Drained: The Lucid (17 page)

“Where exactly?” Riley worried aloud.

“Floor L3.”

Riley took the stairwell down; her boots echoed in the empty chamber as she descended into the belly of the building. She had no idea what Trusics housed beneath the ground-level lobby, and she couldn’t imagine why Hyrum wanted to meet with her down there instead of in his office. The scenarios that ran through her head made her stomach churn with anxiety. She suspected it had something to do with Morgan. She hated to think that Heather might have checked to see if she had truly filed that paperwork, and in discovering that Riley had lied to her—
again—
had alerted Hyrum. It was a ridiculous thought that her best friend would have betrayed her, but she couldn’t help herself. Her numbers lately hadn’t been spectacular, but she was still keeping her head above water. She had continually reached her quota despite not feeding from Morgan, but the paperwork had been a loose end for which she couldn’t excuse herself.

Riley reached the sublevel floor and pushed through the heavy fire-proof door. A cold blast of air hit her in the face; no wonder Hyrum had thought to bring a jacket. The basement level was a cold, concrete parking lot that she hadn’t realized existed. She and all her friends always parked in an adjacent employee parking lot that offered no protection from the elements.

She found her boss standing alone under a solitary light near the elevators. He still wore his long trench coat, now buttoned up to his chin. One hand was thrust deep in the jacket pocket while his other hand hung loose at his side. He looked lost to his thoughts. His normally keen and alert eyes were clouded with distractions. Riley’s footsteps alerted the man to her arrival and he snapped back into focus.

Riley turned up the collar of her button-up shirt and shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. “So what’s up boss?” She tried to keep her voice from wavering.

Hyrum frowned. “You know we’ve been under a lot of pressure lately from both the board of directors and the custos community. These rumors have been more than damaging to the company’s public persona and membership has been steadily dropping.”

Riley nodded.

“As a result of the planned restructuring, a few new faces will be joining while a few people will be let go. It’s unfortunate, but the higher-ups want to breathe new life into the corporation—shake things up and really tackle some of our issues.”

“And letting go of people will do this?” Riley challenged. She bristled at the idea of laying off anyone, human or cubare.

“I don’t like it any more than you, Riley, but it’s for the greater good,” he reasoned. “We have to chop off the weakest branches if we want the tree to continue to thrive. With the world we now live in, we need to be more proactive than ever before to balance our commercial success with the anonymity of what we really are. It’s a delicate line that’s hard to manage. I could see how a stronger PR and marketing team could help us in the long run.”

“How about our side of the business?” Riley posed. “The account executives.”

Hyrum rocked back on his heels. “We’re being restructured, too. We’re weeding out people with external loyalties.”

“External loyalties?” She didn’t like the way that sounded.  

“Employees married to independents or who have human companions are being reevaluated,” Hyrum explained. Riley’s thoughts immediately went to Aaron. “They have priorities elsewhere, and rightly so, but it’s not in the best interest of our company. We’ll be replacing some of them well into the next year. But I anticipate a slow transition. We need commitment now more than ever.”

Although she resisted the urge for her gaze to wander, Riley’s eyes were drawn to the hand in Hyrum’s jacket pocket that refused to emerge. Maybe this wasn’t about Morgan, after all. This was about Amber.

“Which is why you’re getting a raise.”

“A-a
raise
?” Riley echoed. She nearly choked on the unexpected announcement. A lot had changed since their last meeting.

“And this car.” Hyrum pulled his hand out of his pocket, producing a key fob. He pressed his thumb to a button, and a nearby car chirped to life.

“Oh my God, Hyrum. I thought you were bringing me down here to fire me. Or kill me.” She blinked, not knowing which fate would have been worse.

She walked over to the lit-up car and ran her fingertips down the smooth lines of the luxury sports sedan. The vehicle looked costly enough to be a downpayment on a home. She half expected models to walk out of the elevator and show off the interior or for confetti to fall from the ceiling. “This is too much,” she murmured. She didn’t deserve it; she didn’t deserve any of this.

“Not if you’re a manager.”

Riley’s head snapped up.

