by Ava Hardy
Oh shit. I had ten minutes to get to the office and at my desk. It normally took me a good twenty minutes to get there on foot and that was a good day. Maybe I could catch a cab.
I grabbed my purse, jacket, and umbrella. In the last second, I snatch a banana out of the basket and shoved it into my purse before rushing out the door. There was no use waiting for the pokey elevator as I raced down the stairs. No matter how many times tenants complained, that death trap never got fixed properly. A rumor was flying around that someone was putting in a complaint with the state and I hope they did.
Pushing through the exit door, I immediately squinted my eyes at the blaring sun. I did not understand Seattle’s weather patterns sometime. It poured for days and now it was sunny. Not warm, but the lack of rain made it more tolerable. I guess I didn’t need my umbrella.
I stood on the sidewalk as people passed by me on both sides and I searched up and down the street for an available taxi. I didn’t see one so I began to walk. I picked up the pace as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw the time. My heart started to pound in my chest and I had a terrible feeling that my day was going to start with a stern talking-to from Roger. I’d only been late a couple of times since I started working under him and it was his biggest pet peeve. It was one of many. Being late on projects or to work drove him into a fit of rage unlike anything I had never seen. His fat cheeks turned as red as a tomato, and I swore every time I saw it that he was going to burst. Or maybe he needed to be juiced like the girl that went to Willy Wonka’s. Something needed to happen before he gave himself a heart attack.
Right as I approached an intersection, the light changed and I was given the go-ahead to cross. I exhaled a sigh of relief as I started to jog. Maybe if I ran the whole way I would make it on time. Sure it was uphill and while they weren’t the same as in San Francisco, the hills in Seattle were no joke. Good thing I wore my flats today.
As I practically sprinted down the sidewalk, people were kind enough to step out of the way. The look of panic on my face probably told everyone to make way, this was an emergency. In a way it was, not that I was going to lose my job, but I really didn’t want to have a shitty Monday all because my boss blew a gasket.
I made it to the correct street and quickly took a right turn. I nearly collided with a man and woman that were walking by with pastries in each hand. The woman gasped and the man shouted at me to watch where I was going. I managed to send an apology their way as I grew closer to the skyscraper I needed, the smell of their breakfast lingering with me. My stomach growled a bit and I knew I should have gotten up early to get something more substantial to eat other than the banana in my purse. Coffee too, cause man that sounded perfect right then.
It didn’t take me much longer to reach the building and rush through the front door. The security guard nodded his greeting at me and I flashed a smile as I rushed to the elevator. There was no way I could make it up twenty flights of stairs on foot. As soon as the doors opened, I rushed inside, hit the number I needed, followed by the button to close the doors. I’m sorry to anyone who was trying to catch the same elevator but I needed to keep moving.
Once the cart started moving upward, I leaned over to rest my hands on my knees and tried to breathe. My lungs were burning. I needed to work out more often. I wasn’t cut out for these long-distance, several-block sprints.
I stood back up and decided to take a risk. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw the time. I had two minutes to spare. Holy shit. Did I seriously run fast enough to make it to work on time? One or two minutes late, I wasn’t going to sweat it. Not everyone’s clock was set to the same time. Right?
My eyes glanced up at the illuminated numbers of each passing floor. Only a few more to go so I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. I needed to find my Zen and convince myself that I was going to have a good day. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing.
Please don’t let there be a stack of files on my desk and please don’t let Roger be hovering outside the elevator when the doors open.
The doors dinged as they parted and I slowly opened my eyes. My heart rate immediately spiked and I swallowed hard. Roger stood there in another one of his unflattering, unfitting suits. This one was a dirt brown color that was not at all flattering for a guy his size.
I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off. “There are two men in the conference room that need to see you. Upstairs sent them.”
Holy Shit! Upstairs as in where the board members worked? The big bosses...was I getting fired? Why would I be getting fired? I was only...I glanced at my phone that was still in my hand. One minute late.
The elevator dinged and I realized I was still inside. My hand shot out to stop the door from closing and I joined Roger in the little foyer. I wanted to ask him who the men were and if he knew what they wanted but I was sure that he either had no idea or would give me his “I’m not at liberty to discuss it” answer.
I nodded my head and headed towards our office, figuring I could at least put my purse in my desk drawer, but Roger’s voice stopped me.
“They are expecting you. You need to go right now.”
I swallowed hard and turned on my heels to head in the opposite direction. This was it. I was definitely getting fired. Maybe we were downsizing and I was just the sacrificial lamb, taking one for the team or some bullshit like that. Man, I really wanted to go find Stacy and see if she had picked up any rumors about what was going on.
