by Helena Shaw
“Who called me?” Cadence asked, her brow furrowed.
“Someone named Jane,” Ramona told her. “Asking to take you out for a late lunch for your first day.”
Cadence didn’t want to come off as a slacker or a flake, but after the morning she’d had, she could use a break and a friend to listen. Still, she refused to ask for permission to go.
“Go,” Ramona smiled. “I doubt any of the girls here are going to want to be your lunch time friend now that you’re Mr. Crane’s assistant.”
“What about you?” Cadence asked, not wanting to be rude.
“I’m used to eating alone at my desk,” Ramona said with a faltering smile. “You’ll get used to it too, so you might as well have a little fun before you have to take over for me for good.”
“Oh,” Cadence said, not quite sure how to respond to that prediction of her future. “Well, thanks. I’ll be back in an hour, okay?”
“Take your time,” Ramona assured her. “I doubt you’ll miss much.”
With that, Ramona pulled out a tattered paperback and began to read.
You won’t have to deal with other people, Cadence’s inner voice told her. It’s perfect for you, don’t let the boss scare you away from the job.
It was good advice, but as she made her way to the elevator, she wasn’t sure if she could believe it. Something about Draven Crane scared her, but she couldn’t put her finger on just what it was. All she knew was that lunch with Jane was exactly what she needed right then and she breathed a sigh of relief as the elevator doors opened for her to enter.
Chapter Three
The sun hadn’t even risen yet, but Cadence was pulling herself from the futon where she slept at Jane’s house. Mr. Crane had an appointment at seven that morning and that meant she had to be there to greet his client. Ramona had warned her the hours could be weird, but she wasn’t sure she could handle starting work before seven in the morning, especially after his last client left at ten the night before.
To make things even more stressful, it was Ramona’s last day with the firm. Once she left at five that night, it meant that Cadence was on her own to deal with Mr. Crane and his eclectic, often famous, group of clients.
Despite the long hours, she rarely actually saw her boss. He was always there before her and she never left after him. He rarely left his office and their only real interaction was when she paged him to let him know clients were there. She knew he was in there, and he did make requests from time to time, but there was no interaction like that first meeting in his office.
Thinking about their first meeting made her shiver as she crawled out of bed and threw herself into the shower. Her bones ached from lack of sleep and she closed her eyes to let the hot water wash over her body and clear the grogginess from her mind. For only a moment, she let herself be at peace and she took the moment to enjoy the refreshing shower.
When she opened her eyes, another shadow was there in the shower with her. This one was larger and closer than any before and took up so much of her vision that she swore there was someone in the tub with her. With a startled jump, she fell backwards and almost fell right onto the faucet, but at the last second, her fingers caught the shower curtain and she managed to right herself.
With another blink, the shadow disappeared. Cadence’s heart was thumping hard in her chest. The relaxing effects of the shower evaporated and she was left feeling more stressed than ever. The shadows were getting worse and worse, and she didn’t know what to do about them.
The only place the shadows weren’t ruining her life was at work. Maybe it was because her mind was so focused on not screwing up at her new job that she didn’t notice them, but deep down, she knew that wasn’t the truth. There was something about the office in general that left her with a certain unease.
She shook her worries from her mind and stepped out of the shower. After her little scare, she knew she was running behind and would have to move quickly if she was going to get to work before Mr. Crane’s first client of the day was set to arrive.
Her first paycheck wasn’t set to come in for another week, but being Mr. Crane’s executive secretary meant she needed more than just one ill-fitting outfit. Ramona had given her access to the discretionary fund, at Mr. Crane’s approval of course, to buy a few new skirts, blazers, and blouses to ensure she looked the part of her new position.
After she got paid, it would be up to her to fill her closet with more of the matching outfits, but the few new pieces would be enough to get her through the next week.