“It’s all part of the restructuring. Customer Satisfaction Account Executives like yourself will be divided into twenty groups instead of the ten we have now. This means more managers and smaller groups so we can focus on a tighter team.”

And Trusics can keep a closer eye on their agents
, Riley privately mused.

“The company is looking for a couple agents to promote to the new manager positions.” Hyrum held out the key fob for the car. “The job is yours if you want it, Riley.”

“Manager?” Riley rolled the word around on her tongue.

A small smile played over Hyrum’s lips. “I can understand if you’d rather stay in the field. But ultimately, the decision is yours. Mull it over, there isn’t a need for an immediate decision. As I said before, the changes will be slow and steady.”

The low profile wheels of the charcoal grey sedan crunched on the loose gravel in Amber’s driveway. It wasn’t technically Amber’s driveway, but rather the parking alley of the three-bedroom home she rented with two friends from high school. The white wood-framed house looked straight out of another time, another era. Riley imagined it as part of the scenery on a family farm in Nebraska during the Dust Bowl, not in a Los Angeles residential neighborhood.  

The new car had practically floated down the busy city’s highways on the way to her girlfriend’s home. She’d have to take a cab or catch a ride later to get her own car, but she couldn’t resist taking the new set of wheels for a spin. She locked the doors upon exiting and strode up the back steps to the door that expected visitors used. Only the mailman and strangers went to the front entrance. Green prickly weeds sprouted up in the cracks on the concrete slab that served as a patio, empty save for the rusted coffee can filled with cigarette butts and an inch of rain water.

Riley climbed the three cement stairs, rang the back doorbell, and waited. They weren’t to that part of their relationship where they had exchanged keys, and neither woman had their own drawer at the other’s home. Riley imaged those conversations would be forthcoming, however, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

One of Amber’s roommates came to the back door. He waved at Riley through the window cutout and tackled the multiple locks to let her in. Rolle was a shaggy-haired man whose ready smile showed off the prominent gap between his front teeth.  

“How’s it going?” Riley greeted as she was let in.

“Working on a new song,” Rolle said, nodding to an acoustic guitar that laid on the kitchen table. “Wanna hear?”

Riley glanced up the narrow staircase to the second floor. “Maybe another time,” she said gently. “I’ve got some news for Amber. Is she in her room?”

Rolle retrieved his guitar and plucked a few strings. “Yup.”

Riley bobbed her head in thanks and climbed up the steps, two at a time. She wasn’t in a rush to get away from Rolle or in a hurry to get to Amber, but the narrow stairs pressed in on her uncomfortably. There were two bedrooms on the second floor and a small bathroom that Amber and one of the other roommates shared. Riley found the door to her girlfriend’s bedroom slightly ajar. She knocked on the wood frame, not wanting to barge in, and patiently waited in the small apex of the top floor. After hearing no response she pushed the chipped door forward.

Amber laid on her stomach sprawled on top of her mattress with her back to the bedroom entrance. She had earbuds in and was listening to music from her laptop. Despite the chill of the afternoon, she wore a short-sleeved olive tunic over black leggings. Her legs were bent at a right angle, wiggling feet pointed to the ceiling and kept time with an inaudible beat. She hummed aloud as she flipped through the pages of a glossy magazine. Riley didn’t recognize the song, but her humming was off-key.  

With eyes never leaving her girlfriend, Riley stepped into the room and silently closed the door behind her. She stalked closer and closer. The worn floorboards creaked beneath each step, but Amber never turned around; engaging tabloids and loud music forged the perfect distraction. It was an opportunity she couldn’t resist.

Riley reached out her hand, extending a single finger. She slowly closed the distance and ran the tip of her pointer finger down the length of Amber’s foot from big toe to her heel. Her unsuspecting girlfriend shrieked, jerking so violently on the bed that her earbuds were ripped from her head and the laptop almost tossed to the floor.

“Oh my God,” Riley gasped, not expecting that reaction. “Babe, it’s me.”

Amber floundered and flailed on the mattress until she realized who had snuck up on her. “You asshole.” She pulled herself up on her knees and slapped Riley’s arm. “Why would you do that to me?”

