Page 27 of Hate Notes

Vampire.

The thought was ridiculous, but I would have challenged anyone to look at her and not immediately think the same thing.

She stopped in front of me, towering at least six inches over me in her heels as she examined my badge. "Ember Hartwell," she said in a deep, husky voice. "I'm Moira. Come with me."

Moira either didn't see or didn't care about my extended hand before she turned and led me deeper into the office. More whispers followed us as we passed people at their computers, by the printers, and clustered around the coffee machine with stacks of papers under their arms.

I responded to each bit of gossip with my brightest smile, determined to make them feel at least a little guilty about their middle-school behavior. I kept my spine straight and shoulders back, but I had to admit the general aura of judgment was already starting to wear on me.

Moira led me through a narrow hallway, around a corner, and then to what I'm pretty sure used to be a janitor's closet. Actually... there was still a puddle of water on the concrete floor beneath my torn rolling chair.

Moira gestured to the desk. "This is your workstation."

"Oh," I said, aiming for cheerful. "It's nice and private. Nobody will bother me back here. Or hear me scream..."

"What was that?" Moira asked.

"Nothing!" I chirped, determined not to cause problems on day one. Who cared if I was working out of a janitor's closet? Who cared if everybody had apparently decided to either hate me or write me off as dead before lunch?

"Mr. Foster... insisted that I put you here," Moira said with the first hint of humanity in her tone. "I know it's unorthodox, but it's best not to question him. You'll either learn that fast or you'll be fired. That's just the way it is around here. So... make the best of it."

"Okay," I said. "So what does a member of your client relations team do around here, anyway?"

Moira actually softened a little once she began explaining my tasks and duties. Maybe my eager disposition helped her see I wasn't going to be a pain in her ass, or maybe the general aura of oppression in this place just had her in its clutches before.

From the sounds of it, I would start small for the first few days—mostly sending practice replies to clients based on a reference manual Moira would supply me. I'd look up their questions or concerns, research it in the reference book, and do my best to personalize the response. Someone would review my work before it was allowed to be sent out until they were sure I could be trusted with the task. Once I had that down, my responsibilities would gradually increase.

Simple enough.

"And, um," Moira said after explaining how to get signed in and access the email. "We take lunch around noon. It's best if you bring your lunch to your desk, though. Mr. Foster doesn't like it when employees leave for lunch or take too long to eat. You may need to order delivery if you didn't bring something."

"He expects people to just... stay here all day? Really?"

Moira looked slightly uncomfortable. "There are easy ways to get in his good graces. We've all found taking the easy wins when we can get them to be the wisest approach. There's... more, but I don't want to overwhelm you."

"Okay," I said slowly, even though the obstinate part of me was already bouncing around for release. I didn't want to cause problems, but I loved my lunch breaks. I loved food, period. I wasn't sure I could abide by this whole chained-to-my-desk thing…

"By the way," Moira said before leaving. "How did you get this job?"

I nearly choked on thin air. "Pardon?"

"Mr. Foster doesn't just thrust people onto my team. They're typically promoted from within over a long period of time. If you noticed some animosity, that would be why. Client relations is one of the most sought-after positions at Foster Real Estate. People view your hiring as a kind of jumping in line."

"Oh," I said. "Um. He asked me not to talk about it."

Moira folded her arms, eyes narrowed. "Alright," she said after a few uncomfortable seconds. "If you have any questions, keep them to yourself until tomorrow."

I smiled. "Oh, just one thing. Nobody has talked to me about a salary or showed me an official?—"

Moira was already walking off before I could finish my sentence.

Okay. Maybe she hadn't completely softened on me. I'd just have to ask about that tomorrow, but I was deeply curious to know what I was getting paid for this. Maybe I should've negotiated salary when Orion offered me the job and his lips were still wet from my tongue.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the memory. I knew Orion Foster was seen as a bad boss by his employees and I could've guessed he was generally unapproachable.

I didn't realize it was this bad, though.

His presence seemed to hang over the entire building like a dark cloud—as if he was the dark lord looming over his kingdom, untouchable and unseen on a high tower shrouded by stormclouds.

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