It was when she was buttoning her blazer that she heard a crack of thunder and she let out a groan. For a day or so, it seemed that the weather had finally cleared up some, but last night it had picked back up again and now it was going to rain for her walk to the office.
Jane had offered to drive her, but Cadence wouldn’t let her. She had already done so much for her, Cadence wasn’t going to make her be her taxi service on top of that. Especially not at six-thirty in the morning.
Instead, she threw her black kitten heels into her purse and grabbed Jane’s rain boots and one of her old jackets from the closet. She’d at least bought an umbrella with the discretionary fund and opened it as she stepped outside.
The walk was only ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity as she made her way through the pouring rain of the dark morning. She couldn’t see that far ahead of herself. Cursing, he wished she’d brought a flashlight, but it was too late to turn back. Even when she did arrive at work each morning there was only ever one car in the parking lot, the sexy black sports car that she assumed was from the sixties. It had to be her boss, he always arrived ahead of her.
In fact, in order to be at her new desk before the seven a.m. client was due to arrive, she’d have to use the shortcut that she’d found on a late night walk home. She had to cut across an empty lot and a dead end street, but it would shave a few minutes off her time. As long as she didn’t get caught in a hidden mud puddle, she’d find herself at her desk by six fifty.
The only benefit of the dark was that she couldn’t see any of the shadows, not really. As she passed under streetlights, she could see them dancing through the yellow light, but once she reached the dead end street, it was too dark to notice them. It was almost too dark to see the old Victorian mansion that sat alone on the empty road.
She’d noticed it the other night as she’d walked home in the sunset, its dark exterior standing out against the falling orange leaves. It was elegant and well-kept and she had to wonder who lived there. Jane would probably know, someone with a house like that was bound to have some money at the bank, but she never thought to ask.
In the dark rain of the early Friday morning, the house looked decidedly more sinister as lightning cracked overhead. Another shadow crept across her eyes in the short burst of light, but the flash was over as quickly as it began and Cadence picked up her pace as she stomped through the field and got to the office building.
With a swipe of her key card, she was inside and out of the rain. Carefully, she wiped off her boots and picked them up as she walked barefoot across the empty lobby. The receptionist wasn’t due to arrive until eight-thirty and there was no one to sneer at her as she made her way to the office.
The cold shoulder she’d received from the other secretaries had yet to thaw and every time she did happen to see one of them, she would get a sneer in reply to her own smile. Worse, they wouldn’t even wait until she was out of earshot to start whispering about her and she would have no choice but to retreat back to the third floor where she and Ramona would sit alone, usually in silence, while they waited for another of Mr. Crane’s clients to arrive.
At the very least, she was thankful to have not run into Olivia at all. She was dreading seeing the woman that she’d inadvertently stolen the job of Mr. Crane’s executive secretary from. Everyone hated her for it, she couldn’t help but hate herself a little for it, but she could only imagine how much Olivia despised her.
The earl
y mornings were hard, but at least she didn’t have to worry about running into the rest of the secretaries. They were out for blood and the only person who didn’t seem to hate her was Ramona, and she was leaving for good at five.
For the first time since she’d started at Crane & Partners, Cadence got to her desk before Ramona. She tucked her coat into the small closet hidden behind her desk and hid her muddy boots on a plastic mat under her desk. Draven’s coat was in the closet as well, which was another indication he left for her that he was already in his office.
“Morning,” Ramona’s voice greeted her as she stepped off the elevator. “Sorry I’m running behind.”
“It’s okay,” Cadence smiled back at her from her spot behind the desk. “Mr. Darby isn’t in yet.”
Mr. Darby was Frederick Darby, a famous children’s book author who was scheduled to meet with Mr. Crane once a year at exactly this time. Most of Draven’s clients only made an appearance once every five years, but there were a few annual clients such as Mr. Darby.
Ramona had barely stuffed her coat in the closet when the buzzer at the front door of the building rang.
