Page 32 of My Ghost

I bite into the creamy deliciousness and let out a groan.Best.Bagel.Ever.

Feeling like myself again, I turn to him with a blinding smile.Only to see that his hands are gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles are white, and there is that muscle jumping in his jaw.

Hah!Looks like my good mood just ruined his moment.I smile even brighter and chirp brightly, “So, where is the office, boss?”

He doesn’t reply, but that muscle twitches harder and I am so transfixed that I don’t even register the direction we head to.

After not even ten minutes, he drives down into an underground garage of a tall and sleek building.He kills the engine and before I have finished unbuckling, he has opened my door.I slide out, trying to avoid brushing against him again.

I am ushered to an elevator, but I don’t see any buttons.Instead, there’s an enormous touchscreen and a biometrical scanner.He places his hand on the scanner and the touchscreen comes to life, offering several choices like ‘Gym’, ‘Penthouse’ or ‘Hell’.Huh?

He taps ‘The Veil’ and the elevator whirrs to life.When the doors open, I can’t contain my excitement.“So this is where you rule the cyber-underworld?”

He merely grunts and steps out.I go after him and my jaw drops to the floor.The place is huge, the office space sprawls over an entire quarter of the floor.Tall floor-to-ceiling windows span two sides of the vast space, giving a breathtaking view over the water.But what has my mind blacking out is the amount of tech equipment filling up the open space.Huge-ass flatscreens are lining the two other walls and there are several blocks of sleek, modern furniture with designer desks covered in screens.The chairs look comfy enough to make any hardcore gamer weep.Soft-looking sofas are thrown here and there in a coffee corner, giving the place a Google hub vibe.I gasp.

“This is where you work?This is a freaking Batcave!”

At my astonished outburst, two chairs at the far end swivel and two men look at us in astonishment.They look to be around my age.Matteo gently steers me toward them and introduces us.

“This is Allan”—he gestures toward the man on the left who gives me a small wave and a smile—“and Dave.”Matteo gestures to the man on the right and goes on.“Meet Erin, who will be working here as a consultant for an undetermined duration.”

Dave jumps up from his chair to extend his hand.I take it and he shakes it with a grin.

“Nice to meet you, Erin, it’s not every day we see a new face here.”

“Hi, nice to meet you.”I push down my shyness and beam up at Dave.

Then something hits me.“No way!Don’t tell me you’re a dev’ named Dave!”

His grin deepens and he looks endearingly embarrassed.“Yeah, that’ll be me.”He chuckles.

I gasp dramatically.“Wow, I never thought I’d see one of you for real, you reallydoexist!”

“Yeah, living and breathing.”He makes a show of bowing as if in front of a public and I laugh out loud.

“You’re like a unicorn.”

“A handsome one, I hope.”He winks at me and I laugh harder.

Working here is going to be so much fun!

“Go back to work, you’re not paid to fool around all day,” a cold voice cuts in and Dave pales.He sits back down, all traces of mirth scrubbed from his face.He and Allan swivel their chairs back to their screens without a backward glance.

I glower up at Matteo.But he merely grabs my arm and drags me to a door at the faraway wall.There is another biometrical lock that he unlocks with his palm then he shoves me in what looks like to be his office.

I turn to him, annoyed.“Did you have to bark at them like that?You should treat your employees better.”

He strides to a desk, rounds it and sits down.Then he looks at me with his cold stare.“They’re not paid to gossip over tea all day.”

“Well, I hope they’re paid enough to put up with their asshole boss,” I mutter.

He doesn’t bother replying, so I turn around to assess his office.The place is sleek and bright, with the daylight streaming in from the windows.One wall is a single huge screen which is presently blinking idly.There is Matteo’s desk in front of the windows, a conference table for at least twelve people in the center of the room and there are several independent areas, each with a full tech setup.I’ve never seen a place like this before.I turn to Matteo.

“So, where is my contract?Do I have to go to HR to sign it?Where do I sit?”

He just stares blankly at me as if he is still questioning what he will do with me.

“Pick any desk.”He motions to the desks around his office.