My pace towards the conference room was unintentionally slow. Was I trying to delay the inevitable? Just rip the band aid off, I told myself. I knew I should have looked up unemployment benefits before I came to work. At least I could have been more mentally prepared for the blow I knew I was about to receive.
As I passed by the glass window that looked into the conference room, I saw two men that weren’t that much older than myself. One of them had the darkest black hair I had ever seen. It was really short but not a buzz cut, or even one of those haircuts they give soldiers. It was long enough to run your fingers through and tug on it if you wanted. It looked pretty soft. Not that I have a lot of experience running my fingers through a man’s hair but a girl could dream. His head turned to look at me and his eyes were nearly as dark as his hair. It was kind of startling at first, but then they turned warm somehow, as if inviting me in. The drop in my stomach gave me enough warning that the man was dangerous. Maybe not in the physical sense, but there was something about him that could chew me up and spit me out. The scary part was the feeling I had deep in my stomach that screamed “let him do it!”
I had to mentally shake away those thoughts and that feeling. I didn’t know this guy or what he wanted. Normally, I had control over myself but something about him made me feel like a moth to a flame and that wasn’t good. My eyes shifted to the other man. He had the “all-American Boy Next Door” vibe. With brown hair that was slightly longer than the other’s, he was talking and smiling as if he was the happiest person on the planet. I had no idea what he was saying; his voice was soft enough that it didn’t carry through the open conference door. The short facial hair that formed a beard around his jawline looked really good on him. His flannel shirt was a little tight; those arm muscles of his practically screaming for some room to breathe. I wondered what his chest looked like.
Kiera! Get a hold of yourself. These men are probably here to fire you.
For a moment, I looked away as I stood there in the window. It didn’t take but a few seconds for me to glance back at them, watching them like a creepy stalker. Neither was dressed in a business suit, nor did they seem like they were from upstairs. Those guys usually had an air about them that made people practically cringe in their seats. These two seemed welcoming, like you wanted to just crawl in their lap and disappear for a few hours.
I seriously had to get myself together before I walked into that room. My no dating, no men, nothing physical policy was firmly in place. With a deep breath, I told myself that I co
uld handle whatever it was that they were going to tell me, so I took a few more steps and then turned to stand in the doorway.
“Kiera, hey!” The black-haired man greeted as soon as he saw me standing there.
They both moved to stand up and I looked at them with confusion written all over my face. Now that I was closer, they seemed to be a bit familiar, but I couldn’t place them.
“Do I know you?” I asked a bit skeptically, staying in the doorway in case I needed to make a quick getaway. My heart was pounding in my chest as I tried to think of how I might know either of them, pictures flashing in my mind as if I was a computer searching for a recognizable image.
“We’ve never formally met, no.” The taller one with black hair took a couple steps towards me but stopped when he saw my foot move back. “I’m Blake and this is Chris.” His thumb pointed to himself as his other hand motioned towards the other man that stayed behind the table.
“Okay.” It was the only thing I could think of to say right then. I had no clue what was going on, and if someone didn’t start talking right away, I was going to beeline it back to my desk.
“There’s something that we needed to talk to you about. It’s extremely important and private...” Chris started to say. His voice was as smooth as butter and I could practically feel myself turning to mush. I had to stay strong.
“I think you have the wrong person...” I started to say but stopped when they both shook their heads.
“You are, in fact, Kiera Jones, right?” Blake asked, and I nodded. My eyes went back and forth between their faces. I could see a mixture of excitement and something else in both their eyes as well as their expressions.
Chris ran a large hand through his hair. It was obvious he was struggling with what words to say.
“Just spit it out,” I told him gently, dying to know what this was all about.
“It’s kind of hard to explain. Can you come in so we can talk about it?” I looked over at Blake as he pleaded with me. Damn, those dark eyes that seemed to go on forever.
“If you are going to fire me, please get it over with. If not, I have to go. There is a lot of work I have to do.” I fixed the strap of my purse on my shoulder. My telltale sign told anyone that knew me, I was lying. I had no idea if I had any work to do. Hell, I didn’t even know if I still had a job.
“We’re not going to fire you.” Blake laughed, and I looked at him with enough of a glare that he stopped.
I was starting to get a little irritated. “So, you’re not from upstairs?”
“Upstairs?” Chris asked calmly. I could appreciate him keeping his buttery smooth voice from causing any more tension, but his question still made me groan a little.
“I was told that you were sent from upstairs, where the board members and the CEO work.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I was getting really close to telling them that if someone didn’t start explaining to me what the hell was going on, I was gonna walk.
