-So, what was her name again?- he asked.
The young woman was still unpacking and setting her new workspace ready. He and his friend were watching her from the coffeemaker stand at the other side of the room.
-As I said, I really don’t know – the other guy whispered – I have heard things, but I don’t know anything about her to be honest. That Anthony guy from the other department told me stories. She doesn’t seem to be the extraverted kind anyways as you can see. Why do you keep asking?
He kept staring at her ordering her files and took a sip from his coffee.
-I dunno, man. It’s just… there’s something rather odd about her but I can’t seem to think what it is. -he explained.
-Oh, I see – said the other guy while pouring himself a cup of coffee.
-I wonder why they moved her here.
-Well, I’d like to know a lot of things as well, but you know how management reacts when you ask them anything about their decisions. From what I’ve heard she might appear gloomy but as long as she’s being productive its fine. Maybe they gave her a raise and now she’s working with us. Either way, don’t do anything stupid, you know what they say: “never shit where you eat” – joked the other guy as he bent down to put some sugar and mix the contents inside his cup.
-Yeah, I know, It’ll… oh shit, she’s looking this way! – he gasped and turned around so quickly that spilled his coffee all over his friend.
-What the fuck is wrong with you?!- the other guy snapped.
-Shut up! She’s gonna notice! -he tried to calm him down.
-No, you shut up! You’re acting so weird just because some random woman shows up…
-Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry, now, would you please shut up? You’re ruining it by making such a fuss – he interrupted his friend while he took off his blazer and covered his friend’s back to hide the coffee stain on his shirt. Then he picked up the cup from the floor.
-Here, take my keys, go to my car, grab the shirt I have there and go change – he glanced behind him and continued – good thing nobody noticed, I’ll go get something to clean this up.
-Fine! But you’ve gotta make up for this! – his friend said, begrudgingly taking the keys he handed him.
-Yeah, it’s on me next time we go out. Now go.
After his friend left, he took some napkins and cleaned the spilled coffee. It would be faster that way, as leaving to find the janitor or a mop so he could clean that himself would take long and he still had a lot of work left before the shift ended. He wiped the little table and then picked some more napkins and kneeled down to wipe the floor. While he was at it, he glimpsed back but all he could see was the rest of his coworkers blocking the view, so he finished cleaning and threw the used napkins away before hastily gulping down what remained of his coffee and walked back to his desk.
As he approached his desk he saw her. She was sitting on her chair, bent trying to reach below her desk looking for her belongings on the boxes that were piled all around her at her feet. She rose with some folders and stretched towards the shelves to put them there. Then, she left her seat and knelt next to one of the boxes further from her chair. He was so distracted by looking at her that he did not notice a fold in the carpet below and tripped over, hurting his ankle.
-Fuck! – he cursed.
He made sure not to say it out loud so nobody heard him. He knelt down to examine his ankle, which hurt but seemed to be ok, but he forgot about it all of a sudden when he heard the muffled sound of footsteps against the carpet coming in his direction. A pair of pale white feet wearing black wedges rushed right next to him in the opposite direction. His heart skipped a beat as they passed by. He gulped. Then he looked back and saw the young woman who was unpacking her things earlier walking fast down the corridor between the rows of desks towards the glass door at the end of the office. She opened the door and left the room.
“She’s hot. But I wish she had a bigger ass” he though. He stood up and walked to his desk. He sat down and leaning back he sighted and took his hands to his face. He scratched his cheek and looked at the glass door at the end of the corridor, but he didn’t see her there, He turned his chair to have a better look of her desk. It was almost at the back of the room, but close enough to his to have a good view, only rows apart from his. There were around a dozen rows of two desks each, with one opposite the other. Each work station had a little bookshelf at an angle next to it so that the workers had a space to have their belongings. As she had just arrived to that department, the cardboard boxes containing her stuff were spread all over the floor next to her desk. He wonder what she had inside those them and moved his head to see if he could get a better angle.
He shrugged. Then, he turned back to his desk and tapped on the screen to continue with his work.
