by Alice Ward
It was a humbling experience. My skater dress was cheap sandpaper compared to the soft fabric of the garments Julia threw my way, mostly dresses with the same figure-hugging form as the one she wore. They were not my style, but they beat the uniform I’d be wearing flipping burgers, which was probably what I would have ended up doing if not for Corey. It was because of him that I was here, my nails freshly polished, my spirits lifted. Realizing what he’d done for me, my loyalty to him became bulletproof.
Later that evening, Julia showed me our apartment. The décor was similar to that of Noah’s office, warm but disciplined, everything in its place. It was too late to drive back to Milwaukee to pack. Exhausted, I asked Julia to point me towards my room, where I fell down upon the king-sized mattress and let the day melt into my dreams.
A few hours later, I woke. Night drifted outside the window, black except for the haze of the city lights. We weren’t in the penthouse, but we were pretty high up. The empty canvas of my room reflected back in the window. As soon as I arrived to work on Monday, I’d receive a credit card designated for expenses like sheets and furnishings but doubted I’d use it. I liked the sheets I had back in Milwaukee. Not everything had to be new. I may have inspired change within the company, but I didn’t want the company to change me.
Placing a hand on the window, I looked up at the night sky, which was obscured by clouds that faded into the black. This black was my new reality. I sensed it, the way a mouse knew when it was being hunted. By signing the contract Julia had given me in the car after our shopping spree, I no longer belonged to the day. The night would rule me.
CHAPTER FOUR
The ancient princess, Andromeda, was known in Greek mythology as the Chained Maiden. Her mother, Cassiopeia, the queen, testified amongst their people that the beauty of her daughter surpassed those of the water nymphs, who were the consorts of the gods. The gods were furious. They threatened to destroy her kingdom unless Andromeda was chained to the rocks by the sea to await the monster within its depths, a sacrifice to appease them.
The constellation Andromeda glowed above my head in the lobby at Stafford Scientific, appearing at the edge of the night sky. Upside down, I supposed it did look like a woman chained, her arms pulled back by the weight of her cuffs. Lost in thought, I ran a hand over my own wrists, wondering what it was liked to be bound like that. I imagined myself chained to the rocks in place of the princess, but there was no fear. There was only sweet anticipation.
It some ways, I was already chained. There were no rocks, and there were no monsters, but I was confined, waiting for someone to arrive, someone who would determine my fate.
And yet I was freer than I’d ever been. Chicago was an adventure, more so than Thailand had been. I had gone to Thailand knowing it was temporary, a passing whim. Chicago wasn’t temporary. It was a new life. I had packed my bags, and I wasn’t going back.
“You’re going to hurt your neck looking up like that,” Julia warned, coming up behind me.
Preferring the familiarity of my sunny, beat-up hatchback over the company car that was scheduled to pick us up, I had left the apartment before her, eager to start my first day. I didn’t feel like myself. The indigo dress I wore pushed up my breasts in a way that made me wish I wasn’t banned from wearing my cardigan. It wasn’t indecent, but it was more skin than I was used to showing, not unless I was wearing a coral bikini in a tropical lake, surrounded by elephants. The cut of the dress was low, but the rest of me was well-covered. If not, I never would have worn it.
The dress, I could get used to, but I refused to be chauffeured around as if I were a child incapable of getting to school on their own. The microchip was bad enough.
“I miss the stars,” I told Julia. “From my grandma’s house just outside Milwaukee, I can see clusters of stars. It’s breathtaking.”
“Chicago has its own beauty,” Julia said encouragingly, “but I understand. Cambridge, where Harvard is located, is such a lovely suburb of Boston. The leaves fall in the autumn, the snow in the winter, and the sun shines in the summer, all against a backdrop of old brick buildings and ivy. I loved going to school there. Chicago is different, but it has its joys, especially when the sun isn’t shining.” From the way she smirked, whatever she referred to wasn’t as wholesome as the leaves or the snow.
