Force (An Alex Warren Novel) Page 4

  I hadn’t noticed that I had let go of the door until it slammed shut a bit harder than I expected, snapping me from my mind’s wanderings. He looked up into the mirror in front of him and caught me staring at him. My face must have turned nine shades of red, because I felt the heat from my embarrassment come so fast that I nearly fainted. I had just enough time to hightail it out of there before he reacted. I raced to the elevator, grateful when it opened immediately. I decided to go down, and get outside for a few minutes in order to try to regain my composure and cool down.

  As I raced out the lobby I was painfully aware of the loud clack-clacking noise my new pumps made against the marble floor. I slowed down, trying desperately to silence my feet. It was useless, so I shuffled idiotically to the nearest seat. I felt bit foolish, both of my reaction in the gym, and my less than stealthy getaway.

  I glanced up at the immense skeleton suspended before me, and shook my head. “You must think I’m such a fool,” I mumbled, half directing my words to myself, and half to the prehistoric beast. Soon I found myself lost in the complexity of his anatomy, analyzing the beauty of each rib, the ferocity of his jaw, the deep emptiness where his eyes would be. I am not sure how long I sat there entranced, but I was startled when the head of the creature bobbed slightly in the draught from the lobby door opening. I had to get back upstairs. Hopefully no one had noticed my disappearance.

  No one had. My afternoon went by without any excitement. I focused on organizing my desk, trying not to get lost in daydreams about Connor. Peri stopped by around 3 pm to bring me apologies from Nic. He was dealing with an unexpected crisis, and it had thrown his whole day off kilter. He had promised that tomorrow we would go through the proper orientation and that I might as well go home, because there wouldn’t be anything for me to do today. I started to tell her I didn’t mind being here, and she caught my concern immediately.

  “Don’t worry sweetie, you’ll be paid for the whole day! Go! Enjoy the sunshine!” She picked up my coat and started ushering me out the door without letting me get another word in. She seemed almost motherly. I found this odd coming from her, considering her youthful appearance. But before I knew it I was back in the elevator and out the front door.

  I felt a bit stunned standing outside the Mobius building. In all my imaginings of how today would go, none of them were remotely close to what had transpired. It was still early, so I decided to head down to the inner harbour to reflect. As I walked out onto the pier I saw that my favourite bench was occupied, so instead of facing the water as I had planned, I sat on the next closest bench, which faced inward, back onto the throngs of people who most likely taking advantage of Boxing Week sales. Not exactly what I had in mind, but once I sat down, I knew I didn’t want to get back up.

  The sun was shining brilliantly today, and although there was a slight wind, it was not as cold as it should be in December. I stared absentmindedly into the crowd of people making their way along the boardwalk, letting my thoughts drift around my first day of work. As I ran through the events of the day, I let my vision blur a bit, not really focusing on any one person going by, content on being in my own mind for the time being.

  As this happened, I became vaguely aware of a light blue line crossing the center of my vision. I didn’t think much of it at first, but it persisted. I tried to focus on it, but it immediately disappeared. I must be tired, I thought, because it looked similar to the light I saw in the skeleton earlier today, except instead of a ball of light, it was more like a translucent piece of rope. I put it out of my mind and went back to my thoughts.

  A few minutes later, I saw it again. I didn’t try to focus this time; I merely looked at through the corners of my vision. I felt like I was looking at one of those 3D pictures the way my eyes started to strain. I could never get those things to work. But this, this I was sure I could see. It was distinctly rope-like: thick and loose. It seemed to move ever so gently as people passed by, almost as though it was getting out of their way. No, that couldn’t be right, could it? But it was there, and it followed the path of the waterfront before thinning out on each side where the boardwalk ended. Or at least that’s what I gathered from what I could see. I involuntarily blinked, and it was gone, and the immediate headache that ensued was excruciating. Clearly this was my mind’s way of telling me to stop imagining things. I closed my eyes in the hopes the pain would go away; when it didn’t, I slowly made my way back up to the bus stop. I felt a brief tingle when I walked past where the blue rope had been, but my head hurt too much to think anything of it.

