by Rose Haven
Perhaps that was it. Perhaps the necklace contained some sort of...tracking device.
But even that seemed paranoid and nonsensical. Why after all, would the CEO of a major company be interested in tracking her?
Head still spinning, Diana looked at the note once more and decided finally to do exactly as it said.
Gingerly, she put her feet on the ground and padded towards the bathroom.
Even in the shower, she never took her charmed necklace off. After its warning last night, she felt a strange sort of connection with the talisman. She felt like, as long as she kept it on she would be safe.
So it stayed near her chest all the way into work.
When she arrived in the building exactly at nine o’clock, Sandra spied her first and gave her a warning look as she headed towards the break room.
“I should warn you,” Sandra whispered as Diana passed, “she’s in a really bad mood.”
Diana didn’t have to ask who Sandra meant. She heard the telltale heels clomping along the tile floor and knew she was in some sort of trouble.
“We expect our employees to be at their desks working by nine o’clock,” Amanda said looking straight at Diana, her face filled with rage.
“I’m sorry,” Diana said evenly, “it won’t happen again.”
There was no use trying to give Amanda some excuse. And Diana knew she would not believe her if she told Amanda the truth. At the thought of the truth, Diana’s fingers absently moved to her shoulder, where her suit jacket covered the large bandages in place there.
“It had better not happen again,” Amanda said, “if it does, I’m going to have to dock your pay. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” Diana said. She kept her face calm and expressionless. If there was one thing she had learned from bullies, it was that they fed off emotion. The less you showed them, the less they had to work with.
“Good,” Amanda snapped back, “now, put your things up and get to work.”
Diana merely nodded and Amanda stepped aside so that Diana could pass to the break room. As Diana passed, some strange stirring told her to look at Amanda’s right leg.
It was covered, mostly by the red dress she wore, but she could see distinct, red, angry scars like fresh claw marks making their way down her calf.
Diana pulled her eyes up quickly before she could be detected and walked as quickly as she could back to the break room.
She had no idea what those scars on Amanda’s leg meant, if anything at all. Was it silly to think that they might have something to do with what had happened to Diana the night before? After the night she had had, she was willing to accept that almost no explanation she could come up with should be deemed silly.
What was that old saying? ‘If you don’t rule out the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.’ But, what was left? She still didn’t know. She still had no explanation for the cougars, the note or anything else.
She set her purse down inside her locker and headed out to the desk she shared with Sandra.
It wasn’t long before Sandra started talking animatedly.
“Amanda’s been like that all morning,” she said. “I mean she’s always bitchy but now it’s like a whole other level. When she came in, she told me to wipe the stupid smile off my face. And I’m thinking ‘well, smiling’s my job. It’s not like I really want to smile at you.’”
“Did you actually say that to her?” Diana asked. She thought it would have been amusing to see Sandra stand up to her boss.
“Oh, hell no!” Sandra replied. Diana was a tad disappointed but not at all surprised.
“See, despite the bitch boss, I like my job,” Sandra continued, “and if I said that to Amanda I would definitely be fired faster than you can blink.”
With this statement, Diana started to look at Sandra in a new light.
Diana knew whatever had happened to her at the apartment the night before had something to do with work. She also knew that there was something very strange going on at this company.
Sandra knew things about this place that Diana didn’t. And it was clear that Sandra was more than happy to share this knowledge.
“Does Amanda make all the hiring and firing decisions?” Diana asked in what she hoped was a casual manner as she turned on her computer for the day.
“As far as I know,” Sandra said. “I mean, technically, they’re supposed to go through Mr. Yazzie first. But he never seems to disagree with Amanda on anything.”
“How do you know?” Diana asked, “I mean, you said you hardly ever see him.”
“I know because the people Amanda fires, even in an emotional rage, tend to stay fired,” Sandra said.
“And does she tend to go into these emotional rages...often?” Diana asked hesitantly.
Sandra chuckled as she turned to Diana.
“Don’t worry,” she said, “you’re a temp. She won’t fire you if you’re only here for six months. It wouldn’t be worth the hassle of getting someone else in.”
“Hmmm…” was all Diana said in reply.
She wanted to ask more, about Mr. Yazzie, about Amanda, about the company. But she knew that if she said much more, even Sandra would start to get suspicious.
She turned her attention instead to the emails in her inbox. There were about five general inquiries ready for form answers.
She moved her mouse to click into the first one and felt her shoulder immediately give a painful jerk. She winced and moved her left hand gingerly to rub at the wound.
“You Ok?” Sandra asked. Apparently she had seen the motion out of the corner of her eye.
“Yeah,” Diana answered, “just a little sore. I think I slept on something wrong.”
“Oh, there’s this great herbal remedy for that. My boyfriend’s mom tried it on her back and it totally…”
And just like that, Sandra was off on another animated one way conversation. Diana once again allowed the sound to wash over her as she typed in form answers to her inquiries.
