The Midnight City Social Hour

Ch3: Office Women

Nothing Tommy did was legal. Pills that he swallowed: there was a tiny white bottle in his desk drawer labelled 'Baby Aspirin'. Powder that he snorted: there was a salt and pepper shaker on the leveled shelves behind him, in these archaic porcelain figures. And this liquid, all yellow and brown and bubbling in a lava lamp: that was something he could burn and shoot directly into his arm via a pin.

(Pin: a needle)

Everything in Tommy's office was illegal. But a completely legal first impression. Shaded green carpet, a one dimensional rug, before a desk of polished wood. A desk chair was tailored tight with black leather. The view from the window looked down about ten stories. Strange faces below were passing by and going about their day, at all hours.

There were two computer monitors. Nothing illegal there. Except that Tommy wasn't bound to any restrictions over the corporate network. Other employees were prevented from accessing certain websites: mostly content that could be described as R rated. Like dating sites. Exceptionally graphic dating sites.

Like the site Tommy had open on one of his computer monitors.

Now normally, Tommy would never have a site like that open. He had women. If fact, there was a long line of women outside his office looking for work. All of them thin, smelling of fresh perfume, hair shining. There were a few that were slowly alluding to what Tommy could do to them. In private.

Maybe they actually wanted to sleep with him. Maybe they really wanted a job. The position did pay well. Better than most.

But that wasn't the mind game. There was a profile on that fake dating site. A beautiful woman with red hair, curled just above a thick chest that was concealed by a fluffy coral sweater. Possibly cashmere.

Tommy was talking to that woman. Face to face. She was on the other side of the desk and said, "I have been employed for almost five years. I took a few months in between jobs to travel and move into my new apartment. It was hectic and I wanted to work but I needed the time off."

She could have been lying. Saying she took a few months off when really, she couldn't find a job.

Not that Tommy cared. The mind game was about Mini. If Mini had this woman's picture, if this woman was working for her, and if so, was Mini trying to keep tabs on him? Tommy.  

At the bottom of the woman's resume it read, References are available upon request. And below that was her number.

He liked that.