Part One
Chapter One
Claire Hughes pulled up to her house and saw all the cars already there. "Damn," she thought to herself. It was pool night and her husband's friends and colleagues from work would be there, drinking, eating, and playing pool in the game room. She was used to it, but today was anything but a normal day. Her entire day had been chaotic at work and now she was running very, very late.
First, there was that bizarre fortune cookie at lunch that really upset her, and she didn't know why. Then, in the afternoon, a client had taken her well past the scheduled end-of-the-day meeting with something that could have been easily fixed in an email. Her job as a software engineer and Program Director for the company was much more than coding and programming. It was all about crisis management and trouble shooting. And she was good, exceptionally good, now one of the best in cyber security and software development for her company. On top of all of that, her husband was leaving tomorrow for a three-month working trip abroad. But today she was late, and she really hated that.
And it was the silliest thing that started her day off wrong. It was a Chinese fortune cookie that had upset her. Finishing lunch at her favorite Oriental restaurant, she was listening to a coworker talk about some new guy she met at a local club. Listening intently to her friend, Diane, Claire opened her fortune cookie as she always did before she left.
"You will be consumed in The Year of the Dragon," the fortune cookie read. She stared blankly at the small strip of paper and tuned out Diane's retelling of last night's wild sex with a new lover.
"What does it mean?" she thought. "Am I in trouble?"
One the way out, Claire stopped and asked the elderly Chinese woman who had worked there for years, what it meant.
"Am I in danger?" she asked. "Is this some kind of threat?"
The old woman glanced at the paper and then at Claire. She smiled serenely.
"No. No. This good luck. Good luck. You get many new people. They like you, lots. You like them," the old woman said, smiling and nodding.
Claire crumpled up the fortune in her hand, hurried out the door and returned to work. At work, a quick inquiry on her computer told her that, yes, this was indeed the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. Now, running late on the way home, she couldn't help but fixate on the ominous message of the fortune cookie.
Consumed, she ruminated. Consumed. It didn't make sense. But why should it, it was a silly fortune cookie. But still, she couldn't let it go. "People will like me. Lots," she mumbled to herself.
The fact that Claire Hughes was a tall, attractive redhead, with long, slim legs and large breasts, certainly made the fortune cookie's prediction a possibility. And she was well aware that she was a bit of an anomaly in the computer tech sector. Blessed with dark green eyes and fashion model looks, Claire Hughes made most of the men and women in the computer technology field a little uncomfortable when she worked with them. But then, for that matter, her beauty was so compelling that it made almost everyone around her uncomfortable. She was "stunning," as her husband told her constantly.
She hadn't always been such a beauty. In her teens, twenties and even into her thirties, she was rather plain, flat chested and wore very thick eyeglasses. But in her mid-thirties with the help of her soon-to-be husband, Brad, she came into her own. She just thought of herself as a late bloomer. So, by now, she was used to the stares and the compliments.
Her husband, Brad, just loved the attention she got with her looks. And she knew that Brad was great for her. He was her perfect match. He was tall at six feet four inches, incredibly handsome, outgoing, and very charming. So, when they first met and then started dating seriously, Claire knew it was truly a match that was made to be. Brad swept her right off her feet. They were perfect together and Clair was so much in love with Brad that she just glowed. Now, five years later, her love for him hadn't faded.
And tonight was just like any other night of Brad being Brad. He hosted some of his work buddies twice a month and it had become a sort of workplace tradition with the Hughes'. Their pool table was quite expensive, a custom-made work of art, and one of Brad's prized trophies. It was a nice luxury that he enjoyed, so hosting the pool parties for the guys from work had also become a pleasure for Claire.
But tonight was a little different. Brad was leaving for Ireland tomorrow on an extended work trip. And he would be there for possibly three months, maybe more if he hit snags, he said. So, it was small wonder that Claire was distracted this evening. Brad's pool party was just a bit inconvenient on the night before he left for a long trip abroad.
And the problem wasn't the guys. They were a good group of guys, and Claire knew them all, great for fun and a laugh. From the car she had called ahead, ordered pizza and wings for the group, and was now trying to get caught up. "Damn," she thought, as she hustled out of the car and into the house. The problem was she hated not being in better control when things were a little chaotic. It was one of her weaknesses, she always said. She was in her comfort zone when she was in control.
She hurried into the house and straight to the game room.