All the while, poking around in the back of her mind were the words of the note left on her dresser. ‘You will be taken somewhere safe.’
But where was somewhere? Did that mean that she was not safe, even in a public office building with dozens of people walking in and out all day?
Then she remembered the end of the note: ‘Don’t trust anyone’.
That implied that the attack at her apartment had been no accident. That she had been deliberately targeted. But targeted by who? For what?
She could not think of a single thing she had done in her entire life that would warrant someone sending a trained black cougar after her.
She had always been anonymous. Blended into the crowd. She had no skills or physical traits that would call attention to her. She had never made any great enemies. What could anyone possibly want with her?
She was so caught up in the mystery of it all that she didn’t notice when a young man with short dark hair and tan skin stopped at her desk.
“Hi,” he said. Diana jumped and looked at him startled.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said with a smirk before holding out his hand. “I’m Charles Gomez. You can call me Charlie. I take it you’re my new assistant.”
Diana took a deep breath and chastised herself for being so jumpy.
“Yes, sorry,” she answered taking Gomez’s hand, “I’m Diana.”
Gomez shook her hand and just like Cat had, he held it a second longer than was absolutely necessary.
“The agency send you over?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said as Gomez finally let go of her hand, “I’ll be here for six months.”
Charlie looked her up and down and smirked once again. Unlike Cat, he didn’t seem to be unsettled or mystified by her. Indeed, he was looking at her the way Diana had seen a lot of frat boys look at her prettier roommates.
“The agency did a good job,” he said, eyes finally returning to her face. Diana felt her face go r
ed. She didn’t know how to respond. Luckily, she didn’t have to.
“I’ll be in a meeting with Cat for about half an hour,” Charlie said, “but after that I’d like to see you in my office.”
With one last exaggerated glance at her, a smirk and a wink, he made to leave.
“Good to see you Charlie,” Diana heard Sandra call desperately as Charlie headed to his office.
He turned back only slightly and gave a disinterested wave.
“You too Sandra,” he called before entering his office. As soon as he was out of sight, Sandra turned excitedly towards Diana.
“Oh my gosh!” she said. “What is it with you and the guys in this office?”
“What do you mean?” Diana asked only slightly confused. Sandra rolled her eyes.
“Oh, don’t pretend like you don’t know,” Sandra said, “first Mr. Yazzie calls you into his office for a ‘private conversation’,” she said making quotes in the air, “and then Charlie comes in and totally hits on you! I’ve been waiting for him to do that to me since the first time he came into the office!”
“But...you have a boyfriend,” Diana said, remembering Sandra’s constant complaints about Ash the previous day.
“I know,” Sandra said, “but I’d dump Ash in a heartbeat if I had a chance at Charlie Gomez. I mean, he’s rich and totally hot!”
“I guess,” Diana said. The truth was that Charlie was conventionally attractive. He had the bright white smile, styled hair and tanned skin of a Hollywood star.
Still, Diana couldn’t help but compare him to Cat Yazzie and decide that he just didn’t stack up.
True, Cat’s teeth were not quite as white and his dark hair was wilder than perfect, but Diana could not help but feel that there was something much more real about him. Something more genuine.
“You guess?” Sandra asked with a good natured chuckle. “Well I suppose when you have the pick of two millionaires, you've got the right to choose which one you like best.”
Sandra headed back to her side of the desk and Diana thought that would be the end of the conversation. As soon as Diana settled back into her work, Sandra turned back to her.
“When you do decide which rich, handsome guy you want,” she said with a teasing smile, “just promise to put in a good word for me with the other one.”
“Will do,” Diana said with a chuckle. She shook her head thinking that she never, in a million years, would have guessed that a girl as beautiful as Sandra would be asking for Diana’s left over dates.
This job was certainly turning out to be much stranger than she had anticipated.
Chapter Two
Half an hour passed and the page beeped on Diana’s handset.
“Hi Diana,” Charlie Gomez’s voice sounded from the other end of the line, “we’re ready for you. Just swing by when you get a minute.”
“Ok,” Diana answered, “just give me a couple minutes to finish this post.”
“No problem.”
The light on the pager blinked once again indicating that the call had ended.
Diana hurriedly typed up the paragraph summarizing the latest housing article, hit post on the Yazzie Properties facebook page and headed down the hall towards the office marked Charles Gomez.
As soon as she reached the door, she could hear voices issuing from the other side. One of them, most definitely, belonged to Cat.
“...they’ve already come for her once. They’ll do it again,” Cat said. Despite her better judgement, Diana leaned down and listened at the door.
“Cat, do you really know who was behind that? Really?” This voice belonged to Charlie, “It could have been someone with a personal score. It could have been someone…”
“Right after I’d given her the necklace Charlie?” Cat asked. “I don’t think so.”
It was now clear that they were talking about her. About what happened the night before. But how could they have known…
The note.
She had been right about the note. It must have been Cat who patched her up and wrote that note telling her to go to work.
