Author's note: So I know I started another story on here, but I've been having difficulty writing it and this story was just eating away at me. I think I am going to finish this first, but I promise I will finish the other one. It is brand new (i.e. takes place in a different world than my other one) but still more of the same (what can I say? I like wolves). Again it is a "slow roll" so no sex in this installment. As always your comments/feedback is much appreciated :)
*****
The door swung open to a small loft apartment. Serena smiled and walked inside. It was warm and cozy, with a queen size bed taking up the center. A little kitchen was on the right, next to a door that led to what she assumed was a bathroom. It might be tiny, but it was much larger than the college dorm she was used to.
"And here is where you will be sleeping this summer," Malcolm said.
There was a set of french doors that caught Serena's eye. She headed over that way and pushed them open to a large balcony. The night breeze washed over her and she already knew these doors would be open whenever she was in the apartment. Malcolm appeared next to her on the balcony.
"No air conditioning," Malcolm said. "I know you're not used to Midwest summers, but they can become annoyingly hot and ridiculously humid. You should be able to get a decent cross breeze at least."
"It's prefect," Serena said. "What is that over there?"
Serena pointed to a group of people.
"That is the nightclub," Malcolm said. "You're far enough way that the noise shouldn't bother you."
"A town this small has a nightclub?" Serena asked. "No offense, but I'd never heard of Juliet Indiana, it's not on most maps."
"Our town is a bit of a tourist trap," Malcolm said. "I'm sure you will get a better sense of it tomorrow when you start work. Don't let the club distract you. I know you just turned twenty one this past year, but remember that is what you're here for..."
"Don't worry," Serena said. "I am so grateful for this opportunity. I know I waited until late to apply for...well anything... without this job I would have ended up waiting tables and losing money paying for a summer dorm. I won't screw this up."
Malcolm turned and looked at Serena. She examined his kind face. All of her interviews were done over the phone and when he met her at the airport this morning she wasn't expecting someone so distinguished or...young. He had the voice of a sixty year old, but she didn't think he was over forty with light brown hair that only had a touch of grey and warm blue eyes.
He brought his hand up to her cheek and cupped her face. Serena knew she should be creeped out, not only he was a virtual stranger but her boss as well, instead the sensation was almost paternal. Serena winced at the thought. Malcolm sensed her discomfort and dropped his hand.
"Tomorrow, downstairs at 9 AM sharp," Serena said.
"Piper will be there to greet you," Malcolm said. "Just in case here is a set of keys. The gold one is to the office, the silver to your loft."
"Thank you again," Serena said. "You won't regret this."
"I know I won't," Malcolm said. "I will leave you to get settled. Sleep tight."
Malcolm closed the door after he left and Serena let the air out of her lungs. Her first night alone in a strange town. She shrugged off any negative thoughts and went for her tablet. She realized she never asked about Internet, then glancing around noticed there was no television. Serena went for her phone. No service either. Determined not to let anything get her down she pulled up a saved playlist of downloaded music and hit play, before getting started on unpacking.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Serena's alarm went off at seven, but she was already in the shower. She dealt with the annoying beep until she washed the soap off of her body, then ran out to slide the alarm to the off position. When she headed back into the small bathroom she wiped the steam off of the mirror. Her blue eyes had small black bags under them. That meant wearing more makeup than she would have liked. Her long strawberry blond hair was already starting to curl. She had to blow dry it fast before it turned into an uncontrollable mess of waves.
She was ready for work by eight. She picked a pair of simple black slacks that flared out, with black stiletto heels, and a white and black print top. The shoes made her look taller than the 5'1" she was and the top made her chest look fuller. Even though she was 21 people constantly assumed she was younger. She decided to forgo the blazer, since Malcolm told her the dress was business casual. Her stomach let out a growl and she regretted not asking Malcolm where the nearest grocery store was, or at least a coffee shop.
Deciding she had some time to kill Serena headed downstairs. Her heels clanked on the narrow wooden steps, and for a moment She realized one slip would mean a broken neck. Maybe she would switch to the flats tomorrow. The door at the bottom of her loft opened up the street. Serena knew if she turned right the office was the next door over, but if she went left there was only a three block walk to the main strip. She decided to venture out.
Much to her surprise, the street was dead. Serena saw the nightclub Malcolm mentioned last night. It was a black building with no sign at all. She headed North. There wasn't a single soul or car on the street. She passed restaurant after unopened restaurant. There was a small fresh market, but even that was closed. Glancing across the street Serena spotted a coffee shop and broke into a smile. She didn't bother looking before crossing the street, the hours said 5-1, but when Serena pulled on the door it didn't open. Was this place open from 5 at night to 1 am? What sort of coffee shop had those hours? It didn't make any sense.
