Project X

by Watkins, TM

  “Hello.”

  “Uh an urgent delivery and lucky you, you have to sign for it.”

  He patted his jacket and pants searching for a pen. When he couldn't find one he turned to his office and I followed him with a lot of hesitation. I stood at the threshold of the room, giving it a quick scan. There was no Eva.

  Limited light shone through the vertical blinds, it darkened the room but the light from the overhead panels lit up the room. The walls were a stark white and to the right of the door was a lounge, clearly where Eva had been sitting. But where was she now? Was she under the desk? I scanned the rest of the room finding there was nowhere else to hide. She had to be under the desk. Dorian looked up at me with a cheeky grin.

  “Are you too scared to come into my office?”

  “Uh no.”

  I quickly moved across the wood floor and held out the parcel to him. He scrawled his signature over the docket and ripped it off, leaving them both on the desk. Dorian sat back on his chair with a happy sigh, with one finger he beckoned me. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I rounded his desk, did he truly dare to be so naughty with his sister inches away? He tugged my hand and pulled me onto his lap, casually I glanced under his desk, nothing. I wasn't hearing things; I really did hear a woman talking to Dorian. I heard him call her Eva, his sister. So where the hell was she?

  As Dorian nuzzled at my neck and put his hands in places that he really shouldn't, I looked around the room. A door. A god damned door was on the same wall as the door to the reception area. It would sit behind the elevators, to where I could only assume was to Eva's apartment upstairs. Dorian really did own at least one apartment. Maybe he owned the entire building and the other apartments were a ruse. If that was the case, then gaining access would prove troublesome.

  Chapter 22: Diamonds and Schematics

  Dorian opened the parcel in front of me, it was only small and had no markings on it. Just plain brown paper, the same as every other parcel that comes through this place. I was still on his lap; he wouldn't let me move. The brown paper fell away and underneath it was a red box. My heart fell into the pit of my stomach for the second time in the past half an hour. It wasn't just any old red box; it was a Cartier jewelry box. Dorian opened the box and lifted the necklace out of it, putting it on me.

  “You cannot be serious.”

  “I am. Wear it always.”

  It was heavy, it pulled on the chain and sat hard on my chest. The pendant was pretty, a round piece that had many pieces of diamonds in a circle formation, black stones surrounded it with another larger black stone in the center.

  “I can't accept such an extravagant gift Dorian. I'll be mugged on the way home for crying out loud.”

  “You won't be mugged.” He scoffed. “Promise me you will wear it.”

  I looked at Dorian, he was serious. He really wanted me to wear this seriously over the top necklace and it looked like it might crush him if I said no. I inwardly sighed, I would accept it to shut him up and keep him happy and when this was over I would send it back to him. With a smile I kissed him sweetly.

  “You are too generous. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, now back to work with you before I do something completely irrational.”

  “Like?” I grinned as I got off his lap.

  “Like detain you for longer and use this desk for something other than its intended purpose.”

  I playfully pouted and fluttered my eyes, playing the part perfectly.

  “Not here.” He stood to his feet and pressed me against the desk. “As much as I would love to, I would rather your first time to be somewhere more comfortable and intimate. Who knows who might interrupt us?”

  Your sister, for one? I nodded with a grin and pulled on his tie, bring him closer to kiss him.

  “You are too much of a temptation.” He whispered against my lips, staring deep into me. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  “I promise I will be a gentleman, there is no robbing you of your virtue tonight.”

  “Aww.” I pouted playfully again.

  He grinned as his lips traced over mine, his hands finding their way to the skin of my legs as he pulled them apart and around his waist. With a gentle press forward I was a puddle of needy mess. I could beg him to take me on his desk and I would except that somehow I knew that no matter how much I begged, he wouldn't give in to me.

