“Here we are!” Dr. Goodwin gestured grandly at the space in front of him, a small cubicle in a far corner on this floor. The desk was a pristine white, lending itself well to the monochromatic theme. The entire space, save for the elevators, stairwell, bathrooms, kitchen, and a smattering of coffee and tea stations, was filled with black cubicles and gray linoleum floors. Bright pops of color decorated many individual spaces, if not most. Quiet chatter and keyboard clicks was an oddly soothing sound, the drip of a coffee maker somewhere in the background making the place feel homey and welcoming.
When Dr. Goodwin had brought me through, there was no sudden flurry of activity or looking busy. Either he was a decent person to work for, or everyone was doing their jobs one hundred percent of the time so they never needed to worry about being caught not working. I seriously doubted the latter. And as I glanced around the space again with the short-walled cubicles, I could see people congregating in spaces around the large office space in plain sight. It was reassuring to know that I wouldn’t have to get permission to take a bathroom break.
“Here is your login information.” He handed me a small card with my new fancy company email, group chat information, and password. “You’ll log into the system using your email. There’s learning modules already queued up, but if you lose them or accidentally exit out you can go to the company website, login with that same information, and find them there. The laptop can go home with you, and if you need to work from home with this while you finish up your remaining time at your old job, be my guest. Of course you’re welcome to come in, but I know we all value our weekends!”
“Thank you,” I said in earnest. Today was my third of four days off in a row, and I hoped to get as much done today and tomorrow as possible before going back for the first time since my last attack. I would work another four days at my old job selling jewelry and accessories, and then my schedule would shift to working the middle four days instead of the first four days of the week. It matched Alex’s schedule, after comparing the two. Leo and I would now have two days off together instead of working opposite days and only seeing each other in the evenings or when Leo opted to do research or “field experiments” out of his office. Even though he’d only recently graduated with his masters three years ago, he was incredibly high up in the company. Perks of being the son of the CEO, I guessed. Or being whatever title he had nowadays. I’d have to ask.
“I’ve set you up with an office buddy, someone to show you around, help get you settled. She’s at an interview right now, but should be back…” He glanced at a clock on the wall, which read 8:17am. “I’d say in about an hour an a half, ten fifteen at the latest.”
“Sounds great.” I was running out of ways to say thank you without repeating the words “thank you.” I swear I’d said it at least seven times so far his morning after seeing Dr. Goodwin personally waiting for me with two stacks of paperwork at the front desk of the building. The desk clerk hadn’t reacted as though it was something new, so I could only assume that Dr. Goodwin spent much of his time making his employees feel seen. Regardless, everything that I’d seen in the twenty minutes since arriving just before eight had only encouraged the notion that he was good people.
“I’ll be in meetings today, so won’t be able to help much, but you can ask almost anyone here and they’ll be able to answer.”
“I appreciate you taking the time to show me around and get me started.”
He waved a hand in dismissal. “Nonsense. It’s my pleasure.”
After he’d left and I settled in at my small but fully functional desk and placed my oversized bag underneath, I set up the laptop, plopped my ass in a surprisingly decent chair, and got to work.
----------------------------------------
Just before ten, a sprite of a woman appeared in my cubicle entrance. I didn’t notice her at first, zoned out watching and listening to the orientation videos. The one I was watching was about lab safety, which wasn’t really relevant to what I would be doing. But it was there, so I just did it. She cleared her throat and I jumped, whirling in my chair to face her.
Her hair was in a pixie cut, dyed pastel blue. She wore a simple but sophisticated navy pant-suit with a white blouse and bright red heels.
She stuck a hand out at me. “I’m Madison. Only Dr. Goodwin gets away with calling me that, but at least you’ll know who he’s talking about. You can call me Mads.”
I grabbed her hand lightly. “Hi, Mads. I’m Callie.”
“Is Callie your full name, or nickname?”
“Nickname. It’s short for Calliope. My mom loved poetry and the Greeks,” I explained briefly. “But half the people I meet can’t pronounce it correctly.”
Mads nodded in understanding. “Well, I’m here to show you around. Has your brain had enough time to melt from boredom, or should I come back in thirty?”
I half-laughed and half-groaned, “Please, right now.”
