Pulled to the Dark (The Siriena Series) (2 page)

"Good question. Let's sk
ip ahead." She tapped the mouse
then let
the video
play. I was settled down and appeared animated. I was gesturing with my hands and looked excited.

"Oh god," I said. "I was babbling."

She looked over and smiled at me. "Was Dana encouraging you?"

I thought back. "Yes. I tried to stop talking twice, and she told me no, keep going, it was fascinating. She appeared interested." I pointed. "She's smiling
. She told me she'd never been there."

"I was out of town during our interview, or we would have met then. I told Dana ahead of time, 'I want to hire her. Please find me reasons why'. When I got back, she had on her screen a still imag
e of you from the interview. It i
s coming up, right..." She clicked her mouse. "Here."

I stared at the screen. I remembered exactly what I had been talking about. Four years ago, I had taken a trip to Greece. That frame was from when I
had been
talking about how it had felt standing in the Temple of Zeus.
I'd gotten far too poetic and began talking about how I could practically smell the food vendors from six hundred B.C.

Petra tapped the screen. "This is the image Dana had on her screen when I walked into her office. She had the screen turned around facing me when I walked in. I took one look and said, 'You got it!' She said 'Yes'. She had to work for it. She told me I'd hate the first thirty minutes of the interview. But do you remember what she asked you when you were done talking about Greece?"

I nodded. "She asked me the same questions she asked me at the beginning, worded differently, but they were the same questions."

Petra smiled. "Yes. And this is the woman who answered." She tapped the screen. "Not the woman who walked into my office several minutes ago. This woman."

She paused, looking at me. "Okay, you can take your chair back." I got up and returned my chair to the proper side of the desk and sat down. "You think of yourself as that woman who walked in here.
Dowdy
, short on confidence.
Ugly."

I looked away.

She turned her monitor around.

"What do you see?"

I didn't look right away, but eventually I looked at my image on the screen. "I'm-" I said. "I'm beautiful?"

"Brilliant. Passionate. And yes, beautiful," she said. "Do you know the difference between ugly and beautiful?"

I shook my head.

"Attitude."

She let m
e think about that for a minute
then turned the screen around. "On paper, you are perfect for the job. Repeat this. I am perfect for the job."

I looked away and muttered it.

She slammed the table with her hand. I jumped.

"Do you know how many hiring mistakes I've made in my career here?"

I shook my head.

"Two. Both of them were brilliant and should have been perfect. But they engaged in one of two things I will not tolerate. They engaged in office politics. Everyone who works here is incredible at her job, including me, and it takes me about three minutes to see when someone is engaged in office politics. It takes me about one more minute to fire her."

I began to smile. I hated office politics.

"Now, you will repeat after me. I am perfect for the job."

I looked her in the eye and said it.

"Again." I repeated. "Again." I said it a third time.

"Good. Now, think about yourself for a minute. Think about your skills. Think about what this job takes. Tell me, are you perfect for the
job?
"

I thought about it. Then I looked her in the eye, smiled, and said, "Yes, Petra. I am perfect for the job."

She returned the smile, and the room smiled with her.

"Good.
" She paused a moment. "
When Dana called and offered you the job, I believe she told you that you would work your ass off. We offered you a significant raise from your old position as well as an exceptional benefits package. But in exchange, she warned you the hours would be long and varied, and there would be unusual travel involved."

"Yes," I said.

"When she said you would work your ass off, she was being literal. Lunch breaks here are two hours and mandatory.
Renea
Impressions occupies three floors of this build
ing
. This floor is human resources and marketing. The floor
above us houses the consultants that work with our clients, although you will find that both your new boss and I still work with some of our old clients. That is the source of the unusual travel you will experience. If Andrea goes on a business trip, you will go with her."

I nodded.

"Sometimes trips are very last minute. You will keep a packed travel bag here at the office. You do not need to worry about that for two or three weeks."

I nodded.

"The floor below this is our dojo."

"Dojo?"

"It's like a gym. There is a section for weights, but most of the space is used for various forms of martial arts training. Tuesdays and Thursdays are yoga or
tai
chi. The other days are devoted to more active skills. As I said, attendance is mandatory."

I looked away. "I've never been good at things like that."

"It doesn't matter," she said. "No one is grading or judging you. You will attend every day. You will bury yourself into
this
as you will everything else. Starting today. You will be provisioned with the attire you need, two sets, which are washed for us every weekend. If your size changes, you can exchange as necessary."

I looked at her. "This is a company benefit of some sort? Why?"

"Yes. Why? Simple.
Because
Renea
demands it.
She wasn't getting enough exercise herself, and she realized with the long hours we keep, no one else was, either."

I nodded.

After that, my time with Petra turned towards a more normal conversation. She told me about Andrea and what was expected as her assistant. I also learned I would meet with Petra weekly, which I thought was odd but didn't say anything.

"Karen will go over the more mundane aspects of starting a new job.
Government forms, location of the bathrooms, that sort of thing. Do you have any more questions for me?"

"No, Petra."