  After leaving his company and his kisses behind, I returned to the mail room for an afternoon of boredom. I fell asleep in the mail room, the high of the caffeine was gone and I had been hit with a lull so bad I actually fell asleep. It was in the little kitchen, sitting at the table and I had fallen asleep rather ungracefully. My neck was now sore from my head falling backwards, with a pained grimace I rubbed it and took stock of my surroundings. Everything was still the same as before, I glanced at my watch and saw that it was five minutes before the end of the working day.

  “Well that worked out rather well.”

  I yawned and stretched, then got up to make my way around the room to shut off all of the equipment. The door to the garage opened just as I pushed the outgoing mail cart. Bobby smiled at me and pushed them through to his area, the truck was in the loading dock waiting to leave.

  Wearily I made my way through to the lockers, narrowly avoiding Madelyn. Notes had been left for me about the paperwork and I hadn't gotten around to dealing with it. Too busy eating chocolate and getting drunk with the boss man. As I sneaked through the corridors and quickly scampered past the door to her area, I thought about today's revelations. Amy was being sent to keep Eva company. Eva, a woman who was in seclusion because there was something wrong with her, something that kept her from going out into society. She was a danger, apparently. She injected herself with what Dorian called a poison, did he mean Botox? Eva mentioned security, was she an alcoholic maybe?

  I had two hours before Dorian was picking me up, I walked a fast pace to the coffee shop. Walter was in the back room when I arrived, his co-worker nodded at me without a single care. It was likely that Walter had told him I was a girlfriend or something utterly ridiculous.

  “Hey.”

  Walter looked up at me from the shelves he was stocking.

  “Hey. What brings you back so quickly? They aren't ready yet.”

  “I figured that. I need intel on Amy Edwards and have you got the schematics for the security system yet?”

  “Frank took over that job.” Walter rolled his eyes. “Don't be in too much of a hurry.”

  I leaned on the wall behind Walter and casually glanced out the door. There was a slow steady stream of customers that kept the other guy occupied.

  “They've got a function on tomorrow night. I've been invited so I won't be able to do it then but maybe the next night if he gets his ass into gear.”

  Walter shrugged as he always does. If he was still tasked with the duty, the plans would be in my hands already. He was more tech savvy than Frank and Chet put together and even though he was lazy, he still came through on time.

  “So, this Amy chick. What's her deal?”

  “She's the receptionist, according to the guy I replaced he said that she would have access to all sorts of information being that she handles almost everything. She has to go on annual leave and then she's going to babysit the owner, Eva.”

  Walter turned with a crinkled face.

  “Babysit?”

  “I don't know Wal but something crazy is going down at that place. Either way, we've got to get her while she's on annual leave or not at all. Once she's in Eva's apartment I don't know when she'll be back.”

  If at all.

  “She could be a gold mine of information but we have to find something that we can blackmail her with or bribe her with. Did the client say if they have a slush fund for bribing an employee?”

  “No, but I will get it checked out. Make sure you drop in tomorrow morning, won't you?”

  “Yep. So…. How long do you think
you're going to be kept here?”

  Walter laughed and turned to me with a wicked smirk.

  “Worried you'll miss out on the free coffees?”

  “Oh yeah sure.” I rolled my eyes.

  “For as long as you need an in between that isn't noticeable. Dad's seen that me being here has become a blessing in disguise for you.” He hesitated for a moment. “There's a meeting on tonight, think you can get there?”

  I shook my head vehemently. “Dinner with the boss. He's proving to be a difficult one but I think I can get there.”

  Walter's eyes narrowed to thin slits.

  “Difficult how? Does it have something to do with that monster necklace you're wearing?”

  “Fricken' Cartier!” I hissed. “I've been freaking out that someone will pinch it from me.”

  Walter rolled his eyes.

  “Be serious KC, most people can't afford something that big so they will assume you can't either. It's gaudy enough to pretend its costume jewelry. So what, three days and the boss is giving you jewelry? Jeez wait till Tilley hears about that, she will be fuming she didn't get the mission.”

