I mentally cried at the man a foot taller than me. Sir, please, you’re tall. You don’t need to speed-walk, I already can’t keep up.

My mental pleas fell on deaf ears, though. He stalked across the black tiles like they were flat grounds on a battlefield, his eyes sharp and his shoulders straight.

I bet he would crumble at the first bullet to land near him in the ground, but the sight was ingrained in me.

Not a soldier on the battlefield but a warrior winning a war. I swallowed, feeling my face flush as I looked away. Glad my face was already flushed.

What a badass.

The elevator was quiet aside from the sound of my ragged breathing.

“You must not focus on arm exercises.”

“You’re tall, and I was already out of breath before I had to sprint with fifty pounds in my arms,” I muttered under my breath in reply.

“You need to be able to lift your own bodyweight if you are to be as safe as you can whilst freerunning.”

“That’s a different group of muscles,” I mentioned flatly, glancing up at the man, then at the numbers as they crawled toward 78.

“… With how thin you are, I would say the reason you are out of breath after frequent work-outs is due to your body’s lack of energy.”

“Most likely,” I agreed, voice full of wistful longing, “I would love to eat more.”

“Why do you not? Diet?”

“A lot of people can’t afford that luxury,” I returned, voice flat once more. Without emotion.

“Ah. You seemed well-fed before the internship started, did you abandon a paid position for this?”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly, my heavy breathing under control, though my throat still burned and my lungs still hurt.

“No, I have to stay past the time soup kitchens are open,” I replied, relieved at the 80 I saw. Three more floors, “Unsure if you remember, but that’s why I ran out of your office my first day. They were closed this weekend, too, so I’ve not been at my best.”

Before he could continue questioning me, the elevator doors opened. Remembering his purpose, he strode forward, and I followed him, trying not to get hit by the door as he stormed into the lawyer’s office.

I danced out of the way of the door, but I still got hit, my foot pulled back by the door painfully as I stumbled and fell. I sighed, staring with blank eyes at the mess of papers. The lights weren’t even on yet, but I had a feeling today wouldn’t be a good day.

Getting up, I decided to clock in, turning on the lights.

I was right.

After Davis tore into all of the lawyers—most of whom had just arrived—instead of only Scott due to my silence, they all treated it like it was my fault. Only Scott seemed cowed at my glower, and I ended up tripping several more times, that day.

To top it off, I sat down for a grand total of half an hour before a police officer told me I had to move. I found myself curled against the side of Kageson behind the trash bin.

Blood trailed down my arms from broken glass, and I was very careful not to get any of it on my clothes as I stared at it trailing down the thin scratches that could hardly be called superficial cuts.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

It started raining not long after the blood had dried enough not to stain my sleeves.

I got no sleep, and the next day I’d gone in at two to spend the entirety of the time before my alarm went off trying to use the paltry amount of hand soap I stole from accounting to make my clothes smell less like the garbage I’d been sitting by.

It worked, thankfully, though my alarm had gone off before I’d managed it.

The day went by in a blur. I was pretty certain someone tried talking to me a few times, but I was solely focused on my job. Paperclip the contracts, look for spelling errors, give up on organizing the papers because the words swam on the page, and deliver the papers. Don’t forget the red—I said don’t forget the red bin. Wait.

I brought the entire metal bin with the one paper in it and forgot the rest. I sighed.

Thankfully, it had magically become after five, so Davis wouldn’t do any of the paperwork.

I didn’t even remember passing out in the break room, but all of the other lawyers had left, so no one was there to tell me I couldn’t sleep on the ground where I’d collapsed.

When I woke up, I was disorientated. That was the state of most the rest of my next several weeks, from getting paid to speaking more with Shawn to getting an apartment from a muscular blond man with cornflower blue eyes who said he was in the military in the second sentence.

“Oh! That’s cool, I wanted to join, but I couldn’t,” I said, looking up at the giant of a man. He wasn’t as tall as Davis, who was a freak of nature at 6’6, but he was certainly meeting many chick’s expectations at above 6’.

“Nice, why didn’t you?”

“They didn’t let me in,” I shrugged, “I could lie my way in, but I mean I lied my way into a good job, I’ll keep it as long as I can.”

Samuel laughed at that, gesturing at me as he guided me to his office in the building, “Yeah, I can see that, you look very fresh and clean for someone who’s been on the streets the better part of a year.”

“I know, right? I’ve tried really hard, and just acquiring these clothes for the interview required giving up everything else. I’m excited I can finally get a place.”

Samuel gave me an amused look, “Keeping it is another matter.”

“I am paying all three months upfront.”

“What about food?”

“Screw food, I’ll get paid again eventually,” I dismissed, waving a hand as we walked through plain hallways. The lights were yellowing, the walls were white, and the floors were wooden. The only decoration was the doors.

The man beside me was in a suit, but it didn’t fit him at all. That isn’t to say it wasn’t fitted, but… He looked fat and soft in the suit, his wide shoulders and big chest not doing him any favors.

I had the money ready to transfer as soon as I signed the documents and got the key, the man having allowed the transfer from the alleged “shady” online banking app I’d used, though we’d go through direct deposit from here on out.

He led me into an office with cameras and a glass door and window, papers and keys already set out. There was a table, a chair, a printer, and a trash can in the room.

“I already took photos of what the apartment looked like before, as well as a video that contains me saying the date, so trying to add anything won’t work.”

“You think I’m so shady,” I whined, “I totally work for Kageson.”

“Doesn’t kage mean shadow?”

My lips twisted, and I laughed at the dumb joke, grinning up at the man, “Okay, you can have that one, that was funny.”

The man looked satisfied as I looked back to the papers, placing my knee on the chair to get into position and signing them. Once the man signed them, too, I took photos.

“Great,” I pulled my app out, clicking the send button, “There you go,” I grabbed the keys, “This goes to this building, right?”

“Yes, the golden ones belong to your apartment and the silver one is to get into the lobby after-hours,” The man confirmed, “You’ll be apartment 64C, that’s on the sixth floor.”

“Ayy! Thanks!” I said cheerfully, taking the keys and standing from where I was. I said my goodbyes quickly, ending with a firm handshake between the man and I.

His hand was large and coarse, his grip firm. Mine was just as firm, and as we met eyes I could feel a connection. Then the handshake was over, and I looked away, waving over my shoulder as I hurried to the apartment.

I was exhausted, after all.

Going through the white hallways, I found my apartment and opened it. Directly ahead was a window, and to the right was a kitchen area. Along the wall on the same side as the kitchen were two doors. Both were open, and I walked in, letting the door close behind me. I turned around, locking it.

Before I could do anything else, a sense of security slammed into me. I found myself collapsing to the ground, my knees giving out and my eyes glazing over, arms not catching me at all. I didn’t even bother trying to get up, closing my eyes and allowing myself to drift off in the comfort of my own home.