QUIVER (QUAKE Book 2) (4 page)

Janny

     
My stomach is tied up in queasy knots when I step on the elevator that will take me to Morrison & Sons Advertising on the sixtieth floor. I’m alone at first, but it stops at almost every floor, picking up more and more people until there’s barely room for me to move in the packed space. By the time I finally reach my destination I’m sweating and my heart is palpitating. This agency must be more popular than I realized because I have to wait for the rest of the passengers to clear out before I can make my escape. I pause to look around while I wipe the moisture from my damp brow. My eyes move slowly around the large space, taking in the expensive decor. This place screams money, from the marble tile of the floors to the vaulted ceilings. The large crystal chandelier hanging from a thick, roughly-hewn wooden beam above me, casts patterns of shadow and light on the floor and colorful prisms on the beige walls. The hand-carved beam is a nice touch. It adds some masculinity to the elegant space.

      Directly in front of me is a large desk with a model-thin, elegantly dressed twenty-something-year-old sitting behind it. Her black hair is slicked tightly back in a ponytail and her makeup is perfectly applied. I glance down at my light blue button-down shirt, tucked into black pants and I feel sloppy and under dressed. One of my hands smooths over the top of my hair and I clench the handle of my leather bag in the other. I walk forward and stop in front of the receptionist and wait for her to look up from her computer. She smiles at me with one of those overly-bleached toothy smiles. Maybe if my teeth were that white it would make me smile bigger too, but right now I’m feeling out of place.

      “Hi, I’m Janny Moore. I’m here for the internship.” My lips lift in a small closed-mouth smile.

      She types on the computer for a moment. “Yes, Janny, I’m Natalie, the receptionist for Morrison & Sons. If you have any questions while you’re here, please feel free to ask me.”

     
“You’re going to head down this hallway here,” she gestures behind her, “and knock on the third door on the right side. The nameplate should read, Edwin Morrison.”

      There’s that smile again. Jesus, put that thing away.

      “Thank you and it’s nice to meet you.” I reach forward and shake her bony hand. I almost recoil from the icy temperature of her skin. It’s like shaking hands with a dead person. When our hands part I’m tempted to wipe my chilled skin on my pants, but I don’t want to be rude.

      The distance from her desk to the hallway seems endless. I can sense the stares from the other employees I pass by and it makes my stride feel awkward and uncoordinated. When I enter the hallway I breathe a sigh of relief and I smooth my hand down over the front of my shirt to make sure it’s wrinkle free. I run my fingers through the front of my long blonde hair and imagine it’s probably a wild, frizzy mess by now. When I reach the door with the correct name plate, I pause for a moment to take a deep breath.

      You can do this.
I hear Kyle’s voice in my mind, encouraging me. It pisses me off that he’s still the one person I want to believe in me. I straighten my back, stand tall and resolve that I’m not going to think about him for the rest of this work day. Later tonight, when I’m all alone in my apartment and the loneliness creeps in, he’s sure to make an appearance, but for now I have business to take care of. It’s important that I make a great first impression with everyone here.

      My knuckles rap three times on the dark stained door. I hear a deep voice tell me to come in and before I turn the knob, there’s a moment of panic where I wonder what I’ll find on the other side – I’m nervous, like I’m about to enter the lion’s den.

      It’s now or never.

      Once I push the door open, I breathe a sigh of relief when I find an average-looking man sitting behind a huge desk.

      He stands and walks out from behind the wooden monstrosity, “I’m Edwin Morrison, Vice President of Morrison & Sons Advertising. You must be Janny Moore.” His demeanor is professional and flat enough it borders on stern.

      I nod my head, taking in his immensely tall frame while he walks toward me. He looks like he could be a professional basketball player. When he stops in front of me he shakes my hand. I have to tip my head way back to meet his gaze. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Morrison.”

      “Have a seat, Janny and please, call me Edwin.”

      I sit in one of the chairs directly in front of his desk and wait for him to begin. He shuffles some papers around before stacking them in a neat pile.

      “Congratulations on being chosen for the internship. There was a lot of stiff competition, but the ad mock-up you submitted was what separated you from the rest of the pack. It was creative and original.” He picks up a pen and jots down some words on a yellow sticky note before looking at me. “I was very impressed with what you were able to come up with. It’s my hope that you’ll bring that same fresh perspective to this position for the duration of your stay. At the end of your six months, if I’m satisfied with your performance, you’ll be offered a permanent position here.”

      I nod my head while I think about the possibility of remaining in New York City long term. It’s not something I’ve ever imagined doing, but maybe I’ll want to stay when all of this is over. Maybe this fresh start will be the best thing to happen to me.

      Edwin sent me to Human Resources to fill out the appropriate paperwork and told me to return to his office when I was done. It’s now an hour later. I raise my hand to knock on his door and I can hear the deep rumble of male voices in conversation. I hesitate, wondering if I should wait until he’s alone. I stand there frozen in indecision and the door opens startling me, setting me off balance. My feet quickly shuffle backwards and the flat soles of my shoes slide along the marble floor. I can feel myself about to topple over when large firm hands grip my upper arms, keeping me from falling. He releases his hold on me once I have my balance back.

      I giggle, embarrassed at my own clumsiness. “Thank you for saving me and my dignity.” My eyes travel up his light gray dress shirt, the first two buttons are undone. I wonder if he removed his tie. His neck is tan against the white t-shirt peeking out the top, his jawline is clean-shaven and chiseled. His lips aren’t full or thin but fall somewhere in the middle and his lean, straight nose looks almost too perfect to be on a man’s face. When my gaze reaches his eyes I nearly gasp out loud. They’re a stunning light blue and filled with humor while they stare into mine. His lips part in an infectious smile and I can’t help the one I return.

