Page 6 of Of Mercury and Mist

Obediently, I followed along, trying to keep up with his strides. He seemed unhurried, as if nothing was wrong and he was merely escorting an innocent employee. I searched for a sliver of relief but the fear I was walking to my imminent doom overpowered any bit of confidence I could’ve possibly have mustered.

We arrived at his office, and he held the door open. He took up the doorway, facing me directly, and clearly expected me to enter. It was all I could do not to glare while he stared down at me, his deep gray eyes seeming to penetrate right through my skull, accessing my private thoughts.

After I’d twisted sideways past him, I stopped in the center of the room.

When I’d first started at Ipomoea, eye contact with superiors was expressly forbidden. Josiah and Micha had worn sunglasses, almost never removing the blocking shields from their faces. Once Della and Josiah had started dating, Josiah let down his guard around me but still kept the shades on in the office and public, most of the time. And it was no wonder, with his coal black irises. They were both simultaneously weird and cool, demanding attention.

Micha’s eyes were different. A deep steel-color that appeared metallic at times, they were pretty and nearly as disturbing as his friend’s due to the uniqueness. I’d wondered about their unusual eye colors until I remembered my friend in kindergarten who had honey-colored eyes, and then another I’d met who had purple. There was infinite variety in nature, and it wasn’t polite to stare.

Micha often wore glasses too, but after a while he’d stopped bothering around the quieter areas of the building, and he never wore them around me. It was almost as if he wanted me to stare, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Like right now, he wasn’t wearing them, and I wished he was. He stood unmoving, holding me in place with laser-like focus, not saying a word. He’d done this to me before, except this time the aggression radiating from the coiled tiger of a man filled the entire room instead of just giving me a fleeting headache. It was choking me, drowning me, and if I’d been able, I would’ve melted into the carpet.

As always, his appearance was immaculate. His black pants were perfectly creased, and his shoes shone like mirrors. A button-up shirt matched his eyes perfectly and a sleek gold-toned bar held his tie down in absolute submission. If I dared touch his suit jacket, the sharp edges of the lapels would’ve sliced my fingers to the bone.

No sane person would fuck with Micha or Josiah.

The silence ticked by until I couldn’t bear it any longer. “Did you need something from me? I’m expected at my desk.”

Micha’s eyes perused my outfit, breaking our staring competition. I could’ve sworn I caught one corner of his eyes crinkling with a quarter second of amusement while he took in my appearance. Had I discovered a tell? The man was known for just staring and my theory was it was an intimidation tactic—he used it to break people. He probably didn’t need to go to such lengths since just being around him made any normal person want to run away.

I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of doing so.

His gaze softened and he tucked his hands in his pockets. “I do, Ashley. I do.”

On edge, I waited. He strolled around his desk, seating himself in the leather chair before running a hand through his hair. Then he tapped away at his laptop, like he had all the time in the world.

I suppose he did, being as he was running the whole place while Josiah was gone.

When he leaned back, he opened a drawer and retrieved something and tossed it to the edge of the desk. A key card.

My heart skipped a beat, and I swallowed, my vision going blurry before I collected myself, praying I gave nothing away. “What’s that for?”

Micha rested his arm and pressed a finger to his lips before answering. “You know exactly what that is.”

“Yes,” I sighed. “It's a key card. What am I supposed to do with it?”

Micha glanced at the bookcase to my left and I followed, letting my gaze trail over what appeared to be an extensive collection of the classics with some legal and motivational publications mixed in. The standard knickknacks of an executive broke up the shelves, with molded statues and artwork, the odd award or two.

He returned his gaze to me. “We have camera footage of an incident last night.” He licked his lips before capturing my eyes once again. “Downstairs in the labs.”

My pulse began racing, and my skin grew moist.My deodorant better stay working, I thought, though that was probably the least of my worries. My frayed nerves almost had me laughing out loud over my trivial concern. Biting my lip stopped a nervous smile.

Micha’s eyes narrowed. Unsure what to say, I suggested, “That sounds like an issue for the security department.”

“Um huh,” Micha said. “You’re playing coy with me. I don’t like it.”

What do I do? The question looped through my head on repeat and suddenly, the man was directly beside me, his hand gripping the back of my neck like I was a cat. I froze. He’d never laid a finger on me before and I was at a loss for what to do.

Everything came into hyper-focus. The feel of my skin captured in his grip, my shoulder and upper arm against the solid wall of his chest. The ascetic, sharp scent of his cologne. His belt buckle pressing into my rib cage, hard enough to bruise me.

Foolishly, I glanced up, inadvertently increasing the pressure of his grasp. I let out a squeal and his nostrils flared lightly. His eyes looked like swirling pools of mercury, and I stared, transfixed by the sight. I blinked and the oddity was gone before I could determine whether I was hallucinating out of fear, or he had some crazy contact lenses.

Micha dragged me across the room and tapped a spot on the wall by the bookcase. Next thing I knew, the wall separated, opening a hidden space.

“What? What are you doing? What is this?” I flung my hands up and grappled with his, but he wouldn’t let go. He squeezed harder, moving a finger and increasing the pressure on a spot that left me gaping in pain. My legs gave out and soon I was being dragged into the secret room.

Micha tossed me to the floor, and I rolled onto my side, curling in the fetal position and waiting for the shock to pass.

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