  Chapter Five

  My bus came quickly. For the first time ever, I was grateful that my stop was the last stop on the route. I found a seat next to the window and closed my eyes. I didn’t open them until I felt the familiar feel of the bus shuddering as the engine turned off. I got up slowly, still feeling a bit dizzy, but I managed to make my way around the corner to my flat. Knowing Maria wouldn’t be home for a while, I drew a bath, not worrying about monopolizing the only bathroom. I put some lavender oil in the water and slid in, all the while pressing on my temples, hoping that the pain would subside.

  It didn’t, and after I turned pruney enough that I knew it was time to get out, I wrapped myself in a towel and opened up the medicine cabinet. I hated taking pills for anything, but this headache was ridiculous. Popping a couple of Tylenol, I made my way back to my bedroom. In true fashion, Maria chose this time to come home.

  If Maria had been anyone else but my best friend, I would have shrieked and dashed into my room, embarrassed at being caught in a towel. But Maria didn’t care about these things. I could have been wearing a cardboard box, and she wouldn’t say a thing. I’ve never figured out if it was because she really didn’t notice, or if she was too polite to say anything to make you feel out of place. I always guessed it was the former, though. So I stood there, dripping wet in my towel, hoping for the Tylenol to kick in before her questions started, but knowing that they wouldn’t.

  “How was it?” she said the second she saw me. “Was I right? Are they a front for some big crime activity?” She seemed almost excited at that prospect. Between the two of us, our lives were seriously lacking any semblance of danger. We didn’t own bikes, or even rollerblades, though I had always wanted a pair; I was just too terrified to try it out. I don’t have a great relationship with hills.

  “Maria, do you honestly think that if I did work for the Mafia that I would be able to tell you?” She frowned slightly, not immediately grasping my joke.

  “Why are you home so early?”

  I could tell her the real story, the one about having so little to do today that I got sent home, but instead I would let her fill in the blanks. “They had a staff party.” She didn’t need to know it was at breakfast.

  “Cool.” She bobbed her head and skipped over to the kitchen. This is one of the main reasons I love her so much. She moves on quickly if the story isn’t worth pursuing, and I had gotten very good at making my stories not worth pursuing. “I’m going out for dinner with Justin tonight. Did you want to come? I can get him to bring one of his friends, if you like.”

  It was nice of her to invite me, but I knew it was because she felt sorry for me. She and Justin had been dating for over a year now, and I had been single for even longer. She didn’t understand why I was always so content in my singledom and as a result, was constantly trying to set me up.

  “No thanks,” I replied. “I’m actually going to take a nap. I have a splitting headache. Have a good time though.”

  She didn’t seem to mind my refusal. “Thanks!” I took that as my cue, and made my way to my tiny bedroom. I flopped onto my bed, still wrapped in my towel, and let the exhaustion caused from the pain in my head to take over, slowly drifting into a dreamless sleep.

  ******

  I awoke to the sound of music. It was a familiar song, but tinny sounding. It took me a second to realize it was my cell phone ringing. I didn’t recognize the number.

 
“Hello?” I said, and my voice rasped with sleep.

  “Alex? It’s Paul. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, confused and still slightly hoarse.

  “You are? Why aren’t you at work then? Did we scare you off on your first day?”

  Work? What time was it? I rolled over to look at my clock, conscious that I was freezing cold, still wrapped in my damp towel. It was 9:30am. Had I really slept eighteen hours?

  “Alex? You there?”

  “Yeah, sorry… I…” I didn’t know what to say. Day two and I was making excuses. “I wasn’t feeling well last night, and I guess I overslept. I’m so sorry. I’ll be in right away. I’ll call a cab.” Great. A cab was going to cost me at least forty dollars. Oh well, it was my fault. I had better suck it up.

  “Don’t worry about it. Peri went to check on you when you didn’t answer your phone earlier. She’s got the company car. She should be there any minute. If you feel sick though, stay home. Otherwise, hitch a ride in with her.”