      “I make it my duty to save at least one damsel in distress daily.” He leans forward and bows. “My work here is done.” His voice is deep and the tone is teasing.

      “Thanks again. I don’t even want to think of what would have happened if you hadn’t caught me.” I tuck my hair behind my ear and wonder who he is.

      “I’m Zachary Weston, but my friends call me Zack, and you are?” He leans in like he’s waiting for me to tell him a secret.

      “I’m Janny Moore. I’m starting an internship here today.” I clasp the paperwork I have from Human Resources against my chest like a shield and take a step backward, needing some space from him. He doesn’t give me a bad vibe, but ever since the kidnapping I don’t like to be around men I don’t know.

      He must notice the unease in my eyes or the change in my demeanor. “Hey, I’m sorry if I came on too strong. I didn’t mean anything by it. You’ll get used to me and my joking in no time.”

      “Zack, leave the poor girl alone and get back to work,” Edwin’s voice booms through the open door of his office.

      “I guess that’s my cue to get going. I hope you enjoy your time here and I look forward to working with you.” He winks at me and walks in the direction of the reception area.

      “It was nice meeting you,” I call out to his retreating form. 

***

      “Hey, Josh.” I hold the phone to my ear. I’m standing in the long narrow space of my new kitchen making spaghetti and meatballs for my dinner. “Hey let me put you on speakerphone so I can use both my hands.”

      “Damn, can I watch too?” he jokes.

      I snort at him and shake my head while I continue to form the hamburger mixture into meatballs. “Haven’t you been there and done that already?” I tease back.

      He laughs. “Yeah, but I’m a guy. I’d never turn that opportunity down.”

      “Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m only cooking myself something to eat in my kitchen – in my brand new apartment – in kickass New York City.”

      He doesn’t answer and there’s a long pause. I tap the screen of my phone to make sure we haven’t been disconnected. “Josh. Are you still here?”

      “Yeah, I think I must be hearing things though. Did you say that you’re cooking dinner?”

      I giggle. “Ha-ha, very funny. Sharon emailed me a few recipes she swears are foolproof. I can’t be ordering take out every night. The prices here are astronomical.”

      “I’m coming to visit soon and I want to sample some of this cooking. I think I got shafted. You never cooked for me when we were together.”

      “Yeah and you’re still alive so you should be thankful for that.”

      “You may have a point. So how was your first day at the new job?”

      I stir the sauce and think about my first day at Morrison & Sons. “It was uneventful for the most part.” Almost falling down was about the most exciting thing to happen to me. It kind of reminded me of how I met Kyle at Quake, but it seems like everything reminds me of him these days. “My boss is very serious, but he seems nice. I met a few other people, but today was mostly filling out paperwork. Tomorrow will hopefully be more exciting.”

***

     
I unlock the door and let myself in, silently easing the door shut behind me. The darkness of her apartment surrounds me. I don’t need any light to guide me – I know where she is.

      My steps are silent; I slowly move in the direction of her bedroom. My desire to see her is battling with my need to proceed with caution. One misstep could alert her I’m here. That would ruin everything – everything I have planned for her.

      The door to her bedroom is open – how considerate of her. I pause just shy of the doorway and wait until I hear the even sounds of her breathing. I move inside, pausing at the side of the bed while my eyes leisurely travel over her sleeping form. She’s bathed in the golden glow of the moonlight filtering through her windows. One of her long, lean legs is cast on top of the covers and the other is hidden from my view.

      I smile to myself. It’s only a matter of time before I’ll know what every single inch of her looks like, feels like and tastes like. My fingers twitch with the need to touch her – just one small caress.

      My heart pounds with excitement while I lean forward. I lower my hand until it makes contact with her long golden tresses. I trail my fingers through their silky length on her pillow.

      Soon there will be no secrets between us.

***

      My second day at M&S, as everyone here calls it, is a fucking circus. I jinxed myself when I told Josh I hoped today would be more exciting. There’s no other explanation for it because everything that could possibly go wrong, has, and now I’m not sure I made the right choice coming here. My experience is so inferior and all that we’re working on are things I’ve never done before. I’m in over my head. I’m drowning in my lack of knowledge and it’s not a fun way to feel. I’m not used to being the weak link. I was always one of the best students in my class and I prided myself on that. I’m going to have to find a way to get myself up to par on all the projects my team is working on so I don’t embarrass myself.

      The interns that work at M&S have their own office space, but it’s really set up more like a boardroom. There’s a large rectangular table in the middle of the room, surrounded by ten chairs and there are also individual work spaces with computers around the perimeter. I’m sitting at one of these right now, studying the ad mock-up I’ve been working on all day. There’s something off about it, but I can’t put my finger on what’s missing. I’ve been leaning on my elbows with both of my hands clenched in my hair wracking my brain for answers, but I don’t think it’s going to happen today. I glance over at the clock and realize it’s almost six and most of the employees left an hour ago. After I shutdown my computer I grab my leather messenger bag from the floor and slide the strap onto my shoulder. I push my hair back off my face and leave the office, my steps unhurried.

      While I stand in front of the bank of elevators waiting for the doors to open, my thoughts wander to Kyle. I hope he’s doing well in the rehab facility they sent him to. I spoke with Kenna the week following our breakup and she filled me in on what’s next for him. I told her about the internship here and although she was sad about the way things had ended with Kyle and I, she’s excited for me and this great opportunity. I’m still so angry and hurt about the way he handled everything, but I’m always going to love him. I’ll always want the best for him. Maybe someday he’ll remember what we were to each other and he’ll feel a sense of melancholy over what might have been. Maybe he’ll never remember me. Maybe he’ll never realize what he’s missing out on. Thinking about him has my eyes welling with tears and I definitely don’t want to be crying here at work.