Page 4 of Of Mercury and Mist

One day, while I sat at my desk, he’d placed a fresh cup of my apple pie flavored coffee in front of me right when I told someone on the phone I liked their name. The moment I’d said, "Isaac” the lid popped off the cup. Micha went on to remind me of the zero fraternization rule Ipomoea had and I told him to stop flirting with me. His eyes had widened, and I could’ve sworn he’d blushed. I teased him for days.

Then it all ended suddenly, and he became the bane of my existence. It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment he became my enemy, but it was shortly after I’d teased him. He practically disappeared from my life, other than to yell at me for bullshit. My ad copy was immature, the photos lacked substance, my shirt was too low, I looked like a stripper, my search engine optimization was amateur. The harassment never ended.

Perhaps if I’d never teased him, he would’ve stopped the stranger and helped me get my stuff out of the room since he’d always seemed to be right wherever I was.

The rumors I’d heard about Ipomoea’s brutish handling of problem employees were believable to me after Micha stopped being friendly.

It was almost as if the security officer who’d discovered me downstairs enjoyed every second of our contact, the way he’d touched me. My body had responded to his like a flower to the sun and I hadn’t wanted him to stop despite the danger. Maybe that’s how they got you, by making you let your guard down, so their job was easy. The man could’ve railed me right against the counter and the only screams he’d have elicited from me would have been ecstasy, not terror.

I’d honestly thought it was the end when he’d caught me and the fact I wasn’t led away in handcuffs stunned me. But still, the door I was leaning against could be busted down any second, and I would be taken away.

At that, I shoved myself off the floor and moved farther into the convenient, on-site apartment.

I worked for a luxury pharmaceutical company that spared no expense with its products, or with its employees. The building contained studios for workers who needed rest or a respite between projects and the living spaces were incredible. It was the perfect space for me to take a breather and collect myself while deciding the next course of action.

My stomach was screaming for food and that was the one thing these little apartments didn’t have stocked. The employee lunchroom was mere steps away and contained a restaurant and coffee bar that rivaled some of the best boutiques out there. There were many to choose from; this was New York City after all, but I always ate at work rather than leaving or bringing something in.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave this room and risk being seen, though I would’ve killed for some soup and the amazingly delicious apple pie flavored coffee the bar carried. It was probably the cinnamon they added to the brew that did the trick, but just thinking about it made my mouth water. They were open twenty-four hours a day, but I didn’t dare step outside the door and draw attention.

My life was perfect, these days. I’d just gotten a nice new apartment with Andy, I was making more money than I’d ever dreamed of, and my best friend, Della worked here, too. Even Karissa was employed by the company. She and I weren’t as close, but she had become a good friend.

Unfortunately, Karissa’s keycard had been in the pile on the table. I didn’t know it was hers until I’d gone to grab my things and saw her name.

My blood ran cold when I remembered my phone. Frantically, I patted my pockets searching for the missing device and came up empty.

It must’ve dropped somewhere back in the work room and now I’d accidentally implicated her because her card was near my stuff.Shit. The way the company operated, there was no way there wouldn’t be repercussions for Karissa. I’d once seen them fire an entire shift because someone wore sneakers to work. When no one corrected their coworker’s behavior, it made them all complicit. It was insane and very likely illegal to operate that way, but that was Ipomoea for you. They were untouchable.

Sinking onto the bed, I let myself fall backward. The prickly feeling that’d coursed over me was debilitating. The last time I’d felt this awful was over a decade ago, when I’d been arrested for vandalism. It wouldn’t have been that bad if we hadn’t combined coke and hallucinogens together, but too bad for me and my friends. We were idiots, back in those days, recklessly consuming whatever.

For some reason our little group had decided to hiss and bark at the cops when they’d responded to a complaint and the situation rapidly devolved from there.

When I’d finally come down from the high—a good twelve hours later, this was exactly how I felt. I had a horrible, impending sense of doom and instability along with a stretched out string of “what the fuck do I do now” running a treadmill through my head.

Older did not equal wiser in my case. Not at the moment, at least. Never, ever again would I take a chance like that, not at any job. I pounded my fists against the memory foam mattress, stood up and shoved my unruly curls back, and snagged my keys from the floor where I’d tossed them.

It was so blindingly stupid, what I’d done. I couldn’t blame Karissa for being pissed, at least not once she found out. The opportunity for her to grab her card in the morning without anyone realizing she’d left it behind was gone.

The impression of the man who’d cornered me downstairs drifted into my mind. How long before he ratted me out? The concern was there but my distraction from other things continued. The feel of his torso against my back, the way he’d clearly been turned on when he shoved me against the counter. Maybe he’d keep his mouth shut since he obviously liked me.

Yes, I’d been terrified—still was. But the sensation of his body next to mine in the dark room, dominating me without a word, with no visual, had done something to me. With one arm around my neck and the other around my waist, he’d owned me, subdued me. I wasn’t able to speak a word.

So, who the hell was he? I’d never paid much attention to the company’s security people; they’d blended into the woodwork, and I tended to forget they were even there.

Mine and Andy’s relationship had gone the way of the dodo bird, so I’d been hurting for intimacy. The romantic love between us was lost, and the lust was gone. In retrospect, it never should’ve been there in the first place but being such close friends, we’d given it a shot. Fortunately, we were able to remain friends and roommates. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but we’d been friends since we were kids, so we adjusted.

But it’d been a while since I’d been intimate with anyone, so it hadn’t taken much to get me revved up and lusting after the first man to touch me in months.

I turned toward the door, still half expecting a group of Ipomoea’s guards to come busting through the lock like a SWAT team. Nothing happened, which was almost as bad as if it had. It was two in the morning, and I had the feeling the late hour wouldn’t stop my arrest. There was still time to be trampled by Josiah and Micha’s goons.

Should I stay? Go home? If I left the confines of the studio, I risked running into whoever it was who’d caught me in the act if he was searching for me after I ran away. This job wasn’t one I could lose. If the guy didn’t keep his mouth shut, I was toast.

Tugging off my shoes, I got as ready as I could for bed. I took off my skirt and sweater and crawled under the blankets with only a tank top and underwear on. The anticipation of the morning was almost too much to bear while I tried to fall asleep. Would I still have a job? Would they call me into the office and have the men in black waiting for me?

With the way Micha felt about me these days, the idea wasn’t that far-fetched. The man was one of the two company owners, and he absolutely despised me. He’d have fed me to wolves if he could, in a heartbeat. I had no clue what I’d ever done to attract his attention in the past, but it had been intense.

Della wasn’t here for me to subtly question in the morning, and I would’ve loved to ask her if she’d heard anything and find out what they were planning. Not that it would’ve helped any, it just would’ve mentally prepared me.

As it was, she’d been dragged away to Canada by Josiah, Micha’s best friend and ultimately, his boss. Della and I had been texting sporadically, but it looked like this work trip of theirs would be going on for a while and it seemed to be a very busy one.

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