by Bete Noire
“At least I didn’t go back to that stupid, frightening dream.”
She didn’t try to go back to sleep. Instead, she put in a load of laundry and made herself a full breakfast. While she only picked at it, it passed the time.
She was dressed and ready to leave for work when the dread hit her. After her self-satisfaction in the bath last night, she was embarrassed even though she knew nobody would know. All the way there, she was tempted to turn around and call in sick, but she didn’t want to let Dane Bowie win. Just because she masturbated to his image last night didn’t mean he’d know. And just because she’d had a stupid nightmare, she couldn’t skip work, especially now under the circumstances. Dread was a feeling she was beginning hate. She’d only experienced it occasionally, usually associated with important tests in school. Well, she was out of school and a working adult. She’d go to the office and do her job. It was job security, she reminded herself. Hopefully, Dane would leave her alone now that he’d made his point that he was in charge. After his strutting through her office yesterday and then singling her out in front of the other employees during the cake celebration, she hoped he’d back off and let her get on with her job as he got on with running the paper.
She stopped a block away and bought a copy of the local newspaper, a weekly. At lunch she could scan it and see if there were any positions that might suit her. Feeling better because she had a plan, she tucked it carefully away in her tote under her lunch.
“I have a plan,” she said aloud, just before entering the office, reinforcing the positive thoughts. She forced a smile on her lips as she opened the door and lost it immediately.
The silence was deafening. Usually, this early, the staff was rummaging around, pouring coffee and getting settled at their desks. Today, she glanced ahead and saw all the employees at their desks, their faces stern. Nobody would meet her gaze. While she was always private, she used to wave or smile and get the same in return. Today, they seemed to sit frozen in front of their computers. While she wanted to stop by Walter’s desk and say hello, she remembered he wouldn’t be there. The door to his office was shut, and his blinds were drawn. Then she remembered it wasn’t his office any longer. Passing by, she descended the stairs to her private workspace. Diana didn’t hold back her gasp as she hit the landing and opened the door.
Downstairs was a crew of men cleaning her space. Anger hit her first. Hadn’t Dane promised her just yesterday that he wouldn’t make any changes without her input? Upon further inspection, she noted that the men were merely vacuuming. The walls and the floors, even the ceiling and the light fixtures. One side of her wanted to turn on her heel and leave. The other side, the practical side, made her stay. Knowing there was no space for her at the moment, she simply sat on the top step and watched with a careful eye. She thought to take out the weekly newspaper she had picked up on the way in and scan the want ads but figured that would be pushing her luck.
The noise continued, and she wanted to scream. She didn’t. It would be foolish to leave her job, even if Mr. Bowie paid out her contract, and if she left, he didn’t have to. She felt his presence before she actually saw him or heard his greeting.
“Okay, you’re pissed that I didn’t wait for you. They’re only dusting. They have strict orders not to touch a file.”
“Why bother asking me, if you were going to do this anyway?”
“I have allergies.”
“Yeah,” she said, adding under her breath, “and I’ve got a large pain in my ass.” Diana didn’t expect him to burst out laughing. She cringed and thought that if he was having her space cleaned, that meant he intended to spend time down there—with her. She didn’t want to turn around but finally glanced over her shoulder. That was her downfall. When he was relaxed and smiling, it was hard to be mad at him. His expression was exactly the same as she’d used last night during her bath. Even in the dim light, she saw a glimpse of the man he probably was in reality, relaxed and smiling. Now she was pissed at him for sending in a cleaning crew, and at herself for having thoughts of how they might be together.
Diana was a focused woman who, until yesterday, had a very calm, satisfying life. Now she met this man and had turned into a sex-starved version of herself she didn’t recognize.
“They’ll be done in a little while. Then I promise not to make any more changes until we discuss them.”
“Thank you.” She refused to look directly at him, afraid she’d lose her professional composure and start to flirt with him. It wasn’t something she did often. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she actually did flirt with a man. Yet it was getting harder and harder to resent this man simply because of a business deal. It struck her that she was letting herself see the situation from his perspective. Keeping her hard edge was essential, especially since she was getting those warm, sex-starved feelings again.
“While I wait, is Walter busy? I’d like to talk to him.”
“Walter’s gone.” It was a flat statement of fact.
“Gone? But yesterday you made it seem he was going to stay on for a while.”
“I never said that. He felt it was best to make a clean break and let me run my newspaper. I didn’t disagree with him. Having two bosses is only confusing to the employees.”
She was stunned. Last night she figured Walter wanted some privacy after dropping this bomb on all of them. But she never considered he wouldn’t stay on for a bit. Now she was angry with Walter and annoyed with Dane. The vacuums droned on, and she wanted to scream. She didn’t. Instead, she decided to use this time alone with Dane to pick his brain about the future of the paper.
“Have you started your interviews to decide who will stay?”
“Not yet.” He moved forward and down a few steps, coming to sit beside her. Diana had to shift to the side to give him room. While she wanted him to leave, just his body heat was pleasing. “I think they’re all shell-shocked.” Dane nodded to the upper floor. “I’ll wait until the next issue is out and just observe.”
