by Sam Hall
“Sorry,” I said, attempting to cover for my complete lapse in professionalism. “I’m a bit tired and overwhelmed. I’ll be much better tomorrow, I promise.” Get it together girl! I thought. Go to town, bone some guy who isn't your boss. You got this, you have to.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I stiffened slightly but don’t think he noticed. I didn’t want to be that girl, but I just stumbled along, not really taking in what he was saying, the warm weight of his hand getting all of my focus. “So, this is your Buddy?”
“Uh, yes. Hey, baby,” I said, dropping down beside my dog and giving him a scratch. I hadn’t noticed because I was too busy trying to be cool as the boss steered me down the porch, but he was whining now he’d seen me, wanting off the lead and to be walking wherever I was going. “I’ll be back soon and then we’ll get you settled.”
“You can bring him with us, if you like. I’ll leave the proper orientation for when we’re both fresh and dressed appropriately.”
“Yeah, I guess pencil skirts aren’t real practical.”
“No…” his eyes slid down to look at the offending garment, seeming to linger on my legs, before he looked away quickly.
Dude, is this guy into me? I thought. I could not deal with this, no way, no matter how gorgeous he is. I needed a job, not a boyfriend.
“All the women here wear pants, so it makes for a change. Anyway, let's head to the shed, and I’ll get us a cart. I’ll show you around the facilities and then get you settled.”
I busied myself with unhooking Buddy’s leash. The moment he was free, he started pulling me with his entire weight, wanting to walk, sniff, pee on everything. “Buddy!” I snapped and gave his lead a jerk. He looked back at me, shamefaced, but then went right back to sniffing around wildly, though not straining as hard. Finn led the way, which was OK by me. I’m not really into guys arses, but even I could tell that this was a particularly fine specimen, showcased in perfect fitting pants. I almost stumbled into him when he stopped suddenly, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
“So…” he scratched at his neck, “the shed is where we keep all of our vehicles. We sign them in or out, depending on who needs them. The mech crew service them, so they’re in tip top condition. So if you have any issues, talk to them.”
“Okay,” I said, not really getting what was amusing.
“The guys…well, there’s Stevie, but she can be just as bad. The guys are a bit…old school.”
“What? They’ll want to open car doors for me?”
“No, they’ll probably stare at your tits the whole time you’re talking to them. They’ll probably even make comments.”
“Oh!” I said, and then burst out laughing. “Hey, I worked in a diner whose main clientele were truckers. Trust me, I’ve had customers describe what they’d like to do to pretty much every part of my body. I’m good at busting heads if needs be.”
“Yeah? Look, Kelly’s going to go over this with you, but the long and the short of it is we have a lot of guys, straight guys mostly, working here and women…well, sometimes they can be seen as fresh meat. We used to not worry too much about fraternising, and then we had a few incidents. This place is too remote for us to think about ruling out office relationships, but…” He looked me square in the eyes, like this was really important for me to remember. “Never feel like you have to do anything. If you feel hassled or pressured in anyway, just let me or Kelly know, yeah?”
“Of course.” My eyes flicked over to the big green shed in front of us. All I could see was a range of vehicles lined up outside and a big, dark entranceway. “I’m a little nervous about going in there now.”
“Yeah, I think I built this up a bit. Let’s… grab a cart and go.”
“OK.” I looked down at Bud, who was wondering why the hell we were standing around. “C’mon boy.”
2
Finn disappeared into the shed before me. The first thing I noticed as I followed, was the strong smell of motor oil. The second, once my eyes adjusted to the change of brightness, was that there was a guy with no shirt on, bent over the engine bay of a car, and not just any guy. This was no pasty-skinned bloke in his 50s with a sagging paunch, promising to give you a lube job. This was a body that would have made Brad Pitt circa Fight Club go and hide in the corner and have a little cry. Every muscle was clearly delineated. I know, because I watched the mesmeric bunch and shift of them as whoever it was under the bonnet tightened a something-or-other with a hooziwhatsit.
