Sam looked down at the bump in her stomach. It was even larger before, now about the size of a small watermelon, and she still felt stiff and sore from her painful experience. She let out a tiny sob. "What's wrong with me?"

  "Nothing's wrong with you," Davies insisted. He scooted up and leaned his back against the wall. He let her lean her head against his chest as she cried out her frustration and fear. "You're merely experiencing a change of sorts. The process will be done in less than two weeks, and you should be fine."

  "I'll be back to normal?" she sniffled.

  "Well, to what will be the new normal for you," he diplomatically explained. He could see she didn't like that answer, and he sighed. "I'm afraid this will be a permanent change. You're like a caterpillar evolving into a butterfly. Eventually you'll shed this mortal coil and burst out of your cocoon."

  "I-I don't understand." None of this made any sense. "Why am I changing? What am I changing into? Will it...will it hurt? Can't I stop it?"

  "Not so fast," he laughed as he gave her a squeeze. "Perhaps the best thing you can do right now is trust me, and what I tell you. That means for everything." At this point she couldn't argue. He'd given her proof enough that something was changing inside her with the basketball-sized bump in her stomach. "If you believe what I told you in the car, this would be much easier to explain." It was a not-so-subtle hint for her to drop any stubborn refusal to listen and take his word for it.

  "You're...you really are a demon?" she asked. She shrank back from him, but he only smiled kindly and nodded his head. "Then...then is that what I'm changing into?"

  "Yes, if all goes well."

  "Is something going wrong?" Sam was frightened again.

  "You're most vulnerable at this stage, but you'll be fine." He affectionately brushed his hand through her hair to try to calm her. "What you're going through now only proves we weren't meant to be together."

  "What...what am I going through?" Sam looked down at the bump on her stomach. She gingerly reached out and caressed the mound beneath her shirt. "Is this...am I pregnant?" Davies' smile widened and he slowly nodded. Her mouth dropped open and her hand shook in surprise and shock. "How...how did you do this to me? How can I be this pregnant so soon?"

  "Certain humans have the ability to 'cross over' species." He gently drew a finger across her pale cheek. "You are one of the few capable of doing this."

  "Can...can a lot of humans do this?" she asked, and he shook his head.

  "Very few are able cross over, and even fewer are able to survive the process." Sam flinched.

  "Does that mean...does that mean I could die?"

  "At this stage, no." He warmly smiled at her and pulled her closer. "The changes take place after each initial dose of my scent." He chuckled and the movement reverberated through his chest and against Sam's head. She smiled despite her fear and worries. "You seemed very conducive to their effects." She blushed. She knew exactly what he was talking about with the aphrodisiac effect it had on her.

  "What...what will happen to me now?" She tightly gripped his shirt and bit her lip. "Will I...will I be evil? Will I change?" Davies laughed, but she thought it important enough to be taken seriously.

  "You will remain as you are now in personality. Nothing will change except a few minor outward appearances and the addition of heightened senses and abilities." He softly ran his hand through her wet hair. The action was calming to them both as his voice dropped to hardly a whisper. "I've been searching for you for a very long time. I'd almost given up hope."

  "How long?" She knew so little about the man who held her and called her his love. Yes, she still called him a man, because nothing else better suited him. Monster or demon couldn't describe his kindness and the depth of his love she knew he felt for her. "How old are you?"

  "I'm afraid I stopped counting my age many centuries ago, and have been looking as long for someone such as you to share the life I have to offer."

  "If you're that old, prove it," she slyly demanded. "Because you don't look a day over thirty."

  "Well, I could tell you the discussion I had with Henry the Eighth, but I don't think you'd want to know how vulgar he was in terms of language."

  "That, and I wouldn't believe it."

  "What will you believe?" He knew she was playing with him, but he genuinely did want to set aside her doubt.

  "Well, what about an autographed book or something?" He pondered her request for a while before a grin spread across his lips.

  "There may be something, but you will have to wait until I return."

  "You're leaving?" Sam unconsciously gripped tighter his shirt.

  "I'm afraid I have some loose ends to wrap up and some errands to make. Mr. Smith will be as good as myself for managing your body's new needs."

  "It's not that." She bit her lip and glanced down at the large bump. "What if...what if it hurts again?"

  He grasped her hands and looked directly into her eyes.

  "You will be fine. Nothing like that will happen again."

  "Then why did it happen at all?"

  "Because you needed one last dose of my scent to complete your body's changes. Everything should go smoothly now."

  "Famous last words..." Sam muttered. She wasn't liking this arrangement where she had to put up with all the crap, and he got to run off and enjoy himself.

  "I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll bring you a present." He gently planted a kiss on her forehead. "I promise."

  "All right," she agreed.

  Sam still didn't want him to leave, but she'd believe him. She just had this feeling that separation would be both physically and emotionally painful.

  "See you soon."

