There’s a bit more movement.
We must be nearing lunch.
I catch Grant across the office, talking low with Trent, their heads bent toward each other enough to know it’s a private conversation in public.
Within seconds, Grant’s gaze shifts toward me, meeting mine through the window.
There’s no recognition on his face, but the man keeps calm in the craziest circumstances, so I don’t take offense.
I’ve never seen him riled.
Maybe that’s because he’s got the experience.
He’s been through more than my dad.
It’s probably why he’s in charge.
Trent clocks me, too, arms crossed over his chest as he frowns.
The grump.
He looks like a giant drill sergeant stuffed in a suit.
They nod to each other and go separate ways.
And the room ripples behind them.
It’s not until I’m collecting my things for lunch that I catch the last of my dad’s trio—Oliver.
He’s walking through at a steady clip, glancing around the room, stopping on me for a handful of seconds, before he disappears around a corner.
I wish I was privy to what’s going on at this place.
Why are they all being stealthy and charged with purpose?
I’m out of the room before Lenny can tell us to go.
The cozy cafeteria is calling my name.
It has four stations that alternate—today is pizza, Mexican inspired burritos and bowls, a classic American dinner, and a salad bar packed with bright colors.
I’m grabbing an easy bowl and a coffee, then I settle myself in one of the far circular tables by the windows.
Ten other tables are packed inside.
After a few bites, my mind wanders to the trio of bosses I’ve known at arm’s length my entire life.
The way they were all dressed to the nines as they marched around my mother’s house last year after my dad’s funeral.
The troubled way they promised to help take care of us.
The beauty of their overbearing masculinity compounded by the absolute authority they showcased today has my thoughts tumbling into dirty fantasies of being called into one of their offices and punished for not filling out my paperwork properly.
I pull out my new journal.
Entry #1
Behave… Trent’s voice low and dark in my ear, making my deepest and darkest desires shiver to life.
