The Calling

ONE

ELARA

I glanced over at Penny’s seat for the hundredth time that day and sighed. It was empty, and it had been for the last two days. My heart gave a little ache, longing to see her sweet smile. She had been the only thing I had grown to look forward to in this job. Penny had been the light of this office until she made the same mistake that so many other women had: getting involved with Dexter Vorra, one of the brothers and CEOs of Vorra Industries. As I wondered about Penny, I heard a velvety voice call across the office to another woman I worked with.

I felt sick hearing his voice. I knew he had done something to sweet Penny. I glanced up and saw him walking toward the other woman. He didn’t really walk—he seemed to slither. There was a slow and calculated way about him, like a predator stalking its prey. Something almost inhuman. Her breath caught, and he smirked as he stepped much too close. I watched her shiver as he leaned in and whispered something, his eyes boring into hers. She started to breathe faster, her chest rising and falling as if she had been running. I was about to stand and stop him from ensnaring her when a tiny giggle escaped her, and her hand fluttered up to her chest. Her eyes met his, and her cheeks flushed as she nodded quickly, like an eager child.

I shook my head and let out a frustrated sigh. He had already hooked another one. She was the seventh one that month, and I knew there had been many more over the years. I just hadn’t known how bad it was until he took the one I cared about. I looked over at Penny’s desk again and felt that familiar loneliness creep in. She hadn’t answered my calls, and she had run out of the office in such a hurry. Her desk was abandoned, left with all its knick-knacks and paperwork from the weeks before. A glance at my computer screen showed that it was time for me to pack up my things and head home. I grabbed my notebook and shut my laptop, moving it into my black bag. As I was placing my pens back in their cup with the company logo on it, I felt someone watching me.

My boss and the snake in question, Dexter, was looking at me through dark curls that had fallen in his face as he pretended to look at whatever giggle-girl was showing him. His hazel eyes made me feel like there were spiders running across my skin. I waited for him to look away, but he didn’t. Neither did I. I refused to fear him. I squared my jaw and matched his gaze. I saw his brows furrow ever so slightly, but he regained control and gave me a quick, polite smile before re-engaging with the petite blonde he was courting. He touched her shoulder lightly, and she looked up into his eyes as if he held the world.

Idiot.

She would learn the hard way, like all the other girls before her. The ones who turned into love-sick puppies worshiping him, only to be dropped, left like addicts who had lost their fix. I grabbed my things and my keys and sauntered towards the elevator. As I walked away, I felt eyes on me again. The hairs on my neck stood up, and I was glad he couldn’t see how rattled I felt. I wanted to run, but I held my ground. I forced myself to wait for the elevator and stepped in slowly, keeping myself steady. I pressed the button for the first floor and dared to glance up, only to see him standing just outside the door, intently staring at me. He smiled a smile that made me want to scream and hide. I could see him radiating confidence, like he knew how he affected me.

No. I wouldn’t let him. I grounded myself and mustered up the biggest smile I could. False and cheesy, I grinned back. I watched him falter and lose his cool as the door closed. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. I wasn’t the kind of girl who lost her mind over a pretty man, especially not that man. I would find a way to get away from that place. Maybe I would find a way to stop him in the process. Maybe I could find Penny…

When I reached the ground floor, I walked quickly to my car while fighting the urge to run. In all those years, Dexter Vorra had never paid me any attention. I had felt safe in the comfort that I was nowhere near his type, with my short and choppy brown hair and gray, stormy eyes. Not to mention my curves. I was definitely not one of the slender blondes with glittering blue eyes that he favored. I wasn’t like Penny.

It had been days since I’d seen Penny or heard from her. We had become very good friends in the two years since she came to Vorra Industries. I had been there for five long, lonely years before she arrived, and those years had been terribly lonely. Then, Penny came in with her long, rose gold hair and a smile that lit up any room she walked into. I hadn’t known about the high turnover rate at our company then; I had always just kept to myself and worked hard, burning off the time I had left on my contract so I could finally leave Vorra Industries forever.

But Penny had come in and made my days bearable. She was outgoing and vibrant, and she made quick work of me. She invited me out to coffee on her first day, and we became fast friends. We had always made fun of the girls falling over Dexter, the head of our department floor. I wished that I had paid more attention before he set his eyes on Penny.

I had been driving longer than I needed to, and I silenced my thoughts to focus on where I was. Without even realizing it, I found myself in Penny’s neighborhood, where she rented a small house. I held my breath as I got closer to her home. A sigh of relief rushed out of me as I saw that her car was in the driveway and, through the window, I could see a lamp was on. I pulled my sleek, black Honda up next to her sticker-covered station wagon. After stopping the car and pulling out the key, I decided to call once more. I called her cell phone again, for the thousandth time. No answer.

I didn’t know why, but a dreadful feeling was clawing its way out of my chest. I pocketed my phone into my suit pants and took a deep, steadying breath before going to the door. I prayed to whoever might listen that I would find Penny safe inside her home. I longed to see her smile and hear her wind chime laugh. I stepped onto the small porch, which was littered with wilted flowers and plants. I tried to catch a peek through the window, but I could only see the lamp on in an empty living room. I came upon the door and knocked.

I waited, holding my breath. Nothing happened, though. I knocked again, louder, and peeked through the front window again to see if I could catch movement, but there was nothing. The living room looked normal, and from the window, I could see a bit into the kitchen. I strained a bit to try and look back into the hallway that led to her bedroom and guest room. The hallway was dark, and I couldn’t see all the way down.

I didn’t want to be invasive, but I also wanted to know that she was okay. I sighed and thought:

Just do it, Elara.