by Skylar Cross
I was coming up with something elaborate to say when I was saved by Troy, who opened the door after a quick knock.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "But there's a customer here who is requesting Kiri."
My heart leaped and began beating out of my chest. My hands gripped the armrests of the chair as the air seemed to become very hot. Outside, there was a flash of lighting and a rumble of thunder.
"Why can't you handle it?" said Barbara.
"He said she helped him before and he wants her to personally handle his request," said Troy.
The daggers were back in Barbara's eyes as she glared at me.
"We are not a personal concierge service," she said. "We're a bank. Anyone here is trained and qualified to help anyone who comes through the door. There is no reason he should want one person over another. Tell him Kiri is busy in a meeting with the manager."
"Okay," Troy said as he disappeared and closed the door. The rain began to pound down onto the brick sidewalk outside.
"I hate people," Barbara said.
I almost said The feeling is mutual but held it inside.
"Now," she said. "Tomorrow I want you to make twenty-five outbound calls using the script we got from corporate."
Another quick knock on the door and Troy's head was back in.
"He wants to see you," he said.
"Me?" said Barbara.
"Uh-huh."
"What does he want to see me for?"
"He–,"
Troy suddenly leaped aside and the door opened wide. In stormed Horace Willoughby in a glorious dark suit, blue shirt, and gold tie. He carried a big silver briefcase, bigger than the leather one he had last time. Both the sky and my cunt gushed torrents of liquid.
His eyes met mine for a second. They smiled at me with a little squint. I smiled back, crossing my legs and tugging down on my skirt.
"Can I help you?" said Barbara.
"Yes," said H, "I'd like to access my safe deposit box and I'd like Kiri here to handle it. She's assisted me before and she is very..." he turned to me and smiled... "talented. I'd like her to do it again."
There go the panties again.
"Troy there can help you as well as anyone. We are in a meeting."
H put the big silver briefcase on her desk with his back to the window, and leaned down.
"Now Barbara," he said while looking at her nametag. "Listen carefully. I am here in Boston to work on two very large investment deals worth millions of dollars. One is with Bane Development, a large client of yours. When I get my team started, we will be making weekly deposits in the millions. Now I could easily make those deposits two doors down at Boston Bank or across the street at Trinity Federal. But, see the thing is... I like your bank. I like the green theme you've got going on here. My only stipulation is that Kiri here handles all my transactions. I think that's a small price to pay for millions in deposits, don't you think Barbara? I know it would look very good on your end of month balance sheet."
Barbara almost shook with fury. But those last five words were her magic button. All she cares about is looking good to her bosses and deposits in the millions would certainly do that.
Well played, H.
I smiled at him. He returned the favor.
"Fine," Barbara said with a smirk. "Go ahead and help this gentleman, Kiri."
"I knew you'd see it my way," said H.
I smiled nervously, got up, and walked out of the office. I sensed H following me.
He said nothing as we walked to the vault.
"So how are you?" I said as I keyed in my code to the vault door.
"Enraptured," he said.
I hit the wrong digit and it buzzed at me.
"Whoops," I said.
Did he just say "enraptured?" Holy fuck, here we go again.
I got the code right the next time and smiled as I pulled the big door open. He just watched me.
My pussy danced inside me as we retrieved his box and were back in the privacy room again. Again he insisted I stay. Again I imagined his hot breath on my neck as I screamed "H!", his cock filling me with hot white delight.
I watched him closely as again the wave of pain crossed his face when he opened the box. He seemed so fiercely in control outside of this room but once it came time to face the locket and the book something changed. Kind of like a mask fell and I was seeing the real him.
He opened the box and took out the locket. He caressed it again, opened it, and placed it on the table. He just stared at it.
The woman in the picture glared up at us with her stern expression. I heard him sigh deeply. Again, it was like I wasn't in the room at all. All his attention was focused on the locket.
Then, just as lovingly, he picked it up, closed it, and put it back in the box.
Then he took out the book. He opened it up and flipped to a seemingly random page. He read something, his brow furrowed, his hand up to his chin.
This is weird. I'm sitting in the privacy room with a man reading an old book. A man who only wants me to be in here with him, nobody else. Why?
He flirts with me. He plays with words like enraptured, then stops. Like he wants to fully flirt with me but something prevents him.
And then we get here and he shrivels into a painful wreck. What demons haunt him? Who is the woman in the locket? What is the significance of the book? Why is he in such pain?
"Kiri!" screamed the voice from across the space between the two boats. Again the warm ocean waves splashed salt in my face as the sinking boat rolled. Something snapped underneath me and the boat lurched to my right. I screamed. A wave hit me. I grabbed the railing but it too was going under.