“Shit,” she muttered. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go get him,” Cadence said as she stood up from her desk. Mr. Darby was still a few minutes early, but she walked briskly to ensure he wasn’t waiting long in the rain.
“I apologize,” she said as she got the front door for Mr. Crane’s first client, but he didn’t seem to mind being kept waiting. Actually, none of Mr. Crane’s clients were anything but nice and patient.
When she started the job, she expected his executive clients to be rude, condescending, and worse, but they were all very well-mannered when kept waiting. If anything, some of them even seemed scared of the man and his secretaries.
“It’s fine,” Mr. Darby smiled, his face well lined with age. “I understand my early appointment is an inconvenience and I appreciate you being here.”
“It’s no problem,” Cadence assured him, even though it was a bit of a lie. “This way please.”
Once Mr. Darby was in Draven’s office, Ramona and Cadence were left to sit and wait until it was time to start making calls at nine. No one disturbed them, no one called them, and there was nothing to do but sit and wait.
Ramona pulled out another paperback and Cadence followed suit. She was happy to get some reading done while she was working, but soon she would be on her own and she wanted to ask Ramona questions about what else to expect from her job, but Ramona had assured her she had taught her everything she could.
“He’s been in there a while,” Cadence noted as the morning went on. Usually Mr. Crane’s clients took an hour, maybe two, tops, but Mr. Darby had been there for several hours.
“He likes to renegotiate once a year,” Ramona explained. “Mr. Crane only has one more appointment this evening, and it’s because Mr. Darby will be a while. Don’t worry, the book is all marked with people like him. You’ll be fine.”
“Thanks,” Cadence smiled. “I’m just nervous. What if I screw up?”
“You won’t,” Ramona assured her. “It’s pretty impossible, as long as you follow the book.”
Cadence was about to ask more questions, but the phone rang and she couldn’t help but jump. No one ever called Mr. Crane’s office directly, the phone was almost exclusively for outgoing calls.
“Hello?” Ramona answered. “Okay. Yes. We’ll be right down.”
“What’s going on?” Cadence asked.
“Well,” Ramona said, a smile growing across her lips. “It seems like the girls downstairs got me a good-bye cake.”
“That’s sweet,” Cadence said as she forced her own smile. “Have fun.”
“You can come with me,” Ramona told her as she stood from the desk. “Get yourself some cake.”
“I shouldn’t,” Cadence insisted. “I know they don’t like me much.”
“It’ll be fine,” Ramona assured her. “They can’t hate you forever for taking Olivia’s job. Please come, you should get to know them. Don’t spend your time here being isolated like I did.”
“Fine,” Cadence relented. She really didn’t want to come down to the second floor and show her face, she knew she wasn’t welcome and that it would be awkward. At most, she was going to make an appearance, maybe take a tiny sliver of cake, and then return to her desk. That was it.
Ramona stepped off the elevator first and Cadence did what she could to stay hidden behind her. The fewer people who noticed her, the better, but she wasn’t going to be that lucky. She barely made it out of the elevator before someone spotted her and the moment she locked eyes with Amy, she knew it had been a mistake to come down to Ramona’s good-bye party.
“I should go,” she whispered to Ramona, but she stopped her.
“Please stay,” Ramona insisted. That was when Cadence realized that Ramona was just as nervous as herself. She spent every day alone upstairs and probably knew the other secretaries as well as Cadence did. She needed an ally and Cadence couldn’t deny her that.
“Oh, Caitlyn,” Olivia sneered when she moved over to the small group of well-wishers.
“Um, it’s Cadence,” she corrected her.
“Whatever,” Olivia scoffed at her. “I take it things are going well upstairs.”
“Pretty good,” Cadence started, but she barely got the second syllable out of her lips before Olivia turned on her heel and went back to talking to some of the other secretaries.
It quickly became apparent to both Ramona and Cadence that the little good-bye party wasn’t so much a chance to send off Ramona with good wishes and cake, but an excuse for the other secretaries to get out of doing work for a little while eat cake, and, of course, make Cadence feel smaller than a speck of dust.
