Torn (Lords of the City #1) (6 page)

“You miss him,” I observed, reading between the lines. “You want your brother to return as much as I do.”

“Don’t think you know me, Imogen. And don’t think you know my brother. How much time exactly did you spend together?”

I lifted my chin. “Time doesn’t matter.”

“Time is all that matters.” Like stone, he turned away from me. “You start Monday. Don’t be late.”

***

After the interview ended, though it didn’t feel like much of an interview, Peter escorted me back to the lobby where a woman with a very memorable face waited for us.

“Isn’t that the digital assistant?” I asked Peter, wondering how far the labs at Stafford Scientific had gotten in their development of holograms.

If she was a hologram, she was incredibly lifelike. With her hair layered around her perfect mocha complexion and dazzling smile, she looked like she was one of the goddesses the stars on the ceiling were named after. Like everyone else in the company, her clothes were exquisite, exemplifying the efficiency of the company. With a leather scarf wrapped around her neck as an accessory, she wore a plum-colored dress that hugged her curves but was modest and professional.

“Imogen,” she greeted me. “I’m Julia Wilson, Mr. Stafford’s personal assistant. You’ll be replacing me when I’m promoted in a few weeks.” She shook my hand, which was warm and very much alive. “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“Me too. In person. We’ve already met in the digital world.”

She laughed. “Yes. The program was designed after me. My clone, except that it’s much bossier than I am.” She lightly touched Peter’s arm, causing him to blush. “That will be all. Thank you.”

“Of course,” he mumbled, momentarily falling victim to the awkwardness of adolescence.

“Let’s go,” she said to me. “We have some shopping to do.”

“Shopping?” I asked, following behind her as she dashed towards the exit. “I don’t understand.”

“Your outfit doesn’t fit Mr. Stafford’s dress code. It’s too… suburban. Personally, I love it. It suits you, but Mr. Stafford’s word is final.”

I was skeptical. “How did he arrange this in the short amount of time it took to get down here? The interview only just finished.”

“You may not realize it, but you had the job before you walked in. Mr. Stafford has been looking over your files all week. He knows more about you than you probably know about yourself.”

“That’s a little creepy,” I uttered as we stepped outside.

“It’s not creepy; it’s prudent. His brother rarely makes contact with him. In fact, I didn’t even know he had a brother until I received the email on behalf of Mr. Stafford. Of course he was going to investigate the woman who inspired his brother to resurface, no matter how briefly.”

“You read the email?” I asked, intrigued.

“It was short, but it got the point across. Corey provided Mr. Stafford with your name and hometown, and he asked that you be given a position in the company so that Mr. Stafford could watch over you. That was it. I did a quick search with the information he provided and found an obituary for your grandmother in a local newspaper that mentioned you as her only known descendent. Finding your address was easy after that.”

I stopped, needing a moment to process everything. My life had been equivalent to a tumbleweed rolling around aimlessly. Now, I had a job, one that required me to move to Chicago, and I was about to go on a shopping spree with a woman who had a digital clone.

Julia patted my back. “Celebrate. Change is a good thing.”

“I hope so.” I took my wallet out of my canvas bag and examined the bills inside. “I don’t have much to spend, especially now that I need to look for an apartment here. Is there a thrift store nearby?”

“That’s not the way Mr. Stafford operates,” Julia said, gently taking my wallet from me and placing it back in my bag. “He would never expect the expense for his demands to fall on his employees. The company will pay for your new wardrobe. It will also pay for your apartment.” She took my arm and guided me towards a glossy car with tinted windows. “I hope you don’t mind having me as a roomie.”

My spirits leapt.

“Not at all,” I said sincerely. I liked Julia. On first impression, she was a doll designed by the company, but her personality sparked through whatever formality was required of her.

A driver got out of the car and opened the door for us. “Good afternoon, ladies,” he said, tipping his hat.

“Afternoon,” I returned.

“Fred,” Julia greeted.

“I’ve never been a personal assistant before,” I reflected as we settled into the backseat. “Is it difficult?”

“Not at all,” Julia told me. “It’s demanding. Though our office hours are normal, our contract stipulates that we’re at Mr. Stafford’s beck and call until midnight. But it’s not difficult.” She smiled slyly. “It even comes with its perks. You’ll only be expected to be his personal assistant for a year. After that, you’re free to move on to any department in the company.”

“Really?” I was surprised. Peter had mentioned something similar, but I figured it only applied to the geniuses.

“Of course. I have PhD in Business Economics from Harvard. I didn’t spend a year answering phone calls and scheduling meetings for nothing. I’ve proved my loyalty to Mr. Stafford. And that’s why I get to move on,” she chirped. “As long as you remain loyal, he’ll do the same for you. After looking over your files this week, he even mentioned developing a department solely dedicated to the impact the company is having on the environment. You’ve only been here one day, and you’re already inspiring change.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I asked, “Where are we going?” I needed to change the subject. It was too overwhelming. “The high street?”

Julia tittered. “No high street. Mr. Stafford has his own street, a row full of shops dedicated to his needs. As his assistants, we have access to it.”

Tucked away discreetly near a park, the street was not far from the company. As we shopped, we were treated like royalty. Champagne waited for us at every corner, and we were offered massages and manicures between fittings, all with the request that we wish Mr. Stafford well on behalf of those who attended to us.

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.

T
he 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.