“A little? How long has this door been shut?”
He laughed, flicking the light, which instantly flashed, popped, and went out. “Okay, so it was meant to bemyoffice when I first bought it. We’ll get you a feather duster and some lemon cleaner. It’ll be good as new!”
I looked around. It was a good-sized room, almost bigger than the break room. It had a desk and chair, but otherwise, it was empty. I guess it could be worse.
“When do I start?” I asked.
“Why not come in tomorrow for a full day’s work? I’ll have Scout show you the ropes then. Tonight—we drink!” We stepped out of my new office and returned to the lobby. “I’m going to make some calls and get some of my friends over. I think you’ll find them very entertaining.”
“Can we stop at the liquor store?” I asked as we passed the counter.
He laughed loudly. Slapping me on the shoulder, he pulled me back a step. “You want some of that cinnamon whiskey, I knew it. Sure, old friend. Let me just say goodbye, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Goodbye?” I asked just as Scout came around the corner from one of the screening hallways. Arsenio hurried over, his long legs erasing the distance between them. Scout looked up at him with surprise, and once again, I admired how pretty she was. But then shock and realization hit me like ice in my face as Arsenio took her hands in his, and she leaned up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.
3
Desi. Desiderio. What was that? Italian? I’d have to google it later. Italian would make sense, considering he was old friends with Arsenio. It’s just weird he’s never brought him up before. Arsenio loved to name-drop.
Tonight would be his first night at work. Arsenio gave him the office I’d been asking for forever—insisted that he would clean it up and use it, but I’d been here two years, and not once had he unlocked that door for me. Who was this guy, and why did he treat him so good? Better than the woman he was dating? He must be important. But why would he need a job here? And what was with the sunglasses? None of this made sense.
When they left, my phone vibrated with a text.
Arsenio: Have the office cleaned. Move-in ready for tomorrow.
I licked my lips, grinned, then typed a quick reply.
For me? Thank you, It’s a well-deserved upgrade.
His response quickly came, and I was a little taken back by how cold it was.
Arsenio: Don’t push it. Get it done.
What kind of bullshit was this that he got the bigger office?
“This is huge,” Dylan, or as I liked to call him,Thing One, peered from behind me.
“We’re getting a new boss?” Adam—Thing Two, asked.
I crossed my arms and shot them a dirty look.
“No—I mean—I guess. We’re on the same level.” I insisted, but I wasn’t so sure after Arsenio's text.Why now?
“It’s gotta be cleaned?” Dylan asked.
“We can do it,” Adam piped up.
I shook my head. “This is a one-person job. You go do usher.” I pointed to Adam. Then at Dylan. “You handle concessions. If you guys need me, text me. I’ll get this taken care of.”
They grumbled but turned and left to do as they were told. Dylan and Adam were the other night shift crew members. They were annoying in every sense of the word, but they didn’t argue about anything, so I could tolerate their shift-long discussions about DnD or whatever anime they were bingeing.
As soon as they left, I pulled out my earphones and, tucking them into my ears, pulled out my phone to pick my favorite playlist. Hitting shuffle, I danced to my favorite band,Accepted Perversion, while I cleaned.
After making solid progress on the dust, I sat on the bastard’s desk with a rag and a can of lemon pledge, mulling it all over. Arsenio hadn’t said a word about his awkwardly handsome BFF before. It was so out of the blue. Arsenio said I couldn’t even look inside before.
By the time my shift was over, the office was presentable. I was half tempted to move my stuff in and claim it for myself, regardless of what Arsenio had directed. But I had seen his darker side on more than one occasion. I knew what I could get away with, and something about this new guy told me that there would be no give.
After my shift, I called Arsenio, but he didn’t answer. I was too tired to fight about it, so I went back to my apartment and crashed. I needed to get up early to get to the blood bank. My fridge was running a little low for my liking, and since I didn’t have a familiar to drink from at my leisure, I needed to make sure I had blood at all times on hand.