  He pulled out his phone and leaned on the wall opposite, tapping away at it.

  “Amy Edwards you say? This her?”

  Walter turned the phone around and I saw a picture of Amy on Facebook.

  “Yep, that's her.”

  “I've seen her in here a few times. She's dropped a few hints but never really pushed like my other target. If I see her tomorrow, I'll definitely ramp up the smile and maybe a free muffin. I'm sure Tilley won't notice the extra charge.”

  I chuckled. “No, she definitely won't.”

  Chapter 23: Holy mother of mayhem

  The afternoon sun slipped behind darkening clouds, it looked like one hell of a storm was headed our way. Unfortunately, I was going to get caught in it. I was walking briskly to the bus stop, in the distance a familiar figure approached. It was either Chet or Frank, at a distance I couldn't tell. It was only until they got closer and I saw that Frank had a crooked nose from a football injury that I knew the difference. I had told Chet that he was never allowed to break his nose, ever. The figure was walking a quickened pace, like everyone else on the street. His long black jacket was tight to his frame, shielding himself from the brisk wind that was howling past us.

  “Sorry miss.” Chet muttered as he deliberately bumped me.

  “It's alright.” I smiled back at him.

  He continued on his way and I joined the end of the queue for the bus. I acted casual like nothing was different, the line moved slowly and by the end of the minute I was sliding my bus pass through the reader. The bus was pretty full already, I gladly took one of the seats at the back. It held so much darkness due to a blown light, so naturally most people sat to the front of the bus. But not me, I wanted the darkness and with the sun still out it wasn't that bad. I only needed limited light to see what Chet had put in my pocket.

  You are being watched by the target's goons. Wal knows now, proceed as planned.

  I sighed and ripped the piece of paper into smaller pieces and then ate it. Quickly I pulled out the banana I had rolling around the bottom of my bag and ate it too, hoping that it would aid the horrid thing. This was a serious worry, it meant that Dorian suspected me. My fingers touched the necklace, the extravagant gift from him. He had known me for three days and he gives me this… this thing. We hadn't even had sex yet; sure it wasn't what made a relationship solid but I would have thought that the ostentatious gifts would come after he got his fun time.

  As the bus jerked its way around the corner and slowly built up speed again I looked out the window. The landscape was slowly turning from corporate skyscrapers to light industry, with a few more minutes of travel we would hit the inner city suburbia. I couldn't help but worry about Chet's note. Why was I being watched? I hadn't even made a serious play for the information yet, surely my few questions about the working environment and fellow employees wouldn't arouse suspicion.

  Thinking back over the past few days I thought of everything that I had done since the interview. Went and had a coffee where Wal worked, stayed far too long. Stupid Tilley sat down, that in itself proved to be suspicious. Went to Indigo Rain, Dorian was there and had seen Tilley but I had managed to weasel my way out of that one. Or had I? Surely he wouldn't employ me if he thought I was a spy. I moved onward. Gringos and Chet? No, he never looked at me, he just sat beside me at a packed bar so it could be ruled out… maybe. I'll keep that one in mind for re-evaluation later if necessary. Amber and her garbage bag, late at night. Okay so that was abnormal but Amber's middle name should be abnormal and I think Dorian got that message loud and clear. Moving on. First day of work, nothing really unusual considering that Jack was always with me. Except for daydreaming at lunch, it was a boring day. Though Jack did suggest I should be a spy. Was that a Freudian slip? Possibly, maybe I should be wary of Jack. Then there was the package delivery and the phone call to Hiroki, did he think that I had heard it? Maybe.

  The bus slowed as an elderly woman got off and I realized that it was my stop. I scrabbled out of the seat and ran down the aisle, barely making it before the driver started to close the door.

  “Wait!”

  He looked back at me and with a roll of his eyes he reopened the door.

  “Sorry.” I said with a lot of puff and thumped my way down the stairs.