"Give me your hand, Kiri!"
I grabbed the table to steady the room.
Horace Willoughby just looked at me intently with no expression.
Okay, that's twice now. What the fuck is wrong with me? What is this? Now I'm getting scared.
Just as quickly as he opened it, he closed the book and put it back in the box.
Then he took the big metal briefcase and brought it up to the desk. He undid the latches, then folded his hands and looked directly in my eyes.
His eyes narrow as he looks into mine. I lose myself in his stare. I'm hardly breathing at all.
My hand had been resting on the table. Suddenly his is on mine. It's like a thousand-volt shock to my nervous system. I inhale deeply and I feel my eyes go wide.
In that moment, I know somehow I can trust this man. Call me naïve. Call me a stupid silly girl taken in by big beautiful aquamarine eyes encased in a powerful manly frame.
Fine.
I know... I just know. I felt it the day I first saw him. I have a connection with this man that I don't fully understand yet. But it is one of the most powerful feelings I've ever felt. And it comes from somewhere deep inside me.
Then he let go of my hand and returned to the big silver case. He flipped the top up.
I gasped. Inside were stacks of hundred-dollar bills. God, there must be at least a million dollars here in this case. Maybe two.
Oh, fuck, Kiri, you're in over your head. Run! Get away from this man now!
Chill, I told myself. I work at a bank. I see accounts with ten times this much money every day. Why is this freaking me out?
Because it's so much in cash! And it's not in the vault, which is the only place I ever see this many bills all together. This is a huge red flag. There is something wrong here!
He took out ten stacks of bills and put them in the small box, filling it completely. One hundred thousand dollars.
Then he closed the box. He flipped the lid down on the case, locked it, and put it on the floor.
My hands were still in the same spot on the table. He grabbed both of mine in his again, and squeezed them tight while looking me in the eyes.
All my doubts vanished. I felt a calm peaceful warmth emanate from my hands all around my body. It traveled to the top of my head and down to my toes. My pussy got some of it and used
it to light another wet fire. I swear if he threw me on the table and ripped my clothes off, I would let him, fuck my job I don't care.
But he didn't.
He stood, picking up the box in one hand and the case in the other. I took the hint and opened the door, holding it for him.
By now, word must have traveled around the bank about the mysterious stranger who will only do business with Kiri. I could tell because everybody looked up at us as we walked back into the vault, then quickly returned to their work.
He replaced the box in the wall, entered his code, and removed both keys. He handed mine back to me.
"Thank you, Kiri," he said. "Walk me to the door?"
"Sure," I said.
I locked the vault, buzzed him out, and we walked across the main floor past the tellers to the ATMs at the front.
"I can't thank you enough, Kiri," he said as he grabbed my hand and pressed something in my palm, closing my fingers around it and wrapping his hands around mine. "Happy birthday."
Whatever it was he gave me, it made my safe deposit master key press into the flesh of my palm.
God, I think he just gave me his phone number! And how the fuck does he know my birthday is next week?
His eyes pierced me like he could see my soul. I couldn't speak. Nothing mattered. The bank drifted away. The pounding rain outside the window drifted away. All that existed was him and me, our hands clasped, my heart beating out of my chest and my breathing out of control.
In a flash, he was gone. He dove into the back of a black limousine and it sped off.
I turned around and looked at everyone in the bank staring at me. They all quickly returned their attention to their computers.
I opened up my palm, expecting a business card with his phone number. I gasped and almost screamed when I saw what I saw.
I quickly closed my hand in case the security cameras caught what was in it.
I turned back around and ran through the door out into the rain. His limo was stopped behind three other cars at the Dartmouth Street light, three quarters of a block away.
I ran across Exeter Street, but soon realized my heels weren't helping me. I took them off. That didn't help either because the brick on this part of the sidewalk was almost impossible to run on.
"Hey!" I shouted as I got closer to the limo. "Hey!"
The light turned green. Shit, I was only a quarter of the way to the next block. I stopped as I saw the group of cars pass through the intersection. I stood there in the rain watching as his limo turned left down Dartmouth and was gone.
Shit.
I tightened my fist and ran back to the bank. When I walked in, dripping wet, everyone stared again. This time they didn't stop.
I must have had an odd expression on my face because the look I was getting from all over was concern.
I made a beeline for the ladies' room in the back. I went in and locked the door behind me.
The face that looked back at me from the mirror was a sweaty, rainy wreck. My fist was still closed. I had to hide what was in it. But where?