She glanced at her watch. “We can’t be late. Let’s head up.”
Ignoring the line of elevators we passed, she went to the one at the very back of the lobby. “It goes directly to the top floor,” she explained. “Very few employees have clearance to use it. Thankfully, we do.”
“I’m surprised Peter isn’t forced to wait downstairs until Noah arrives,” I said cynically as we stepped in.
Julia looked horrified. “Do not call him Noah. I know you’re friends with his brother, but he’s Mr. Stafford, in these walls and out. Unless you’re in his presence. Then its sir.” She wasn’t harsh, but she was avid.
“I understand,” I said.
“Good.” Relaxing, she waved her arm in the air, and the door closed. “And Mr. Stafford doesn’t use this elevator. With a private entrance at the back, he doesn’t come into the lobby.”
As the elevator rose, I thought of the way Noah had looked at me during our interview. It made me question his motives for making me his personal assistant. Being caught in the middle of a sibling rivalry was the last thing I wanted. Even with such brief acquaintance, Corey was the brother I’d met first. I hoped Noah accepted it.
“Does Mr. Stafford live in our building?” I asked.
“No,” she answered. “But Stafford Scientific does own it. An executive in the marketing floor has the penthouse.” She studied me. “If you’re worried about being alone in the apartment, don’t be.”
I hadn’t been, but I was now. “Are you leaving?”
She laughed. “No. That’s my point. Even after I’m promoted, I’ll still be living in the apartment with you. The office is another story. It’s all yours. Soon, it’ll be just you and Mr. Stafford on the top floor. And Peter, of course. Isn’t Peter simply adorable?”
“Wait, the whole top floor is his?”
“Mr. Stafford demands it.”
“Then where do all the doors lead?”
Please don’t say monster robots.
“Labs and boardrooms. Mr. Stafford is territorial about his space,” she divulged. “He’s like a hermit within his own company. He doesn’t go to his employees; his employees come to him. So whenever there’s a meeting, it’s held upstairs. When an invention is ready for his approval, they transfer the lab equipment.”
The device on her wrist suddenly buzzed. “That’s strange,” she murmured.
“What?” I asked, but she didn’t answer.
“Down,” she instructed. The elevator lurched, then descended. “We can’t keep the boss waiting,” she said to me. “Mr. Stafford is in the lobby.”
“I thought you said he has his own private entrance.”
“He does. That’s what makes this so strange. He’s never taken this elevator before. I didn’t think he even knew it existed.”
I didn’t know much about Noah, but I would bet he knew every corner of his company, particularly a special elevator that went directly to his floor.
When the doors opened, Noah was as immaculate as the first time I saw him. The navy suit he wore made his hair even more golden than it already was. It was a close match to the indigo of my dress, which unsettled me, especially when Noah noticed it as well.
“Nice dress, Imogen,” he said as he stepped in, taking his place in front of us, asserting his role as our superior.
I closed my eyes, willing my heart to stop beating so fast. Noah was like a poisonous snake with a skin that mimicked less lethal snakes, trying to trick its prey. It happened in the natural world. And now at Stafford Scientific. And yet I still was tempted by him, enthralled by his god-like looks and air of dominance, willing to be bitten.
A blush warmed my cheeks. I found the
sudden silence incredibly awkward. At least, it was awkward for me. In his reflection in the elevator door, Noah seemed completely content. I looked at Julia, who smiled knowingly my way, as if she were amused by the show.
“Good day, ladies,” Noah bid when we finally reached the top floor. He proceeded to his office, and we went into ours, which stood adjacent to the solid gold door.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Julia hissed, “What was that all about?”
“Maybe his private elevator is broken,” I suggested. “Or maybe he just wanted to make sure I actually showed up for the job.”
Her face fell, all her amusement gone. “That’s probably exactly what it was,” she ventured. “He’s such a control freak.” Though she protested, I heard a hint of admiration.