Mads led me around, pointing out certain people who I was working under. They all held the same title and did the same job, but some specialized in arranging travel while others kept track of scheduling with hospitals. It was a well-oiled machine, each of the moving parts complementing each other. I gathered business cards on my phone as I went, a simple tap between devices ensuring I could contact anyone I might need to. Mads also showed me how the stainless steel fridges were organized, and sternly informed me that it was cleared out once a week, no exceptions. Everyone’s names were on their lunches, whether a sticker, written in marker, or in a bag. It was actually impressive how clean and organized it was.
“You’re welcome to use the stove, oven, microwave, air fryer, or whatever, as long as you clean up after yourself. We keep plates, pots, pans, et cetera in the cabinets, and we load them in the dishwasher when done. Just follow the diagram, or things don’t get clean.” She pointed to a drawing of the dishwasher on the white cabinet above, certain areas labelled with various dishes. “We’re a tight knit group here, for the most part. You might hear some of us saying shit to each other, but we say it with love. Usually.”
After she pointed out the bathrooms, of which there were two on this floor, five stalls in each, she brought me to her cubicle. It was significantly larger than mine and had a second chair. She gestured to it, and I sat across from her.
“So, Callie. Tell me a bit about you now that I’ve talked your ear off.”
“Not much to tell. Been working in sales for the last several years. Live with a roommate. Prefer books over movies.”
“Oh, that’s great! We actually have a book club group here,” Mads interjected excitedly, interrupting my pathetic spiel. She pulled up her phone, typing furiously, and my own phone buzzed in the pocket of the dress I wore. “It’s actually my turn to host the next meeting; that’s my address, and the day and time. I’ll send you a link to the book we’re reading. It’s an old one, kind of a classic, really. I don’t remember what it’s called, but it’s part of a series. It’s meant for younger kids or teenagers, but it’s really good.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Thank you. That’d be awesome, and I’d love to join,” I said sincerely. I’d been part of online forums discussing books and had gotten into my fair share of arguments with strangers online. Being a part of an actual, in-person book club was something I’d never done before.
Not wanting the attention back on me and my lack of having anything interesting to say about myself, I asked, “Besides books, what do you spend your time doing?”
“Baking. I’m a shit cook, I could never make dinner unless you want dessert.”
“Not even, I don’t know, something like lasagna or chicken pot pie?”
“You’d think that, but no. I wish. Baking is my thing; I like to mess around with new recipes. If you ever see a batch of cupcakes in the kitchen with no one’s name on them, they’re fair game. But know they might not be very good.”
We continued chatting and getting to know each other. A few others wandered by and introduced themselves, joining in on the conversation as topics came and went. I felt slightly awkward with how everyone would look at me, but it only made sense. Hopefully it would be out of their system soon, once the novelty of a new coworker wore off.
My stomach protested, loudly, stopping Mads in her tracks.
“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. I meant to have you back at your desk an hour ago.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “It’s been nice getting to know everyone. My old job didn’t have this many people, so conversation was sometimes really awkward.”
“That’s good. I think some of us are going out to lunch at this Mexican place down the street. You coming? We’ve got…” She checked the time. “About two minutes before we need to leave. We usually get about twenty people to go, so we always make a reservation for twelve thirty.”
I happened to know which one she was referring to; it was the only Mexican place in a five-block radius, and it was too expensive for me to afford. I shook my head. “I promised my boyfriend we’d meet for lunch.” A half-lie. I’d texted Alex offering to meet for lunch, but hadn’t gotten a reply yet. I was starting to doubt that I would. “But definitely another time,” I promised. Hopefully they picked a cheaper restaurant next time.
“Okay, no problem.” She began packing up her purse and added, “It was great getting to know you.”
“It was great meeting you, too. And thank you for showing me everything.”
We parted ways, her heading towards the elevators while I wandered back towards my cubicle. I got turned around, having gone straight when I needed to turn left. My mind was buzzing with all the new information. I was feeling…excited. Having people to talk to who shared interests with me, while also working to help others was a major win in my book. Not to mention the pay increase: fifteen percent wasn’t much, but it certainly wasn’t nothing. Once the paychecks started rolling in, I’d be able to save up to go with them on rare occasions.
I was starting down at my phone as I approached my new space and didn’t see the head of brown hair slouched in my desk chair until I was nearly on top of him.
“Gah!” I exclaimed, dropping my phone to the floor and clutching my heart. “Fucking hell, Alex.”
He laughed, spinning around in my chair to fully face me. I took deep, calming breaths, willing my heart to chill the fuck out. My bio-screen alerted. Wonder what that could be for.