I opened my hand and saw what I saw before. Two keys. My safe deposit box master key and his. I took out Horace Willoughby's personal safe deposit box key and stuffed it in my bra.
Then I fixed myself up and went back to work.
Chapter 4
"Happy birthday to you..." the song began.
How I hate that song. Can't we, as the supposedly advanced culture we are, finally get rid of that fucking song?
I was at Forum with my brother Dan, his girlfriend Nikki, Troy and his boyfriend Dean, and my friends Kelly and Alicia.
None of us could actually afford to eat at Forum but it was my birthday and Dan insisted.
I took a swig from my martini while the song wrapped up and everybody applauded.
"My big sis is twenty-four," Dan said. "Wow! Getting old, girl."
Dan is two years younger than me. Because I'm adopted, he looks nothing like me. Lighter skin. Black spiky hair and lots of muscles from years in the gym. Dressed in a print T-shirt, black jeans, and red sneakers.
"Shut up, Joko," I said as I sipped my martini. Dan scowled. He hated the nickname I gave him when he was ten.
"So what are we going to do after this?" said Kelly, who was visibly drunk.
"Well, I don't know about we," I said, "but I think you're going home before you pass out."
"Whaaaaaat? I'm fine. I'm going clubbing after this."
"With Alexa and Dani, right?"
"No!" said Kelly as she fumbled in her purse. "Well, okay, yes."
Alicia just looked at me and rolled her eyes.
"Honey," said Alicia. "We're not eighteen anymore. It's okay to go home after dinner. At least once a year."
"Very funny," said Kelly as she stood up with difficulty. "I'll sleep when I'm dead. Where's the ladies room?"
Dan made a thumb gesture and we all watched Kelly walk like she was stepping on broken glass. Her tight white dress glittered like her highlighted blonde hair.
"You know what she's going to do back there," I said.
"Uh-huh," said Alicia.
"What?" said Troy.
I put my hand up to my nostrils and made a snorting sound.
"Oh, really?" said Troy. "Yeah, I can see that."
"We're two years out of college," I said, "and she isn't anywhere near to getting a job."
"She doesn't need to," said Dan. "She's a trust fund baby. She's set for life."
"I know," I said, "but c'mon, can you spend your entire life partying, doing drugs, and going to clubs?"
"You can if you plan on dying young," said Alicia.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," I said. "I'm going to have to talk to her."
"You're a good friend with a good heart, Kiri," said Dan, "but people are what they are. You can't save the world. It took me a long time to figure that out."
"That's why you're in pre-med for emergency medicine, right?"
"Yeah, whatever," he said as his girlfriend rubbed his arm and smiled at him. I've never seen him so happy since he met Nikki.
The waitress came to clear away the dessert plates and asked if there was anything else we needed. We all said no. She came back a few seconds later with the bill. Dan whipped out his credit card.
Kelly returned, more upright with wide eyes. She practically gleamed. Alicia stole a look at me. I nodded.
"Well, thank you everybody," I said. "This has been fantastic. Best birthday ever."
"Come with me to Royale!" said Kelly. "It'll be fun."
"No thanks," I said.
"You want to come over and hang with Nik and me?" Dan said.
And be all uncomfortable while you two make googly eyes at each other waiting for me to leave? No thanks.
"No, I'm good," I said as I stood up. "I'm going to head home."
Outside it was a fresh spring night, a little cool but after the long cold winter we had it was delightful. Kelly and Alicia headed toward downtown. Troy and Dean went over to the Pru for something Dean wanted to get at the mall. Dan, Nikki, and I walked down Boylston Street toward the Hynes T stop.
Nikki was the most gorgeous girlfriend Dan has ever had, and he's had a few. She reminds me of Rihanna. Dark skin, incredible green eyes, and a slinky body that tonight was wrapped in a tight black dress, a shiny jacket made of some material I couldn't identify, and big black boots with pointed toes. Her fingernails were painted white.
But there was something about her that was unusual. I couldn't put my finger on it, but every time I saw her I got a vibe I didn't understand. I was going to have to mention that to Dan sometime.
But tonight I had a different question.
"Nikki," I said, "you work at Channel 5, right?"
"Well, I don't actually work there," she said. "It's an internship. I'm planning on getting a job as a reporter when I graduate. I'd like it to be there but I'll probably have to start in Worcester or Providence or somewhere else."
"Oh wow, I can t
otally see you on the air!"
"Thanks."
"I just wanted to ask if you had any advice on how to look somebody up... you know, background checks and stuff."
"Yeah, I know how to do that."
"Because there's a... shit, I shouldn't be talking about this... there's a person I need to find who left something at the bank. And I... need to get it back to him."