Ojbect (3 page)

He chuckled. “Yet, here you are.”

She wrinkled her nose as they walked further into the maze. “Six months was too long to hold my curiosity back. I will return to court, file my report and wait to see what happens.”

“If it is so dangerous, why did you come here?”

Bella glanced at him. “I think I knew what I needed the moment I heard it. Life behind a mask was so tempting, but now, it is losing its attraction.”

“That is a common attitude. I can tell you that there is no punishment for coming here. Off-worlders are expected to seek us out.”

Inside, she sighed with relief. She liked it on Kloa, even with the mask.

They walked in silence for ten minutes, wending their way to the centre of the maze and out again.

“What did the ancients of Kloa look like?”

They were pacing toward pools that had lazily splashing guests in them.

He looked at her in surprise. “Why would you care about that?”

“To know why folks make the decisions they do, looking to the past is suggested.”

Lord Akking smiled. “There are pictures inside the private gallery, but I only invite the closest of friends to join me there.”

“Apologies if I was insensitive.”

He chuckled. “No, but you are obtuse. If you were Kloa, you would have recognized my attempt at seduction.”

She stumbled. “Sed—”

He nodded briskly, interrupting her. “Yes. Don’t your people couple for pleasure?”

“Yes, some of them. In my life, I have restricted my coupling to when I feel an emotional attachment, in the moment when I felt safe.”

He tilted his head. “You do not feel safe here?”

Bella shook her head. “I do not.”

He nodded. “I see. Pity. I think we would be amazing together.”

She shivered at the husky promise in his tone. “I will have to trust your assessment on that. I am not willing to test it today.”

She wanted to clamp a hand over her mouth when the qualifier slipped out of her lips. His slow smile was enough proof that he had caught it.

Fortunately for her bright blush, he changed the subject and began to show off the amenities of the club and the premises.

She took in the variety of aliens laughing and enjoying themselves while the Kloa with them talked business. It was confirmed.

Bella sighed wistfully. “Thank you for the tour, Lord Akking. I have what I need. I can return to work now.”

“You do not wish to take advantage of the offer to speak without obscuring one’s features?”

She smiled. “I already have. Thank you for that. I need to return to finish that report and absorb the thought of what I have learned today.”

Lord Akking looked flustered, and he took her directly to Yimra for a reversal of her earlier process.

Before he handed her over, Bella turned to him and went up on her toes, pressing a kiss to his perfectly carved lips. Before he could grab her, she reversed direction and headed down the hall ahead of Yimra. The other woman was giggling as she followed.

The shoes came off, the hair went up, and behind the screen, the court clothing went on once again. The mask felt distasteful and dishonest, but she settled it in place again and came around the screen. “Thank you for your assistance, Yimra. Tima. Yinsa.”

The ladies nodded in turn.

Yimra chuckled. “Women here are only one in twenty. We were happy to serve.”

Bella bowed slightly, and the hostess walked her back to the entryway.

“Lord Korkham is still here?”

Yimra snickered. “He rarely spends less than six hours here at a stretch. He will be here long past the dinner hour and may even spend the night. I will summon a pod for you.”

“Do you live here?”

Yimra looked at her in surprise. “Of course. My family has served the Akkings for nine generations. It gives us a freedom that we would not otherwise have. We mingle with the court, but we don’t have to cover up. It is very pleasant.”

“I can only imagine. Thank you again for your assistance.”

“It was truly a pleasure. Your dress will go in storage until your next visit, but you will be free to choose whatever you are in the mood for.”

They walked out into the bright sunlight and a pod cruised up. Lord Akking was waiting for them.

Behind her mask, Bella blushed.

“Auditor Banks, you took me by surprise or I would have given you this.” He held out a small pendant with a tiny design in minute gems.

“I would be happy to accept, but I am on duty. It is not appropriate.”

Lord Akking pulled the pendant back. “Of course. I will issue you an invitation. Please accept it.”