This is just ridiculous, I thought dimly, do they only employ hot guys in this place?
“Hey Ethan!” someone shouted. I turned to see another guy in the more usual overalls, though they were unbuttoned to the waist to reveal an equally well-muscled chest, standing there with a smirk. He had obviously caught me looking. He nodded his head, indicating something behind me, and when I swung back, I was face to face with the owner of that body.
Buddy let out a growl, then a bark. “Shut up, Bud,” I said, and when I looked up, Ethan had come even closer. I could smell the sharp scent of fresh sweat, oil and cedarwood, and I could feel that heat of his body, he was so close. I put up a hand with a frown, putting it square in the middle of that perfectly formed chest, and shoved him back when he seemed inclined to just keep coming. He was tall (weren’t they all?) with brown hair that had probably been cut all layered and spiky, but he’d let it grow to that in-between length. He had a little stubble across his chin and a smear of grease down one side of his cheek, pointing to his shit-eating grin. True to Finn’s words, his eyes dropped to the neckline of my shirt, and his stare was so intent, I could almost imagine his eyes boring straight through the fabric to my body beneath it. “And who do we have here?” he asked with a smile. “That’s a nice dog.”
“Thanks,” I said, not bothering to conceal the irritation in my voice. He was good looking, but I was never keen on blokes who acted like a dick about it. Ethan just kept on staring. “Does this…” I gestured to the bare chest and the penetrating gaze, “usually work on women, or is this something new you’re trying out on me?”
“Don’t mind him.” I turned to see a tall woman with long red hair, also in overalls, come out from between a couple of cars. She wiped her hands on a rag, then held one out to shake. “He’s got a banging bod, and he still thinks that’s all it takes. I’m Stevie, you’ve met Ethan and this is Derek. You must be Finn’s new offsider.”
“Yeah, I’m Julie and this is Buddy. Finn said he was going to…”
“Get the keys to one of the carts,” he said, appearing at the doorway, shaking a set of them. “Well, you have your clothes on, and none of the guys look like they’ve been slapped. I’d say this was a good day so far.”
“Give them time,” Stevie said. “There’s a couple of other guys who work here, Nick and Sonny. I’ll introduce you next time you come through. You have any issues, you let me know.”
It was then that I realised I was still holding her hand. She smiled nice and slow at this, watching me let it go. Then she just went back to what she was doing, tossing a smile at me over her shoulder. What had just happened? This place had a seriously weird vibe about it. It was kind of like one of those bad sexual harassment training videos, where the characters are all stereotypes of sleazy work mates, yet because the actors were totally hot, you ended it feeling strangely conflicted about the message.
“You ready?” Finn asked, and I nodded and followed him outside. I got in the passenger seat, Buddy jumping into the back. “The fenced area here is strictly for authorised personnel.” He pointed to the high reinforced fences at the rear of the compound. “Ever shoot a gun?”
“Yeah, like years ago, when I was a kid. Will I need to here?”
“No, not really, but it can be handy.” He pulled up to a massive steel door in the side of the 20 ft fence. “You have to swipe in to get inside the sanctuary itself, so we know who’s in and who’s out. For now, as your job’s with me, you won�
��t have a card. Unless you’re with someone who knows what they’re doing, you’re not going in.”
“That’s a bit of a relief,” I said. “So, what will I be doing? Kelly was kinda vague, and the not knowing is making me a bit anxious.”
“Don’t be.” He turned and gave me what I’m sure he thought was a reassuring smile. All I saw was those eyes and those cute little crinkles… Get your head in the game! I snapped at myself. “Mostly it’s boring stuff, like paperwork and running around, getting things signed. You’ll be fine. Sanctuary is a self-sustaining community, more or less. It has its own farms, shops, clubs, but most of the focus is on the mines, which are behind the fence. This is the animal shed. We keep all the supplies for our dogs there. The building next to it is the vet surgery, and Doc Hobbes is our in-house vet. If there’s anything she doesn’t know about biology, it's not worth knowing. You can take Buddy in there if he has any issues, and she’ll see him if she has the time. You’ll need to do stock rotation and check supply levels inside. Anyway, let’s jump out and see if anyone’s around.”
