Transferring to a new city, a new location, was the most exciting thing I had done in my life. The furthest I had ever been from my hometown in Kansas City was across the border into Kansas. When the new branch opened in Georgia and they needed qualified and experienced people, I leapt at the opportunity. My boyfriend of four years and I had just broken up and I was ready for a brand new start.
It didn't really start out nearly as adventurous as I had hoped. I had arranged everything online and over the phone, got my apartment sorted near my work. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I quickly discovered that moving to a place all by yourself is very... lonesome.
Also, starting at a company that is opening from scratch, no matter how long I have been doing it, is a pain in the ass. It didn't help that I felt completely put off by my new boss. He was around my own age, tall and skinny, nerdy looking and worse of all, he was the owner of the company's kid. I was going to have to babysit and teach my new boss the ropes.
The upside of it was that I became too busy to really be lonesome. I made tentative friends with another girl in the office who had also transferred from another location, though she had brought her husband with her. The first month seemed to fly by.
As the time went on, my boss was icking me out more and more. He didn't bother with a secretary and he moved my desk to where a secretary's desk should have been and I could sense him watching me all day. My desk was turned so that he could always see my profile. I was happy to note that he was actually a smart guy and he needed little to no babysitting. His father had apparently taught him well.
He came out of his office on a friday afternoon and paused, looking over at me.
"Miss Phelps?"
"Yes Mr Schrier?"
"I have been meaning to talk to you about your emails and memos. At first I thought they were typos, but I thought I should let you know that you are constantly spelling my name wrong."
I glanced at the huge silver letters on the wall involuntarily. Schrier Industries. I was fairly sure I was spelling it right. His eyes followed my glance and he looked back at me, blushing.
"Miss Phelps, are you under the impression that I am related? It's S-h-r-y-e-r, no relation."
I blushed this time, horrified. "I'm so sorry! I heard it and assumed! I will correct it straightaway."
"It's not a huge issue, it's all in office, but I thought you should know."
He left, his head down and his face on fire. I felt sort of bad, but not really. He was still a creeper even if he wasn't the owner's kid.
When he came back from lunch, he hesitated at my desk again. "Miss Phelps?"
"Yes Mr Shryer?"
"May I call you Mary?"
"No! No sir, sorry. I... I don't mean to sound rude. Merietta is my first name, but I go by my middle name. Ruby. My Gram calls me Meri, but she is the only one I let call me that."
"I see. May I call you Ruby then?"
"If that is what you prefer," I answered, wishing I felt like I could say no.
"Good. I am Wesley, but you can call me Wes."
'Weaseley' it is.
"Thank you, sir," I said with a nod.
He went into his office, his face going red again. Several minutes later, he turned his lights out and I wondered who he thought he was fooling. I knew exactly what he was doing in there with the lights out so no one could see in.
I tried to ignore it, though it did make me remember to change his contact info in my phone, correcting the spelling. He was one of two people I knew in Atlanta and I didn't have Helene's number yet. We had only just become facebook friends.
That evening, he came out and hesitated once again. "Do you have plans for the weekend, Ruby?"
"Oh, no sir, not really. I got a couple books delivered, that's probably it."
"If you would like to have dinner, I discovered a nice Thai place close by."
"Sorry, I'm not into spicy food and I have a fridge full of leftovers so I don't have to get dressed or leave my apartment all weekend," I lied with a fake, vacant smile.
He looked down and away, half nodding. "If you change your mind, we could go somewhere else instead," he mumbled. "You still have my number, right?"
"Yes sir, you gave it to all of us the very first day."
"Yeah, I wasn't sure if everyone kept it," he said breathlessly, blushing harder. "And you can call me Wes."
"Thank you, sir," I said pointedly.
He nodded, a jerk of his head and hurried away. With a sigh, I began getting ready to go. Helene came over. "I wondered how long it was going to take him to work his nerve up," she said with a smile. "He is crushing hard. He's kind of nerd cute if you can get past the creeper vibe he puts off."