It was not until much later when she came back. The sun had already set and the LED lights from the next building shined through the window of the office. Many of his coworkers had already left but there was still plenty of people in the office, some sitting at their desks working on their touch screens and some chatting in the corridor. He was almost done with his work for that day when he heard the sound of the door opening and letting the sounds from the rest of the building come inside the office room. He looked at the door and saw her walking in accompanying one of the managers as he made some gestures with his hands, like explaining something to her.
He examined her further. She had pale white skin and pitch dark hair in a a short bob cut with bangs. She was wearing black leggings and a light brown coat. on top of a gray top. She was already tall but she looked taller from the wedges she wore, even if they had a low heel; she was almost as tall as the man standing next to her, so he figured she would be around 6 ft or 1.80 m tall.
He had been thinking about her, unable to even concentrate on what he was doing. Something had caught his attention the moment he saw her, perhaps it was the methodical and precise way she moved, perhaps it was the way she looked, or perhaps it was both, but back at noon when she arrived and he asked his friend about her, he had to pull himself closer to his desk so he could better hide the rising bulge between his legs. He did that once again as he started to feel hot just by looking at her.
He looked back at the screen. Suddenly those numbers did not make any sense. He tried to focus but now he was getting distracted by her voice in the distance. It had an intermediate pitch and a harsh and direct tone to it, raspy, and elegant. He heard her speaking in short sentences, even amidst the rest of the chatter their coworkers and the beeping sound of the various devices in the office, without any stuttering or hesitation, but he could not understand what she was saying. He looked back at the door. She was standing next to the coffee machine, most likely receiving her last orders from the manager, who had one hand on the door handle. He saw her nodding and then the manager opened the door and left the room after he made a gesture with is hand. She stood there for a while, looking down, before she suddenly looked up and started to walk towards her desk. The abrupt change of posture scared him and he looked back at the screen so she would not notice him staring at her.
She walked past him, right behind his chair. This time, he was able to pick the faint smell of her perfume as she passed by. He tried not to look at her as hard as he could, but he could not help it and once he heard her footsteps a bit further away, he turned to see her as she reached her desk and sat on her chair sighing before leaning down to scramble inside one of the boxes at her feet.
He looked back at his screen and tried to get back to work, but he could not concentrate and he found himself looking back and forth between the screen and that young woman for the next few minutes. All those numbers on the screen made no sense at all anymore. She eventually finished unpacking; she had stacked the empty boxes inside of each other and was now kneeling down sorting the contents of a drawer.
– Oh, fuck it, I’ll finish this later – he whispered to himself. He dragged the spreadsheet into his phone resting on the desk before turning off the touchscreen in front of him. He stood up, grabbed a couple of folders from the top shelves, kicked his chair under the desk and looked at his reflection on the screen to fix his hair a bit before he walked to the desk of the young lady a few rows from his, fixing his tie on his way there.
“Ok, I’m cool, I’ve got this” he thought. She was now sitting leaning back on her seat with her legs crossed while looking at her phone. He stood next to her and rested his arm on the shelves above her desk on top of his folders.
– Hey! Nice view, don’t you think? – he said smiling, but she kept staring at her phone, mindlessly scrolling. He waited a few seconds for her to respond but she did not move.
– So uhm… welcome to accounting two! – he continued – I was told we have the best coffee machine of the company, even management comes here to get their coffee from our machine. I’m sure you’re gonna love it.
The young woman kept ignoring him.
– Name’s Jack, by the way. Which was your previous department? I’ve heard some horror stories from the guys next door at accounting one, but maybe you come from another place…
He almost did not finish his last sentence, his speech just faded away as he tried to come up with more things to say. He was looking at her scrolling on her phone. He had not noticed her eyes until then; she had grayish blue eyes and matched her deep red lips exquisitely.
After a couple of seconds that seemed like ages, she rested her phone on her lap and raised her other hand to her chin, resting her head on her knuckles. Then, she slowly swept him with her sight, from bottom to top, until she looked at his face. She moved her hand a bit, now resting her face on her thumb and straightened her index and middle fingers against her cheek.
That stare caught Jack by surprise. Her sight was piercing through him, but her face did not show any emotion. He stood there uncomfortably a few seconds, unable to react.