The other secretaries talked amongst themselves and while a few did talk to Ramona, Cadence was left standing by herself. She tried once to talk to Amy, but Olivia shot the other secretary a glance and Amy slunk away, leaving Cadence alone all over again.
When the cake was finally cut, Cadence expected to be left out once again, but by some miracle, a slice of the chocolate cake found its way to her hands. She found herself near tears in appreciation for the woman who handed her the plate.
The cake did look appetizing and the last thing Cadence wanted was to ostracize herself further by rejecting the offer. She even got a big glob of white icing on her piece and she couldn’t deny her own sweet tooth. She wanted the cake, but she worried the women would hate her more for taking a piece of cake if it wasn’t meant for her.
Still, she didn’t want to reject the peace offering, if that’s what it was. Someone had decided she deserved a piece and she slid her fork into the moist cake, excited to join her coworkers in enjoying the mid-day treat.
Until her fork hit something hard within the cake. The fork almost felt tangled in something thin and hard within her piece of cake and as she pulled her piece apart, she realized just what had caused the problem.
Inside the slice of cake she’d been given were at least five toothpicks, shoved in there intentionally to stop her from enjoying her slice. There was no way she would be able to eat around it the little wooden sticks and when she looked up, she realized that Olivia and the gaggle of secretaries were giggling at her while Ramona looked on in disappointment.
“Okay,” Cadence said with her head bowed. “I get it. You guys hate me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
She couldn’t bear the idea of working there any longer if this was the kind of stuff she was going to have to put up with. Even she didn’t know what Mr. Crane saw in her to decide to pass over Olivia. She had no experience, no talents, nothing. Now she was in over her head and once Ramona left, she would have no one there to help her if she stumbled.
“Maybe you should just go home, sweetie,” Olivia said with venom dripping from her voice.
“Yeah,” Cadence said as her shoulders slumped with defeat. It really was the icing on
the cake and she couldn’t handle it any more. Jane would hate her for giving up so easily, but she couldn’t imagine staying there for a minute more. The toothpicks weren’t that bad, but she knew it would just get worse and she had to get out while she still could.
Even with her obvious defeat, Olivia wouldn’t let up. The woman was out for blood and her claws were bared. She wasn’t going to relent until Cadence was in tears, or worse.
“Why did you even come down here?” Olivia spit at her. “No one wanted you down here, yet you still walked in. Isn’t it bad enough you took my job? Now you’re just rubbing my nose in it!”
Cadence didn’t know what else to say. Instead, she tried to flee back to the elevator, but her antagonist wasn’t done yet. Olivia blocked her escape only ten feet from the metallic elevator doors. Cadence could see her escape, but she couldn’t reach it and all she wanted to do was disappear.
“Do you know how long I worked for that job?” Olivia asked, her voice a hiss as she kept her back to the elevator. “You think you can just waltz in here and take what I’ve worked for? Who the hell do you think you are?”
Olivia had started out malicious, but she was turning angry and her fists were clenched with rage. Cadence wasn’t so much worried about being ostracized or mocked anymore. She was really starting to worry that Olivia was going to attack her and Cadence flinched as Olivia took a step towards her.
Everyone behind them was mumbling their agreements with Olivia’s anger, but their voices went silent as the elevator doors opened again. Even Cadence’s eyes went wide as the tall, lean frame of Draven Crane stepped off the elevator. His hair was pushed back and he had a curious glint in those bright blue eyes of his. That same mischievous smile was touching the corners of his mouth as he watched the display carrying on in front of him.
It was only Olivia, with her back to the elevator and rage on her face, that didn’t notice the boss’s arrival. She was too busy directing her anger at Cadence to take note of the tall, imposing man behind her. She was still spewing vitriol and it wasn’t until Draven Crane cleared his voice that she spun to see him.