She blinked at the disappointed look on his face, but her pod was waiting. “I enjoyed my time here. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“It was delightful to have you. I look forward to the next occasion.” He smiled and gave her a half bow.

Bemused, she entered the pod and keyed in the financial centre’s address. The pod whisked her away from the release and freedom she had experienced and back to the bonds of work and duty. Lord Korkham could keep his expense. There was no doubt that it was an environment conducive to work, or at least, trade.

Two months after her day at the Face-to-Face Club, Bella was summoned to the high administration offices.

She tried not to act nervous, but it was impossible not to be as she walked through the halls past the guards and into the gateway of the Kloa court.

Her palm print allowed her access into the inner sanctum, and she nervously entered the offices of High Administrator Geera.

The administrator’s mask didn’t hint at her thoughts, but the voice spoke volumes. “Auditor Banks, I hear you have been to the Face-to-Face Club.” The brusque hostility was apparent.

“To perform an inquiry, yes.”

“Have you returned there outside the bounds of an inquiry?”

Bella stood in front of the desk. “I have not.”

“Have you been tempted to?”

“I have not. My work has not required it of me.”

The administrator settled into a more relaxed pose. “That might be awkward then. You have been requested to be the assistant of the Minister of Trade.”

“That is unexpected. Who is the Minister of Trade?”

Administrator Geera chuckled. “You may have met him. His name is Lord Akking.”

Bella’s knees buckled. While she had put the club out of her mind, he was a much harder tease to get out of her fantasies.

“I do not think I am qualified to act as an assistant to the Minister of Trade.”

“You are not, but he is self-sufficient and will not be too much trouble. The most difficult part of your duties will be to keep up with his travels. He runs around a lot.”

“I am not sure that I want this position.”

“You have no choice. We are delighted to finally have someone who will file a report on time, so you are going to him. Here is your information packet, and there is a charm in there which will grant you access to your new offices and quarters.”

“I am to leave now?”

“You are. Your quarters have been packed and all of your belongings forwarded to your new location.”

There was no arguing with the tone or the documents. In one move, Bella was shunted from a job she enjoyed to a position she was clueless about.

“You are dismissed, Liaison Banks.”

Bella inclined her head, turned on her heel and left the office. She looked around for a bench in the halls, and when she found one, she sat to read the directions.

She was to get into one of the private pods summoned by the code in the packet. The pod would take her to the Face-to-Face Club and her orientation would begin there.

Bella tensed her shoulders and got to her feet. Yelling at Lord Akking was inappropriate, but the sooner she got her butt to the club, the sooner she could start.

The pod took her past the main house and into the forest. A small gathering of homes clustered in the shadow of the trees, and the pod brought her to one of the houses.

She exited and the pod zipped away, silent as always. Bella walked up the pathway and knocked on the door. To her surprise, Yimra was there and smiling.

“Welcome, Liaison Banks. We are delighted to have you with us.” Yimra turned her back. “Come this way. I will show you where you can change.”

“Change?”

“Yes, you will only need to wear the mask when you are at court and that is less than five percent of the time.” Yimra headed up the stairs with her and opened a door.

Bella took in the lovely and homey bedroom with the attached office and dressing room. Her things had been placed carefully around the space with attention to use and location. She had no doubt that she would find her hairbrush in the lavatory.

“I have chosen some dresses for you; they are hanging in the wardrobe next to your new uniform.”

Yimra entered Bella’s room and opened the wardrobe, exposing the black and grey suit that was now her uniform.

“I got a promotion?”

Yimra laughed. “Dealing with Lord Akking on a daily basis is worth a bump in pay. He can be rather demanding with his staff.”

Bella winced at her mind latching onto a few of the demands she wanted him to make on her. Literally on her.

She was very happy about still wearing the mask.

Yimra pulled out a rich bronze gown with black trim that had a definite Victorian vibe. Bella smiled and reached out for it. “I will be right back.”

