by Geonn Cannon
Ari said, “Well. Sure, I wouldn’t have been against it…”
“Oh, really…” She moved her hand to the front of Ari’s pants.
“Dale, it’s the middle of the day…”
“I know.” She leaned closer. “Fuck me, Ariadne.”
Ari took a step back. “What the hell is in Seattle’s water today? The woman from the gym tried to grope me, Tiffany kissed me for rescuing her, and now you.”
“You don’t like me coming onto you?”
“I love it, Dale. You know that.”
Dale’s lips spread into a feral grin. “Then bend me over the desk, wolfie.”
Ari stepped out of Dale’s embrace. “Cut it out, Dale. I’m not in the mood right now.”
“Fine.” Dale dropped her hands and turned on her heel.
“Wait, are you mad at me now?”
“Nope.”
Dale slammed the door behind her as she went back to her desk. Ari rolled her eyes and finished buttoning her shirt. That wasn’t like Dale. In fact, the roleplay the night before hadn’t been like Dale, either. Maybe she should just throw the shirt out if it was going to draw women to her like flies. She put the strange encounter out of her mind and picked up Wilcox’s iPad. If she and Dale were going to be mad at each other, she could at least use the time to decrypt his notes.
She’d been working on it for ten minutes, hoping “Flex” might lead her somewhere, when her phone rang. She pushed down the flashing light. “Yeah, Dale?”
“Puppy… I’m not going to go in there… I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Any lingering anger Ari had faded. “You don’t have to be sorry, Dale. I’d be worried if you didn’t occasionally get the urge.”
“It’s not just that.” Dale sounded worried. Or scared. “As soon as you walked in, I wanted you. I needed to have you right there, Ari. I don’t know where the urge came from, but it vanished pretty much the second the door was closed. Same thing last night. I spent all day just… wanting you. And, yeah, it’s a great problem to have. But it’s kind of freaking me out.”
Ari said, “Are you saying that…” She frowned and stared at the phone. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that something weird is going on. Once my head cleared, I started thinking about the other women you said came onto you or touched you. Are you in heat?”
“That makes me hump everything in sight, not vice versa.” She thought back over the day. “But Diana didn’t do anything. She was perfectly behaved.”
Dale said, “Something weird is going on, though. How long has it been going on?”
“Uh…”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re an incredibly attractive specimen. I’ve been to bars with you, I know. But at this level? Come on.”
“A couple of days. Hey, come to think of it, Diana did invite me to Thanksgiving dinner.”
“That’s not unusual. You and Diana are friends. Neka invited you to Thanksgiving, too. Do you think she was attracted to you?”
Ari chewed her lip. “No. Not really.”
Dale said, “Okay, hold on.”
The phone was set down, and a second later Dale stepped into the office. She walked up to Ari’s desk and rested her hands on the edge. Ari stared up at her. They stayed like that for a long moment, like Dale was trying to identify an unusual odor in the room. Finally she sagged in defeat and nodded.
“Oh, yeah. I want you bad.”
“More than you did out there?” Ari asked, pointing at the door with her pinkie.
Dale nodded. “Yeah.”
Ari hung up the phone. “Is it my shampoo? What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know. I’m always attracted to you, but not like this. Not like… just… gotta have you right now feeling. Not all the time, anyway.”
“Maybe it’s the fact I was gone the whole summer.”
“Maybe. But that doesn’t explain the other women. Which I kind of want to get into when this whole mystery is solved. Wilcox’s secretary kissed you?”
Ari said, “Briefly, by surprise, and instantly thwarted.” She thought for a second. “Cecily Parrish didn’t seem particularly attracted to me. I was attracted to her.”
“Hell, we both were.” Dale shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Call her. See if she wants to come down. We can have some fun with her.”
“Dale,” Ari snapped.
“Right.” Dale pushed her hands through her hair. “God. I need to take a cold shower.”