“Good thing my hatchback didn’t break down. I probably would have been fired.”
“Doubtful,” she said, but she didn’t explain why. Instead, she perked up. “Never mind all that. What do you think of your new home? The apartment is a mere rest stop. This is where you’ll really be living.”
A view of Lake Michigan greeted us. A haze of gray rose above it and filtered in through the tall windows, but the gray was offset by apple-red furnishings that brightened up the place, including couches that formed a square near the door, creating a lounge area. Closer to the windows were two desks that sat at opposite ends on a raised platform. The platform was practically symmetrical, if not for the door on one side that I assumed led straight to Noah’s office.
“We’ll need a megaphone to talk to each other, but it’s great. The red really adds some life to the room. Did you design it?”
“No. One of the assistants before me did. I liked it, so I left it, but we’re allowed to change the color scheme. But only the color scheme. We can choose new furniture, but we can’t move it around, not without Mr. Stafford’s authorization, which he isn’t likely to give. He likes everything exactly where it is.”
People were constantly watching over my shoulder. It was fucking intolerable. That’s what Corey had said in Thailand. I was starting to understand the restrictions that had forced him to leave. I could only imagine how Noah spoke to Corey, whose actions he clearly disapproved of, based on his insistence the other day that Corey unnecessarily put himself at risk.
“If you want to change it, feel free,” Julia continued.
“No, I love it. It should stay the same.”
“Careful,” she warned. “A lot of things stay the same around here, but not everything. Don’t get too comfortable.”
She headed to the desk closest to the wall we shared with Noah’s office, so I went to the other. A laptop sat on top of it. For the security of the research being conducted in the labs, we weren’t allowed to bring in our own devices. All electronics were provided to us, which was fine by me. My electronics were like my car. I liked to think of them as vintage.
“I forgot to leave this out for you.” Julia tossed me a wrist device. “Good catch,” she praised when I caught it.
“Good throw.”
“I played softball,” she revealed. “Think of that device as your phone. All messages Mr. Stafford sends will appear on it.”
“Gotcha,” I said, strapping it on, positive it tracked my whereabouts as astutely as the microchip in my arm did. “Look at me. A year ago, all I owned was an ancient laptop and a smartphone my friend had handed down to me. Now I’ve upgraded to Star Trek status.”
“You’re such a nerd,” Julia teased. “A hot nerd, but a nerd nonetheless. Don’t tell me you collect comic books?”
“I don’t collect them. I just read them. Blame my grandma. She stalked Stan Lee. Twice.”
“I’m not going to pretend to know who Stan Lee is,” she said, opening her laptop, “but if I have time, I’ll try to catch up, see what all the fuss is about.”
I was touched she would do that for me. Content despite the man in the room next to us, I followed her lead, officially commencing my employment with Stafford Scientific.
The morning was uneventful, if integrating into a company such as Stafford Scientific could be called uneventful. Julia trained me in the communication systems the company used and gave me a brief of the different departments. Each floor was like a city within the empire, composed of departments that were isolated but collaborated with others.
“Do we really have all this equipment here?” I asked, awestruck. The basement alone contained an advanced particle accelerator that was years beyond anything I’d studied in my books in college.
“And more. I don’t have visual access to the classified labs. No one does, except those who work in them and Mr. Stafford.”
She stretched out her arms, as if she were about to run a race. “Which brings us to our next order of business. The World Science Convention will be hosted here in Chicago by Stafford Scientific about a month from now. It’s a really big deal. We’re responsible for organizing pretty much everything, from scheduling the meetings that will take place over the three-day period to making sure the meat they serve at lunch is fresh.” She sighed. “We also have to arrange accommodations for the speakers and send out invitations to the gala. It’s a lot of work.”
“It sounds like it, but don’t worry, I can handle it,” I assured her, speaking with more confidence than I felt. “I think.”
