By Fate

by S J Abbott

  Seth smiled. “She’s the perfect package; the Barbie looks that all the guys want, with the smarts that every mother always wanted Barbie to have. Plus, she’s funny.”

  Aaron smiled as he tossed the last of Bella’s things into the box. He was a little surprised that she didn’t have more. She was not shy about leaving her crap strewn all over their apartment, yet in the office she had next to nothing personal. He was a little annoyed she’d made such a big deal about having him be the one to pack it all up.

  With Bella’s former desk completely bare, Aaron picked up the box and headed to his office, leaving Seth to wait for Barbie to show up—a huge grin on his face.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m more than serious. It is the perfect gig for me. I’ve never been more excited about anything in my life.” Shannon smoothed her black sheath dress down her thighs. She shook her head at her friend. “Don’t be like that. Just because Genesis sell sex toys doesn’t make it a sleazy company. It’s fairly new, but it’s actually amazingly well run. The owners have made it into a powerhouse very quickly. This is a dream starting position for someone like me.”

  Julie laughed. “Starting position.” She finished her childish giggling and said, “If you say so. I’ll just have to take your word for it.”

  Shannon slipped her feet into her silky new pumps. She’d bought them just for today. They were onyx black, just like her form fitting dress—but with the telltale bright red sole. They made her feel powerful as she examined herself in the mirror before looking at her friend curiously. She shook her head. “No.”

  Julie sat up straighter. “No, what?”

  “No, you shouldn’t take my word for it. You should come see the place. Meet me for lunch.”

  Julie stood, shaking her head. “Oh no. I am not going down there and into that building. I couldn’t. Plus, what about mom?”

  Shannon picked up her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. “Your mom is fine for a few hours without you. Just make her lunch before you leave. Please. This is my first day of my first real job out in the big bad business world. I need my bestie for support.”

  Julie giggled and nodded. “Whatever. Fine. I’ll meet you but only on one condition.”

  Shannon smiled. “Fine, I won’t call you bestie ever again.”

  Julie smiled. Her friend knew her well.

  Julie had to get back home to make her mother breakfast. She was glad Shannon lived so close. It was nice to be able to take a few minutes during her morning run to stop and see her sometimes. She mused about how that might change now that her college graduate best friend was off to start her first day as a high-powered dildo creator’s assistant.

  Julie laughed at the lunacy of the whole situation as she stuffed her earbuds back in her ears and took off down the sidewalk, matching her pace to the bass.

  Julie heard the subtle clicking of the giant wheel being spun on the TV while she changed her clothes. She stood at her full-length mirror and put on her favorite skinny jeans, a tank top, and just for fun, her most amazing pair of heels since she knew Shannon was dressed like the high-powered executive she now was.

  “Mom, I won’t be gone long. I’m just going to have lunch with Shannon.”

  Julie didn’t wait for a response. She knew there wouldn’t be one. She kissed her mother lightly on the top of her head before grabbing her sweater off the couch and heading out the door. She stood on the other side of the door long enough to call it hesitating before fully committing and actually going to the car.

  As Julie weaved through the lunch-hour traffic she thought of her mother and their simple life. It had been almost three years since the accident that upended her world. Her mother had been coming home from work and was hit head-on by someone texting and driving. She had to be cut from the car. Julie knew she should be thankful that her mother survived because the other driver had died. But on days like today, when she could tell her mother was trapped somewhere that not even her own consciousness could reach, it was very difficult to be thankful for anything.

  There were the days that her mother seemed completely normal, but those were far and few between. Julie lived for those days. Used them as fuel. They pushed her not to listen when—on those good days—her mother told her to put her in a facility, to go and live her own life. She would hold out hope that one day her mother would fully return to her, and their lives would go right back to normal. She’d finish school and be a lawyer just like her mother had been, and eventually the two of them would open their own practice. Together.

  There weren’t any open parking spaces available on the street, so Julie found a parking garage about two blocks from Genesis headquarters and walked.

  It wasn’t the tallest building, but it was the sleekest. Smooth gray stone encased the lower street half of the structure, while the rest was a simple tower of glass. Julie looked up from her vantage point on the sidewalk. The building shone brightly, like a beacon in the center of the city. She was awestruck with the beauty of it. She spun and watched as the sun reflected off the windows and leaped across to the buildings surrounding it. It was elegant and fluid, but completely still. She let out a breath as she came full circle and stopped in front of the simple letters that spelled out the company within: Genesis Inc.

  Despite Julie’s distraction with the building itself, she hadn’t been able to completely forget what they did there. She didn’t understand it. She wasn’t a prude or anything, and she had heard the phrase “sex sells” more times than she cared to admit, but she never thought it sold that well. When Shannon had gotten the interview, Julie had done a tiny bit of research on the company. It wasn’t that old, founded only two years before. They had quickly become a powerhouse in the adult toy industry, though. Thinking about the things she’d found on the company’s website made a light bulb go off in her brain. She allowed herself to laugh. There wasn’t a thing about the exterior of Genesis Inc. that wasn’t sexy. After all, even she’d just been taken in by just the design of the building. It made her wonder who the owners or masterminds behind it all were.