– Uh… – he finally gulped – it’s always nice to see uhm… new faces around here – he continued, scratching his forehead – I’ll be happy to show you around if you want to… I mean, it’s just the office, so there’s nothing really to uhm.. but it’s ok if you want to uh… you know, the other folks and…
This time, he did not finish his sentence. She was not moving, just staring at him with a blank face and he was starting to feel uncomfortable so he could not come up with anything else. He took his hand to the back of his neck.
– Anyway, I think I should be leaving now, gotta feed the cat back home, you know, but uhm… feel free to hit me up if you need anything. Have a nice day, er, I mean night – he said, pointing backwards with his thumb before walking away from her desk. He stopped by his desk to fiddle around with his files a bit so he could look back at her but when he did, he noticed she was still staring at him in the exact same position, so he just faked he was turning off the screen and left. He waved goodbye to some of the guys chatting there in the office on his way out and looked back at the young lady’s desk as he opened the door, only to find out she was still staring at him.
– Shit – Jack sighed as soon as he entered the corridor and he had closed the door behind him. He shook his head and took his hand to his face while walking down the corridor towards the elevator at the end of it. He angrily pushed the button as soon as he got there.
– Shit! – he said out loud again. Then, he pressed the button a few times more, before kicking the ground and turning around with both hands on his face.
– I fucking messed up, I was so cool but that fucking stare was so… Fuck! – he said. The elevator arrived and he went in. It was empty.
“She’s a rough one. Imma have to work so fucking hard to get this one” he thought while looking at the numbers on the little screen on the side. There was an add for a product his company made next to the numbers.
When the elevator reached the basement of the building, the doors opened up. It had not stopped on its way down and the parking lot was empty. He walked out and then kept going to where his car was parked. When he got there, he looked for his keys inside of his pockets, but he found nothing there.
– Oh, fuck, Tom – he mumbled. He immediately thought of texting him, he thought he should still be there in the office, but when he looked for his phone he realized he did not have it with him.
– No, don’t tell me I… shit! – he growled, leaning against the door of his car and slamming the door with his fist as he realized he left his phone in the office. He also noticed he had forgotten his coat as well.
-As if it couldn’t get any worse, right? Fucking shit!
Jack kicked the ground and walked back to the elevator, which arrived after a few minutes, during which he walked in circles, cursing and kicking the ground. When the door opened two people came out of it before he walked in and entered the floor where his office was located. The elevator stopped when it got there and he stepped out of it, but as soon as he did that, he noticed the young lady from earlier coming out of the office.
– Oh, come on, fuck! – he groaned and went back inside the elevator, frantically pushing the button for the door to close. Then, he pressed another button to take him to the main lobby of the building and the elevator started moving. He sighed in relief.
A beeping noise played indicating him that the elevator had reached the lobby. He pressed another button for the doors to open and walked out. There were a couple of people walking around the lobby and he rushed past them, thinking about his phone and the pale young woman at the office. He figured he must have left his phone on top of the shelves at her desk.
He reached the main entrance and went outside. It was a bit chilly and he had left his coat back in the office, but he did not want to risk being found by the dark haired lady, so he just kept walking towards the nearest bus stop cursing. Good thing he had his wallet.
When he got there he walked in the line and closed his eyes as he waited for the bus to arrive. The sounds of the city at night, with the vehicles driving past him and the chatter from some people at the bus stop filled his ears. It took a while for the right bus to arrive, and by then, he was starting to feel cold. He swiped his card to enter the bus and sat at the back. He lived close by, and fortunately he had to take he bus almost near the end of that line, so usually there was next to no people on his way home and there were just three bus stops before his.
Jack sat down and rested his head against the window, staring outside. The bus began to move and he sighted. He reached his pocket looking for his phone but he stopped midway after he realized he did not have it. “Fuck”, he though, and then, rolling his eyes, he stretched his legs and let his back hit the seat. “How can I possibly be so fucking stupid. Fuck Tom, and fuck that girl!”.
He looked around him, examining the bus. There was that old lady with the dog and he also saw that David guy seating at the front row, probably sleeping. Those two were regulars. But there were a few other new faces: a guy wearing a jacket a few sizes too large, a bald man on the row behind him, a person with dyed hair a few rows to the front and two young women chattering at the back row. “The blonde one seems nice but she’s too skinny for my taste” he thought.
