Dancing with the Devil

Chapter 1

     Thursday afternoon was the day I finally snapped.

     "No. And get the fuck out of my face, you prick!" Yep. I screamed it, right into my boss' face. Nick Donnohan has been trying to tug me in bed with crappy pick-up lines and cheap gifts. I know he's married, and so does he.

     Good God, it felt so damn good. I had been ready to quit this office job for weeks on end. Nick looked at me, shocked and confused. I nearly pitied him, but then again, I didn't.

     "W-what?" He spluttered out, his long face red as a tomato. He pointed towards the door. "G-get the fuck outta m-my office, you little- you little-"

     I stood up so fast I knocked over the swivel chair I had been sat in moments ago. Hands on hips, I hissed, "Or what, you slime? What're you gonna do? Make me clean the floors? Been there, done that! Goddamnit!"

     I gave him a cold stare and walked right out. Martha Goddard and Theresa Catagrio at the reception desk stared at me. Tom Lincoln mouthed 'wow' from where he was standing near the coffee machine. Jesse Brown and Frank Sullivan high-fived me as I passed them in the corridor.

     "You queen, Soph," Jesse called out to my retreating figure. "If ya, ya know, need a helpin' hand, we always here for ya!"

     I smiled to myself as I flung open the doors and stepped into the clear day. Jesse really was a nice guy, and him and Frank were the cutest couple ever. They never meant any harm, they were just two big, scruffy teddy bears.

     I took a deep breath and smoothed down my white blouse and pencil skirt. While walking down the street to my car, I bought a packet of M&M's from Bill's Bargain Shop.

     When I got to my rusty old Toyota, I hopped into the driver's seat and put the keys in the ignition. I took a deep breath and turned the key.

     The drive back home was like a second nature to me. I had the map of Boston firm in my brain, and I drove on autopilot. Thinking of Nick's face made me smile evily. I don't remember being such a bitch since middle school.

     Suddenly, a much important matter wiggled into my thoughts. How the hell am I supposed to pay for everything now? I had a small apartment in Brookline, so that was okay, but I still needed food for me and my cat, Sully (I named him after Frank, who once told me that his childhood favorite movie was Monsters Inc.)

     I turned left into the parking lot of my building. Three teens, all boys, were playing basketball with a deflated ball across the road, but that was about it. Kids were off school for vacation but adults still had jobs.

     At least, some did. "Good going, Soph." I fumbled with the seat buckle and jumped out of my car. Mrs. Neal, the old lady that lived in the building across, yelled down, "Heya, sweetie! Bad day at work, huh?"

     I smiled and saluted her. "Aye, Mrs. Neal. How are those ribs of yours?" She laughed and nodded. I understood that as an 'I'm okay' symbol. I locked the car and punched in the code for the door on the ground floor.

     My apartament was on the third floor of a five story building. It was in a semi-quiet place, surrounding a park. I chose this place because me and Sully like peace.

     As soon as I entered my apartament, I kicked my heels off and groaned in anticipation. A hot bath, pizza and a good movie sounded like heaven. I plonked my bag down on the coffee table and fell down on the couch. "Pfft." I groaned again and cracked my knuckles.

     How could I have been so stupid? Who the hell would hire me, now that I've probably got a permanent reputation for being a bitch and 'refusing to work'? I kicked my feet off the couch and took my laptop out of my bag. I opened it and turned it on; it didn't. 'Shit, battery dead, I thought. I plugged it into the socket and went for a bath, giving Sully a pat on the head as I walked by the windowsill tjat he was lying on.

***

     In my faded pink bathrobe and with a cup of hot chocolate, I opened up my laptop again. As I looked up 'job openings Boston' in the search engine, my eyes flitted back to the movie I was watching. A good, solid love story. Don't they fucking know that things don't ever, EVER turn out like that?

      I looked back at the computer screen and clicked on the first link that appeared. It presented to me a list of all the job openings in the Greater Boston area where I lived.

     I scrolled. And scrolled. And scrolled and scrolled and scrolled. Domino's Pizza? No. Post Office? No. Trader Joe's? No. Weren't there any jobs for girls who had a degree in law from Harvard?

     One job opening, though, caught my eye. It looked something like this:

NEED A FRIEND
LONELY, COMPANY WANTED
PREFERABLY SMART, FUNNY
LOOKS DON'T MATTER

     Below there was listed a phone number and an e-mail address. I smiled. This was definitely a joke. Then my smile faded.

     What if it wasn't? What if someone really was this lonely? I quickly picked up my mobile phone typed in the number.

     After three rings, it picked up.

     "Hello?" A smooth, deep voice wafted from the speaker. "Are you calling for a job?"

     "Yep," I answered. "My name's Sophia Loreli. Who are you?"

     "I can tell you that when I meet you," the voice answered back. I raised my eyebrows. This fucker thinks he can order me around? Nah, gurl.

     "Why the hell can't you tell me your name?" I said politely. Better not to screw up the interview completely.

     "Again, I want to tell it to you face to face. Please, tell me your address and I shall stop by tomorrow evening. Is that alright with you?" The words rolled of his tongue like he had practiced them. I quickly told him my address - what do I have to hide? - and hung up. Sully came up and rubbed his head on my leg. I cracked my knuckles and yawned.

     "You can congratulate me, Sully," I said, winking. "I think I just scored a new job in less than twelve hours of being fired."