Chapter 17
“You’ve made a miraculous recovery, Mr. Ridley,” Mr. Lee said with a genial smile across his face.
Aaron sat up in the chair next to his father’s home hospice bed. “Which one?” he asked.
“Well, both, of course,” Mr. Lee grinned a little too wide. “I’m sure Mr. Ridley, Senior is excited about returning to the company. Am I correct?” He was speaking to Charlie as if he were in grade school, successfully sleeping through the duration of nap time.
“I don’t know,” Charlie croaked, hacking. “Retirement sounds nice right about now.”
Aaron said nothing, looking at the floor. He’d stayed by his father’s side since he was released from the hospital after his hallucinations stopped. He screened every call that came in and interviewed every prospective visitor. There was no evidence, of course, that Desiree had unleashed some destructive poison on the both of them, but Aaron was determined to sniff if out and go to the police. First, though, he had to be sure.
“Well,” Mr. Lee said a little too pleasantly, “You are the pro, aren’t you? Aaron, can I have a word with you outside?”
It infuriated Aaron to his core that Mr. Lee, despite having known him since he was a baby, refused to call him Mr. Ridley. This was his subordinate, but he acted more like a sovereign ruler than a Vice President.
“We can speak in here,” Aaron said with authority in his voice.
“Oh,” Mr. Lee replied sharply. “Well, I wanted to ask you how you’re doing with your diagnosis,” he replied softly.
Aaron leaned back in his chair, sulking. The day after his latest rendezvous with Vanessa, he didn’t come to work. Worried, Mr. Lee found him in the hotel where he always stayed, in the midst of a seizure. The closest hospital was a military treatment facility. Once Aaron regained full use of his mental faculties, a doctor informed him that he had been given a rare serum over time which diminishes the effects of the central nervous system, and can have transformative, beast-like properties in the body. It explained the mental fogginess, the superhuman strength, the hallucinations, and the seizures. This serum was used only in military operations and was by no means available to the public, which alerted the attention of the FBI. It was suggested to Aaron that he leave the country while the investigation take place as to keep him out of potential danger from further poisoning.
Sensing the awkwardness that he’d unleashed in the room, Mr. Lee piped up with, “And also… I want to remind you that you have the investors’ morale seminar in the Maldives next week.”
“How could I forget?” Aaron replied, smiling.
“Yes, well,” Mr. Lee said, smiling obnoxiously. “Unfortunately, I’ll need to tie up a few loose ends here at the home office. However, I think it would be a nice way to welcome your new secretary to the company if she were to take my place.”
Blood pumped through Aaron at the thought of Vanessa, sprawled out naked on some bed that smelled like coconut oil, the cyan sea behind her, the sun high in the air over a straw roof. He couldn’t harness his thoughts, he could barely contain them within his mind.
“Aaron?” Mr. Lee said, disrupting his daydreaming.
“Yes? Oh, oh… well, we’re sorry that this has come up, Mr. Lee,” Aaron stumbled verbally, strategically moving his briefcase onto his lap. “But I certainly commend you for your hard work and dedication to this company. And you’re right. I think she’d really love the opportunity to go on a business trip to such a relaxing atmosphere. Thank you for that suggestion.”
Mr. Lee beamed in a way that seemed inauthentic. “Very good, sir. Rebecca in Human Resources wanted me to relay to you that your new secretary was coming by to sign her paperwork after lunch, at one o’clock.”
“Today?” Aaron jumped out of his chair, his briefcase clattering to the floor. “I… I need to be present for that.” Without saying goodbye to his father, brushing past Mr. Lee, Aaron bounded out of the room and outside toward his car, thinking only of hooking his hands around the curves of her neck and pulling himself into her once again.
* * *
Documents blanketed Rebecca’s desk. Vanessa felt her hand cramp as she signed paper after paper, so many times that her own signature began to look warped and corrupted like a word that someone says over and over again. Rebecca had counseled Vanessa on her new salary, her health insurance benefits, her company car insurance, and her 401(k) options. The idea of a retirement account completely evaded Vanessa, whose mind only swirled with how Aaron’s tongue felt rolling across her skin, how he whispered inside of her as he made her explode.
“Okay, that’s everything,” Rebecca said suddenly, as Vanessa was drowning in her own personal sea of dreamy nostalgia. “I’ll walk you down to Mr. Ridley’s office. He’s going to handle the issue of the car with you, if that’s okay.”
Not knowing who this Mr. Ridley was, Vanessa nodded blankly. Rebecca’s smart flats padded down the linoleum hallway along the same floor that Vanessa had tripped and spilled salad on a week before, in what felt like another universe. Approaching a door marked Aaron Ridley, Chief Executive Officer, Vanessa felt her heart clomp through her chest. She’d been dreaming about him—about his eyes, about every part of his body—for two days now, since she’d left him in his hotel room last.
After a brief knock, Aaron yelled, “Come in,” from the opposite side of the door. With a sort of professional, easygoing hesitance, Rebecca let the two of them inside. “It’s just us,” she said with a light chuckle.
“Excellent. It’s good to see you again, Vanessa,” Aaron said, sitting behind his desk, beaming. “Thank you, Rebecca,” he said, with a motion toward the door. “I’ll take it from here.”
Excusing herself with a smile, Rebecca shut the door behind her without a word.
“Vanessa,” Aaron whispered as a grin slithered across his face. “Lock the door,” he said with a wink.