Serena's phone started vibrating. The alarm she said for 8:45 went off. Oh well, she thought, maybe there would be a coffee machine at the office.
When Serena made it back she unlocked the door and turned on the lights. Hawkins Accounting looked much more like an accounting office in the morning light than it had when Malcolm gave her the tour yesterday evening.
It was a boutique space. With two large storefront windows and three desks along the walls with a conference room in the back. All designed so the screens faced away from the other parties. Serena didn't plan on playing much solitaire, but it would be nice to check her e-mail and facebook since there wasn't Internet anywhere else. She walked over to the desk that was hers and turned on the computer.
The machine was old, but it had Excel and that was all she needed to do her job. She couldn't believe when the position showed up in her e-mail account just two weeks ago. Spending the summer in a new place converting businesses from paper accounts to electronics would be easy and it would look great on her resume.
The computer clock read 9:04, but none of Serena's coworkers had arrived so she decided to goof off for a little bit. She logged into her facebook first, but kept getting an error message. Serena decided to deal with it later and instead checked her personal e-mail first. There was some junk mail, but as she scrolled down the screen she felt the color drain from her face. The subject lines read:
SLUT
WHORE
KILL YOURSELF
SLUT
SLUT
SLUT
All of the senders were different e-mails, but she had a feeling who it really was. Serena closed out the page. She took a moment to catch her breath before reminding herself this was nothing new, she was stronger than this. Serena opened the browser again and went to her school e-mail. At least they hadn't figured that account out yet. She did see a message from facebook and opened it up.
Ms. Cole,
We regret to inform you that your account has been suspended for indecent behavior. You have thirty days to appeal your suspension before it becomes permanent.
Thank you,
The Facebook Team.
Serena scrolled down the page where there were screen shots of her "indecent behavior".
Serena Cole: Come on boys, who wants to ride this slut?
Under the caption there was a pornographic picture.
Serena saw enough. She exited out of the browser. Someone obviously either hacked or just figured out her facebook password. It wasn't worth rejoining, they would probably do it again. It wasn't like there was anyone she wanted to keep in contact with anyway. She mainly used it to play games.
It wasn't even 9:15 and Serena was already rattled enough for the day. Even though her coworkers weren't here, she thought she might as well get started. Malcolm showed her the file room yesterday. She figured she would start alphabetically with the active files. The last seven years needed to be converted. The first business was called Ace. Serena yanked the files before walking over to her desk and diving in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Serena was so interested in her work she jumped when the front door opened. A woman about her age walked in. Her black hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head. She had on a baggy tank top with a visible sports bra underneath and a pair of yoga capris with flip flops on her feet. Her face was covered with giant round sunglasses.
"Good morning," she said. "You must be Serena. I'm Piper."
Serena glanced at the clock. It was 12:30.
"I brought breakfast," Piper said.
She dropped a white bag on Serena's desk and set down a coaster with two coffees inside, before pulling one out herself.
"It's lunchtime," Serena said.
"Then I brought lunch?"
Piper walked over to one of the other desks. She leaned back in the chair and swung her feet up.
"I know I'm late," Piper said. "So take that as a peace offering?"
"It's not a big deal," Serena said. "The phone never even rang, nobody stopped by. I got a lot done."
Piper pulled off her sunglasses, dropped her legs, and sat forward. Huge green eyes sparkled with mischief and her full lips spread into a giant grin. Serena realized Piper looked more like a model than an accountant.
"What time did you get here?" Piper asked.
"Nine," Serena said. "Well a little before."
Piper burst out laughing.
"Why?" Piper asked.
"Malcolm told me the hours were 9-6, with an hour for lunch," Serena said.
"Malcolm?" Piper asked. "He hasn't set foot down here in years. Our hours are whenever you want them to be. As long as you get your work done you're your own boss. Me for example, today is Friday and the closer to the weekend the later I come in and the earlier I leave. Monday I will probably be in here around ten and stay until eight, because that way Fridays I can work from noon to three. You follow?"
"Well I'm not actually working with clients," Serena said. "Just converting files to digital."
"Really?" Piper asked. "That's awesome! Once everything is digital my work will be cut in half!"
"Are you an accountant?" Serena asked.
Piper burst out laughing again.
"I'm a book keeper," Piper said. "My mother ran this business and then she passed it down to me when she retired. All my training is hands on."
"Is it just you?" Serena asked.
"Basically," Piper said. "Between January and April I have two full time helpers. Work so hard those months I like to coast the rest of the year."
Piper stood up from her desk and started back towards Serena. She stopped and sat on the edge of her desk before opening the white bag and pulling out a donut. Serena heard her stomach growl.