“You nearly gave me heart attack,” I chastised, wishing I had something to whack him with. I maneuvered my arm and quickly disabled the alert. Leo still hadn’t shown me how to change the color.
“Sorry.” He didn’t sound very apologetic. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, nailed that.”
“Lunch? To make it up to you?”
I pushed past him, grabbing my bag from under the desk and carefully placing the laptop inside. The brand made nearly indestructible cases for their devices, but besides the jewelry at my soon-to-be ex-job, it was one of the most expensive things I’d ever handled. And I was taking it home with me.
“Lunch where?” I asked while double-checking I had everything. Not that I’d brought much, but I didn’t plan on coming back until next week.
“There’s a Mexican place a lot of people hit up,” he suggested.
“I already told Mads I couldn’t make it there.”
“If someone invited you, you should go!” He reached out and gave my hand a squeeze before lacing his fingers with mine. “Why didn’t you say yes? We can do something else later.”
I glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, but the floor was half empty with people gone for lunch, the remaining ones either eating or still working. “I can’t afford it,” I admitted. “Not yet, not until I get paid.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. I always opt for the more expensive insurance options,” I explained.
“At least the insurance here is good.”
“It is. It’ll help a lot.”
“So, lunch?” he prompted. “No Mexican, what about some sushi?”
“Yes.”
We walked the three blocks to the little sushi restaurant Alex knew. Only four tables fit inside, the massive prep counter taking up the majority of the long and narrow space. We waited while our order was prepared, and I stared at the drawings of fish and crabs hung on the red walls while my brain mulled things over. I was still trying to decide what the hell do with the knowledge Alex had dumped on me. I hadn’t yet brought it up to Leo, though I knew I eventually needed to, at least to let him know we weren’t some weird outlier mutations.
The issue I was running into was how to bring it up to both Alex and Leo in a way that would convince them both that we could help each other. Leo had taken issue with Alex before when they met, and I knew that had rubbed Alex the wrong way. Not that I blamed Alex, but I couldn’t forget that things would most likely be tense between them. Throw in these newfound abilities, and it was a volatile cocktail of testosterone and chaos.
Okay, maybe that was exaggerating things a bit. But probably not by much.
I wracked my brain, trying to find a solution and coming up with nothing. This would have to be a rip-the-bandage-off situation, then. A few different ideas came to mind, but the best option might be to not give Leo an option. If he knew what I planned ahead of time, that would give him the power to say no. Springing it on him wasn’t great either, but if I played it right, it just might work. I’d have to get Alex over to the apartment; having this conversation there was probably the best choice.
“Want to come over for dinner tonight?” I blurted out before I could lose my nerve.
“Um. Sure? Why, is this not enough time with me today?”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night. But seriously, that cool trick you showed me last night? I think we should talk about it more.”
“Will your roommate be there?”
Damn. I wasn’t about to lie to Alex. It would probably blow up in my face if I did. So I told the truth.
“Most likely. He’s working today, though, so no promises.”
I could see the moment Alex shut down. I’d been afraid of that. “I don’t know that it’s a good idea, Callie, if he’s going to be there,” he said slowly. He kept his eyes on the itamae chef making our rolls.
“He knows what I can do,” I told him. I didn’t know if I’d be able to convince him, but I had to try. “He’s actually the one who figured it out. But I get why you’re hesitant. I really do. There’s just some things that I think would be best to get out in the open, from both sides. I want to make sure that we’ve all got as much information as we can. You’ve been doing this a lot longer, and I’m sure there’s things you’ve picked up on that we haven’t talked about.”
Alex stayed quiet, which was all the confirmation I needed.
“And with the technology we’ve got running twenty-four seven, there’s things we can contribute, too, that might help you out.”
Our order was called out, and Alex stepped away to grab containers stacked on the counter. He picked up some chopsticks and soy sauce packets from the bins, placing them on top. When he returned, he had his answer.
“I’ll come over for dinner. But I can’t promise to talk about things with him.”
“Sure, absolutely. And hey, Alex?” He looked at me with a worried expression, and I stepped into his space to place a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for being willing to try.”
He heaved an overly-dramatic sigh, a smile tugging at his lips. He pulled me to one of the tables that was thankfully empty and clean. He handed me my container, and I grabbed my chopsticks eagerly.
“You make a decent point; I can’t argue that. I just hope I don’t regret it.”