  He got up and their hands slowly slid apart. He smiled down at her one last time, and then he was gone.

  Sam leaned back against the headboard and wrapped her arms around herself. She felt so cut off from her main life-line. Then the young woman glanced down at the bulge beneath her shirt, and she softly smiled.

  With almost an unconscious movement Sam reached out and laid her hand on the bump. She began to stroke the bulge, and that tender gesture comforted her some. Not as much as she could have gotten from Davies, but enough to satisfy her until he came back. She hoped it would be soon. br />
  In the meantime, Smith was at her disposal. He popped his head into the bedroom a few minutes later.

  "Did you need anything, Miss Olsen?" he asked. "Any food or drink?"

  "I could use a nice ice cream sundae with some pickles," she mused.

  There was a mischievous smile on her lips. She really didn't think he'd take her seriously. Boy was she wrong.

  "I may have to improvise on some of the toppings, but that could be arranged."

  He was gone so quickly she didn't have a chance to explain that she was only fooling with him. That was pretty much how the rest of the day went. She'd even hint at something I might need in the near future, and Smith was gone in a flash to go get it from somewhere in the apartment. Sam noticed, though, that he didn't leave the apartment during any of his errands. He'd just find something close or exactly as she wanted.

  The baby in her stomach bumped into her every now and again, and she had to smile at that sensation. It was their child.

  Sam had to admit, though, that she was a little depressed in his absence. Much as Smith tried, he just couldn't be a solid replacement. That's why she was listening so intently to the front door when she heard a knock just after sunset. Smith pleasantly greeted someone, and her hopes were up for it to be Davies.

  Suddenly the phone at her bedside rang. Sam frowned, and her eyes glanced between the closed bedroom door and the incessant ringing thing. Davies didn't come in immediately, though, and she finally she leaned over and picked up the phone.

  "Hello?"

  "Sam, you are not gonna believe the mess that's here!"

  "Slinky?" The voice on the other line was both frantic and excited. It was a bad combination with which to try to keep up. "Slinky, what in the world are you talking about?"

  "I'm at the office right now and this place is a mess!"

  "Wait, what? How? Nobody's supposed to be there."

  "Yeah, I know, but I got here after I was sure the janitors had left and the place is trashed! It looks like somebody's gone through and tore up all the chairs and desk and everything!"

  "Wait, Slinky. Are you sure they aren't still there?" There was an uncomfortable pause and she started to worry. "Slinky? You still there?"

  "I just heard something." Her voice was down to a whisper and she imagined her friend was creeping through the cubicles. "I think it's coming from Winkle's office."

  "Slinky, get out of there!" Sam hissed. "Go call the police or something!"

  "One sec, just lemme see who it is."

  Sam waited in silence as all she heard on the other side was Slinky's quiet breathing. Having heard the sound of the phone and her frantic words, Davies entered the room at that moment. He noticed her tense expression and the phone at her ear. She motioned for him to be quiet when he opened his mouth, so he merely sat down at her side and intently watched her.

  Now she could hear some sort of scattering of paper and mutterings on the other line, and they didn't sound like Slinky's voice. Sam pulled the phone away from herself and turned up the volume so Davies could listen. There was some sort of grumbling in the background that they couldn't make out and some slight noise as Slinky slunk her way toward the office by crawling along the floor. Finally after a few tense moments they could distinguish the words, and recognize the voice.

  It was Winkle.

  "Those damn bastards aren't going to do this to me, not after waiting this many years." There was some rough noise like she was throwing things around. "They'll see that I'm not going to be messed with, not like this."

  There was a pause and then a huge crash rang out of the phone.

  "Jesus!" The voice was Slinky's and she immediately regretted saying that. "Oh shit!"

  "Slinky?" Sam shouted as they heard feet pounding the ground and heavy breathing. "Slinky?" Davies was up and dialing his own phone. He was calling security even as Slinky slammed through a heavy door and her footsteps started to ring with a definite echo. "What's going on?"

  "Can't talk, running down...fire escape," her friend panted. "Crazy lady...behind me..."

  They heard a slam like Slinky had flung open a metal door and then there was the sounds of shoes skidding on linoleum. She must have hit the lobby and was running for the front doors. Sam's heart pounded for her friend.

  "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Slinky chanted. Then there was some frantic slamming again, and a sudden exclamation of joy. "Freedom!" The adventurer cackled into the phone and Sam sighed in relief. Slinky was panting but overjoyed as they heard her humming. "Wow, that was close."

  "Slinky, what in the world happened?" Sam demanded to know. "What the hell was going on in there?"

  "I don't know, it's like Mrs Witch suddenly went ballistic. She saw me and pulled out a letter opener from her desk." They could hear a tremor of fear in her voice. If Slinky was worried, there was a definite problem. "I wasn't gonna stick around any longer after that, but she chased me down the fire escape!"

