Page 8 of Kings of Desire
‘It wasn’t, haven’t you read the contract?’
Big mistake on my part, because I didn’t. Not that I would have refused it anyway, but I was so excited about finding a job in only two days since I arrived in the city, that I skimmed through the pages and stopped just on the sections where they had specified the pay.
‘To be honest I would have kept you if it wasn’t for what’s happening in the streets.’
‘What’s happening in the streets!?’ Between my time spent at the factory and the Academy, I didn’t have any idea about what was going on around me, plus the lack of the TV was a black ball on this one.
Randy looked back at me with doubt, or as if I just came from Mars anyway, and while lighting himself a cigarette, he breathed in thin strands of smoke. ‘Riots. The whole place is a fucking ticking bomb.’
‘But what’s that got to do with me?’ I couldn’t connect how my job fits into this picture.
‘It’s easy, we produce packages for clothing. Do you think the Elite will be so invested in shopping when all hell is about to break loose? I’ll give you the answer to that. They’ll be running as the scared craps they are.’
You could clearly see in which camp he was playing, but still, none of this would solve my problems, on the contrary, it deepened them. ‘We are shutting down at least one of the shifts to cut the losses for now, and as you may have realized it, last in, first out.’ He concluded, leaving me speechless to stare into the ground.
Not only I couldn’t find another job, but I was also losing the one that I had. Desolation wasn’t enough to describe the tormenting fear that was sneaking into my soul, and with every second that passed, I felt that I was approaching the end of the world… at least the end of my world.
‘Here’s your money,’ he pushed a few bills over the file, leaving me enough room to fill out my name under the marked line ‘Sign. It’s only a formality anyway. The contract stipulated that our agreement ends today. Your signature is needed just so that I don’t fill out some more useless forms’
‘Please, give me a chance. I’ll work harder than any employee you have. I need this. I can’t leave this room without this job.’ I almost begged for him to let me keep it. As I said, it wasn’t even much to begin with, but it wassomething- and now I was about to be left with nothing.
Randy smiled, but the curl of his lips had a devious amusement in it ‘You think they all don’t want the same thing? That they’re not desperate!? You should have heard the offers I received over a job. And don’t think I don’t know that this packager position is not much, but compared to what’s out there, it’s everything. People are crying out there...people are dying out there,’ he spoke with a dark satisfaction as if people’s misery was empowering him. He was the boss of a few putrid bills, but those bills can make difference between life and death when you don’t even have food to put on the table.
‘Please,’ I pleaded much stronger than I used to do it back in the streets. Now, it wasn’t for my lame attempt of a father, now, it was for my siblings.
Randy took a drag out of his cigarette then paced towards a small window that was positioned to face the factory ‘Come here and tell me what do you see.’
I almost jumped to my feet then walked towards the window, hoping that it was his way of finally telling me that I still stand a chance.
And I did, but it was far away from anything I could ever think of.
I glanced through the window to try and figure out what he was talking about, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. ‘People,’ I replied, looking at the numbers of workers going in and out as the shifts were changing.
‘Dull, murky people,’ he snarled, taking a step closer to me. ‘You’re not like that, are you?’ His lips touched the back of my head as a wandering hand wrapped itself around my waist ‘You shine,’ he added as my body froze like the Antarctic blizzard just went through it. ‘I may have another use for you around here,’ he was putting light upon his name, as his voice became randy, and his body leached against mine, forcing me against the window.
‘Get off of me,’ I turned to push him around since there was no need to ask him what he was doing. Things were obvious enough.
A hand that caused my stomach to churn raced to tug on my t-shirt ‘It will sure beat working on the packaging line.’
Drawing my arms back to get enough momentum, I dashed towards him, pushing him away, but his force overcame mine, and I was now trapped between the metal wall and his reeking breath while his lips were searching for mine. I turned my head so he won’t reach me, but his body came so close that I began feeling his whole weight on mine.
I had to urgently get out of there, though in those moments it seemed impossible to even move.
‘Ahem,’ the clearing of someone’s throat stopped him, forcing him to turn his gaze towards the door, and in that second, regrouping my forces, I pushed him off me.
Not waiting for him to recover from the shock, I ran towards the exit, not before I leaned in an instant over the desk and grabbed my money, but the second I turned to get out the door, my face smashed on what seemed to be a brick wall. The move unbalanced me and my palms open to catch on to something, letting go of the few pieces of state typography paper that were so important to me.
It was a piece of clothing that served me as an anchor… An expensive piece of clothing from what I soon realized as the man who had just indirectly saved me from my assailant was standing right in front of me.
‘Get your shit together, Randy.’ he roared as I was blocked, glancing up at him. It was like looking at hazard coming straight to you, with absinthe deep eyes and devious indentations in his cheeks- a perfect trap set to destroy you.
He was a God and he was a demon.
I knew it from the first second.
I feared him from that first second!
‘He’s not going to hurt you,’ the man snarled more in my ex-boss’ direction than mine while the chill-giving authority in his gestures was assuring me that he’s right.