  As the bus pulled away I looked around the street, wondering if they would go to the effort of following me when I was on the bus. There were a few cars around but they were all parked and I was instantly suspicious. I turned the corner of my street and walked home, wondering if they would start stalking me on my own street. It was unlikely, there were only a few cars parked on the street and they were past my house. It would be too obvious. I continued to think about these people following me. Did I say something when I was drunk last night? That was a hazard that I was going to have to be mindful about. Out of nowhere something dawned on me, Walter.

  “How stupid could I be?” I hissed to no one.

  It was so obvious. I had told Dorian at Indigo Rain that I thought Walter was cute, it was a rash statement that I hadn't thought about because I was more concerned that Dorian would realize Walter was a spy. But now that I think about the past three days, I realize how much time I have spent at the coffee house where Wal works or in the vicinity of Walter. A lot. Dorian was keeping an eye on me because he's jealous.

  “God damn it!”

  I pushed through the front door and Amber was waiting with her magna doodle. Ordinarily I would roll my eyes but not today.

  “Holy mother of mayhem would you look at the size of that thing! Is it real?”

  “Sadly yes.”

  I took the magna doodle from her and walked to my bedroom, scrawling on it and then passing it back to her. Dumping my bag onto the bed, I took off the overbearing necklace and put it on my chest of draws. Amber held up the board with a freaked out face.

  Followed????

  I nodded and took it from her. This was a long and painful process.

  Jealous of Wal, I just realized.

  Amber frowned and then nodded with her own look of surprise.

  Landlord sent a handyman today. New smoke alarms.

  Her eyes were narrowed and I knew that she did not believe it. She scrubbed it out and wrote another message.

  I opened them when he left, there are listening devices in there.

  My eyes widened and I took the board.

  Cameras?

  Amber shook her head and I sighed with relief. We could avoid talking about things with the aid of this stupid children's toy but a camera wasn't so easy. Amber smiled sweetly and walked out of the room, into her own. Seconds later the music was on and it was louder than ever before. Then her caterwauling began. God love her, she was a bright spark that could liven the dullest of days but her singing was awful.

  “Hey.” I yelled over the music. “Have you got another dress?”r />
  She nodded and walked back into her room, returning with a pile of choices. Instead of dumping them on my bed or showing them to me, she put them in my cupboard. She then scuttled off and returned a minute or so later with her arms laden with shoes. Unceremoniously she dumped them onto the floor and left again. Next came the bags and accessories. I was being given everything that her mother had tried to bribe her with. Sadly, this was all since arriving at this house which has been no more than a month. Amber blew me a kiss and then sauntered out of the room. She was crazy.

  Chapter 24: Whispers on the dance floor

  Dorian stood in the entry with his fingers in his ears, his face wincing at the loudness.

  “Is there something wrong with the volume?” He yelled.

  I grinned and shook my head, taking his hand and pulling him out the door. As always he looked incredible. A dark blue shirt with black pants, his soft auburn hair flicked back and nicely styled. It wasn't fair, how could I walk away from him?

  “Everything okay?”

  Just soaking in the moment Dorian, one day soon I won't have this and I want to remember you always. My heart cried out with the pain of it. After three days, three stinking days I was already smitten.

  “Just perving.” I grinned.

  It was hard to fake a happy grin but thankfully Dorian didn't notice. He chuckled and moved closer to me, lifting me off the last step and swinging me around to the foot path.

  “Dirty girl, have you no shame?”

  “None what so ever.”

  Slowly he walked to the car with me still in his arms.

  “I like this dress, one tug of that bow and I could pull it from you.”

  “You could.” I whispered with as much carnality as I could manage.

  I had worn a purple wrap dress; it wasn't too bad. It hugged my frame and went as far as the knees which I thought was appropriate for dinner. No doubt we would be going somewhere upscale like lunch. I worried that I was under-dressed for it, though what I was wearing at lunch was pretty abysmal. Black skirt and white shirt, boring but functional.