  “I’ll be in,” I said forcefully, but full of embarrassment. “See you soon.” I caught his goodbye as I snapped the phone shut, and then quickly reopened it as I remembered what he said. Checking my missed calls, I saw that Peri had called three times and Paul once before I woke up. I got up too fast, and quickly realized my headache was still there, though not as bad as the night before. I tried to get dressed as fast as I could, but I couldn’t stop deliberating on how business-like I should be after seeing all the clothes yesterday. I decided to err on the side of professional, as I was surely in the doghouse after sleeping in today. I was still cold from sleeping in just a towel, so I settled with black, wool pants and a dark blue sweater, with a blazer. As I threw my hair up into a hasty ponytail, my phone rang again.

  “Alexis? It’s Peri. Paul said you weren’t feeling well? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. “I just had-”

  “Did you want the day off?” she interrupted.

  I felt sheepish. Yes, in all honesty, I did. My head still throbbed. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. “No, no, I’m coming in. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “I’m outside. I’ll give you a ride.” I slammed my feet into my shoes and hurried out the door while she spoke, fumbling with the key as I locked the door. Dashing down the stairs, I tripped just as I reached the second to last stair and flew into the glass doors, were Peri was waiting patiently on the landing. The doors resisted the force of my fall, and I thought I heard something crack deep in my wrist, but I ignored it, forcing away the heat I could feel rushing to my cheeks. It looked like Peri suppressed a laugh, but I ignored her. I think she could feel my internal frustrations boiling away, because she didn’t say anything as she turned and headed for the street.

  The headlights of a sleek, black Audi flashed silently as she unlocked the doors. My wrist screamed at me internally as I pulled the door shut; the throbbing only increased as we drove. Peri didn’t notice my discomfort, which was good, because I figured the last thing I needed to do today was whine. We rode in silence to Mobius, pulling into a parkade beneath the building that I hadn’t noticed before. I was careful to open the door with my good my hand as I got out, and when we reached the elevator she turned to me, smiling as though she was unaware that we had spent the car ride without speaking.

  “See you for lunch?” she asked in her usual perky tone.

  I hadn’t even thought about lunch. Surely I wasn’t going to get a lunch break due to my extreme tardiness? I didn’t want to offend her, as she seemed to genuinely like me, but I didn’t want to push my luck today.

  “I’m not that hungry, to be honest.” I realized as I said it that it was true. I wasn’t the least bit hungry. I still had a headache twanging at the back of eyes, and though it was receding as the pain of my wrist took over, between the two of them I knew I couldn’t stomach a meal anytime soon.

  “Right! You aren’t feeling well. I hope you feel better soon!” she chirped, and the doors opened to my floor. I waved awkwardly to her as I left the elevator, wincing as the pain shot through my wrist. There were a couple more people here today, and I felt their eyes linger on me as I did my walk of shame to my office. I was sure they were all wondering if this was going to be a pattern with me. Did the new girl have no respect for her career? I sighed, waving to Paul as I passed his office before heading into my own, careful to use my other arm this time. A small postcard with familiar looking writing was taped to my monitor. My heart sank as I read it:

  Here it was. I had set the record for being fired the fastest, and I only had ten minutes to prepare for my fate. Reflexively, I dropped my head into my hands, immediately regretting it. My wrist shot fierce stabbing pains down my arm, and I could feel tears stinging behind my eyes. I blinked hard, forcing them back, and then rolled up my sleeve to examine the damage from my earlier clumsiness. There was already a faint purple colour where I had landed against the door and it looked as though it was starting to swell. I sighed, shaking my head at my own uselessness. I’ve had worse, I reasoned, and somewhere in my subconscious I realized that telling myself that helped the pain. I started to think again about the note, and felt my heart race. I knew I couldn’t avoid the inevitable, so I decided to go to Nic’s office early.

  Peri wasn’t at her desk when I arrived, and for some reason that made me even more nervous.