“Oh.” Blake looked a little bashful. I raised my eyebrow at him. It was his turn to run his fingers through his hair. “Well, that was a little bit of a lie to get your boss to let us talk to you...”
“What?!” I may have said it a little too loud. Both men jumped, and I’m sure someone down the hall heard me. “I have no idea who you two are and you show up at my job, lie to my boss so that you could see me...for what...some big secret you two seem to have? I’m not buying it. If this is your way of getting your kicks, I suggest you find another hobby.”
Without giving them another chance to speak, I quickly spun around in the doorway and moved back into the hallway. Thank god I still had a job.
“Kiera Rose...wait...” Chris’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Are you two stalkers or something? How do you know my middle name?” I asked as I looked at him from over my shoulder. My middle name was never written down on any document. My birth certificate didn’t list it, no record at the DMV, nothing. Not even the middle initial R to give anyone any idea what it could be. As far back as I could remember, my grandma always told me that it was extremely important never to reveal my full name. There were some horror stories she told, maybe not as scary now, but back then I was terrified enough that I got used to telling people I didn’t have one. My family knew but that was it. It seems kind of silly now, but I figured my family had their reasons. When the time was right, they promised they would tell me.
Blake sighed as he tried to think of how to explain. It seemed to really trouble both of them, whatever it was that they wanted to say, and I wished that there was a way for me to get them to talk.
“We’re not stalkers but we do know a lot about you. There is something extremely important going on in the world that not many people know about. We’re a part of it and so are you...” Blake started to explain but stopped when my face showed nothing but disbelief.
“Haven’t you ever felt like you were destined for something more?” Chris asked, and my eyes darted to him.
I shifted around so I was once again facing the inside of the conference room, my arms still over my chest. I wasn’t going to say anything ’til they gave me a reason to speak. They had a lot of explaining to do in order for any of this to make sense.
“Have you ever had something happen that you know wasn’t what most people would call natural, but it was completely natural to you?” Chris went on to ask. He could tell that my mind was taking in every word he said. The scary thing was that I had in fact experienced what he described.
I started to bite on my lower lip as I tried not to think of the few times that I felt an overwhelming sense of power surge through me, almost to the point that I swore my hands glowed. There was one time, a long time ago, I was so overcome with emotions due to fear when a flash of light came from my fingertips. My stereo was hit with whatever it was that left my hand and fried everything inside, even melting the CD that had been playing inside. It was a mess to clean up, but I did so without my parents knowing. I was terrified of what they would think of me if they found out.
There was that other time when I cut my hand while playing with a piece of red glass I found outside. It healed completely within an hour and I thought for sure that I had dreamed it all.
Snapping out of my memories, I looked back at Chris. The look on my face asking how he knew.
“We’ve had stuff happen to us too.” His explanation hit me like a ton of rocks in my stomach.
There were others like me? Was it possible? It had to be if he was standing there telling me so.
“So you’ve come here to talk about it?” I finally asked.
“Yes and no,” Chris answered. He leaned forward, putting his hands on the edge of the table. “There’s a lot that you don’t know and we’ve traveled a long way in order to find you. We’re here to explain everything.”
I narrowed my eyes at Chris a little, studying him. Were these two nuts? It didn’t seem like it, or they were really good actors. My attention went back to Blake as I continued to process everything being said. Anyone regular person would say that this information was coming from a person who needed to be locked up inside a padded room. But them knowing my middle name, and the fact that I knew, deep in my soul, that I didn’t belong had my stomach twisted. I had no idea what to do. This is where I needed Stacy’s advice. The girl really had turned into one of my best friends and always seemed to know how to set me straight after I got lost in a tangle of thoughts.
“Look...” I started to say, and Blake opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he saw the look on my face. “I don’t know who you two are, but you have to look at it from my point of view. It’s really creepy that you showed up at my work, said a couple of deeply personal things about me, and then expect me to sit down as if we’re going to be best friends. Right now, I’m not really buying it.”
“Would you consider giving us a chance to explain?” Chris questioned. Things seemed to sound a lot better coming from him, as if he had some magical powers that put pe
ople in an instant relaxed state. A person had to look out for guys like that.
I thought about what he asked for a moment and then finally nodded. “But not right now and not here,” I added before they got any ideas of sitting back down. “I have work to do. I need this job and I can’t have my boss calling upstairs snooping around, then finding out that nobody has ever heard of you two. There is a Mexican restaurant down the street, it’s on the corner. You can’t miss it. I’m off work at six and I’ll meet you there. You can explain everything there, in public...with people watching.” I made sure they understood that I was making sure there were witnesses in case they tried to slip something into my drink or in my food, or worse yet, tried to take off with me.