“Oh, that will elevate the stress for them.” The sarcasm in her voice wasn’t lost on him. He gave her a slight grimacing look.
“Life moves forward, Diana, and you know that. Most of the people in this company have been stuck in a rut. I want to shake them up a bit, make them come into this day and time to see the city and world around them as they truly are. We’re not going to remain a fluff paper. We’re going to do hard news again.”
“That’s your call.”
“But?” he asked.
“I didn’t appreciate you singling me out by name yesterday. You made it seem like I had inside information I hadn’t shared with them. Like I was in on the deal and kept it to myself.”
“Is that how you read that? I simply wanted a face near me that wasn’t scowling.”
“Wasn’t I? Then I guess you read my expression wrong.” Again, he let out a hearty laugh, and she wanted to hit him. But holding back her smile was more important. She didn’t know why she felt this sudden attraction to him, but she did. If she’d been alone, she would have rubbed her crotch. She had a passing vision of herself in the tub last night and groaned. Her only defense was to change the subject. “So, tell me something about yourself. Where are you from? Are you married? Any children?” It dawned on her she should have looked him up last night online and found out his history, but she was still absorbing the shock of his appearance and the unwanted changes to her future.
“Still single, no children. I’ve spent my life until now making my mark in the business world.”
“And what marks did you leave?” Diana wanted to turn and watch him as they spoke, but they were sitting so close his shoulder was leaning against hers. Churning inside her was a lust she’d never experienced. Damn this man. I can’t keep thinking we’re going to have some grand love affair or possibly more. The noise was starting to lessen, and she looked through the banister, noting some of the cleaning crew were winding up their power cords. “It looks like they’re done.
I guess it’s time for me to get to work.”
“Someday we’ll discuss my accomplishments. Maybe over supper one night.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to date the boss under any circumstances.”
“You’ll change your mind,” he said, easily rising from her side. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I’d like to know where Walter is. Do you have a phone number for him? The cell and home numbers I had aren’t picking up.”
“I believe he’s left for a much-earned vacation. I’ll let you know if I hear from him.”
“Maybe the lawyers who handled the sale of the paper will know how to get in touch with him.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t offer any of their names. Instantly, she wanted to slug him and held back. This truly wasn’t like her. One minute she was wondering how he’d be as a lover, and the next she hated him again. She decided any time she started to fantasize about them, she’d remember this instance of how elusive he truly was.
Diana stood and grabbed her tote, having to retreat back into the main office to let the cleaning crew pass. While she waited, she again noted not a single person shifted their gaze toward her. She was never so thankful to get downstairs. She had to admit it was cleaner, and from a quick glance, she didn’t see anything out of place. Even her tiny bathroom seemed to sparkle.
Putting aside her angst, she turned on her machines and tried to focus on her job. When lunchtime came, she ate at her desk, not bothering to open the paper she’d bought. She decided she’d bide her time a bit and see what happened. Leaving the office that night, she noted everyone was still at their desk and still wearing stone-cold expressions. All she could do was hope tomorrow would be better. Deep down, she knew it wouldn’t. She also knew she truly wanted to talk to Walter. She tried both his phones again and wasn’t able to leave a message on either. Changing her route, she walked the extra blocks in the opposite direction of her home to stop by his. Once there, she got no answer at the door. The place was locked up tight.
She stood looking at the old home, remembering how it had looked decorated for the holidays. Every year, Walter opened his home to employees and friends for a Christmas party. They had been festive times, with laughter and singing, Walter banging out tunes on the baby grand piano. Nobody cared if he missed a note occasionally. She’d also miss his summer party, usually an oyster feast where everyone was relaxed in shorts and T-shirts, drinking beer.
While they obviously weren’t confidants, she knew she’d miss his presence in her life. He knew New Orleans better than anyone else she’d met so far, and she liked how expressively he talked about her adopted home. How could he leave the only home he’d ever known without a word? It struck her again that he must have known for some time things were going to change and made his plans accordingly. She felt regret that this year there’d be no festivities in this grand old home with Walter, his friends, and employees.
The walk home was longer than she’d imagined, mostly because she couldn’t find the enthusiasm to get moving. By the time she got to her own home, Diana was exhausted. Dropping on the sofa, she fell asleep.
Unfortunately for her, when she woke, it was from the same dream she’d had last night, lost in the labyrinth of cold stone. The only light led to the same chamber with the same horribly disfigured man. Tonight the monster didn’t talk to her. Rather, it stood watching her. She understood it was because she refused to enter the chamber and, instead, stood in the dark hallway watching the monster, trying to get a better look at his environment. It was a stone room, roughly carved out, the space dank and cold.
She woke to darkness and almost fell off the sofa. After a quick shower, she went to her laptop. Something had changed in the dream, something she remembered. The mask the man wore reminded her of a bull. Years of school ran though her head, and she typed in her search.
Half man, half bull.