Riley couldn’t hold back an evil giggle. “I’m sorry. I wanted to scare you, but not that badly
.
”

“You’re lucky I didn’t kick you in the face.” Amber’s brow furrowed, and she pushed out her bottom lip.

Riley winced at the scenario. Her friends had given her a hard enough time about a simple bruise; they would have formed a full-out, pitchfork-carrying mob if she’d actually broken her nose.

“And it’s a nice face, too,” Amber said, a small smile coming to her lips that told Riley she was forgiven. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining,” she noted. “I just didn’t expect to see you today.”

Riley let herself be pulled onto the bed and onto her back. Amber laid beside her. The brass bed frame shuddered beneath their combined weight. “I had some news I wanted to share with you.”

Amber propped herself up on one elbow. “Oh?” She softly stroked at the narrow ribbon of skin that had appeared between the bottom hem of Riley’s shirt and her jeans.

Riley felt the stress of the day and the guilt she felt about Aaron start to melt under the sensation of her girlfriend’s touch. “Yeah, I got raise at work.”

“You did? That’s fantastic, Riles.” Amber paused the movement of her hands long enough to place a soft kiss on Riley’s mouth.

“And that’s not all. My boss told me they want to give me a promotion to be a manager. Lots of perks, more normal hours.”

“As in, you would actually have your nights free?” Amber guessed.

Riley drummed her fingers on her ribcage. “Mmhm.”

“When will you know if you get the job?”

“Hyrum said it’s mine if I want it.”

“You’re going to say yes, right?” Amber brushed her lips against Riley’s this time around. “Of course you are, why wouldn’t you take it?”

Riley pulled her lower lip between her top and bottom teeth in contemplation. Accepting the promotion should have been automatic, but she found herself metaphorically dragging her feet.

“We should celebrate.” Amber bounced off the bed. She threw open the door to her closet and began rifling through her clothes.

Riley pushed herself up on her elbows and watched her girlfriend pull one dress after another out of the closet. She didn’t know how she managed to fit so many outfits in the narrow space. It was like watching clowns tumble out of a car. “Would it be cool if we hung out here tonight?”

Amber turned on her heel and held a pale yellow dress up to her frame. “Why would we do that? You got amazing news, Riles. We should go celebrate.”

“But I’m not even sure I want the job,” Riley admitted. “And …” There were other complications and guilt that would come with the promotion, but she wasn’t at liberty to share them with anyone outside of the company. “I’d really rather stay in tonight.”

The excitement on Amber’s freckled face dimmed. “But we never go out. We always spend our time together in these four walls,” she said, waving her arms around her bedroom. “And on the rare occasion in your apartment.”

Riley pulled her legs to her chin. “But bedroom walls are great.”

Amber’s shoulders sagged, and she let the yellow dress fall loose at her side. “Okay.”

Riley clambered to her feet to close the distance between them. She couldn’t stand to see Amber so disappointed and to know that she was the reason for it made her uneasy. “Never mind. You win, Am. Let’s go out.”

Amber looked up under sooty lashes. “Are you sure?” Her voice lilted hopefully at the end of the question.

Riley wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s cinched waist. “Anything you want. It’s the least I can do for scaring you half to death.”

Amber’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I’d almost forgotten about that.” She tugged herself free and began the task of getting ready. She stood in front of her vanity mirror and touched up her makeup. “Now we’re definitely going out.”

• • •

Amber ran her hand over the new leather interior. “They just
gave
you this new car?” she openly gaped.

Riley turned the heated steering wheel—an unneeded luxury for southern California—and pulled the vehicle into the parking lot of the Hollywood restaurant. She had never been to this place before, preferring twenty-four-hour greasy spoon diners herself, but Amber had batted her eyelashes in such a way that made Riley relent. And in truth, she was starting to feel a little guilty about what a poor excuse of a girlfriend she had been the past few months. She was the Job, and she didn’t know why Amber continued to put up with all the excuses. Her prowess in the bedroom could only get her so far in a relationship.  

Amber grabbed Riley’s forearm.

“What?”

“Babe. You don’t park this kind of car. You have it valeted.”