The Ice King's Chubby Fixation

Chapter 8: The Infernal Hum

Chapter 8: The Infernal Hum

POV: Elowen Hart

"You look tired, Elowen."

Livia's voice stopped me before I could sit down. I had not even taken off my jacket. My bag was still on my shoulder. She was already there, leaning against my desk like she owned it, a coffee cup in her thin fingers.

"Did you sleep at all? You really should take better care of yourself." She tilted her head. Her smile was soft and sweet. "A woman in your... situation... needs her rest."

I set my bag down. "What situation is that, Livia?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." She waved her hand. The coffee in her cup nearly spilled as she moved. "I only mean you work so hard and you are always here so early. It must be exhausting, carrying all that weight around."

She walked away before I could answer. The door to her office clicked shut behind her.

I sat down at my desk.

My hands were shaking. I pulled up the morning files and started typing.

~~~~~

Thursday came so fast.

A white box with a red ribbon sat on my desk, inside were six cookies. They smelled rich and buttery.

Livia appeared beside my desk.

"Oh, those are from me,” she said. A peace offering. I know I have been... less than warm."

I looked at the cookies, then at her. "What did you put in them?" I inquired.

Her smile was steady in place like usual. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Nothing. They are sugar-free cookies. I thought you would appreciate that." She paused. "Given everything."

I did not eat them. I put the box in my drawer and forgot about it.

Later that afternoon, when my stomach was growling and my sandwich was gone, I pulled out a cookie and took a bite.

It tasted sweet at first but there was a strange bitter flavor at the end.

Thirty minutes later, I was on my knees in the bathroom. My stomach cramped so hard I saw dark spots. I gripped the cold toilet seat and threw up until there was nothing left.

Sweat dripped down my neck. My legs wouldn't stop shaking.

Afterward, I stayed on the floor for nearly twenty minutes, pressing my cheek against the cold tiles.

When I finally returned to my desk, Livia was waiting.

She was holding the cookie box and reading the label on the bottom.

"Oh no," she said loudly so that the whole hallway could hear her.

"These are not sugar-free at all. They are diet cookies. The kind that flush everything out and clean out your system.

She covered her mouth dramatically.

Oh, Elowen, I am so embarrassed. I grabbed the wrong box."

The woman from accounting looked up with a smile plastered on her face like she was enjoying the show. The man from legal stopped working to listen.

"Are you alright?" Livia asked.

I clenched my jaw and said nothing to her.

"You look a little pale my darling Elowen. She chuckled…

And a little slimmer already." She laughed softly.

“Sorry, that was just a joke."

"No it's not," I said. "You are not funny."

Her smile slipped for a second. Then it came back, brighter than before. "Feel better soon."

She turned and walked away. I picked up the cookie box and threw it into the trash.

~~~~~

Monday morning, my computer pinged with a new email

“Office Wellness Initiative

Let's Support Each Other!”

I opened the email and read it.

The company was starting a fitness challenge. Everyone would track their daily steps. The person with the highest score would win a gift card.

The email said everyone was welcome no matter their fitness level

Then I reached the last line.

“Special encouragement to our newest team members. We know you will benefit from this opportunity more than anyone.”

Love,

Livia.”

My stomach tightened, I closed the email.

My jaw hurt from clenching my teeth.

Ten minutes later, a woman from marketing stopped at my desk. Her name was Celia, she was so thin she looked like a strong wind could knock her over.

"Good luck with the challenge," she said with a smile. "Let me know if you need tips or any advice. I used to struggle with my weight too, then I discovered self-control."

I looked up at her.

“Did Livia send you to do this?"

The smile disappeared from her face. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"Yes, you do."

Her cheeks turned red, without saying another word, she hurried and left.

The notes kept coming from his office. Slipped under the door every morning.

“File the Henderson contracts.”

“Reschedule Tokyo meeting.”

“Coffee. Black. No sugar. 9:05 AM exactly.”

I did every task.

I filed every document.

I made the coffee, at exactly 9:05 I carried it to his office.

I knocked on his door but there was no answer so I left the cup on the small table beside the door.

