Arabella

Chapter 1

He grabbed a newspaper and sat on the bench across from the glass building watching the woman carefully, as she made her way up the stairs. Her brown hair was pulled back in a fierce bun and sunglasses hid her face. She didn’t look like she belonged going into the building with the cobblestone entryway, where other men and women wearing suits were rushing to get in. The woman made her way carefully up the steps and slipped inside the building, invisible to the people around her. Invisible to everyone except him. He had been watching over the woman for almost five years and knew her attitudes and movements by heart. He gave a small chuckle and looked up at the building, knowing that when she made it to the top, she was not going to be very happy. He opened the newspaper to the sports section and waited for the boom that he knew was sure to come.

                                                                                ***

            Arabella walked up the cobblestone steps and stepped inside the building, thankful to be out of the hot sun. It was early April and already the New England spring was coming down full force.  She lifted her sunglasses off and headed to the nearest empty elevator.

            The elevator was playing its usual tacky music that made her want to plug her ears and roll her eyes. As she was moving her fingers towards her ears, the elevator door slid open last second and a young man stepped in. He gave her an obvious up and down look and smiled. It was a nice smile, but Arabella just turned away.

            “Which floor?” the man asked. She didn’t plan on answering when he continued in what she considered a “high and mighty” voice. “I work on the 45th floor. I am the new media man for the company. I don’t recall seeing you before.”

            Arabella turned to look at the young man again. Nice smile, but definitely too cocky. “I work at Nero’s, top floor” she stated with a big smile. She waited for his reaction carefully, waiting for his blue eyes to betray his emotions.

            His eyes wavered and his smile slowly dropped as he stared at her. “I have been trying to get into there for years. How did you get in?” He smiled again and continued in a softer voice, “Working for an international corporation like that and you can be set for life.” He gave a slow shake of his head and smiled at Arabella. Just as he was about to continue the elevator dinged and the door slid open. Thank god for a quick elevator.

            “Oh, this is your floor! Have a good day!” Arabella was all but ready to push the man out the door. When he left, she gave a sigh of relief. She should have lied or said nothing about where she worked. She knew that man would never make it up to the top floor. He was too human to work at Nero’s.

She stepped out of the elevator and made her way directly toward the back, hoping to avoid talking to anyone else. Humans and other supernaturals made her nervous. Not because she feared them, but because they feared her. This fear caused them to be rude and make snide remarks regarding her and their boss, Jake. Or just plain ugly remarks in general. She always thought that because they were scared of her, they should probably be nice, since she could turn them into dung beetles if she wanted to. Maybe she should try it one day in front of the whole office. The thought brought a smile to her face.