Yimra laughed. “If you need help, call out.”

Bella removed her clothing in record time, enjoying the space of the office and dressing room.

She unlaced and wriggled into the gown, putting her arms in the sleeves and adjusting her breasts in the snug bodice. When it came time to lace up the back, she couldn’t reach.

“Yimra, help please.”

Yimra came around and grinned. “Close. Just a moment.”

In seconds, Bella was laced into the gown, and she felt taller with the structure of the clothing supporting her.

“This is a day dress for use around the club. When you are done for the evening, you can just come to one of us, and we will loosen the laces. The walk from the main house to here will finish releasing you.”

“What about the shoes?”

Yimra chortled and left, returning with some sturdy and, what appeared to be, comfortable shoes that would match the dress.

“Put your necklace on and we can be on our way.”

While she spoke, Yimra pulled the pins from Bella’s hair.

“Why do I need the necklace?”

“The charm is embedded with a variety of access crystals that will let you move around the main house without any delay. Certain areas are off limits without security clearance. That charm is your clearance. If a door opens, you are authorized.”

It was very smart. The delay for constant scanning had always caused jams at doors in the financial building. It was faster to be wearing her credentials.

Her hair tumbled around her shoulders, and she quickly brushed it into loose waves before joining Yimra at the door.

They were on their way down the stairs when she asked, “How many people live here?”

Yimra looked back at her in surprise. “This is your house. I am merely here to help you find your way around today. After you meet with Lord Akking, we will return here, and I will show you your supply stations, as well as the staff amenities, like the pools and workout rooms.”

“My house?”

“Indeed. There is no shortage of space here. Just a few minutes outside the city and you have all the space you need.” Yimra smiled.

Bella inclined her head and flinched at the caress of her own hair against her neck.

Yimra grinned. “You will get used to it. Come on. Lord Akking is not known for his patience. I am surprised that he waited two months to arrange this.”

Bella walked with her down the path toward the house. “If it is anything like the rest of the court documents, it took him that long to fill them out.”

The unladylike snort from her companion made her laugh out loud.
This
was what she had been missing. Companionship. A friend.

She quickly wiped away the tears the burned her eyes. Yimra was ahead of her and didn’t see it, or at least, she hoped that her new companion had not seen it.

The bucolic splendour was a little more technological than it seemed. Instead of walking on grass, a walkway rotated from under the soil as they approached, and it disappeared when they passed. It left the green grasses undisturbed and rolling off as far as the eye could see.

The house was just as lovely as Bella remembered, but this time, they entered through a lower passageway and made their way to the upper floors.

Yimra smiled at a few other locals in the back hallways. The friendly faces smiled and nodded at Bella, and she fought to meet their expressions with her own.

“I am taking you to Lord Akking’s offices. You will spend most of your days there unless you are needed to act in my place as hostess. Or that is the current plan.”

When they arrived at polished doors made of black carved wood, Yimra paused. “I can’t pass the doorway. If you touch it, it will open. I will see you when you are ready to return to the town.”

Bella nodded and took Yimra’s hand for a moment. “Thanks.”

The other woman gave her a hug. “You are welcome, Liaison.”

Yimra let her go and left her in front of the creepy doors. Steeling herself, Bella touched the door, and it eased open.

The reception area contained a rich desk and a chair. A low, backless couch was near a window and another door faced her at the rear of the front office. She swallowed and walked to the second door, touching the ebony wood with her palm. It opened without a sound.

Lord Akking was just as pretty as he had been two months earlier. This time, his hair was rippling to the centre of his back and his eyes were directed to the window near the desk he was seated at.

She stepped forward, and the rustling of her gown warned him of her approach. His head snapped toward her. “Finally.”

She blinked at the less-than-warm greeting. She curtsied. “Lord Akking.”

He sat straight and inclined his head. “Liaison Banks. We have much to do, and as usual, the court has delayed your arrival. Come here and I will explain your duties.”