APEX

Ch. 3: The New Boss

"The only other open office is on the other side of this floor, but it behooves you both—and your brothers too, Rhys—if your workspaces are close together. Your office is larger than your brothers', so you will share."

I felt like I'd just found out my parents were going to have another child and my room was about to be taken over by a crying, screaming, temperamental baby. But, as Calla seemed just as put off by the arrangement as I did, I sure as shit wasn't going to let either of them know how much this pissed me off.

"You know, Father, that's a fantastic idea. In fact, while we wait for the second desk to arrive, why don't I give Calla a tour of Apex to help get her acclimated."

"Splendid," he said, seeming genuinely surprised that I hadn't pulled a tantrum on him. "I've got a meeting in five minutes. Ms. Bardot, I'll check back in with you later."

"Sounds good." A strained version of her earlier smile made her lip twitch as she spoke.

Once my father was gone, I dropped the pretense, and so did Calla.

"Jane was supposed to give me the tour," she said in a tone as sour as sucking on a lime.

Jane, my executive assistant, who I also would no doubt be sharing with Calla, popped up in the doorway just then. She had worked for Apex for over twenty years and was nearing retirement. Each day before she'd leave, she'd say, "one more down, five hundred and twenty-three to go!" Her motherly presence had been a comfort to me in the absence of my own.

"Are you ready to go, Ms. Bardot?" Jane asked.

"Actually, Jane, I was wondering if you could instead go over to Java Jon's and bring back coffee. While you're there, why don't you go ahead and get yourself one of those roasted fig and almond tarts you love, and one for your husband as well. Use the company card." I winked.

Jane, who loved Java Jon's pastries more than birthday cake, took the bait happily. "But the tour?"

"Taken care of," I said.

She went on her way, and so did I with a scowling Calla following close behind. Her demeanor pivoted like she was dangling from a pendulum, happy and light and talkative whenever I introduced her to the staff, and then back to sullen and angry whenever we were alone.

"Where are your brothers?" She asked as we passed by their adjoining offices.

"If you thought I came in late..."

She nodded. "They'll need to be here at the same time as you each morning from now on."

"Please promise me I'll get to be in the room when you tell them that."

We spent the next hour visiting Apex's fourteen floors, ending the tour on the top level, an elaborately furnished penthouse that we used for business parties and entertaining important guests. "Check out the view," I said, punching in a code next to the door that would let us out onto a rooftop patio.

This was my favorite spot in all of Apex HQ. I'd added several padded benches at the far end, set up to overlook the best view of Sury. The spiraling skyscrapers the city was known for sprawled out like fronds on a fern for several miles to the west, with upscale apartment blocks and the museum district beyond it. The most enchanting parts of Apex territory could be seen from this juncture. Best of all, Crown territory was completely out of sight.

Calla stared at the cityscape, saying nothing, a strained, pinched look to her, like it pained her to be in the same space as me. She'd used up the part of her that could act like a pleasant, semi-decent person and all I got was the side of her that I despised most—resentful, jealous, and delusional enough to think she could be the dominant one in this dynamic.