The way home was faster than usual, or at least it felt like that. He was still thinking about everything that happened back in the office. The way that woman moved, the smell of her perfume and finally that dead stare she gave him at the end when he was at her desk. Her eyes, ice cold, seemed to be penetrating him. It made him feel so weak and so vulnerable, almost as if he was standing there naked in front of her, not really meaning without clothes, but rather with his heart and soul showing up through his skin for her to see, examine and dissect as she pleased.
He shivered. The sole thought of it made him nervous. He had never before felt that way and yet, even though it was so uncomfortable, he could not stop thinking about it. She was going to be difficult, but now he was more determined to get her.
– I’m gonna fuck that bitch. She’s gonna fall for me so hard she won’t know what hit her. Imma make sure of it. – he said to himself quietly.
As he said that, the bus arrived at his stop. He stood up and walked towards the door at the back. He saw the two women at the back of the bus were looking at him.
– Have a good night, ladies – he said, nodding.
The two women looked at each other and giggled. He reached the door and walked out of the bus. He looked back as he stood on the sidewalk and he briefly saw one of the two women looking at from the inside of the bus him, but she immediately looked elsewhere when she noticed he was looking her way.
“Maybe next time, girls. Right now I’m after a far bigger prize” Jack thought. He walked away from the bus stop, hearing the sound of it starting to move behind him and he headed home. He lived close by. It was a nice apartment, not that far away from the business district where he worked and still pretty close to the city center where all the nightlife thrived. There was a park nearby as well and even though he had to pay extra for the parking lot it was overall a pretty good place all and all. He turned right on the next corner, crossed the following street and finally got to the entrance of the building. And then he realized he had no way of getting in.
– Oh, FUCK me, are you serious?! – he cursed, kicking the door. – you gotta be kidding me, fucking shit, now what? Fuck!.
He turned around and hit the railing with the palm of his hand before sitting down on the doorsteps leading to the building’s door. He sighted heavily and sat down on one of the steps. He rubbed his temples with both of his hands and stayed there for a couple of minutes, waiting and trying to come up with some idea.
– Well, I guess I’m not getting in today. Might as well do something fun in that case – he said to himself after a while, standing up and walking down the doorsteps.
Jack kicked the ground and headed back to the main street, unsure about what he would do. Defeated, he finally got to the avenue where he got off the bus and continued walking back from where he came. He figured he would probably take a walk to the park. It was cold outside but at least he would be more comfortable sleeping on the lawn instead of the hard sidewalk -or so he thought- because he had given up on getting inside the apartment building.
He eventually arrived to the park after a couple of minutes. He did not visit that place often, for he preferred to spend his free time at the nightclubs and pubs and he was not so fond of nature; being outside was messy, he always ended up with a rash from the grass, he hated bugs and absolutely despised getting mud all over his shoes after a rainy day. He definitely preferred the city life, but at least this time he thought that spending the night at the park was not a bad idea considering that it had not rained recently and city parks, unlike the actual outdoors, were a bit more tame anyway.
The park there had a couple of stone paths winding between tree patches, flowering bushes and the occasional picnic table. It was a nice place, definitely not the biggest park in the city but still a decently-sized green area for people to enjoy some leisure time outside. He walked the stone paths looking around for a good spot and he finally chose a small kiosk with a couple of picnic tables and trees around. He left the stone path and sat on one of the picnic tables there to think about his day once more.
“At least here the traffic sounds are muffled by the trees” he though. Of course he could hear the occasional honking and engine sounds from afar, but they were not loud enough to disturb him and the park was in fact not near one of the big noisy avenues.
The sound of footsteps took him by surprise. He turned around to see what was happening and discerned a human silhouette moving between some trees behind him. “Who could possibly want to be here at this time?” he thought. “I mean, of course apart from stray fuckers like me who somehow were stupid enough to forget both his phone and keys in two different places”. He moved his head inquisitively, trying to find a better view of that person. The silhouette bent down to pick something from the ground, disappearing from Jack’s view for a moment as it was hidden behind some bushes but then stood up and kept moving in circles, examining the ground.
