Bound by shadows

Captivating Intrigue

I was busy organizing my belongings when my phone rang.

“Hi, mom,” I greeted, cradling the phone between my ear and shoulder as I arranged books on a shelf.

“How are you, sweetheart? Are you eating well?” My mother’s voice came from the other end of the line, filled with concern.

“I’m fine, mom. Just trying to settle in. How are you?”

“I’m good, dear. But how have you been these past few days?”.

I filled her in on my move and how the interview went, leaving out the encounter with the stranger.

“You know, Mark has…”

“Mom, I don’t want to talk about Mark. He’s my past. I’ve buried him”, I cut off my mom as she tries to bring up Mark.

“I understand, sweetheart. But there’s something you should know about him”

“Mom, I don’t want to know about him. I don’t care to know anything about him. Can we change the topic?”

“Ok, baby. You are right. It is still early to talk about him now. And it is probably nothing anyway. I will tel you when you ready”

I smiled. Grateful that my mom has agreed to drop the topic. As we spoke, a notification beeped on my phone. I took it away from my ear to check and saw an email. Opening it, I read:

“Ms. Kate Dawson,

You have been accepted for the position of Web producer at Starwave Studio. You are expected to resume at 9:00am tomorrow.

Congratulations! We are very happy to have you on board.

Signed,

Management”.

“Oh my God, Mom! I got the job!” I screamed in excitement. My mother’s concerned voice came through the phone. “What happened? Why are you screaming?”

“I got the job, Mom! I start tomorrow!”

“That’s wonderful news, Kate. I’m so proud of you. I love you.”

“I love you too, mom,” I said, ending the call with a smile.

****

The next morning, I woke up early and prepared for my first day at Starwave Studio. I selected a white armless top, a Jean trouser with a white suit jacket to go with it. I combed my hair and tied it neatly into a bun.

After a quick breakfast of coffee and a sandwich, i rushed to the bus station. I got off at the first stop and walked the remaining distance to the company.

Inside, the receptionist greeted me with a smile, “Good morning. You must be Kate Dawson. Welcome to Starwave Studio. Please head to the HR department; they’ll help you get your ID badge and access key.”

I walked into the HR department, and was directed to a woman who looks to be in her late fifties.

“Good morning, my name is Kate Dawson”, I greeted and introduced myself to her.

“I’m mrs Lee, head of HR. Caleb will show you around today”, She said without looking up from her computer as I turn around looking for who she was talking about.

“Hi Kate, I am Caleb”, a young man with short blond hair, smiled warmly at me. He had a dimple on his right cheek.

“Nice to meet you, I am Kate”, I said, smiling back at him.

“Well, Kate. Let’s get started”.

As we walked through the building, Caleb explained the company’s structure, showing me each department while introducing me to various colleagues. Caleb excused himself to answer a call and as I stood at the hallway waiting for him, I overheard a group of women by a corner whispering excitedly about the chairman.

“Have you seen the chairman? I saw him on my way here and he is sooo handsome” one of them said.

“Isn’t he old?”, one of the women asked.

“Old? Hardly.” The one who claimed to have seen him said, the name on her ID tag says Sybil.

“I heard he uses women as it pleases him” another one whispered.

“If he is as handsome as Sybil claims he is then he can use me as much as he wants and I will just keep coming back to him” said another.

I grimaced as I heard them.

“So, what’s the deal with the chairman?” I asked Caleb when he came back to join me.

Caleb chuckled. “No one sees him much. He’s usually on some trip or another, hardly ever around. Although, a lot of the ladies here are already head over heels for him even without seeing him”

“Yeah, I can see that”

“He known for being ruthless anyway. And when he’s here, everyone’s on edge. Infact, he has fired over ten people in the past few weeks that he’s been around. That’s why the position you filled was vacant”

I grimaced. “That’s….. comforting”.

A lady approached Caleb. “Hey Caleb, Mrs Lee needs you”. She said while giving me a nod to acknowledge me.

Caleb turned to me.

“Umm… I am sorry but I have to leave you now”.

“Oh, it’s ok. Go do what you have to do”, I say.

“Feel free to look around and welcome to Starwave studio”, he said, while spreading his arms wide as he walked away.

I wandered the halls, taking in the sleek, modern design. As I was about to turn a corner, I bumped into someone.

“I am sor…”, I was about to say, when I heard his deep voice.

“We need to stop meeting like this, darling”, he said. I looked up, recognizing him instantly.

“YOU”, I said, pointing at him. My face twisting in disgust.

“W-what are you doing here”, I stuttered still trying to recover from the shock that this annoying man was in front of me again.

He gave me an amused look.

“What am I doing here?” He asked.

I slapped my palm to my forehead. I say out loud, “of course, you will be here. You are a client after all”

“A client, huh?” He said, amused.

“ Yes, a client but that doesn’t mean you should show your face in front of me. Today is my first day at work and the last thing I want to see is your face”, I said to him angrily.

He stared at my intensely. His stare giving me a fluttery feeling in my stomach. I pushed that feeling aside as I met his gaze defiantly. Anger showing in my eyes, amusement showing in his.

Stepping closer to me, he said, “You know, no one has ever spoken to me in the way that you do, darling.”

“Maybe, someone should. It would probably knock some sense in you and you will know it is bad manners to look down on people and treat them like they are nothing”, I replied.

“You’re an interesting woman, Kate Dawson”

I stared at him, surprised that he knew my name. Also, hating the fact that I found the way he said my name sexy.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he said,

“Don’t be so surprised, darling. Getting the name of someone is a piece of cake. I can get information on anyone if I want to, especially when I have taken a particular interest in them”.

I glared at him. “That’s called internet stalking, Mr. arrogant”.

He chuckled, “Mr. Arrogant”, he repeated the words as if testing them on his tongue.

“It’s a good thing you will be working here from now on, we will be seeing each other more often”.

I scoffed. “Yeah, I hope not”.

I started to walk away, knowing that staying there and talking with him was pointless and would only infuriate me further.