Chapter 4
1425 Words
4
Stephanie knew what her partner was getting at by getting her out of there. He didn’t want her speaking her mind in front of some real prospective clients. Gregory was just flirting with her and Seville was just taking pot shots out of jealousy.
Chuck led her away from the other two and they stepped out onto the busy street. He didn’t stop at the crowded door, though, as he led her to the side of the large building. There was a narrow, one-car alley there, and in the safety of those shadows he stopped them.
“I know you’re not very good around people, but I heard that joke you pulled,” he explained. He was trying his best to remain calm and collected. “What if those had been real clients?”
“But they weren’t,” she pointed out with a pout on her lips. She hated when he reprimanded her for just speaking her mind.
“You know bad reputations go faster by word-of-mouth than good ones,” he scolded. “What if someone overheard that joke and didn’t want to take our business because of that kind of unprofessionalism.”
Stephanie sighed and rolled her eyes. This wasn’t the first time they’d had this kind of conversation, but tonight she just felt off. Maybe it was the headache, or maybe it was the full moon overhead that made her reckless, but right now she just didn’t care.
“Listen, why don’t you just do it all then?” she growled. “All this bullshit pimping ourselves and all this smiling at people I’d rather be decking upside the face. Is anyone of this worth it?”
“If we want to keep the business going like it is, yes,” he bluntly admitted. Even his impassive voice and expression was pissing her off. “We’ve gone over this a million times, Boss. These people are who we need to talk to if we want any new jobs.” He realized he wasn’t really getting to her, and he sighed. “We can’t just keep relying on the same old customers to give us work, especially with how much competition we have out there.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Stephanie snapped at him. She threw up her arms and rolled her eyes. She knew she was being immature for someone her age, but she was too frustrated to dig herself out of her childish behavior. “You think I haven’t thought of scraping this whole business and going to work for someone else? It’d be a hell of a lot less trouble than dealing with need customers, boring meetings, and paychecks.”
“You mean my paycheck,” he quietly pointed out.
Stephanie was struck by the tone buried deep down in his voice. She’d struck a little too close to home regarding him than she’d intended. She hadn’t meant to suggest he was a problem.
“I’m…I’m sorry, Chuck. Really I am,” she apologized. She shook her head. “I just don’t feel very well. Maybe I’m coming down with something.”
“Or maybe you just need sleep,” he suggested. He clapped his hand on her shoulder and smiled. “How about you go back to your room and get some sleep?”
“Yeah, that might help,” she admitted. She didn’t think it would, but it was worth a try. There were other options, too, and a half grin spread across her lips. “Or maybe I should dump Bob and get myself a rich husband,” she half joked.
“You could probably do better,” Chuck playfully pointed out.
“Yeah, well, at least he keeps the home fires burning while I’m gone,” Stephanie pointed out.
She sighed and glanced up at the dark night sky. The moon was so bright that long shadows stretched out from the walls and boxes piled up in the alley. It was actually a pretty nice night, and the fresh air helped clear her foggy and frustrated head.
“Boss?” Chuck asked. He gestured to the street in back of him. “You going to go inside now?”
“I think I’ll take a walk,” she decided. She turned and gave him an encouraging smile. “Just for a few minutes. Might do me some good.”
“All right,” he slowly agreed. It looked like he wanted to disagree, but he also didn’t want reignite their argument. “Just don’t go out too far from the hotel. There’s a lot of dangerous things in these alleys,” he pointed out.
“I think I’ll be fine with my pepper spray and teeth,” Stephanie joked.
“Well, see you after the party,” he gave his farewell. He still hesitated to leave her, though, and only moved a few steps while keeping his eyes on his Boss.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “You’re the one who’s going back into that den of cultured animals,” she added. She dug into her purse and pulled out the pepper spray can. “Maybe you need this?” she teased.
“I think I’ll manage,” Chuck laughed. Seeing her method of defense gave him some comfort, or at least enough to leave her. “Have fun on your walk.”
“Have fun on your excursion,” she playfully shot back.
He’d already turned his back to her, so he just held up a hand and waved. Soon he’d disappeared around the corner, and Stephanie was left to her own devices.
With the moon as her light she glanced back into the depths of the alley. A few stray lights lit doorways, but other than those bright spots no street lights penetrated the depths between the buildings. The scene reminded her of a wild, unexplored woodland. Well, with concrete paths. Here she was, the intrepid explorer out to find jewels nestled amidst this stone forest.
“Maybe I should grow up a little more,” she softly scolded herself.
Stephanie set out on her short journey. It would have to be short if she was going to spare her feet. They were still trapped in those painful high heels, and she had half a mind to just toss them over her shoulder and walk around barefoot.
She left behind the bright lights and busy streets and chose to travel between the tall walls and dark shadows. Boxes lay piled up on both sides and overflowing dumpsters littered the ground. Cracks and holes in the dotted the concrete with coarse-smelling water sitting inside the depths of that decay. Wild alley cats and large rats fled at her coming, but only to stop and stare at her front the safe havens of their dark holes and hidden homes.
Stephanie passed by the long wall of the hotel and arrived at an intersection of four paths. The block on which the hotel sat abutted another without any road between them, so by turning left or right and walking about two hundred feet she would arrive on two busy streets. The way forward led to more darkness and adventure, and she decided she was up for a little more fresh air before she turned around.
She felt like the last person on earth as the quiet of the alley settled upon her. Only those wild animals disturbed the quiet, and the tall walls around her muffled the sounds of honking horns and talking people. She was disappointed when light appeared at the end of the long tunnel of shadow. Rather than going forward into the light, though, Stephanie opted to sit down on one of the cleaner crates she’d seen.
Stephanie leaned her head back against the rough brick wall of a restaurant and closed her eyes. She enjoyed the peace the solitude offered. There was nothing here to disturb her mind by reminding her of adult duties. She laughed a little to herself, and the sound echoed off the bare walls like a twinkling of glass shattering upon the hard ground.
“Maybe I should marry rich,” she mused, which was the thought she’d been pondering. “At least I’d be able to buy a house out in the country for some rest.”
That’s when her rest was suddenly disturbed.
Stephanie frowned when she heard a noise to her left. The sound wasn’t far off, either, and was odd to her ears. She opened her eyes and pulled away from the wall to look down the alley. There was nothing there but long shadows and eerie lighting from the street not more than a hundred feet off in front of her.
Stephanie slowly stood to her feet. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end and her heart beat faster. Her eyes flickered from shadow to shadow as she tried to find the source of the strange noise. It had sounded like an animal, but something much larger than a cat or mouse. More like a dog, but still much louder.
That’s when something stepped out of the shadows behind a dumpster. Something impossibly large.
- Writer