He parked the cart over near the big door of the animals shed, and we walked in. “Hello? Anyone home?”
“Hey!” I heard a female voice, which was followed quickly by its owner. “Hey, I’m Nerida! You must be the new girl.” Nerida was gorgeous, all shining, dark brown hair, big brown eyes and long tanned legs only partially covered by a short pair of khakis.
“Julie.”
“And who’s this gorgeous little man?” she said, dropping down in front of Buddy. He could be a bit standoffish with strangers, but he seemed to relish the tummy rub she was giving him.
“That’s Buddy.”
“Well, Julie, Buddy, come in and meet Lou and Aidan.”
Nerida beckoned me with a huge smile, slinging an arm around my shoulders when I drew close and steering me into a small office. “Guys, this is Julie. She’s going to be helping Finn out.” The guys I assumed were the man and the woman sitting on the couches. They didn’t move or react as Nerida swept in, just took me in with two pairs of the oddest coloured eyes. They looked almost like a washed out amber, or a yellowy green. I was guessing they were brother and sister, as they had the same lean bodies and ash blonde hair. “So, you’ll come and slop up with us sometimes, you know that, right? Don’t mind getting your hands dirty?” Nerida asked.
“Don’t know what slopping up is, but sure, I’m used to pitching in.”
“Oh, it’s making up the food bowls for the guard dogs. Finn has been promising me a hand for ages now, and he said you could come in for a couple of hours in the morning.”
I turned to look at Finn for confirmation. “Do you really need her or are you just looking for someone to gossip with?” he said.
“Well, you could hardly blame me for the latter. Women are hard to come by here.” Finn was unmoved by this, crossing his arms across his chest. I looked away quickly, not wanting my ovaries to spontaneously combust.
“Do you really need her?”
“Lou and Aidan often need to go inside the fence…”
“Do you really need her? There’s plenty of things I’ll need her for.”
Nerida’s eyes narrowed, and she cocked her hip. “I just bet you will. Seriously, Finn, are you telling me you can’t spare her from whatever you’re planning for an hour or two in the morning? I’m getting snowed under here. Either that, or give me more staff from the outside…”
He shrugged at this. “If it’s not Julie, I’ll check with the guys. One of them can do it.”
“Yeah, but will they? I’m…”
“I said I’ll get on it. Julie needs to be settled and into a bungalow before the evening meal. We’ll talk later.”
For a moment, Nerida’s full lips thinned down to a hard line, but she didn’t seem capable of staying that way for long. Her bright brown eyes swivelled to me, and her smile quickly reinstated itself.
“Well, I for one am glad to see more of a female presence around here. The guys… they think they can have it all their way, if you know what I mean. Look, meet me outside the mess hall at 6. You’re going to want someone in your corner when you go in there for the first time, trust me.”
My eyes widened. What the hell? I was desperate for money but…
“Stop scaring my employee away,” Finn said. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you to the doc.” Nerida gave me a cheery wave, Lou and Aidan just watching without reacting. I fought back the urge to shiver and followed Finn.
I wasn’t sure why they were saying this was a male-dominated environment, when we walked into the small surgery and an older woman with soft brown hair looked up and smiled. She had a bunch of glass slides out, with a vial of blood she was applying with a pipette. “Ah, this must be Julie. I’m Bree Hobbes,” she said with a smile.
“Wow, news really travels fast around here,” I said, and held out a hand. She shook it warmly and then looked down at Buddy.