  “Come in, Alexis,” Nic called from his office, in a tone that wasn’t as disapproving as I was expecting. Actually, in the two seconds it took me to cross the room to his office, I noticed his tone had calmed my nerves, but it was probably due to the fact that my head had finally stopped hurting. Nic was not as his desk when I entered. I glanced around and saw he was sitting casually on a black leather club chair, and he motioned for me to do the same.

  “Please,” he said soothingly. “Sit, Alexis.” I did. “Can I offer you something to drink?” I shook my head, still a bit too uneasy to drink anything. Nic looked at me, staring directly into my eyes with a curious expression. I felt like he was looking for something; I wasn’t sure if I should speak, or remain quiet. I decided to remain silent and wait. He did not speak for what felt like an eternity, and it took me a lot of effort to not look uncomfortable. Finally, he smiled and broke the silence.

  “Alexis, I want to sincerely apologize for yesterday.”

  Apologize? Why on earth would he apologize? Maybe he was try to build me up a bit before firing me, so I that I wouldn’t snap and take it out on him like those people you read about in the news. He must have sensed my confusion, as he continued, “I hadn’t realized how overwhelming it must have been for you to start your first day and have to attend a party before meeting anyone. And then, I was unexpectedly busy, and I found myself unable to give you the attention you needed for your first day. It has been so long since I have had a “first day” that I forgot how nerve wracking it must have been for you. It wasn’t until Peri spoke to me this morning regarding your absence that I realized my mistake.”

  “About that,” I said quietly, “I am so sorry. I promise it won’t ha-”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Alexis! Peri told me all about you being sick. Personally, I’m relieved. I had thought we had frightened you away. And as for being sick, at Mobius we believe in a healthy workplace. We encourage people to take personal time off whenever they need to. We just ask that in the future, you send a quick email, or call to let us know you won’t be in.” He smiled then, and in that small gesture I knew that my job was safe. I felt my body relax into the chair, and smiled back.

  Just then, his intercom buzzed. It was Peri. “Nic, honey? Casper is here.” Honey? I couldn’t tell if she meant it the same way as a diner waitress called their patrons “honey”, or if it meant something deeper.

  “Send him in!” He sounded excited at Casper’s arrival. Seconds later there was a soft rap on the door as Casper peeked his head in. If I hadn’t been forewarned of his arrival, I would have thought he was
Paul out of reflex. Casper was thinner though, not by much, but you see more definition in his face. As an afterthought, I noticed one more key difference: he was missing the sparkle of Paul’s eyes.

  “You wanted to see me, boss?”

  “Yes, thank you.” He turned to me again. “Alex, my dear, I am afraid I must ask for you to forgive me once again, as yesterday afternoon we had an unexpected… crisis. I have to head out for a few hours to deal with this before it gets out of hand.” He turned to Casper. “Casper, I trust you can give Alexis the full tour? Maybe you could start her on the orientation process? I think she’s ready.” Casper seemed to light up a bit at this idea. “I’ll give all the paperwork to Paul before I leave. Oh, and take her for lunch later. I’m sure she’ll be hungry.” His phone rang then, and he looked at me imploringly as he reached for it. “Sorry,” he mouthed, and he started talking in a language I didn’t recognize to whoever was on the other line.

  I turned to leave, and Casper smiled at me. I saw the same look of longing I had detected the day before, buried deep in his grey eyes. He, like Paul, looked like what I can only describe as an “average guy.” He wasn’t tall, but he wasn’t short either. He wasn’t built, but he didn’t look out of shape. He seemed to fit into all the “in-betweens” I could think of. Even his hair couldn’t decide what colour to be. It was a golden brown, but more streaky than a solid colour. Even with the streaks though, I got the impression that it wasn’t dyed, and that this was his natural, awkward colour.

  Exiting the office, he turned to me, seemingly pleased with the turn of events. “Where too, miss?” he said, feigning his best southern accent, and tipping an invisible hat in my direction.

  I smiled and shrugged. “I’m a blank slate. All I’ve seen is the gym, and the gigantic dinosaur in the lobby.”

  He laughed, and behind the deepness of his voice it sounded like crystal tinkling. “You mean Bob? Yeah, I guess he’s hard to miss.”