Spoiler! :
II
“Morning, White Rabbit,” Aria swiftly replied. “You’re up early today.”
“Brown Rabbit wasn’t on last night,” White explained.
Odd, Aria thought, it’s Thursday. She’s never missed an early Thursday morning. “Maybe Brown’s sick,” she typed back.
“Perhaps…” White seemed to agree. Then the small rabbit avatar next to his name went dark as he left the chat room.
Aria was disappointed. She’d meant to ask White about the newspaper article. No matter. She signed out herself and went to check the user login records from last night. No sign of Brown Rabbit, as White had said.
Everything that happened on the site, every message, every IP address used, login times and even payment methods were stored and backed up online, saved for however long she pleased. It was necessary, not only to track and adapt to the needs of her clientele, but also to ensure no one broke her three rules.
One account only.
No sharing personal details.
No meeting in real life.
She hadn’t checked the message records for nearly ten days. She was about to when her eyes strayed to the time in the bottom corner of the screen.
“I’ll be late,” Aria muttered darkly. She signed out of the terminal and left the café at a run, tossing the newspaper in a recycling bin on her way out.
The streets were emptying as pedestrians found their destinations. Her shoes slapped the pavement and occasionally the surface of a puddle, splashing water everywhere. By the time she reached a skyscraper with gold doors, her feet were soaked.
She pushed through the doors and the bookish secretary looked up from her desk. A middle-aged woman with a tired smile and a pair of thick glasses. She sighed and said, “You’re late Aria. Mr. Hanley is waiting in his office.”
Aria nodded, squirming in her shoes. It wasn’t lost on the secretary.
“Your spare shoes are back here, dear.” She waved Aria behind the desk and passed her a pair of sneakers with woollen socks. Aria smiled gratefully as she pulled them on, leaving her wet ones behind.
“Thanks Mom.”
Aria snagged her key card from her mother’s desk and went up the elevator, counting every second late she was. Mr. Hanley would be absolutely furious. As the elevator came to a stop, she squeezed her eyes shut, prayed and walked out of the opening doors as calmly as possible. Directly across the hall, a simple wooden door with a golden plaque read, “Mr. George Hanley.” She slid the card through the lock and the door clicked open.
“Ms. Grey,” a severe voice stated.
She gulped and entered the office. Perfectly clean and all straight lines. It was richly furnished with expensive leather couches, a vast tropical fish tank, glass tables and the walls were lined with legal tomes and research papers. “Mr. Hanley, I sincerely apologize-”
“No matter,” he replied, waving her words away. He folded his hands on his desk, leaning forward in his black leather chair. “Take a seat.”
She sat carefully in a black suede armchair. Biting her lip, she knew he was planning on being “business man” today. His wife must have complained last night. “I am sorry, sir,” she finally finished.
“There’s nothing that can be done now,” the dark undertone in his words demanded that she be silent. He was definitely angry. “What progress have you been making?”
Fishing through her pockets, her fingers grasped folded paper. She laid the sheets out on the desk and smoothed them as best she could. Her hands had barely made it back to her lap before Mr. Hanley pulled them closer and inspected them.
A few minutes went by where the only sounds were the small motor from the aquarium and shuffling papers. Aria flipped between wringing her hands and staring at the specks of silver in Mr. Hanley’s hair. It was strange to see signs of age on a man who was so powerful, so...timeless.
A small sigh nearly made her jump and he allowed the papers to fall back onto the desk in a perfect pile. “Your marks are impeccable, and there are no mistakes in your first quarter profit expectations.” Narrowing his eyes almost suspiciously, “I can find no faults, Ms. Grey, and that does trouble me.”
Speaking before her mind caught up, she burst out, “How does that bother you? I’ve been trying very hard to meet up to your expectations, sir. Now that I’ve finally reached them, you say that it’s too much?” Her eyes widened after she’d finished speaking and immediately leaned back a little in her chair, hoping she hadn’t said anything too offensive.
“Aria.” She stiffened. It was unusual for him to call her by her first name. “Please listen.”
Forcing herself to sit up straight again, she met his gaze. She was no longer speaking to the “business man.” The one addressing her now was the “father” who occasionally told her he cared about her wellbeing.
“You can’t stop by the office anymore, and I won’t make time for meetings either. You’ve pushed Christine past her limits and frankly, I can’t bear her complaints any longer. I can’t embarrass her with a divorce either, seeing as I am the one at fault.
“I can’t be your father right now, it’s impossible. But I do promise that you will inherit this company. You’ve proven yourself capable enough. It’s the only thing I can currently offer you, in return for your co-operation and silence.”
Even when talking about this, he still acts like a business man. “Of course Mr. Hanley. I will continue to work hard so as to not cause you to lose faith in me.”
Less than ten minutes later, she was again in front of the elevator, feeling a lot worse than when she had seen it before. When she finally heard the little ding, it was almost a relief. Something different to break her concentration.
The doors slid open and a woman flanked by two men exited, all three dressed in pristine black suits. Something about them was unsettling and intimidating. Aria didn’t move until they had passed by, but once they had she dashed into the elevator to get away from them. The hair stood up on the back of her neck as the doors began to close.
And she never blinked as the strangers in suits disappeared into her father’s office.
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