Ari pushed back her chair and put the iPad to sleep. “I’m going to go see what I can figure out from home. You… stay here and control yourself.”
“I will.” She stepped back to give Ari room. “Don’t kiss me goodbye. Fuel on the fire.”
“Is this going to be a serious problem?”
Dale shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. Maybe I’m just regular-level horny, and then whatever is going on pushed it over the edge.”
“Would it help if I just had sex with you?”
Dale exhaled shakily. “I-I don’t know. Probably best not to risk it.”
Ari nodded. “We’ll figure this out. And if we don’t, and the worst thing that happens if I have to have sex with you every morning—”
“You’ve really got to stop talking, Ariadne.”
“Right.” She moved toward the door. “Uh. Okay. I’ll call you later.”
Dale said, “Yeah. I’ll keep trying to figure out the iPad’s code from here. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Ari left and stood outside in the fresh air. She lifted her arms and sniffed underneath them, not finding anything objectionable or overly attractive about the result. She hadn’t changed any of her bath supplies, so there was no reason women should start flinging themselves at her. And Dale was really a mystery. Their sex life had always been fantastic, so there was no need for a boost. Her trip to Cecily Parrish’s offices seemed to be the tipping point. If there were answers to be found, that was where they’d be. She was almost to her car before her phone buzzed with a text from Dale.
“Fire’s out. Something is definitely up.”
“Never thought I’d be happy to hear you weren’t hot for me.”
Dale sent back a smiling emoji and Ari grinned as she put the phone back in her pocket. The police were currently working on Flex and the Creep Cousins. She had a feeling she could get Diana to tell her anything they found out, so she had a few hours where she could investigate her own private mystery. And that included figuring out how to walk into a lawyer’s office and ask if she knew anything about the women who were suddenly throwing themselves at her feet left and right. Shouldn’t be too awkward at all.
Chapter Twelve
Ari stopped by the house and took a long, hot shower. She sniffed her soap and shampoo but didn’t detect anything odd about either. She also didn’t use either of them. She’d washed her hair that morning, and now she wanted nothing but hot water to hopefully sluice off whatever was causing such a wild reaction. They shared a laundry room with Neka, so she went up to sniff the detergent and fabric softener to see if there was maybe something amiss there. Nothing. It didn’t make sense that something, some odor, was affecting everyone around her without the wolf smelling it. Her sense of smell was strong as ever so it wasn’t as if that was on the blink.
Eventually she dressed and drove back to GG&M. She had no idea what she was going to say when she confronted Parrish, but she could pinpoint the sudden change in behavior to the time she spent in their offices. She rode the elevator up and stepped out to see a different receptionist in place behind the desk. Despite that, the girl smiled and greeted her by name.
“Good afternoon, Miss Willow. How can I help you today?”
“I’m here to see Cecily Parrish.”
She had anticipated another long wait, but the receptionist nodded. “Of course. She’s in court at the moment, but you can wait in her office if you’d like. Do you know the way?”
“Yeah,” Ari said, suspicious of the warm welcome. “I’ll… just go on, then.”
The receptionist nodded and went back to her work. Ari went through the doors and walked down the corridor. Maybe Parrish believed so strongly that Ari would take the offer that she’d already given her all-access to the building. That seemed incredibly sloppy for a law firm, but she would be stupid not to take advantage of it. She passed Parrish’s office and continued around the corner. A few of the other offices were occupied by men and women in suits, some typing and some on phones. One woman seemed to be asleep, her head propped up on her fist.
The corner across from Parrish’s office was open and had been turned into a break area. A man was sitting in one of the chairs provided, halfway through a blueberry muffin when he noticed Ari. His eyes drifted down her body, but this time she had to wonder if he was judging her clothes or if he was attracted to her.
“Hi. Do you need help finding something?”
Ari said, “Coffee. And I think I can figure it out from here.” She walked to the carafe. “I’m Ariadne Willow. I’m a private investigator.”
