“I don’t even have a contract yet, they just moved me,” Alice realized, stunned.
“Well, don’t be surprised,” Jimmy smiled, a bit amused. “It all happened so quickly with Grace’s sister, they are probably still sorting things out.”
Alice didn’t dare to ask, but she could imagine that her colleague’s sister was severely ill, which was why everything happened so quickly. She just hoped that the woman would get well soon so that Grace could show her the ropes.
“Or maybe they already gave you access and just messed up telling you,” Jimmy simply continued chatting.
“With my keycard?” Alice took the plastic card into her hand and looked at it; it looked so simple.
“No, its fingerprints,” her driver gave back.
“They just got my prints today,” Alice explained.
“Oh,” Jimmy exclaimed. “Yes, of course, you’re a transfer.”
“This is embarrassing,” Alice thought out loud.
“Why?” He asked innocently.
“When I answer that, you’ll think me a bitch,” Alice shook her head.
“Because a little driver knows more about a company he has worked for ever since he was kicked out of college because he took the dean’s car for a car race joy ride?” Jimmy chuckled.
“What?!”
Her driver laughed out loud.
“That’s the very same reason why Mr. Grantham gave me this job and an apartment on a floor where drivers usually don’t end up,” Jimmy’s demeanor didn’t change a bit; he didn’t appear to feel hurt after guessing correctly what Alice had thought.
“So, whenever we need to get rid of someone following me you are the right guy, huh?” Alice smirked.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Jimmy winked once more through the rearview mirror. “Want a taste?”
“Only, if I don’t throw up.”
“No worries, I don’t want to clean that up.”
Alice was back home five minutes earlier than she would have been if she had taken public transportation; and without feeling the tiniest bit dizzy or sick. However, she was wide awake after that informative ride.
Reaching her floor, she could already see a rectangular parcel waiting for her in front of her door. The first thing that came to her mind, was that it maybe was the lease Jimmy had been talking about, but the parcel was definitely too large to be a paper contract; and as she approached it, she could already guess that there would be something like flowers or clothing inside. Curiously Alice picked it up and lifted the cover to peek inside. It was two dozen white and lilac colored lilies with petals that were unusually formed. It made the flowers strangely resemble Nightshade.
Alice was slightly shocked. The color would have made her think of her new employer, as her office and devices had the very same color, but now, looking at the flowers, she wasn’t sure if they really came from Grantham Global. What if someone from the Alley send them? After all she was Belladonna and had nightshades on her mask.
Quickly, she turned around, checking to see if anyone was looking, but her floor was empty and she didn’t hear any steps in the stairwell.
Alice let herself hastily into her apartment, dropping the flowers on her coffee table.
Alice stared at the lilies for countless moments, trying to sort the chaos in her mind, so she could figure out, who had sent her the flowers. Eventually she got out of her coat and made herself a tea, while continuing to stare at the lilies as if they could vanish any second and show Alice that she was only hallucinating.
It was too crazy to think that someone from Grantham Global had sent them. If it was a welcoming present they would have send them to her office, wouldn’t they?
Was it someone from the management board? Did they see her files and know that she was Belladonna? But there were only two people from the Dark Alley that knew her face. Okay, three, if she added Brian, the bartender. None of them worked at Grantham Global.
Alice froze. What about Mr. Scotch?
Turning towards her purse, Alice realized that she had left her folder at the office. But she had gone through the online pages of the management board, and recognized no one. So, it had to be someone else.
Tristan. It had to be Tristan. But he didn’t know her address, did he? But then again, he was a reporter. He could have just investigated or asked his brother, maybe bribed one of the drivers. Tristan surely did know ways to get any information he needed. Or maybe, he just followed her back home.
Or was it Mr. Scotch? Had he bribed someone at the Alley? After all he had invited her and was paying for her membership. Was he trying to get her back?
Was Tristan trying to show her that he really meant what he said?
Starting this new job couldn’t have been any better timing. That much was sure. But now, Alice was even more restless, how could she fall asleep?
For a second there, she thought of visiting the Dark Alley, but quickly cast that thought aside. She would never go there during the week, which was something she had promised herself. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t fantasize about it.
♠ ♣ ♥ ♦
Alice could get used to this, getting picked up by a driver every day, knowing she had Jimmy on call, yet, she was nervous about this being just temporary. She couldn’t screw this up, it was too important. And because of that, Alice was grateful that Grace had prepared absolutely everything, all she had to do was execute and make notes so that she would be able to repeat the job later.
As second assistant, Alice was more or less Grace’s assistant, which was absolutely fine for her, since it made this job easier. All she had to do this week was execute and learn, take calls, make notes. Alice was so caught up in everything that she was about to miss lunch, as she received a facetime call, announcing Grace.
“Hello Alice,” the same friendly, elderly face greeted her, as she had seen in the video; Alice couldn’t help but like her new colleague. “I hope I’m not disturbing you at lunch,” she added.
“Hello Grace,” Alice answered shyly. “No, I’m not at lunch. It’s fine.”