  After laughing at herself, Julie pushed her way into the revolving door. She loved revolving doors. One of the things she liked most about the city was they were all over the place. Shannon loved to make fun of her about it.

  Julie found herself in a large, plain steel atrium. Everything was so shiny. It took her a moment to get her head straight. Once she did, she walked purposefully to the only piece of furniture in the room: a large glass desk that just happened to have a man hot enough to be a model, sitting behind it.

  “Yes?” Model Man asked.

  “I’m here to see Shannon Potter.”

  “And you are?”

  “I am Julie Hill.”

  Model Man nodded, picked up the receiver, and pushed a button on his desk phone. “Yes, there’s a Julie Hill here to see you.”

  Model Man put the phone down and looked at her with absolutely no expression on his face. He was kind of creepy, more mannequin than model. “Tenth floor.”

  Julie smiled, said, “Thanks,” and headed to the elevator that looked to be right behind creepy mannequin dude’s desk. She pushed the tiny up arrow, and the doors opened instantly. She stepped inside and pushed the button that promised to take her to the tenth floor. She held her breath the whole way. She hated elevators. More than anything, she wished she’d asked where to go once she got to the tenth floor. She felt lost not knowing where she was going in such a foreign place.

  The elevator stopped and Julie let out her breath as the doors opened and her best friend’s smiling face shone back at her from a desk. “Hey! You came.”

  Stepping from the elevator Julie looked at her friend, “Of course I did. I promised, didn’t I?”

  Julie looked around the vast room. Other than Shannon’s desk, there were just a few chairs off to the side, but that was it. Nothing else, as far as visual stimuli goes.

  “I do feel bad coming here on your very first d
ay, though. Are you sure this is okay? Is your boss good with you having guests come in this soon?”

  “Her boss is more than fine it with—he encourages it actually,” a voice said from behind.

  Julie had no idea how that was possible, because she had her back to the elevator, and she hadn’t heard it return. She froze, sending a panicked look to Shannon, who stood there looking dumbfounded.

  She started to stumble out an introduction as best she could. “Ummmm Mr. … I mean sir … this is my friend Julie. She’s come to take me for a celebration lunch.”

  Shannon and Julie exchanged worried glances but didn’t dare to move while waiting for Shannon’s boss to respond. “You didn’t call,” were the few brief words he responded with.

  Shannon nodded at Julie, who’d stayed silent too long. “Ummm … well honestly I wasn’t sure that I needed to. Shannon asked me to meet her. I am sorry I came up to the office though. Next time I’ll wait downstairs.”

  There was another uncomfortable silence before he spoke simply once again. “Turn around please.”

  Shannon had to nod at Julie with encouragement once again. She was shaking a little. She was totally out of her element. This was a fancy place and she was standing there in jeans with one of the three owners standing behind her. She took a breath, reminding herself that she was here as a visitor, not for an interview or anything else. She didn’t have to impress him. She just needed to not insult him and get her friend fired on the first day. She straightened her spine, put on her most alluring smile and turned on one heel to look directly at him.

  Once their eyes made contact, she thought she might puke. She wobbled dramatically, and as her ankle twisted, he lunged forward to catch her. She breathed in deeply and said one word with a breathy exhale.

  “Aaron.”

  Six

  Aaron hadn’t formally been introduced to the new assistant yet. He’d seen her come in and watched as Seth flirted unapologetically with her. She was beautiful for sure, but not really his type. She was blonde and leggy, which he’d always thought was great, if you liked that sort of look. He preferred women who were shorter than him. And he preferred earthy, warm tones—like brunettes that more often than not had tanned skin.

  Like Julie.

  He had been having a very hard time thinking of anything other than her for the last few days. He’d given her his number, yet she hadn’t used it. He didn’t get it. Even if she wasn’t interested in him in the slightest, one would think that she’d call just to catch up. Thinking that, the gnawing feeling in his gut and the envy that seemingly had taken over his entire body was unpleasant. He stewed in it, let the feelings wash over him, punish him. He knew he deserved them. It was like he was being paid back for every time he’d told a woman he’d call and didn’t. He’d had his fair share of relationships—even been dumped a time or two—but this pit, the empty feeling that was becoming filled with self-hate laced with concern overwhelmed him like nothing ever had. After a while of soaking in his own misery, he’d been able to pull out of it and get some work done.

  He had so many purchase orders to go through that he felt his eyes would cross and stick that way before he was finished. Purchase order after purchase order, he reviewed each line and every number. At around ten, deciding to take a break he thought he’d go meet the new assistant and get some coffee. The tenth floor of Genesis Inc. was dedicated to him, Seth and Gideon, and their assistant, the gatekeeper. She was right in front of the elevator and therefore was a screen against unwanted things of all kinds. As he made his way from his office to her desk he found himself hoping that she had thick skin; he learned quickly that parts of the outside world weren’t always amenable to what they did. That age-old motto of “sex sells,” he found lacking because, though sex did in fact sell the part they leave out is that it often sells in secret.

  Aaron found Shannon at her desk quietly reviewing some paperwork that he couldn’t immediately recognize. “Are you enjoying your first day?”