“Oh, right. Mrs. Parrish said she was talking with someone.”
“Mrs. Parrish?” Ari repeated. “She’s married?”
He chuckled under his breath. “Hard to believe, right? No offense to her, I just can’t even imagine what that wedding was like. I think she must have negotiated ‘love, honor, and obey’ down to ‘promise to occasionally listen to your opinion before I dismiss it out of hand.’” He stood up just enough to extend his hand to her. “I’m Denver Nelson. I’m a paralegal here.”
She shook his hand and took a seat in one of the other orange plastic chairs. “So what is it like working here?”
“Amazing. They’re really great here, and they’re great about giving you opportunities to advance. Most of the lawyers are pretty chill.”
Ari said, “And the partners? Gilles Girard and Moreau?”
“We never see them around. At least I never have. Most of the day-to-day stuff is done by Mrs. Parrish. That’s why she’s the one who gets to decide if you’re hired or not.”
“Okay.” She sipped her coffee, which was surprisingly good. “Do you know if Gilles Girard is one person or two? There’s no comma. I can’t figure it out.”
He grinned. “Two people. I think. But like I said, I’ve never seen them. So who knows?”
She nodded. “Can I ask you a strictly scientific question? I won’t be offended if the answer is no. I’m just truly curious.”
“And now I’m truly curious myself. Shoot.”
“Are you attracted to me?”
He smiled and tilted his head slightly. “Sorry. No. I’m asexual.”
Ari raised an eyebrow. “Wow. I’ve never met anyone who was asexual before.”
“Oh, sure you have. They just didn’t announce it.”
“Okay. Doesn’t really help my question, then.” Although Patsy said she was straight, and Diana was definitely gay, so whatever was going on wasn’t picky about orientation. Maybe Diana hadn’t been affected for the same reason Dale had the worst case. Diana was committed to her wife so she was untouched, and Dale was committed to Ari so she was turned up to eleven.
Denver said, “Kind of a weird survey to go around asking people. ‘Am I pretty,’ check yes or no. You don’t strike me as the vain sort.”
“I’m not. It’s just been a weird couple of days.”
Denver had finished his muffin and threw the wrapper away. “Well, I’m going to go ahead and tell you it’s a great place to work if you decide to come onboard. It would be nice to have someone who wasn’t a stuffed-suit wandering around the halls.” He offered his hand again. “It was nice to meet you, Ariadne Willow.”
“You too, Denver Nelson.”
When he left the break room, Ari watched him until he disappeared into the conference room. She got up and walked back to Parrish’s office, hoping she would be less conspicuous waiting there. She opened the door and breathed deep, hoping there might be something in the air. Instead she just smelled the standard office environment and the stiff reek of chemical air fresheners. She moved closer to the desk and smelled stale coffee and perfume.
She thought about their first encounter with Parrish in the courtroom. She and Dale were both attracted to her despite her demeanor, attitude, and the fact she’d made Ari look stupid on the stand. Maybe her perfume had some sort of pheromones that had transferred just by spending time in her office. She couldn’t detect anything particularly alien in the odors she was picking up. Maybe it was subliminal.
Or maybe she was just wasting her time. She was about to leave before she could be humiliated when she noticed the pictures on the desk. Last time she’d been in the office, there were three. Now there were two. She walked around to see the front of the pictures. Parrish on a rock outcropping was still there, as was the dog. The missing picture had been entirely and inexplicably red. It was also the only picture Parrish had asked her about.
Ari frowned at the space where the picture had been and tried to come up with a reason for it to have gone missing. She was still thinking when Cecily Parrish came into the office and stopped short.
“Miss Willow. Did we have an appointment?”
“No.” She pointed at the desk. “Where did the red picture go?”
Parrish shrugged. “I like to keep my area fresh. It had been there long enough.”
“But you weren’t sick of the other ones yet?”