“Don’t let Mr. Grantham catch you skipping your lunch, he’d rather have Jimmy go and get something for you,” Grace instantly taught with a smile. “Mr. Grantham is very earnest about eating regularly and eating healthy.”
“Uh,” Alice rambled. “Well, okay, then, I will.”
This Mr. Grantham had to be some strange boss.
“You can’t work if you are light headed,” Grace added and started giggling. “He is a very kind person, well, when he likes you, which he does when you’re doing your job well. So are most of the others. I added the profiles with some notes at the end of your folder, just to be sure. No worries, I read your recommendation, resume, and vita and you will be just fine. After all, I approved you.”
“You did?” Alice was a bit confused and added quickly. “Thank you!”
“Yes, of course, after all I have to know who is capable of doing my job. Mr. Grantham asked for my opinion and showed me your files,” Grace explained. “He wouldn’t have hired you without my approval.”
“That is good to know,” Alice smiled, slightly relieved.
“You were worried that he hired you because you are beautiful?” Grace dug deeper.
“I was wondering about the intentions maybe a little,” Alice admitted. “Because it all happened so fast.”
“Don’t worry, Alice,” Grace answered, friendly. “You got the position because I believe you are the best choice. All you have to do is prove me right. If there is anything you are uncertain about, please send me a video message, I’ll watch it as soon as I can and will get back to you.”
“Thank you so much, Grace.”
“Of course. Now order your lunch and let’s go through the checklist for today.”
Alice quickly called Jimmy to place her order and to start working through the calendar for today and the week. Luckily for her, the next meeting of the board had moved from Friday to Monday next week, which meant
Alice had more time to prepare herself and learn about all her new bosses. More importantly, she would be able to calm herself down, visiting the alley on Saturday and Sunday.
Alice would spend Friday evening with Bianca, going through everything she had to do as her maid of honor. Thinking of that, she was glad that Bianca offered to split her duties with some of their other friends, at least in the beginning, because this new job would claim a lot of time.
Twenty
Walking through the gate and down the dim path towards where Big Guy would be waiting, Alice had no idea what to do with herself. She had been looking forward to this day, working overtime hours at work and on Tuesday her phone didn’t seem to stop ringing at all, as the assistants of seemingly every single board member wanted to introduce themselves to her, explaining their habits of managing the calendars, offering to meet up for lunch, or other things. Making notes comparing the information with what Grace had put down, most of these calls were unnecessary, but Alice was proud of herself for being patient and friendly. The last thing she wanted was making enemies with the people that could be her strongest allies. Fortunately, all of it continued throughout the week. People called or stopped by to introduce themselves and offered their help. And all of it had worn her out so much that she didn’t really have the energy to think about from whom the lilac colored lilies on her coffee table had come from. Finally, the afternoon and evening with Bianca and her friends, preparing her best friend’s wedding had been fun and Alice was grateful to have some help and split the work.
But now, it was Dark Alley time. She had been looking forward to Saturday, but she was clueless about what she wanted to experience tonight, as she had spent the entire day with Bianca, not thinking about this evening. As her stomach was churning, she decided to have a late snack, maybe with a filled belly she would have an idea what she needed tonight. But her mind wandered back to the bouquet of lilac lilies, wondering where they came from.
“Miss Belladonna,” Alfred “Big Guy” D’Arcy greeted her with a smile that made her believe that he had missed her. “How are you this evening?”
“Alfred,” Alice gave back, adjusted to the slightly limited vision she had wearing her mask. “It is good to see you. I’m beat and hungry. So, I will make my order in the club house.”
“Very well,” Big Guy nodded and put his tablet pc aside.
“May I ask you something?” Alice inquired insecurely.
“Of course,” Alfred gave back, just as expected.
“Is it possible for members to send flowers to the private address of other members?” She asked and the expression on Alfred’s face already was answer enough, he frowned, darkly.
“No, Miss Belladonna,” he answered. “It is strictly forbidden to connect the world outside with the world inside.”
“That’s what I thought,” Alice sighed and shook her head, pressing her lips to a thin line as she looked at the ground.
“Is everything alright?” Big Guy asked softly.
“I’m sure it is just a coincidence, Alfred,” Alice looked at him and tried to smile. “I just got a bouquet of lilac colored lilies with pedals that resemble nightshade, and that confused me a little. But I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?” Alfred didn’t look like he was willing to shrug it off just as she did. “I can alert the drivers to watch out for anyone following the cars. This is usually mandatory, but I can order them to be twice as careful and not take the direct way.”
“Yes, I’m sure, thank you, Alfred,” Alice nodded; eyes closed, and gave him a sincere smile. “I will let you know if I change my mind about that.”
“Better safe than sorry, Miss Belladonna,” Big Guy said, still earnest. “The moment you feel something is wrong, or that you are being followed, let me know.”
“Thank you,” Alice’s smile grew, showing the fondness she felt for this bear of a man. “I will, I promise.”