His hand reached out from the inside and took it. The door closed without me seeing his face, only his shadow moving behind the frosted glass.

Sometimes his voice crackles through the intercom at odd hours.

"Miss Hart. Bring me the Connolly file."

"I gave it to you yesterday, sir."

"I need it again."

"Sir, if I may ask…"

"You may not. Bring it."

I brought it to him. He barely looked at me.

His silver eyes stayed fixed on the papers in front of him.

"Leave it on the desk." He said nonchalantly.

I left it there and walked out. The door clicked shut behind me.

~~~~~

Tuesday morning, the intercom buzzed again.

"Miss Hart. My office."

I went to his office and stood in front of his desk. For several seconds, he did not look up.

Then he spoke in a cold manner.

"The coffee this morning was cold." I blinked looking confused

"Sir, I put it on your table at exactly 9:05."

"I did not drink it until 9:15. It was cold. You should have anticipated that."

"How would I anticipate that, sir?"

I stared at him.

His pen stopped moving. Slowly, he looked up. His silver eyes met mine. "What did you say?"

I swallowed hard. My heart was pounding that I could hear it in my ear.

"I asked how I was supposed to know, sir. You tell me when to bring the coffee but you do not tell me when you will drink it sir."

The silence in the room stretched for sometime, his jaw tightened.

"Do not speak to me like that, Miss Hart." He sounded pissed now.

"Like what, sir?

The words came out before I could stop them.

“Like a person who is trying to do her job?"

I ran my mouth like I knew it all.

He stood up in a careful way that his chair made no sound. He walked gently around the desk and stopped in front of me. He stood so close that I could smell the sandalwood on his clothes. The expensive scent mixed with the cold smell of metal and paper.

His gaze never left mine.

"You think this is a conversation," he said in a calm authoritative way. "It is not, little miss.

I won’t lie, I was so scared I thought I would pee on myself.

You are here to do exactly what I say, whenever I say it. No questions asked." He said in a final tone.

"Then tell me what you want clearly, sir and I will do it."

For a moment, something flashed across his face, like he couldn't believe his ears.

His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth, from my mouth to my neck, then back to my eyes.

The look vanished so quickly that I almost thought I'd imagined it.

"Get out." He said in a cold way that it kept ringing in my ear,

I turned and walked to the door with my shaking legs and hands. I must have been crazy talking to him like I did, I held myself together all day. I answered emails, filed paperwork and smiled when people spoke to me. Then I got on the bus and went home. The moment the door closed behind me, I started crying, I cried like a baby. Letting it all out, all the fear and emotions I held inside, I cried it out.

~~~~~

Friday afternoon an invitation arrived. It came in a thick cream colored envelope with gold lettering.

I checked the content and it says…

“Voltaire Holdings Annual Gala.

Black Tie Event.

Saturday, 8 PM.

Attendance is mandatory for all executive floor staff.

I stared at the invitation feeling helpless.

What would I be doing at a gala?

A room full of wealthy people wearing clothes that probably cost more than my monthly rent.

I am doomed because I had nothing to wear. I had nothing that looked elegant enough or expensive like others.

Nothing that wouldn't make me stand out as the poor girl who didn't belong.

Livia appeared at my desk before lunch as usual. She was holding a garment bag. Her smile was so bright like she won a lottery.

"Hello Elowen sweetie, she said like she meant it. I had a thought." She unzipped the bag she was holding.

"I know you probably do not have anything presentable to wear for the gala.

As a thoughtful friend and sister that I am, I brought you something that will be so worth it and cover up what needs to be covered."

She pulled out a dress from the bag, it was

an ugly brown dress. The brown of old bandages.

The dress was shapeless. A sack of rough fabric with no waist and no life that looked more like a sack than a dress.

"I know it is not much," Livia said sweetly like she was doing me a huge favor.

"It should be comfortable for someone like you.

She looked me up and down and continued spewing rubbish.

“You do not want anything too fitted, that would be... unflattering."

She held it out the dress towards me.

I did not move or try to take it from her. "I do not want your dress." I said sounding irritated

"Excuse me?" Her smile faltered.

