Within the half hour we were hurrying toward the entrance of the emergency room.Emergency rooms at night were never pleasant. The lighting was harsh, the smell antiseptic, which gave werewolves instant headaches, and despite the problems being no different than what happened during the day, at night they seemed more frightening, more intense.Charles, however, suddenly expanded the moment we entered the room. I looked at him in surprise as he strode to the front desk. Despite his casual
Despite how I felt about seeing her alive and moving, she obviously didn't feel the same about me.When the elevator doors opened and revealed Amy hovering over her in a wheel chair, she looked at me and scowled as if I'd said something offensive."Jessica! I'm so happy to see you alive and looking so well!" I said, smiling and walking up to her despite the bad looks she was giving me.
"To be honest, Cathy, I'm a little freaked out. But I can't let someone intimidate me."I was standing in Charles' office looking over the city while he and Brian the security guard looked at more footage on Jessica's computer and planned how to beef up security from the perspective that someone on the inside was working with the intruder.Cathy sighed into the phone. "I know, sweetie. But are you sure? Maybe this person isn't after you."
"I've seen some of Matilda's photos," Sheila said the next morning. She was leaning against the outside edge of my cubicle, looking in at me and tapping a long French-manicured finger nail on the plastic wall-divider. "They're amazing of the kids and alarming of the facility, a perfect combination of heart-warming and bone-chilling." I laughed. "I love how you put that. I've yet to see them." I was putting a finishing touch on a pitch for Sally. Matilda and I had decided to go the route I'd talked about with Charles. I was going to try playing Sally's game for Social Scene and write a separate piece, and Matilda and I would approach one of the other divisions with our orphanage story. "You're going to keep working on this story, right?" Sheila asked. "I'd be sad if you gave up now." "Oh yes," I assured her. "I don't think Matilda would let it go either. She's too invested in these kids' lives." I caught a whiff of Stan's feta scent a moment before he appeared next to She
Sally was still frowning at her laptop screen, and she didn't smile at me when she looked up at me entering the conference room. "Come sit over here next to me, Elena," she said. I sat down, folding my hands in my lap. I waited. After a moment of looking off into space, Sally finally spoke. "What is it about this story? Why can't you let it go?" It wasn't what I expected, and it took me a moment to get my brain working again. "I'm also an orphan," I began. "But I'm lucky. The place I came from was well-supported. Our city orphanages, well, there's something going on that's not right. They're having trouble with basic operations, and it's putting the kids at risk." Sally was quiet. I assumed this meant she wanted more, and I rushed to fill the silence. "I have something else I'm working on if you really don't like it, but I honestly think it would work for Social Scene because it has a good combination of heart-warming and..." "You say something is going on?" she in
"Elena." Sally's firm voice made me look up from my computer. She was standing at the entrance to my cubicle, frowning down at me. I hadn't seen her since she ran out of the conference room the night before, and seeing her again made me nervous. "Hi, Sally." She looked at me with a frown, and my stomach dropped to my toes. I was sure she was going to fire me. "How much of that article do you and Matilda have ready?" It took me a second to comprehend her words. "I'm done. I just need an editor to look it over and Matilda will attach the photos for final approval." Sally nodded. "Okay. Please send the draft to me as soon as you can." "Thank you," I start, but she is already walking away. As soon as she is out of earshot I do a silent scream of happiness, pumping my fists in the sky and kicking my feet. Then I stop, take a breath, and stand as calmly as I can. Glancing around, I saw that no one had seen me. I went toward Matilda's cubicle and tried but couldn't help
"It think it's fine, Charles. I would have smelled someone if they were here!" Charles ignored me, sticking his head under my bed and then proceeded to the bathroom. He looked in the bathtub, and even the cupboard where the extra towels were. "Now you're just snooping," I said, laughing at the way he searched every closet and cupboard, like a hound dog looking for clues. "It's important!" he said, trying to keep a serious face as he rifled through my coats in the hallway closet. That's when I realized he was actually stirring up my scent, moving around my things to release it and enjoying surrounding himself with it, as if he were spritzing himself with fragrance. I sat on the couch and watched him, his large, strong form in my house, like a dream from my teenage years. Back then I wouldn't have cared if he was just using me as a scent object. I would have thought it was worth it. Now, however, I had too much at stake. My self-esteem, my reputation, I had learned to stan
"Wait a minute!" I put a hand against his chest. "I didn't say yes. In fact, no." "What do you mean, 'no'?" He was looking at me in confusion, the apron half pulled off over his head, the cupcakes cooling on the rack beside him mixing with his scent and overwhelming me with delicious smells. Yes, what do you mean no, Elena? Are you crazy? His eyes cleared in realization. "Elena, I meant spend the night on the couch. What did you think I meant?" I felt stupid, but gestured at the apron which he was still removing. "Oh." He paused and thought. Then he smiled. "Okay, yes, I admit it probably looked like I was stripping right now in front of you but I promise I'm a more subtle lover." I nodded, mute, thinking maybe it wasn't such a horrible thing if he stayed after all. He sensed my vacillating and stepped closer. "Even if you stay on the couch..." My voice came out in a squeak. I cleared my voice and started again. "Even if you stay on the couch, it will look a certai