Jack could not really see a lot from where he was. The person seemed to have long curly hair and and thin complexion but it was hard to distinguish. He was tired though. So he turned around and rested his back on the picnic table but even though he tried to forget about the stranger the sound of their footsteps was making him anxious. He had had enough for that day. He looked back again. The silhouette was nowhere to be found and everything was in silence.
– Hello? – he asked out loud, but nobody answered.
He stood up and walked towards the trees.
– Hello? Is anybody there? – he asked again. Something moved behind a bush and a person emerged. There stood a tall and thin young looking person, with long curly hair and brown skin.
– Is it really necessary for you to go around minding other people’s business?
– I’m sorry to disturb you, miss, I just…
– Miss? I transcended such terms long ago but I guess it’s ok. – the person interrupted him – Save us some time, what do you want?
Jack stood there confused. He examined his interlocutor, who was wearing a beige blouse under a simple brown coat, khaki jeans and boots and carried a little shovel. “Did she get offended?” he thought.
– Hello? Did you get lost? – the other person asked waving their hand since Jack was taking too long to answer.
– I’m sorry miss, err… uhm – Jack paused after he saw the other person raise an eyebrow at the mention of that word and then continued – it’s just that I wanted to see who was sneaking up behind me at this…
– So now I am the creep – Jack was once again interrupted. – Listen, the question is not why I’m here but rather what are _you_ doing here, talking to me. I’ve never seen you around and now you come telling me that I’m stalking you? Don’t give yourself too much credit. You’re the weirdo here.
After they finished that sentence, the person knelt down and picked up a canvas bag from near the bush, put it on one shoulder and then rested both hands on their hips.
– So? I’ll ask again, what do you want?
Jack remained in silence.
– Can’t spend some peaceful time outside anymore I guess – the other person said and walked past Jack towards the picnic tables.
Jack stood there for a moment, trying to understand what had just happened. He turned around and saw the stranger’s curly hair behind the picnic table, it seemed to be that the stranger was sitting there looking for something inside the bag. He walked towards the picnic table and took a look at the other person.
– You’re starting to be a nuisance. Stop following me, creep or I’m calling the police.
– No, no, I’m sorry, I apologize. I just… do you… – Jack tried to explain but for the second time in that day he was unable to say anything.
– You…? – the other person said, turning around to look at Jack. – Listen, I’m not some damsel in distress who needs your help. If anything you’re the one who needs help. Now stop being such a creep and go away. If you’re trying to hit on me I’m not interested.
– I uh… uhm… Ok, yeah, sorry I’m acting like such a creep. I got locked out of my apartment and I only came here to spend the night but you startled me a bit and that’s why I went there to see who it was. I apologize for that.
– Left your keys at work, huh? You don’t seem to be the smartest person ever so I’ll take your word for it.
– Excuse me? – replied Jack.
– Oh, no offense. But I gotta go now so good luck and good night. – the other person said and stood up
– Hey, wait! What did you just say? Who do you think you are? – he said, grabbing their left arm arm, but as soon as Jack touched the stranger, they pulled back with a sudden motion and pushed him backwards before pointing a device at him menacingly.
– Ok, now you’ve officially crossed the line. Wanna find out how this ends?
They both remained there, looking at each other with the silence only disturbed by the buzzing sound of the device being pointed at Jack. Then, without any reason, the stranger’s look softened and lowered the device while laughing and shaking their head.
– This is ridiculous, you know? But ok, I get it. And actually, you know what? I think I can get you off the streets tonight. I might know a place where you could stay.
Jack looked at the other person in disbelief. “Is she crazy? What is she talking about?” he thought.
– You point that thing at me and now expect me to trust you? Who the fuck do you think you are? You crazy bitch!
– Careful now, you don’t wanna make me angry, I still have this with me – the other person said showing him the device in hand. – The name’s Bella, by the way. And you are…?
– Not your business.
– Huh, how the tables turn – said Bella, as she started to walk around him in circles. Jack remained there, standing straight but ready to jump at the slightest aggression. – You’re rude. You thought of me as a predator and now that you are indeed in the place of a helpless prey you don’t know what to do. Was that what you had in mind before? Have you considered the fact that maybe we were meant to meet tonight, Jack?