“Ok,” Charlie said, “so...that’s suspicious but it doesn’t mean…”
He stopped mid-sentence and the room on the other side of the door went deathly quiet.
“What is it?” Cat whispered.
“There’s someone at the other side of the door,” Charlie said.
Diana, eyes wide at having been called out quickly stood up and knocked just as Cat opened the door to her.
“Diana,” he said, “come in. Close and lock the door behind you.”
He sounded hurried, almost frantic. Diana did as she was asked.
This office, Charlie’s office, looked much more what she had expected from a CEO. The white walls were accented with modern paintings that provided a small splash of color. Charlie was leaning casually on a large glass desk next to the window.
“How much of that did you hear?” Cat asked just after Diana clicked the door’s lock closed.
There was no use pretending not to know what he was talking about now.
“Enough to make me wonder what the hell’s going on,” Diana said, straightening up and crossing her arms in front of her.
Charlie let out a sharp laugh.
“You nabbed a feisty one, Cat,” he said, “I like her all ready.”
Cat didn’t look at Charlie. Instead he kept his eyes fixed on Diana.
“It’s...it’s hard to explain…” he began.
“Try me,” Diana answered arms still crossed.
“All right,” Cat said indicating a chair in front of Charlie’s desk. Diana moved past him and sat on the edge of the chair. Deliberately forcing herself not to get too comfortable.
“It started years ago, no one knows when,” he said.
“Cat,” Charlie said rolling his eyes, “do we really have to go through the whole thing?”
“If we want her to understand,” he said, “then yes.”
“Okay, fine,” Charlie said, “but if you want to get her to the reservation, there’s not much time.”
“No one’s taking me anywhere until I know what’s going on,” Diana said sternly. Charlie threw up his hands exasperatedly, moved behind his desk and flopped down in his chair.
Cat looked at Charlie, rolled his eyes at him and continued.
“Diana, do you remember that story I told you when I gave you that necklace?” he asked.
“The one about the old salt woman,” Diana answered.
“Yes,” Cat said. “My grandfather told me she would come back one day when our people needed her most. What I didn’t tell you was that my family has been waiting for her for generations.”
“You said it was just a legend,” Dana said warily.
“I lied,” Cat said, “I didn’t think you would believe me, you still may not but, it’s important, very very important that you do.”
“What will happen if I don’t?” she asked.
“Oh, you don’t wanna know that,” Charlie said with the same smirk on his face he’d worn when he first met Diana.
“Oh, I think I do,” Diana said looking fiercely at him. “If this has something to do with whatever attacked me last night I think I have a right to know everything.”
“We may not be able to tell you everything,” Cat said.
“Why not?” Diana asked defiantly.
“Because we don’t even know everything,” Cat said.
“Ok,” Diana countered, “then tell me what you do know.”
“We know that my family has been waiting for a long time…. for you,” Cat said.
Diana stared at him wide eyed for a moment. Then shook her head as though to clear out what she had just heard.
“For...me?” she asked.
“Yes,” Cat answered, “the white salt woman. The one with the soul of the cougar. She’s you.”
“That’s not…”
“Possible?” Cat asked, “Tell me. Did you feel the talisman?”
&n
bsp; “Did I feel…?”
“Last night,” Cat said exasperatedly, “did you feel the talisman burning your skin before you saw the cougar?”
Diana remembered the way the white cougar had become hotter and hotter until it had finally burned against her chest when she saw the black panther staring at her from the balcony.
“Yes,” Diana finally answered, “yes, I did.”
Cat nodded.
“I know,” he said. Then he reached beneath his shirt and took out a talisman almost identical to the one he had given Diana just one day before. This one was not white, but tanned yellow.
“Mine burned too,” Cat said.
Diana, eyes wide, still not daring to believe what she was seeing, Diana reached out a hand and looked towards the talisman.
Unlike with the marble necklace still around Diana’s neck, he closed his fist against the yellow charm and pulled it away from her.
“What does it mean?” she asked.
“We all have them,” he said, “they burn when a predator is near.”
“Who is we?” she asked.
“Well that takes some more explaining,” Cat said.
“Oh my god,” Charlie said, “you don’t have to go into all of it, just show her.”
“We can’t do that,” Cat said turning to him, “not yet, not until she…”
“Well if you won’t, I will.”
Diana screamed as Charlie disappeared and in his place, stood a large black cougar.
As it padded its way towards her she frantically rushed back towards the door.
“Diana, wait!” Cat said moving towards her.
Diana stopped. She noticed, for the first time, that he was moving with a slight limp which had not been there the day before. As he reached out a hand and Diana saw scars like claw marks on his arm.
Then, her frantic mind remembered the note left on her dresser, ‘don’t trust anyone,’ it had said.
What if Cat was not the one who had written that note? What if everything he had told her was a ploy to get her alone so that this...thing could kill her?
She felt Cat’s hand close firmly on her wrist and she gasped and tried as hard as she could to pull away from him as she reached for the locked door.