The Soulmate Curse

Promise - Part 3

That day, at work, they made their presentation of the Victory Garden machinery and aced it. Jack was praising them more than usual after their conference call. It was kind of weird. They didn't know it then, but they were about to find out why he was being so weird. And it was going to change everything. Oblivious to this fact, Finn was sending explanation emails to their colleagues because Zhen had made changes to her email signature, to make it autocorrect her name to 'Finnegan "Monkey Buns" Darrow'. It was only fair. Finn had spent the better part of the day torturing Zhen with a wireless mouse she'd secretly connected to Zhen's computer. The two were laughing the whole time, Zhen feeling closer to her than she had up to that point. And it didn't even hurt anymore.

It was an hour or so after when they simultaneously got a message pop-up to go see Jack in his office, which was odd. Jack was a hardcore conference caller.

"He never comes to the office unless it's something serious," Zhen said as they rode the elevator up.

Finn sighed. "Do you think it's for disciplinary action? For the pranks?"

"Probably," Zhen replied. She shifted her weight between her feet.

The elevator dinged and opened to deposit them onto the top floor of the building. It was filled with large offices that were mostly empty. They were used by a variety of people, kind of like time-shared office space. Most organisation heads and member of management worked remotely. Especially if they had families. Younger workers, relatively new to the workspace, preferred working in designated offices as they were a good way to socialise and build community.

The top floor was an impressive space. The offices all had glass walls and windows. Most of the glass surfaces were screens. They could transform an office into whatever type of space the occupant wanted, making it easier for those sharing the space to "decorate" them into whatever they wanted. One of the offices had opaque walls. The glass screens had been activated. It was Jack's office. The outer side of the "walls" looked like a yellow painted stucco wall with realistic 3D renders of framed pictures with inspiring quotes and natural scenery. Zhen knocked on what looked like a surprisingly convincing hardwood door.

"Come in you two," called Jack.

The inside of the office was gorgeous. There was the 3D rendering of a bookcase behind Jack, filled with illustration of spines to books he'd no doubt read. It would have been tacky if the books weren't ones he'd read. And it would have been easy to tell with a quick visit to his reading list on the open source Social Network Site that everyone used these days, having abandoned the ridiculously ad-heavy branded social media sites years ago. It wasn't just the bookcase rendering that made this office look amazing. The stucco walls design extended to inside, filled with artwork that showcased his family and places they had visited together. There were lots of pictures from camping around the globe. Jack had left the glass desk unchanged. There were two empty, generic office chairs in front of him.

"Have a seat, ladies," said Jack, motioning to the empty chairs.

Zhen was about to say something, but Jack kept on talking, a big smile on his face.

"Ladies! You have really impressed our clients these last few weeks," he said. "You two make a great team and I just wanted to start by saying, well done."

"Thanks Jack," said Zhen. She turned to Finn with a smile.

"Thank you?" said Finn. She looked at Zhen, uncertainty painted on her face. Zhen just shrugged and turned back to Jack.

Jack didn't seem to have noticed the exchange between the two girls. He was busy setting up something on the glass table, which was a holo-screen. He brought up a document with the logo of the Global Space Initiative on it. Underneath that logo was a picture of the ongoing construction of the second International Space Station.

"I know it's short notice, but one of our clients believe that you two deserve this as a reward for your initiative and the incredible work you've presented in the last few weeks," said Jack. "No other two staff members have presented anything at the quality that you two have so far."

"What exactly are we looking at?" asked Finn, her curiosity piqued.

"This document presents the requirements for a design competition being held by MechSoft. They're giving participants the opportunity to design for the new International Space Station. The contestants get to design a structure or machine that they think would be useful on board, but hasn't been thought of yet," Jack explained. "We thought you two would bring something new to the table. Zhen, with your record from the two years you've worked here and your on-going astronaut training, it was a no-brainer. As for you, Finn, we all know about your engine and in the last few weeks you've demonstrated that you're anything but a one-trick pony, which made it easier to get your name on the list."

Zhen felt time stop. She'd only heard of this contest discussed in hushed tones at the GSI base. This was an extremely big deal kind of design contest. Exclusivity and elitism were the words used to describe this phenomenon. Only the one percent of corporate entities ever got to put forward contestants. Zhen was triggered by the impossibility of it all. How the hell did Jack get this opening? Or rather, the more important question, who the hell was Jack, exactly?

"Thank you, Jack, but..." started Finn.

"No buts," said Jack. "Now, the competition allows you to work as individuals or as a team. With the way you two work well together, I'm sure you two are going to choose to work as..."

"Individuals!" Zhen suddenly said. She almost shouted it.

Flashes of glass shards and flying droplets of blood obscured her vision. In the midst of the chaotic scene was a smile. A secret. A guide. She'd let her down once. She wouldn't disappoint her this time. She wouldn't let Finn take everything away from her. Not again.

"Excuse me?" wondered Jack.

"We choose to work as individuals," said Zhen.

"We do?" said Finn.

Zhen shrugged, hoping it was as nonchalant as she was trying to come across. "Yeah. Working as individuals means double the possibilities of coming up with brilliant ideas."

"Are you sure? This is the chance of a lifetime, Zhen. Once that ego can..." said Jack.

"You chose us because you believe in each of our potential. All I'm asking for is a chance to validate that," said Zhen.

"It took a lot of effort to get your names on this list," he finally conceded. "You let me down, and there will be backlash. You can count on that."

Zhen gave a curt nod. "Understood."

He seemed disappointed, but there was no way he could force them. It was up to the girls to decide. It was up to Zhen to decide. This was her chance. It was only then that she noticed how low her walls had fallen around Finn, almost having let her through. Again. She fortified the metaphorical barrier, feeling it rise again, brick by brick. Finally, she embodied that cold indifference that she'd cultivated towards Finn all those years ago. Her shield once more. Finn was a distraction at best, a plagiarist at worst. A literal witch with the power to get under her skin and use that to her advantage. This time she wouldn't get past Zhen's defences. Never again.

"Once again, I ask, are you sure about this, Zhen?" asked Jack.

"I am," said Zhen. Her voice had gone an octave deeper and degrees colder. From her periphery, she could see Finn looking at her, trying to get her attention. Zhen ignored her. "Thank you for the opportunity, Jack. We should probably get started with the project, seeing as we've already been brought in a bit later than our other competitors."

Jack cleared his throat and sent the documents to the girls. "Of course. And good luck."

Zhen got up to leave.

"Thank you, Jack," said Finn. "I guess we'll... I mean... I'll keep you posted on my progress. As I'm sure Zhen will."

"I look forward to it," said Jack. He stood up too. "Ladies, enjoy your evening."

Zhen was on her phone, looking up the details of the contest. Her mind was already churning with ideas. She barely noticed Finn besides her. The trip back to their desks was quiet. As they were done for the day, Zhen packed up and left for the apartment. Alone. Finn chose to accompany Jani and the others to their triweekly dinner thing. Zhen didn't mind. That just meant she had a head start on Finn, and she was good with that.