  Shannon’s eyes went from the page to his face faster than he thought possible. Her face looked panicked. “Yes. Of course.”

  He chuckled and went to the coffee bar to fix himself a cup. Thinking it might be easier for her to chat with him without him being in her face he spoke with his back to her. “I’m Aaron. I just thought I’d come out and say hello.”

  He readied his cup with a splash of cream and a half a packet of sugar before putting the cup under the machine and popping the coffee pod into the top. He smiled to himself as he heard her shuffling frantically. “I can do that for you, sir.”

  Aaron turned to her after pushing the button that would start the gurgling noises from the machine. “No worries. You’re not here to make me coffee. You’re here because, from what Seth tells me, you have considerable abilities that he thinks will assist Genesis in climbing to the top of our industry ladder.” He watched her carefully as he spoke, gauging her reaction not just to Seth’s name, but to the implications that she had talent and skill but more importantly what she thought of them considering her part of the team. Being a team was very important to all the guys. They started the company together, and it would grow together. They all wanted that.

  Aaron was pleasantly surprised by Shannon’s reaction. She stopped fidgeting and looked straight at him. “That’s very kind of you to say and I plan to do all I can to live up to all of your expectations. No, actually that’s not true.” She waned.

  Aaron was a little shocked when she went silent. “Excuse me?”

  She cleared her throat. “Right. Sorry. I said that isn’t true. I meant; it isn’t true because I have every intention of exceeding your expectations. I know I will, because they can’t be any higher than the ones I have for myself.” She smiled tightly and held her breath.

  That’s when Aaron decided to see what she was really made of, so he glared at her. “Well if that’s true I’d say we’re already on uneven footing,” He said as he walked towards his office, pausing to add, “You see I had to come introduce myself to you. How about you try a little harder next time.” He ended with a hard wink. Judging by the horrified look on her face, she thought he was serious. She couldn’t have been more wrong. He knew she’d get there. He left his office door open and went back to his purchase orders.

  Aaron spent the entire morning going over the damn purchase orders. He was burnt out. He picked up his phone and punched in the number seven. After one ring, Seth picked up. “I’m headed out for food. I can’t look at another fucking column today. I think I’ll head down to design when I get back. Care to join me?”

  “I’ll meet you in fifteen.”

  Aaron hung up the phone, straightened some papers on his desk trying to kill a few minutes before realizing that his time would be better spent giving Shannon a hard time. Putting thought into action was interrupted by the arrival of the elevator. He slowed his pace so he could escape back to his office, should the occupant prove to be someone he didn’t feel like dealing with. He about tripped when Julie walked out of the elevator.

  He took quiet steps, trying to get closer so he could hear. How had she found him? He hadn’t told her about Genesis. There hadn’t really been time.

  After a moment he realized, much to his relief, that Julie was here for Shannon. They were friends. Suddenly he was grateful for keeping his mouth shut, because if he hadn’t he’d be having crow—or foot—for lunch.

  He was going to kiss Seth the minute he saw him. He’d be forever grateful to the perv for hiring the hot girl. He’d have to find a way to repay him.

  When Julie made mention of Shannon’s boss being okay with her visit, the words came tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. He wasn’t perfectly clear on all that happened next until his name passed her lips

  He berated himself for being careless and responded after a bit too long. “You didn’t call,” he said again.

  She looked at Shannon, then back to Aaron and nodded. “No, I haven’t.”

&nbs
p; Aaron nodded in return, watching as sadness crept into her eyes. Not wanting to seem pathetic, he responded very simply with, “Okay.”

  “Ready?” Seth asked as he entered, breaking the silence. Then he noticed Shannon wasn’t alone. “Oh hello,” he said as he set a stack of papers on the side of Shannon’s desk. “When I get back, we’ll go over these. I want to make sure you have a good product knowledge foundation. Aaron and I are going to be in design when we return and I’d like you to join us,” he said without noticing the tension surrounding them all.

  “I’m ready,” Aaron said before turning to Julie and Shannon. “Shannon, we’ll see you after lunch. Please don’t feel the need to rush. We’ll be here when you return.” He smiled and trained his eyes on Julie alone and said, “Julie, it was nice to see you,” before turning and getting on the elevator that Seth was holding open. Aaron held his breath while the doors closed, and Seth stared at him. He knew that twenty questions were forthcoming.

  “Was that … ?”

  “Yup.”

  “Okay then.”

  “Yeah, basically.”

  Aaron hoped Seth would let it go. He didn’t want to talk about what just happened, or why.

  “One question?” Aaron could tell by Seth’s tone that he was trying to be careful.

  “One, and only one.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  Aaron let out a breath. He had a feeling the question would be something along those lines. Regrettably, before they’d all moved into the apartment together, Aaron had a bit of a falling out with his family and went into a small downward spiral. Aaron thought of it more like a tiny tornado. It swooped in, disrupted his life and then left just as quickly, leaving him with fragments … but enough of them to rebuild. He knew his friends worried about his ability to deal with certain things. Their only saving grace was that he knew they trusted him completely in every aspect of life. They were just concerned.