There was something about Mr. Parker and Mr. Snowden that brought out my claws.
Jordan and Luci led me into a break room equipped with stainless steel everything to go along with drinks and snacks galore. I couldn’t help it, my eyes zeroed in on the candy stash. Sugar was one of my vices.
“Uh-oh, Luce. I think she’s eyeing the candy. You two are going to get along great. Luci sneaks in here every couple of days and raids the M&Ms. What’s your pleasure, Addison?”
“Twizzlers,” I said before I could check myself.
“Well, that’s going to be interesting. Mr. Snowden’s usually the one stealing the Twizzlers, so it looks as though he now has competition.” Jordan sauntered over to the counter and grabbed a package of Twizzlers, then brought it to me. “For later.”
“Oh, no. I can’t. But thank—”
Jordan took my hand and placed the candy in my palm, then proceeded to fold my fingers over it. “No arguing.”
I felt my cheeks heat. “Thank you. Really.” I smiled, palming the candy as I stared back and forth between the two of them.
“All right, now that we know you have a voice, I think we’re good to ask some questions,” Jordan said as he motioned toward a small seating area with four chairs.
“Don’t pressure her,” Luci warned. “You promised we wouldn’t overwhelm her.”
“Oh, you won’t,” I assured them, although it wasn’t exactly the truth. “I’m just a little…nervous.”
“Trust me, I know the feeling. About nine months ago, I was walking into this very same situation.” Luci peered over at Jordan. “Only he wasn’t here to greet me. When I showed up for my interview, no one was here. Seriously.” Her eyes widened for effect. “Not a soul. And then suddenly I was overwhelmed by the four men who would become my bosses when they stepped off the elevator to find me waiting for them. I remember sweating buckets.”
Yes, I could see how that would be worse than this. I couldn’t imagine having to face Mr. Parker and Mr. Snowden without knowing them first.
“But my Masters like to say that I’m the type to take over a room, so I’m trying to hold back to keep you from running screaming from the building,” Luci admitted with a sheepish grin.
“Masters?” I asked. “You call them that? Here in the office?”
A pretty blush stole over her cheeks. “I call them that always. Well, technically, I call one Master, the other Sir. But…” Her hand instantly went to the delicate silver collar around her neck.
“She likes to brag,” Jordan teased.
“I do not,” Luci countered with a shy chuckle.
“So, tell us a little about yourself, Addison,” Jordan prompted. “We apologize for not having a copy of your resume, but this was a bit spur-of-the-moment.”
It was my turn to blush. “I don’t actually have a resume. Aside from two nights a week at Dichotomy, I’ve spent the past nine months working for my…uh…a construction company. I mostly handled the phones, getting in touch with the customers and whatnot. Before that, I worked as a receptionist for a tattoo shop. And I’ve done a little retail work.”
“Tell us about your interaction with customers,” Jordan prompted.
“While I worked at the mall, it was all face-to-face. I didn’t mind it. At the tattoo shop, I mostly talked on the phone. And my last job was all phone interaction.”
“That’s a good thing,” Jordan stated. “Here it’s mostly virtual interaction.”
“Virtual?”
Jordan smirked. “Our dear friend Luci here thought it would be nice to implement video conferencing so she could see the people she’s chatting with. Personally, I’m a phone man, but everyone else is being shifted over to the dark side.”
“Oh, hush,” Luci said with a grin. “You’re the only one who doesn’t like it.”
“Yes,” Jordan said with a dramatic flair. “I’m the only one.”
I laughed. I liked how they could taunt one another.
“Do you have experience with computers?” Luci asked, smiling.
“I do. Not a lot with various software, but I’m a quick learner.”
“It’s easy, really. If you have a basic understanding, you won’t have a problem with it. Calendars and email, mostly. But you’ll spend a large amount of time talking to their managers and coordinating schedules.”
That didn’t sound too difficult.
“So, how’d you hear about the job?” Jordan asked.
“Uh…Mr. Parker and Mr. Snowden told me about it.”
He seemed amused as he glanced over at Luci. “Is that right?”
Figuring it was a rhetorical question, I didn’t respond.
“Did you grow up around here?” Luci inquired, effortlessly ignoring Jordan.
“Not far from here.” Although I hadn’t had a permanent residence for most of my early years, the foster system kept me in and out of homes in the area.
“Did Mr. Parker or Mr. Snowden tell you anything about the position?” Luci asked.
“Not much, other than the fact that it could be…unconventional.” I kept my eyes pinned on Luci as I spoke. For me, that was what I was most curious about. Answering phones and aligning calendars were a piece of cake. Watching Luci have sex with her masters on her desk was going to be the hard part.