  She glanced up at Davies, though, and the smile slipped off her face. He had a worried expression, and he quickly stood and left the room.

  "Where are you now?" she inquired. She could hear him speaking with Smith for a moment, then she heard the front door open and close.

  "I'm heading to my place and locking the door, so don't worry about me," her friend reassured. "You just watch out for yourself."

  "Me? Why me?"

  "I'm not sure if you heard it over the phone, but I think I heard that crazy-ass lady mention your name." That froze Sam's blood cold, and her hands trembled so badly she almost dropped the phone. "So keep your doors locked and call the cops if somebody knocks, okay? I'm gonna talk to my dad about this and see if we can't get the cops on the office right now."

  "A-all right," Sam agreed.

  When Davies returned to the bedroom, she was full of questions.

  "We have a problem," he informed her.

  "What kind of problem?" Sam insisted on knowing as he sat down at her side. "What the hell is going on?"

  "Mrs. Winkle was...is...informed of my secret," he revealed. He calmly took her hand in his and smiled at her. "The requirements for her position were to keep that knowledge safe until they would be no longer needed."

  "No longer needed?" Sam repeated. "When's that supposed to be?"

  "When I have found my soul mate. I've found you, Sam." She was flattered, but that didn't really explain what was going on.

  "So she's going to be let go from her job? Can't you just keep her on?"

  "It's not that simple," he attempted to explained. "She...she was under the misapprehension that she was the one to be chosen."

  "Why didn't you tell her the truth? What made her think that?" This was all too confusing to Sam, and yet she thought it just needed a few simple answers to solve what bothered Davies now. "Why is she acting this way if it's just this? Can't we just tell her it wouldn't work out?"

  "I...I did something very foolish when I first brought her on," Davies admitted. He smile lost its joy and he shook his head. "I promised her eternal life with me should she be the one."

  "But she's not the one," Sam pointed out.

  "I thought she was at the time. She had promise in her, but it was wasted when she became greedy for the power and money I offered." He closed his eyes and sighed. "She lost herself in her single-minded focus to please me to keep herself as a companion. That's why Miss Taylor was let go. She saw her as competition for the rewards I'd promised. She even adopted the persona of a married woman to beat off any other male pursuers." He genuinely smiled at the thought of the plain, middle-aged woman finding someone to beat off.

  "What's all of this mean?" she finally questioned. "She's not the one and she might lose her job. Is that why she was so mad on the phone?"

  "I'm afraid 'mad' may not describe the poor woman." He tightened his grip on her hand. It wasn't painful, but it made Sam worry. "I've instructed Mr. Smith to find her and see what danger she poses for you."

  Sam closed her eyes and shook
her head. This was just too much to take in a single thought. Slinky had stumbled upon a ranting and raving Winkle, now Davies was telling her she was some sort of imminent danger to her. It was bad enough that he'd sent out his trusted secretary to try to find out her whereabouts and mental stability.

  Sam wasn't entirely disbelieving of Winkle's dangerous nature, though. She wasn't that tired right now to forget the threats she'd made toward her nor the incident with the bag and in her cubicle. She knew she was dangerous, but bad enough that he needed to worry about her?

  "What do you think she'll do?"

  "I honestly cannot say," he admitted. "She believes that in only a single week you've cheated her out of everything she's worked so hard to build over the last thirty years."

  "But I didn't mean to!" Sam argued, but he held up his hand for silence.

  "I know that, Sam, but she doesn't understand that." His face grew grim. He didn't want to tell her this, but the truth would at least prepare her for the worst. "I believe she may have the intention of harming you. Deathly harming you."

  "You mean she...she wants to kill me?" Her voice quivered and her hands shook. She didn't want to believe that someone would be so angry at her that they'd be willing to murder her in retaliation. This all seemed like some sort of sick joke. She hadn't even done anything wrong, or at least hadn't meant to do anything wrong.

  "You'll be fine, Sam," Davies promised. "Smith and I will make sure of that."

  "Do you...do you think she'll come here?" She tried to keep her voice from shaking, but it was a miserable failure.

  "I'm sure that's her intention. She had access to your personal file, so she knows your address."

  "Shouldn't we leave or call the cops or something?" Sam frantically questioned. Her hand instinctively flew to her stomach and she closed her eyes to fight back the tears.

  "You'll be safe here, I promise," he firmly repeated.

  That's when they heard a pounding on the door. It didn't sound like Mr. Smith. Sam's eyes got big as Davies scowled and his own eyes narrowed.

  "What is it?" Sam whispered.

  "Stay here and stay quiet," he softly ordered.

  He stood up and peeked out of the bedroom. There was another pounding noise from the front door. No one called from it, though. Sam's heart beat like a war drum. She tried to calculate how long it'd been since Slinky saw Winkle, but she couldn't remember. Maybe there'd been enough time, but maybe not.