Bane of My Existence

Chapter 5

Time ticked on by and her scary new friend hadn't returned. She was starting to think he had forgotten about her, but then Victor came through the steel door. He smiled warmly at her, holding his hand out to her. She took it, grateful to see a familiar face, and followed him out of the holding area. She shuddered once they were a comfortable distance away from that thug.

"Thanks for coming to get me," she mumbled, peering around the huge foyer. It was encased in glass and was as tall as the tenth story. Sunlight came through the glass ceiling, hitting the grey shiny floors and silver frame of the door they went through to get to the main part of the building.

This part was far more enclosed, a narrow white corridor with offices on either side. Two elevators awaited them at the end of the long hallway.

Victor pressed the button to call for the elevator then chucked her chin. "When I heard you were here, I couldn't believe it. I had to see it for myself."

She scrunched her nose at him, insulted. "Why's that so hard to believe?"

"Carissa insists on having weekends off. I assumed you were the same. But you're a go-getter like me, aren't you?"

A flutter of kinship welled in her chest. It was then when she realised she hadn't truly talked to Victor since he started dating Carissa. He was always just leaving whenever she came in.

"Carissa said this was important to you, so I thought I should start on it as soon as possible. I'm here to collect a few pieces of equipment to begin my survey."

Even in the harsh white light, his eyes dazzled. "Wonderful. I knew you would be perfect for this job."

The elevator door popped open; they stepped inside. Her eyes temporarily bugged when she saw all the levels on the dash; the building was thirty stories, but there were ten levels below the main floor as well. The subfloors were accessible via a special key she didn't have.

As soon as the doors shut, he closed the gap between them, slipping an arm around her back, and kissed the top of her head. "I can't wait to work with you, Kinsey. If you're anything like your sister, you'll be a fine addition to the team."

"Thanks Victor." She tried to hide her blush; he didn't know how little people praised her, let alone compared her to Carissa in a positive light. It meant the world to her.

The doors pinged open. "This is your stop. I look forward to reading your report."

"See you around, Victor." She stepped out into another long white hallway. Carissa had told her she would talk to Carlisle Smithers on the seventh floor and he would be able to help her sign her equipment out. She found a door with Carlisle's name stamped on it and knocked. A wiry man with bushy white eyebrows opened the door. He scowled at her, creating a valley of wrinkles on his forehead. "Who are you?"

"Kinsey Ashe? Carissa said you were to expect me."

Recognition swam into his cloudy grey eyes. He blinked. "She said you were coming in on Monday."

Kinsey shrugged, offering him a disarming smile. She was just relieved he knew she was coming. "I wanted to start as soon as possible."

The man eyed her warily, but then found the keycard hanging around her neck and relaxed instantly, as if having the keycard decided if he would help her or not. It was a little strange, but with all the developments going on, one could never be too wary.

Carlisle stepped aside, opening the door further for her. "Come with me." He led her across his lab to a closet in the corner. It was lined to the ceiling with shelves, holding all sorts of equipment. He grabbed a GPS, a log book, and a few other essentials for her to start her survey.