He tried to hide his surprise after hearing his name but Bella seemed to notice him getting uncomfortable.
– Oh, I know more things about you than you think. Data analyst at Fulcrum. Single, you live a few squares from here. But enough of that, what do you say? Wanna come with me?
– Well, you know, mom would always advice against trusting strangers – replied Jack.
– Aww, that’s so sweet! Good for you to follow your mom’s advice. But where’s the fun in that? Sometimes it’s ok to hmmm… misbehave a little and be more flexible, don’t you think? Are you afraid of me, Jack?
Bella stopped in front of him and looked him in the eye. He once again felt that way. The piercing gaze, pounding against his soul, penetrating deep inside his mind. But unlike the girl back at the office, this time he felt something else, for Bella’s eyes looked at him differently, with an additional interest. There was something else in those brown eyes, like an artist examining their work or a scientist observing their subject or a raptor inspecting its prey. He managed to keep looking at Bella, maybe because of the adrenaline buildup but he felt extremely uneasy for the time it lasted.
– Alright, I see you’re not the brave kind of person. I’ll let you go then – Bella giggled before walking towards the table nearby. – But before I leave, I would like to let you in on a little secret of mine. You wanted to know what I’m doing here. Do you still wanna find out?
Jack remained in silence.
– See those flowers? – Bella pointed at one of the bushes and turned to face them. Jack looked in the same direction the finger was pointing. – I saw them during my usual visits to this park and I absolutely loved them. I wanted to have them at home because I love to collect things, so I researched a bit and after I was sure I could propagate them, I figured I would come and grab some cuttings.
Bella run a hand over the picnic table besides and took a pause before continuing:
– But you know, I do not only collect plants and flowers. Sometimes I collect other things. Not only because of my job as a curator, it is also my life long obsession; from stamps to shoes… to even people.
Silence ensued. Jack was getting anxious. “This girl is crazy. I need to get out from here as soon as possible” he thought.
– I know what you’re thinking, Jack. I’ve received those looks before but maybe we can discuss that some other day
Bella reached for something inside of the bag hanging from a shoulder, took out a little card, and proceeded to meticulously align it with the corner of the table.
– You call me when you’re ready then. I know you will. So until then, have a good one, Jack – said Bella and walked away from there.
He saw Bella disappear behind the trees after walking down one of the stone paths. He walked to the table and picked up the card. “Bella Sol, PhD. Curator and evaluator” it read. He sat at the table and left the card there.
– What a weird fucking day. I just wanna…
He suddenly felt extremely hot. He was still thinking about the girl from the office but now he had that person Bella on his mind as well. The way that device was pointed at him, the attitude. He started to regret staying there when he could have probably got laid that night. Or so he thought.
– Oh, fuck it! Fuck girls, they’re all just a bunch of whores!
As he said that, he stood up and pulled down his pants. For a brief moment he realized that he was at a public space, but he was done with everything at that point. He took out his penis from inside his boxer, sat down once again and started to pump violently.
“That was probably just a slut, nothing else. Oh what I would do to her if she came back” he thought as he stroke his member. “I would rail her against this fucking table and fill her with so much fucking cum that she’d explode. And she’d love it, oh I’m sure”
– “I love collecting things” “Wanna come to my place?” – he said out loud, imitating Bella.
Jack took the card next to him and rubbed it against his dick. He kept pumping, harder and harder with both hands. He breathed heavily.
“Oh yeah, I’m gonna call her. And I’m gonna make sure to do it right this time, nobody mocks me this way. I’m gonna show her who’s fucking boss” he said to himself.
Finally he climaxed. His warm cum came out of his throbbing penis in an explosion of pleasure. He panted as he orgasmed and lied on his back with his dick still pointing upwards, cum dripping from the tip.
“I’ll show her. I’ll show them both. Fucking whores” He thought. He took a tissue from out of his pocket and did his best to clean everything before making a ball with the tissue and throwing it away. He fixed his pants and after he was done, he rested his feet on top of the seat, put his hands behind his head and tried to fall asleep.