Page 3 of Whispers in the Dark

“…questions, Brynn?” The sound of my name snagged my attention, and it was then I realized that Adrian had asked me a question.

“No. No, Sir. I got lost in thought for a moment. Apologies.”

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly in amusement. The movement was so slight, if I hadn’t been staring directly at him, I would have missed it. He was staring at me, too, trying to gauge if I was going to work out after all. He was now in a precarious position since I knew his identity.

“What… what may I assist with today?” I asked, eager to establish some sort of normalcy between us here in the office.

“Bea will continue your onboarding, so you’ll be shadowing her for the remainder of the week. Make sure you pay close attention and take very detailed notes, Brynn. Once the training wheels come off, you’d better be able to ride.”

With a nod and a soft, “Yes, Sir”, I excused myself and went in search of Bea. I felt so off-balance right now, and that feeling was amplified by some of the other employees watching me as I passed them. I hoped that wasn’t a bad sign. I didn’t usually talk with a lot of people in an office to begin with, but there were usually a few. To not have anyone would be miserable.

I made it back to Bea’s desk and it was empty. Spotting a folder with my name on it, I sat down and began to review the contents while I waited for her. There was a lot to learn just on the first few pages.Holy shit.

“Hi. You’re Brynn, right?”

I looked up to see a beautiful brunette smiling at me. Without waiting for me to answer, she continued.

“I just wanted to welcome you to the office. My name is Andi. Short for Andrea. We’re glad you’re here and would love to have you come join a group of us for lunch soon. If not today, then sometime this week.”

“I… thank you, Andi. It’s nice to meet you and I will take you up on that lunch as soon as I figure out what my schedule might be. I’m not sure what Mr. Benedict might need from me yet.”

A look I couldn’t quite pinpoint passed over her features. “Mr. Benedict can be kind of a hard ass, but he is fair… and he definitely believes in lunch. I’ll see you around. If you need anything, I’m in Marketing.”

With that, she was gone and Bea was back. She was pleased to see that I had already begun reviewing the packet she had put together for me.

Leading me to a small meeting room, she gave me what she called a fundamentals course, explaining the history of BenedictTechnologies, the different types of products it produced, products that were prototyped but never launched, and products that were currently in the R&D phase.

“You certainly know a lot more than most executive assistants would about this sort of thing,” I told her. She grinned and nodded.

“That was one thing I always liked,” she said. “I had an inside scoop on research and beta testing, that sort of thing. Mr. Benedict entrusted me with a lot of information. He will do the same with you and it’s a big responsibility.”

“It sounds like it,” I replied.

She went through another section of information, assuring me we would repeat the session tomorrow. I had scribbled a lot of notes in the margins of the packet that she’d made for me. I had a feeling I would refer back to them for some time after she was gone.

After, Bea gave me a walk-through of the rest of the office, introducing me to more people along the way. I was pleased to see a variety of ages worked for Benedict Technologies. To me, that indicated that Adrian valued experience as well as new perspective. Both were important in the technology space.

By the time we made it back to her desk, my stomach was protesting its empty state. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I had brought my lunch in case there wasn’t time to leave.

I was digging in my bag for my sandwich when my wrist vibrated from a notification. My neighbor was letting me know he was taking Lug Nut for a lunchtime walk per our new agreement. For $100 a week plus two dozen cookies every two weeks, he had volunteered to look after the dog since I would now be gone during the day.

I was about to pull out my sandwich when I smelled Adrian’s cologne.

“Are you ladies ready for lunch?”

Bea appeared somewhat surprised for a brief second, but quickly recovered, smiling brightly. “Of course, Mr. Benedict. How nice of you to offer. Are you ready, Brynn?”

With a nod, I rose, and the three of us left. Adrian mentioned there was a bistro within walking distance and they had a table already waiting for us.

Based on Bea’s initial reaction, I had already determined that lunch with his employees wasn’t something Adrian normally did, so why now?

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we were ushered to a corner table and I could already tell that I would like it. The feel of the place was cozy and once I got a look at the menu, I knew I would be tempted to take home dinner on a regular basis.

The majority of the conversation was between Bea and me while Adrian listened. I had expected him to mostly listen, but him studying me was unnerving. The other woman basically acted as though he wasn’t even at the table, but I found that more of a challenge. His mere presence affected me more than I liked to admit.

He shifted in his chair, his knee brushing mine and I could almost bet it had been intentional. He was testing me to see what my reactions were going to be in front of other people. I felt like my chest was squeezing. I had no idea how I managed to hold on to my composure, but I continued talking to Bea without a hitch in my voice or a change in my breathing. The only outward sign I had even felt his knee was me digging the nail of my left index finger into the table.

That seemed to satisfy Adrian. He moved his knee away and I felt like I could breathe again. Adrian signaled for the check and Bea took that opportunity to excuse herself to the Ladies’ Room. When she was out of earshot, I glanced at my boss.

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