"All right. Let me hand you back to Karen. I'll see you over lunch."

"Over lunch?"

"Of course. In the dojo." She smiled.

I did paperwork with Karen then met Kelly
Purdue
, Andrea's current assistant.
Kelly looked to be in her thirties, a little taller than I was, with a round, cute face and glasses.
Kelly would train me in for a week then move into her new position in the company.

* * *

I got home late that night, tired and a little sore. Petra herself had introduced me to the dojo, and she was a true taskmaster. She had been demanding, but kind, and for the first time in my life, I enjoyed a physical activity like that.

I wondered if it was because she kept touching me to adjust my stance.

Chelsea and Dervish met me at the door, their yowls insistent. "All right," I said. "I'll feed you."
They continued to yowl, leading the way into the kitchen. I set my bag down on the dinette table as I walked past it, kicked off my shoes, and followed them into the kitchen. They continued to yowl until I set their food down for them.

I slipped out of my suit and hung it up, then wrapped a bathrobe around me. I went back to the kitchen and made a light dinner. Over dinner I watched the news, which I had learned years ago to record.
TiVo to the rescue.
Then I curled up in bed with a book and two contented cats. I was asleep by nine.

I was flat on my back, naked, and I couldn't move. I heard a woman's voice, humming and speaking unfamiliar words. After a few moments, she came into focus. She was kneeling over me. When my eyes met hers, she smiled.

They were Petra's
green
eyes. That was Petra's smile.
And Petra's voice.

I tried to ask her what was happening, but she raised a single finger to her lips. "
Shhh
," she said.

She continued to hum and speak the words I couldn't remember. She reached out and caressed my cheek, sending electric tingles through my skin. I didn't want her to stop touching me.

I never thought about women that way.

She leaned over me, and her hair caressed my face. Her lips were inches from mine, and I knew she was going to kiss me. And-

-I woke up.

Both cats were on top of me.
Chelesa
was resting over my pelvis, purring. Dervish's nose was inches from mine. He reached out with a paw and pushed against my cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Time to wake up."

* * *

I arrived at work early. The receptionist hadn't arrived yet, but I used my card key. I dropped my purse off at my own desk and walked to Petra's. She was in. She looked up and waved me in.

"You're early," she said, smiling.

"You're earlier," I said. She grinned at me.

"I might have a problem," I told her.

"Already?" She didn't look too upset.

"You told me I might go on business travel on short notice, suggesting I wouldn't even be able to go home first."

"Right, although not for several months. Kelly will take care of Andrea for now."

"So I have time to solve this, then. All right."

I started to leave.

"Will you share with me your problem? Sit."

I took a chair obediently.

"It's just the cats," I said. "When I travel, I board them. I don't really have anyone locally I can ask to stop by and check on them. But if I leave from the office, I don't know yet what to do. Don't worry, I'll find a solution."

She smiled. "You won't have to. My apologies. I should have discussed this with you yesterday. We have a service we use. They're very good. They handle the homes of everyone in the company who travels. I have no pets, but they come in for my plants. It's the same people we use for cleaning services. Before you start traveling, Karen will get a key from you and get you all set up."

"That sounds expensive," I said.

She smiled. "Company perquisite. If you want to use them to clean your apartment, you pay for that. But pet-sitting service is a business expense. If your new work hours are too long, they can even stop by and feed your cats in the afternoon for you. Some of our employees have dogs, and they'll walk the dogs twice a day.
All on the company dime.
"

I thanked her for her time.

"Not at all. That's why I'm here. I'll see you at lunch."

I turned to the door,
then
turned around.

"Petra?"

"Yes, Felicia."

"I thought I was going to hate the dojo. I didn't." I blushed. "I liked it. Thank you."

She smiled. "I knew you would."

* * *

It was seven by the time I got home. The cats were not happy. They were waiting by the door, and the yowling started before the key was fully inserted into the lock.

"I'm coming," I told them through the door. "I'm coming."
I let myself in, dropped my bag off, and followed the annoyed cats into the kitchen.

I turned on the oven to preheat then went into my bedroom and changed into a bathrobe. I made dinner and watched it in front of the news. I watched one of my
TiVo'd
shows then climbed into bed with a book, but I never opened it.

* * *

I was naked and couldn't move. The woma
n I had started to think of as Dream
Petra was kneeling over me, humming her words. She smiled as she looked into my eyes.

I tried to say her name, but she caressed her hand across my lips, silencing me. I couldn't have spoken anyway, but once her hand touched my lips, I no longer wanted to.

I knew I was dreaming. I always wake the moment I realize I'm dreaming, but this time I didn't.

Dream
Petra reached down and took my hand. I felt both he
r hands on mine. She squeezed my
hand, then pulled it up and cradled it to her chest, one hand stroking my arm.

She was so amazingly beautiful, and I was completely lost in her eyes.

She set my hand down, leaned over, and I knew she was going to kiss me. Just as her lips touched mine-

I woke up.

"
Damnit
, Chelsea," I said
when she poked my face again. "I don't know if you're causing those dreams or ruining them."