Big Corp Inc. (G/T)

Part 40: Possession

Ronny tried to block out Candy's yelling, but he was unsuccessful. He could distinctly hear her scream "Let go of me!" and "No!" but the rest was a garbled mess. Mr. Hardon's calmer replies were mostly indistinguishable, but Ronny suspected he heard Martin's name come up. Then, there was that unsettling silence again, as if Candy had simply vanished into a void.

With the blissful silence, Ronny was able to distract himself with his work, until Mr. Hardon emerged from his office. He scratched his belly and hummed to himself as he waltzed over to the bathroom. Ronny observed that he wasn't carrying Candy with him. When he came out of the bathroom, he was holding something tightly in his fist. Ronny thought he heard muffled squeals as the Giant passed by his desk, but he couldn't be certain. Maybe he was imagining the sounds.

Usually, if Mr. Hardon had Candy with him, he would leave her on her desk before lunch, so Martin would find her there. However, he didn't stop at her cubicle at all this time. Lunchtime approached, and the boss secluded himself in his office with the door closed. Ronny heard Candy screaming again, but the exclamations were cut short. Feeling discomposed, Ronny got up from his desk and went to the break room to distract himself and grab his lunch.

When Mr. Hardon went back inside his office, he opened his fist so he could view the squirming human inside, damp from the sink water he used to wash her off. Her clothes were in tatters, since he had consumed her still wearing them. He sat down in his chair, twirling her around in his fingers.

"Stop it!" Candy cried. "Let me go already! You've tortured me enough today!" She made an attempt to bite his finger, but he wouldn't let her escape that easily. She thought he was going to release her on her desk as usual, so his deviation from the norm frightened her.

"No," Mr. Hardon boomed. Candy froze, panting with fear. The stern authoritarian hammer of his voice struck her in a way that chilled her to the bone.

"Please?" she squeaked with desperation.

"If I let you go, you'll run away. So I'm not doing that," the Giant elaborated, gripping her tighter when she tried to leap out of his hand.

"But—you can't keep me here forever!" Candy argued. She punched his hand with frustration, to no effect.

"Why not? Who will know?" Mr. Hardon replied, grinning cruelly. "Not even Martin will be able to find you. You're mine now." Candy's stomach dropped as his harrowing words sank in. He opened the drawer to his desk and threw her inside.

"No!" Candy screeched, but she was cut off when he closed the drawer. The desk, make of thick wood, muffled her voice to where Mr. Hardon had to strain to hear her, even when sitting right next to it. He pulled out a key and locked the drawer, then hid the key under his computer keyboard. Candy was horrified to hear the key jiggling in the lock, trapping her inside, followed by shuffling and clinking above her as he put the key away. She knew the key was somewhere on the surface of his desk, but that knowledge was useless when she had no way of accessing it.

He pondered over what he was going to do with her. For now, he could keep her in the drawer, and nobody would know. He wanted to take her home and keep her, but he'd never hear the end of it from his heckling bitch of a wife. He'd have to come up with a reason for her mysterious disappearance as well. He'd figure out something.

He felt superlative satisfaction for taking such decisive action. Now, he wouldn't have to witness Candy and Martin together anymore, a sight that repulsed him. With Candy in his possession, she belonged to him exclusively, as things rightfully should be. He finally admitted it to himself: He was jealous of Martin. He resented that Martin was the object of Candy's affection and not him, even though he was higher-ranked and wealthier. What did she see in Martin, anyways? He was an antisocial, quiet nobody who didn't stand out among the rank and file. Mr. Hardon didn't hold him in high regard. Candy should consider herself lucky to have the attention of an illustrious, important man like himself.