Parrish smiled and shifted slightly, adopting a more casual stance. Something about her demeanor pissed Ari off, but she still felt an undeniable pull toward the woman. She knew if Parrish told her to undress and get on the desk, she would have a hard time fighting the urge. She suddenly understood how Dale had felt, how Patsy and Tiffany had felt, and she had all the confirmation she needed that Parrish was involved somehow.
“If I wasn’t clear last week, Miss Willow, we weren’t offering you a position as interior decorator. Please get out from behind my desk.”
Ari said, “What did you do to me?”
“Do…?”
“You did something.”
“Miss Willow, I offered you a job. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m beginning to think it was a mistake to go that far. If you’re suffering from some sort of paranoid delusions, the partners won’t accept you as an employee anyway.”
Ari said, “What is it? Perfume? Pheromones? Did it have something to do with the picture?”
Parrish was suddenly interested. All humor had faded from her face. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about women. Straight women throwing themselves at me.” She looked up at the ceiling to find the air vents. “Do you pump something in here to convince clients to settle?”
“You’re experiencing unwanted advances?”
Ari rolled her eyes. “I’m not suing anyone for sexual harassment. I just want to know what you did to me and when it will wear off.”
They had changed sides of the desk, with Parrish now backlit by the window. It made her look sinister as she took her seat.
“I did nothing to you, Miss Willow. I can assure you of that. It’s been five days since our meeting.” She reached up and brushed two fingers across her lips as her attention drifted toward the carpet. Parrish was acting as if she not only knew something, but she was surprised to hear it had worked. Or perhaps it was just unintended consequences of something else. Maybe what Ari was experiencing was accidental. “It shouldn’t last much longer. I would be very surprised if it was still an issue tomorrow.”
“What is it?”
Parrish turned her attention back to Ari. “What are you?”
Ari was completely thrown. “What?”
They stared each other down for a full minute without saying anything. It was Parrish who finally broke the standoff.
“If you want to take this further, I think we would both have to divulge information we’re not ready to share with each other.
You intrigue me, Miss Willow, so although you’ve now entered my office twice without permission, and overlooking your accusations that I’ve done something nefarious to you or to my clients, I’m keeping the job offer on the table. This week is Thanksgiving, so I would like an answer by next Monday.”
Ari said, “We’re not done.”
“Oh, no. We are most definitely not done, Ariadne. But this conversation is finished. I look forward to continuing it at some point once we’re both more comfortable with one another.”
Ari didn’t want to leave, but she also wasn’t about to tell this woman she was canidae. She turned and walked out, but she looked back into the office as the door was swinging shut. Parrish looked shaken, completely confused, as she stood and went to the window. There were definite secrets that needed to be uncovered, but until Ari was ready to show her hand, she couldn’t force Parrish to show hers. For the time being, she had to be content with the fact whatever had happened to her would wear off by morning. At least she wouldn’t have to suffer through Thanksgiving with Neka coming on to her.
#
Ari called Dale and said she would work the rest of the day from home, just to be safe. When Dale arrived with dinner, Ari stood in the middle of the living room for inspection. Dale approached cautiously, biting her bottom lip as she stood in front of Ari and gauged her response. She leaned in and sniffed Ari’s neck, and Ari laughed and kissed her shoulder. Dale lightly rested her hands on Ari’s hips and sagged against her. She pressed her lips against Ari’s collar.
“Well. I really want you. But I think it’s just standard level.”
“That low, huh?”
Dale leaned back and grinned. “What I mean to say is, I’d be fine with having dinner before you tore my clothes off and threw me on the bed.”
Ari kissed Dale’s cheeks, then her lips before taking the fast-food bags into the kitchen. She explained what had happened at Parrish’s office as she served everything onto plates. Dale got their drinks and sat at the table.
“That’s odd. So if you had told her you were a wolf…”
“I think she would have told me what she’d done. And I really do think whatever it was, she didn’t intend for it to happen. She seemed completely thrown by what I was saying.”