“You can,” she maintained, optimistic, “but that’s not why I’m bringing it up. There will be a reveal at the convention that Mr. Stafford hasn’t yet given you clearance to know about. Because of that, I’ll have to assign you the more menial tasks until that clearance is given.”
“I won’t hold it against you,” I told her. “We’re all bound to discretion. It’s okay if you have secrets you can’t tell me.”
She laughed. “I do have those, but the convention is less about secrets and more about protecting Mr. Stafford’s patent.”
“I’ll lick envelopes. Send them my way. They’re tasty.”
“You’re such a weirdo,” she said affectionately, and we returned to our work.
No one interrupted us, not even Noah. Though he was only next door, he kept to himself. If he needed something, he sent us a message through our devices. He didn’t show although I got the feeling Julia expected him to. She kept glancing at the door that linked us to his office, but it never opened, which seemed to concern her.
“Is it weird seeing your image everywhere?” I asked when I needed a break.
“Not at all,” Julia said, her head bent over her laptop. “I paid my tuition at Harvard by modeling. I’m used to seeing my image around.” She looked up. “You should get used to it too.”
That sounded ominous. “What do you mean by that?”
“The next time they reconfigure the system, they’ll use your image. Traditionally, Mr. Stafford’s personal assistant is also the digital assistant. Trust me, it makes you very popular. You’ll be the most recognized face in the company. And the whole process is kind of fun. You sit in a green room for a few hours while they record you reading from a script.”
“That doesn’t sound like fun,” I objected. “I don’t care if it’s in my job description, I’m not doing it. There’s no way.”
“Why not? You’re a beautiful woman. You should be proud to have your image everywhere. All women should.”
“I’m not insecure; I just don’t like the idea of everyone staring at me every day.”
She shrugged, unable to mask her happiness. “Well, I don’t mind my image sticking around for a little while longer. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t.” Her pep told me she was delighted that she wouldn’t be replaced so soon.
***
It was the following day before Noah finally appeared in our office. Unfortunately, Julia was on her lunch break when he did. In the middle of finalizing the invitations for the gala, a ball that would be held at the end of the World Science Convention, my focus had been on the screen of my laptop. I hadn’t heard him come in, not until he cleared his throat, unmi
stakably annoyed it’d taken so long to catch my attention.
“Has Julia showed you the program used to take notes during meetings?” he asked sternly, as if her absence was somehow my fault.
“Yes,” I told him. “I know the system.”
He paused and raised an eyebrow as if waiting for something from me. I knew what it was. He wanted me to call him sir, but I refused. It was barbaric. I just looked at him expectantly and I won the silent little battle as he continued. ”I have an unscheduled meeting in five minutes in the boardroom. Grab your tablet and come with me.”
Without waiting for a response, he strode into the hall with a virile confidence that rendered me needy and reckless, despite my opinion that Noah Stafford was a bad decision I could never make. I followed behind him, but my heels made it impossible to match his speed, and they clicked against the floor in a way that gave me a headache, so I stopped to take them off.
“What are you doing?” Noah rumbled.
“Keeping up,” I replied. “I don’t mean to be unprofessional, but I can’t wear heels like these, even if they are part of the dress code. I’ll be discreet when I carry them into the boardroom. No one will notice.”
He inspected me as if I were a piece of fruit he was trying to decide was ripe enough to pluck. “You’re lucky I like you in bare feet. Otherwise, I would never allow it. I didn’t give you permission to take off your shoes. Next time, ask before you act. I’m not paying you for your initiative. I’m paying you to obey my command.”
I took a deep breath, wishing Corey was there to ease the tension I felt. “Do I have your permission to buy sandals?”
“No. When you walk my halls, you either wear heels, or you go barefoot. The choice is yours.”
It was an easy choice. The marble was cool against my feet. I would gladly go barefoot.
In the boardroom, a dozen people waited for us in silence. Noah marched to the front, a torpedo locked onto his target. Not sure where to sit, I remained in the back and prepared my tablet to record the minutes of the meeting.