"Yeah, not something I can get past. I think... I am fairly certain actually, that he jerks off in his office while watching me. He turns off his light sometimes so he can see out but no one can see in."
"Holy shit. Hello HR!"
"Yeah, I can't prove it, but I am pretty sure."
"Check his trash, see if he has tissues full of spunk."
"Yikes, wow, no thanks. Just thinking about that makes me want to vomit."
Helene laughed. "Want me to?"
"Maybe if it becomes a huge issue. I don't really want to rock the boat over something that isn't a huge deal. He's just looking, right?"
"And asking you to dinner now."
"I said no, he will get the hint."
He did get the hint, but that didn't stop him from asking the next Friday, or the Friday after.
I gave him another vacant smile. "Sorry Sir, I really am just boring on the weekends. I like to stay home and read. It's my 'me time'."
That particular Friday, it was an outright lie. I had seen flyers for an art show/open mic jam at a coffee house that looked interesting near my apartment. I had every intention of going.
Alone. In the hopes to meet people like me.
He hunched in on himself and left and Helene gave me a tight smile as she left right behind him. She was of the opinion I should give the guy a chance. Easy for her to say. He wasn't constantly looking down her shirt or talking to her breasts and legs or turning off his light to jerk off to her.
I dressed up to go to the coffee house and showed up a little early with my book to get a good seat. It was cozy and quaint and the vibe was very laid back and trendy. I liked it. Even better, the coffee and muffins were amazing.
When it started getting crowded, I was glad I had come early. A man moved close to me and leaned in. "Hi, do you mind if I sit with you? There's no seats left!"
"Sure," I answered, smiling. He was cute in a hipster kind of way and he had a charming smile. He sat down, leaning in to see what I was reading.
"Fantasy huh? I'm a Kerouac fan myself."
I gave him a less genuine smile. Of course he was. I was betting he couldn't name a single book by Kerouac, it was just the cool thing to say. Still, he was cute and might be ok company for the evening. And maybe he would turn out nice once he stopped trying to impress me.
"I like anything good," I replied, closing my book and sipping my coffee. "But I do prefer more action. Fantasy, sci-fi, anything with a good story."
"Oh, yeah, like Heinlan?"
I smiled. Another name drop he had probably never read. "I loved his Foundation series," I said, sipping again.
"Right? It was amazing!"
I nodded. Foundation was Asimov, not Heinlan.
"My name is Lief."
Of course it was. "Ursula le Guin," I lied, knowing he wouldn't catch the reference.
"Cute name. Not one you hear often. I've never seen you in here before."
"I just moved here. I need to step to the ladies room, could you watch my seat?"
"Of course!"
I went to the bathroom and wished I hadn't drank so much coffee. I washed my hands and fixed my make-up and thought about leaving. Lief wasn't what I was hoping for as far as meeting someone. I took a deep breath. The night might get better? I went back out and sat down, returning his bright smile with a small one.
The music started and I sat and listened to the good and the bad, sipping my coffee more slowly and trying to enjoy the music despite Lief.
He leaned in. "This guy comes every month, he's pretty good. You like folk?"
"Some," I answered, feeling hot. The place really was too crowded.
He got up and brought me another coffee. I smiled, but knew I shouldn't have any more this late. I was going to be up until dawn as it was.
The caffeine was starting to make me jittery and a little nauseous. Light headed.
Lief leaned close. "You feeling ok? You need some air?" he asked, his hand on my back. He slid it around to my waist, like he was holding me up. "Let me take you outside for some cool air," he said, helping me stand.
I panicked, my mind trying to swim out of the fog. I pulled away and went to the bathroom quickly, stumbling and staggering. I half fell on the girl at the sink. "He drugged me," I said desperately. "Help me!"
I went to my knees, my head swimming as another girl came rushing out of one of the stalls to look down at me in shock.
Lief came in and I saw him talking as the world seemed to slip out of fucus.
I opened my eyes, confused and disoriented. I was in a bed in the emergency room and Wesley Shryer was sitting next to me, his face pale.
"What is happening?" I asked, my voice sounding small. I looked at the IV in my arm.