"You heard me Livia, I do not want it."

Her smile returned but it looked forced, like she was trying to save face. "I am only trying to help you."

"No don't, I stood up. The office grew quiet around us.

You are not trying to help me Livia, you are only trying to humiliate me.

Her eyes narrowed but I kept firing…

Trying to help me?

“Like you did with the cookies.”

“Like you did with the fitness challenge.”

“Like you do every single day while pretending to be kind."

The room fell silent. Celia from marketing turned in her chair. The man from legal stopped with his coffee halfway to his mouth.

Livia's smile vanished and her voice dropped.

"You should be careful, Elowen. You do not have many friends here.”

She came closer. “Pushing away the only one who is trying to help you is not very smart."

"You are not my friend, you were never my friend and never will be."

For a second her eyes went dangerously cold.

"No," she said quietly and leaned closer. "I am not. But I am the only thing standing between you and that exit door… remember that bitch."

My stomach tightened.

She dropped the garment bag on my desk. It landed with a dull thump.

"Wear the dress or do not.

She shrugged.

It does not matter to me, you will look out of place either way."

She walked back to her office and shut the door behind her.

I sat down quietly trying not to make a sound or draw any attention.

The brown dress lay on my desk like a discarded trash. I shoved it into the bottom drawer and slammed it closed.

At 4:30 I packed my things and stood up to leave. My bag was on my shoulder, my jacket all buttoned up.

I was ready to go home and curl up in my room and forget this day had ever happened.

Then the intercom crackled.

"Miss Hart."

His voice was cold and calm.

"My office. Now."

I closed my eyes. I breathed in and out three times before I turned and walked over to his office.

I pushed open the double doors, and stepped inside.

He was standing by the window, his back was on me.

The city stretched below him in shades of grey.

"Close the door." He said still not facing me.

I have closed it sir.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then he said,

"The gala is tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

"Livia Monroe offered you a dress right."

I felt goosebumps all over my body as I stared at him. "How do you know that sir?"

He turned. His silver eyes held mine. "I know everything that happens on my floor. She gave you something brown and shapeless.

I could not speak.

“A dress designed to make you feel small.”

"You refused it."

"Yes, sir."

His jaw tightened, something flickered in his eyes for a second, more like anger or rage.

"Good," he said.

The word hung in the air. I blinked, not understanding him.

"Sir?"

He walked toward his desk

"You represent me, Miss Hart. Not Livia Monroe and not the women in marketing. You represent me and I do not let my people wear sacks." His gaze held mine, never letting go.

Before I could answer, he pressed a button on his phone and said “send her in”

I frowned and stood frozen. "Sir, I do not understand. Who are you…"

The office door opened behind me and a woman walked in.

She was tall, elegant and dressed all in black. She carried a garment bag and without speaking she unzipped it.

My breath caught, inside was an emerald green dress. The silk shimmered beneath the office lights like clear flowing water.

It was the most beautiful dress I had ever set my eyes on.

"This is Maya," my boss said. "She is my stylist. She will fit you for tomorrow." I stared at him then at the dress and back at him…my mouth open.

“Sir… I can't afford something like this. My voice came out broken.

"I did not ask you to afford it." His voice was flat. "I told you to wear it and that is not a request."

I swallowed hard, the room suddenly felt too warm.

Maya smiled slightly and held the dress up.

“Let's make sure it fits.” She said in a calm way.

I looked at the dress again, I had never owned anything that beautiful, not even close or half close. I was speechless and didn't know what to say

Eryx walked back to the window. His back faced us. His voice was low and quieter now… almost gentle.

"You will attend the gala. You will wear that dress and you will not let anyone in that room make you feel small. Do you understand?"

Something tightened in my chest.

"Yes, sir." I responded immediately.

“Good.” He waved a hand ushering us to go.

"Go with Maya, she will handle the rest."

I nodded obediently.

As I walked out of his office my legs did not feel like my own, it felt strangely unsteady.

Maya followed beside me, carrying the emerald dress.

When the door closed behind us, I thought I heard the soft clink of a whiskey glass and something that might have been a tired sigh.