“No, no, they just do a background check before they employ anyone. They often get me in to take a look. So, a Melville girl, huh? Any relation to the Donohues?”
“On my mother’s side, three generations back. Really? I only rang about the job this morning.”
She shrugged, “We have access to some pretty high-end databases. So, who is this handsome gentleman?”
I made introductions, and Buddy again seemed happy to take the fussing. He was usually better with women, but still, this was unusual for him. And a background check? Was that even legal? I’d definitely not signed anything to say that was OK. The vet talked about how healthy Buddy was, which was a relief considering the slim pickings of the last few weeks, and her thoughts on what to feed him to keep him in good condition.
Dr Bree straightened up and then seemed intent on looking me over.
“A Melville Donohue, hmm? Do you mind if I take a photo of your eyes? There’s a lot of genetic quirks in that neck of the woods, due to a largely static population. I find some of them manifest in some interesting iris formations. It’s a pet project of mine.”
“Uh, I guess. Though I’d assume I’d be more Bronson than Donohue. That was my great grandfather, so a bit of a distant connection.”
“Bronson and Donohue? Fascinating, yes, must take a photo. I can take your headshot straight afterwards, for your ID, and get that out of the way.” She picked up a DSLR with an odd lens attachment, whose purpose soon became apparent. It came to rest on my eye socket, blocking my vision. “Just focus on the green light for a moment...” she said, then I was blinded by a bright flash. I jerked away, reeling a little, only to be caught by a couple of strong hands.
“Oh, sorry,” I said when I saw it was Finn. Slowly, my sight returned without the big white spots.
“Excellent, excellent,” the doctor said, looking on her computer screen at what looked like a large image of my eye. “You’ve got the golden flare here,” she said, gesturing to the yellowish coloured fibres around my pupil. “And these little dots here... This is quite a common iris pattern in this county , though not so much outside of it. Have a look at Finn’s eyes.”
I glanced up almost shyly. There was nothing awkward about staring into the new boss’s eyes, up close and personal, nothing at all. I was handed something that looked like an oversized jeweller’s loupe, and I put it to my eye, testing out the magnification on it around me.
“Take a look,” she urged. He met my gaze with a slight smile, and with a bit of manoeuvring with the loupe in place, I could see his eye in full technicolour glory. “Can you see that same flare of yellow around the centre?” I could, kind of. His eyes went from yellow to green to grey, all the colours blending in together. I put the loupe down. “Whereas if you look at mine,” she brought up another image of a hazel iris, “you’ll see that my iris is relatively uniform. I haven’t noticed anything significant about it yet, but it’s an interesting pattern. Now, let’s do your ID photo.” Finn steered me outside as soon as was practical.
It was about now that I re
ally started to wonder what I’d gotten myself into. This place was weird, people were acting weirdly. I considered briefly the idea that I might go to the city and try my luck, but I knew what my answer was. Right now, I didn’t have the money for petrol, accommodation or food, so it wasn’t an option. I looked around at the green buildings and figured, I only had to stick it out long enough to earn some money, and then I could get out of here if it turned out too weird. I took a deep breath, I could do this.
“Look, you’ve probably got a lot to do before you feel comfortable in your accommodation. Why don’t we cut the tour short for today and go and get you settled?”
Oh, fuck yes, I said internally. Instead, I nodded and tried hard not to sigh with relief. The names, the workplaces were all starting to blend together in my head. After overcoming the mountain of anxiety before the interview, I was now feeling really flat. I just wanted to have a shower, put some jammies on, and go to sleep. Once we were in the cart, Finn drove us up a road that peeled away from the sheds and out to a slight rise, where a series of cabins were situated. It looked like mine was one of the ones at the back.
As we pulled up, I could see it was cute. I had visions of dilapidated caravans or sagging demountables, but this was a nice little cottage with a porch that ran around the whole thing. Finn got up and walked up the steps, fishing some keys out of his pocket. He unlocked it and opened the door with a flourish.