Alfred nodded and wished her an enjoyable evening, but the worry was still written all over his face, and that made Alice want to turn around and hug him, but she didn’t dare to. She felt slightly embarrassed freaking out over a bouquet of flowers. The colors matched her new working place and the form of the pedals could have been random. It probably was nothing but a welcome gift to her new job, after all Grace and her seemed to be showered with gifts in order to do their jobs perfectly.
One thing, however, was certain: she needed fantastic sex to empty her mind. But there could be no sex without having eaten something first to feed her body. Knowing all of this was included in her membership, she was grateful, but also a bit melancholic. After all her membership was a present of King’s and he was the one she was yearning for, the one that haunted her dreams, no matter if she was awake or asleep.
Yet, Alice would be lying to herself if she denied those dreams in which Tristan played the male lead or even took part. There was something about the reporter that spoke to her even though he wasn’t as dominant and demanding as King.
Was she making a mistake pushing him away just as she avoided King?
Now, walking down the path towards the club house of the Dark Alley, Alice couldn’t ignore these thoughts and worries, not even as she was taking on the persona of her alter ego Belladonna, because it didn’t change the fact that she wanted both men, maybe even at the same time.
Belladonna was early as usual, but much to her surprise the place was filled, and almost every table at the club house was taken, especially the ones she usually was heading for. Only the two tables close to the entrance were vacant, but they weren’t attractive to her either. So, she had no other choice than to go straight for the bar, instantly recognizing Tristan’s Brother Brian, who slightly froze seeing her. She couldn’t help but think it was cute. Especially, because even before she arrived at the bar, he already had poured her a scotch, pulling always the bottle just when she came to a stop.
Belladonna gestured with her index finger for him to return and lean towards her.
“Members aren’t allowed to have sex with employees, right?” She whispered towards him.
“Uhm, no,” he gave back, obviously flustered.
“Well, that’s a shame,” Belladonna stated and picked up her glass to take a sip, not taking her eyes from him, while he seemed to be caught by her glance. “I’d like the menu, please,” she eventually added, releasing him by turning around and searched for a booth or table that might just have been vacated, but nothing had changed.
“Here you go,” Brian returned, handing her the menu she had asked for.
Thanking him with a smile, she took what was offered to her and turned back, facing the bar. Belladonna had no idea why she checked her favorite booth, because when she entered she already had seen that it was taken. Maybe it was just instinct, maybe it was curiosity, but when her glance grazed the booth directly next to her, she instantly recognized the mask.
It was King and he wasn’t along. Belladonna’s heart jumped into a gallop. Hastily, she grabbed her glass and took a gulp from it, trying to calm herself down and to remember what she had seen from the other person in the booth. But what she remembered didn’t make any sense to her. So, she lifted the menu up to her head, moving slowly as if she wanted to lean onto the bar while deciding what to order.
It was silly, simply because Belladonna knew her mask wouldn’t be entirely hidden by the menu, but she couldn’t fight the need to know who King of Diamonds – her Mr. Scotch – was with.
There was no denying that it hurt her that he was able to simply move on to somebody else. Or maybe they had never been exclusive?
Whatever her mind came up with, nothing prepared her for what she saw, once she had moved into a position in which she could take a look at the other person in the booth. It was a woman with bright blonde hair, slenderer than Belladonna and probably taller, too. But that wasn’t what made her feel punched in the stomach. It was the mask she was wearing. It was dark red with silver-white diamonds, similar to what King of
Diamonds was wearing.
Belladonna was paralyzed. She knew she was staring but she was incapable of stopping herself or being able to turn herself around. Her mind was racing so fast that she couldn’t catch one single thought.
“Miss?” She had no idea if Brian addressed her for the first or the thousand’s time, but she flew around as soon as she was able to shake out of the horror.
“Yes,” she breathed out, relieved that her voice wasn’t trembling.
“The booth on the other side has just been vacated,” Brian explained to her.
“Thank you,” Belladonna managed to answer, grabbed her glass and menu and walked awkwardly towards her booth, while she still tried to catch a thought that might explain what she saw.
It could be just a coincidence. They surely didn’t have rules that forbade anyone to take on specific names or masks. Maybe that’s why he was talking to her, to find out why she chose the diamonds, too. But what if it wasn’t? What it this woman was the Queen of Diamonds? What if she was his girlfriend, or worse, his wife?
Belladonna almost fell into her seat.
What if it could have been her? And her avoiding him had made him chose someone else?
Shakily, Belladonna downed her glass of scotch, now completely oblivious to her churning stomach. This was crazy, she was being childish. She could remember perfectly that when she saw him, her Mr. Scotch for the first time, that his looks weren’t impressive. But she had changed her mind about that, why? It had been his persona, his charisma that had taken her by storm, and that one night upstairs, when he had tortured her with lust and need had done the rest.
Was she in love? Belladonna couldn’t say. What she did know was that she wanted him. She wanted him all for herself. She wanted him to take her, claim her, fuck her senseless and kiss her. The thought alone of having his lips on hers made her feel dizzy, or maybe it was the fact that she had downed a glass of Scotch on an empty stomach.
Dark Alley: Game Page 2