The first few days at the new job were amazing. My coworkers were kind and I had fun working in the PR department. The managerial staff was friendly too, except for Ian. He kept giving me the cold shoulder. I was intent on getting him to like me but no matter what I did, I made no progress, so I gave up. I had made a resolution on the first day to do my best at this job because it paid well and was one step forward to being the real deal. Although everything was running smoothly at first, it wasn't very long before things started getting weird.
First, it was only random people that spent hours in the CEO's office, but then it moved to staff members. A lot of my coworkers were called in to the office and weren't sent out. Every other day I asked a coworker what had happened in the office the previous night, they would claim they didn't know what I was talking about.
Something sure was strange, but I wasn't willing to risk my job trying to find out. I was doing well so far and I didn't want to get fired again. I was thinking about all of this when I remembered I had to drop a file off in David's office.
The corridors seemed extra quiet that day. All the other rooms were locked. It looked like none of the managerial staff was attending that day. A chill went down my spine walking alone across those cold, empty corridors. Even though it was six in the afternoon, it was still light out, it being the twenty first of June. And yet, this place seemed darker than usual. I wasn't sure how that was possible, but it was so. I reached the big office and knocked on the door. No one responded so I walked in. The office was in good condition this time. The mess from the other day had been cleaned. The stack of applications was put away and a vase stood in the middle of the table. I walked over to the table and set down the file. Next to the vase lay one stray application. I looked closely to see my picture pasted on it. It was my application, which was peculiar since I didn't remember sending one in.
'Ah, you brought the Hemsworth file.' said a voice behind me.
Startled, I turned around to see David standing in the doorway. He walked up to me, picked up the file and started flipping through it. I couldn't help but stare at his perfect face. His forehead wrinkled as he concentrated. He leaned on one side as he rested one hand on the desktop. He was a godly figure wearing a suit and tie. It reminded me of the first time I had met him. His attire was exactly the same then. If someone else had worn a suit to a bar, I would have probably laughed, but he had carried it perfectly.
'So, I think we need to make a few changes here.', he said, his eyes still set on the file. He took a pen out of his pocket and did a few markings on the paper.
'Yes, sir.' I replied to that action.
'Please, just call me David.' he said looking up at me, 'After all, we did first meet as friends.'
I smiled. He handed me the file and I walked away. But just as I reached the door, I decided to come clean about the things I had heard the day of the interview. I turned around and saw him looking at me. I took a deep breath.
'Since you call us friends,' I started, 'I think maybe I should tell you something.'
He nodded curiously.
'The day of the interview, I heard some of your conversation with the others. Something about someone being different.' I continued, 'Were you talking about me?'
He looked like he was about to deny, but then he raised his eyebrows at me in a very surprised manner.
'You heard us?', he asked, as if I had committed a crime.
I suddenly felt guilty. 'I know it was wrong to eavesdrop', I said, 'but...'
'No, its not that' David interrupted. He was about to continue that sentence but he didn't. Instead, he let out a sigh and looked out the window behind the desk.
'Yes,' He finally said, 'we were talking about you. You are different, Olivia. Different than the others.' Looking at my reaction, he continued, 'I need you to hold off your curiosity for now. I will tell you everything when the time is right.'
I had questions but his request seemed genuine, so I left it at that. I wanted to know what he had meant by different and why he was surprised when told him what I had heard. I also wanted to ask him about the strange things going on in the office, but a voice in my head told me to just walk away. I felt like this was a conversation for another time.
***
David's words made me wonder if he knew about my past. If he had known, it made me wonder why he had recruited me.
It was the last day of junior high. The chemistry lab was crowded with students and teachers, trying to make sense of what had happened. On the floor lay a kid with a broken arm and a terrible nose bleed. Standing over him, knuckles red, I watched him as he moaned in pain. What led me to punch him and break his arm was simple. He was a bully and had been bullying me and Mel for a long time. But how a little punch and shove hurt him that bad was a curious question. I myself was confused with the intensity of my strength. I had concluded it was because of the anger that caused me to act in the first place. My grandparents put me in therapy right after, thinking I had anger issues.
I lay in bed thinking about this little past of mine and how it had caused my grandparents and my best friend to constantly worry about me. I personally thought it was no big deal since it was a long time ago and normal for a high schooler who had just lost her parents. But this kind of violent record could affect my reputation at work so I kept it hidden.
I had a feeling David knew more about me than he let on, which made me question the integrity of the workplace. Earlier that day, I had decided I should stay out of trouble and just go on with my life. But I couldn't. My curious mind wouldn't let me. I had to know what was really going on in Night.co communications.