* * * *
You know those people who are completely and utterly shocked when they get hired on as a personal assistant/secretary to the most powerful man in the city? The type of person who was confident that they wouldn’t even get past the application process on account of the fact that they have an extensive police record and a shady psychiatric evaluation?
Turns out, I’m one of those people.
I woke up the morning of my first day and had to calm an instinctive burst of panic. If they found out what I was up to…if they realized that I was funneling information to Sonya and that I was still (unofficially) an employee of the Morning Oracle I could die.
I wasn’t even exaggerating. I was 87% positive that Gabriel Evans could, and would, have me assassinated. It almost made me back out. Almost convinced me to drop the idea of a story altogether and simply work for Evans for real. His benefits package was much better than the Oracle’s and I was being paid a hell of a lot more. But there was this…I don’t know what to call it really.
Something reckless in me wanted to see it through. Some wild-eyed little creature that lived beneath my skin urged me on. It was the voice that made me go faster than I should when I drove. It assured me that I would make the green light, even if common sense cried out that I wouldn’t. It was what had sent me pushing that car over the edge. It was what had made me pull the trigger on my tranq gun the night I’d hunted “Bigfoot” (thereby encouraging said landowner to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law).
And it was that creature, that demon of recklessness, that brought a maniacal little grin to my face even as my stomach twisted at the thought of being found out. I knew I should back out. The odds weren’t in my favor.
But that was what made it fun.
I gave myself a little shake and squashed the smile as soon as I realized it was there. Then I rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. The process of choosing an outfit was trickier than usual. For one thing, I couldn’t dress as casually as I normally did when heading in to work. Instead I found myself critically eyeing the way the gray pinstriped pantsuit fit my frame. It was hard to describe my body type. I didn’t have much up top, but I was pretty curvy from the waist down. I didn’t like the way the button-up suit jacket emphasized that. I’d need a trim soon; my black hair was past my shoulders now and combined with my straight bangs and ice blue eyes, I resembled a pin-up model. I eyed my dark hair and pale face, decided I could probably rock the vampire look, and gave up primping as a lost cause.
No point in wasting any more time in the looks department. When I met Evans—dear god I was going to meet Gabriel Evans—I wanted to make sure that I was as innocuous as possible. With that thought in mind, I sent my reflection a quick kiss and sashayed my way out the door.
The drive to the Lumière Corporation took about twenty minutes. I could have taken the less scenic route, but I wanted to arrive at my new job with my wallet, all my major organs, and all four tires still in place.
I knew I was probably expecting a lot, but hey.
I liked living large.
By the time I stepped out of the elevator and onto the twenty-first floor, it was around 8:00 a.m.
Right on time.
Commence mental back patting.
The pace at the L.C. seemed chaotic in comparison to what went on in the Oracle. I knew the company dealt with stocks and bonds and international mergers, but business had never been my strong suit. Thankfully I wasn’t here to punch numbers or bully execs. I would just run some errands, file some paperwork, and try to keep my head down while spying shamelessly on every aspect of Gabriel Evans’s life.
Fun, fun.
There was a little bounce to my step as I threw myself into the fray. I sidestepped interns, mail room lackeys, and more than one pencil pusher, but no matter where I looked I couldn’t seem to find Janice.
Janice was the woman whose job I would be taking. Janice was in her mid-thirties and as pregnant as the day was long. She was due for maternity leave and the only thing standing between Janice and freedom was my three days’ worth of training.
So there I was: dressed, on time, and eager to learn.
The only problem?
No Janice.
“Excuse me?” I grabbed the sleeve of the first person that passed me. He was an older man, salt and pepper hair seeming to defy gravity as his hairline receded while his beer gut had long since lost that fight.
I smiled up at him and laid on the charm.
“Could you help me? I’m a little turned around.”
His eyes had narrowed down to suspicious slits as soon as I had pulled him to a halt, but at the sight of my smile he shifted the stack of folders in his arms and relaxed.
“New, aren’t you?”
I nodded, projecting relief and just a tad bit of embarrassment. “Afraid so. I was supposed to be meeting Janice today so she could start my training but I can’t seem to—”
His bark of laughter interrupted my explanation and I had to stop myself from snapping at him.
“They didn’t tell you?” At the look on my face he answered his own question. “Obviously not. Janice went into labor a few days ago.”
Damn.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?”
He shrugged, and I could see the desire to get on with his own business begin to take hold.
“No idea. Your best bet is to head up to the top floor and go from there. That’s where Evans keeps his office and where Janice usually worked. They should give you some leeway since it’s your first day and all, but I hope for your sake you learn fast.” He started walking. “Fair warning: The Beast has been untamed for almost a week now. Tread lightly.”
Hold up.
“Do you mean ‘Beast’ as in absent a Beauty?” I called after him, “Or ‘Beast’ as in—”
“Three numbers, bad temper, makes a cameo appearance in Revelations? That one. Definitely that one.” He threw the words over his shoulder and waved a hand in farewell as he disappeared inside the recess of a cubicle.
“Good luck,” he called cheerfully, and I scowled at his pitiful excuse of an office for a full minute before I turned on my heel and headed back to the elevators.
“Why hide who you are? Wolf or sheep there’s no shame in giving in to your nature.”
—Lana Ray
Chapter Three