Diana gasped when the search turned up with the words “Minotaur” and “myth.” She opened the first page of listings and read through them. By the second page, she was overwhelmed. Most of the searches gave the same basic information. What bothered her most were the images that went with the articles. This was the monster from her nightmare. Even the labyrinth was depicted as she’d dreamed it.
Each entry was similar. Greek mythology related the myth of the Minotaur. He was described as a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man. He lived at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, an elaborate maze constructed under the city of Crete by decree of King Minos of Crete. The myth went that after ridding his land of his brothers, who were competing to rule, Minos agreed to sacrifice his best bull each year to Poseidon. For several years, the ritual was followed. Poseidon decided to test Minos and sent him a snow-white bull the following year. Minos was enamored with the bull and hid it for his personal stock. He offered Poseidon his second best bull, which was accepted, or so Minos thought.
To punish Minos, Poseidon had Aphrodite make the beautiful Pasiphae marry Minos. She immediately fell madly in love with the white bull. In secret, she had Daedalus, the finest craftsmen of their time, build a hollow, wooden cow. Pasiphae climbed inside the empty cow and proceeded to mate with the white bull. The offspring that was conceived of that coupling was the monster Minotaur. While Pasiphae mothered him in infancy, he grew ferocious. Being the unnatural offspring of woman and beast, he looked to man for his source of sustenance. Minos, who understood the Minotaur’s birth was his own fault for trying to trick Poseidon, had Daedalus construct the giant labyrinth under the city near Minos’s palace. There the Minotaur was left to survive on his own.
Each year, Minos ordered the Athenians to send over seven young men and seven young women to feed the Minotaur. This didn’t make Minos a popular ruler. Theseus, a strong young man, heard the cries of the families each year when their young were taken to feed the monster. He volunteered to replace one of the men. When he arrived in Crete, he met Ariadne, one of the king’s daughters. With her help, he was able to solve the labyrinthine maze and slaughtered the Minotaur.
Diana was mind-boggled when she finished reading the myth. There was a list of other myths, including Hercules, Medusa, Cerberus, Echidna, and Harpies. She wanted to read on but felt exhausted. More than exhausted, she was afraid to go to sleep, afraid what her dreams might conjure up.
Shutting the machine, she made a cup of tea and sat in her dark living room. Yes, she’d read the myth years ago for a college course. As she remembered, it was an elective she had figured was a few easy credits. Yet she still had no idea why or what had brought it to her mind these last nights. If she could figure out what triggered the dreams, she’d be able to get past them. Knowing what monster inhabited her subconscious would hopefully make them stop. She thought to search for information on Dane Bowie but couldn’t find the enthusiasm to actually open the computer again.
The next day she hurried to her basement office and went back over the week’s work she had scanned before the nightmares started. Nothing in any of those issues mentioned myths, Minotaurs, or any other of the mythical beasts she’d looked up. There was simply nothing that she could connect to the subject. While frustrated, she had to let it go and get back to work.
While she managed to continue scanning, the pages were just a blur, her mind preoccupied with monsters. Occasionally she’d hear a phone ring and voices upstairs. They were the only signs of life. She hadn’t heard anyone laughing today. Diana switched the pages and decided she probably wouldn’t for a while.
Then came the unmistakable sound of Dane’s voice. He was laughing at something. She wondered who he was talking to and if that person laughed because it was warranted or they felt it was required. Damn that man. She had enough on her mind beyond becoming increasingly besotted by a man she knew nothing about. A man who would single her out for his own comfort in an unfriendly crowd. How else would he use her, she wondered, and silently berated herself for the warmth spreading through her lower body.
Just after lunch, Dane came down. She was used to Walter stopping down to check on her at least once a day. Usually they would talk over what she was scanning or world events. It seemed to her Dane had a different purpose. Today, he seemed to be staring at her differently. Diana knew everyone upstairs would know of his dropping by, and it made her tense.
“Is there something I can help you with?” she asked, continuing to scan her precious back copies.
“You look tired,” he said, resting his hip on the edge of her worktable.
“Just fine.” Immediately, she wanted to pull it back because of the attitude in her tone. Relenting, she pushed back in her chair and openly studied him. “Okay, what’s up? Is there a problem with the Sunday issue?”
“No. It’s coming along. Not as fresh as I’d hoped for, but it’s coming.”
“Maybe the reporters aren’t sure what you want from them or what your definition of fresh is?”
“That’s one possibility.”
Today he seemed on edge. The easygoing man she’d met just a few days before was gone. Diana realized it was mostly a front, the new owner being overzealous with his new project and employees.
“Nobody upstairs talking to you?”
“Something like that. But they’ll come around.” He shrugged as if he didn’t care.
“Maybe they’re all wondering if they’ll still have a job next week, or next month. If you haven’t told them what you expect from them except ‘fresh,’ how can you expect them to produce? Everyone up there will have a different definition of the concept.”
“It will all work out with a little time.” He hesitated then added, “Are you sure you won’t have supper with me tonight?”
“No, I won’t change my mind. Dating my new boss is not a good idea.”
“I got the impression you were friends with Walter and occasionally dined with him.”
