“One day, you’re gonna see yourself the way I do, and you’ll know that’s not true.” She lifted up to kiss my cheek, then gripped my hand. “Now, let’s go snoop.” She pulled me onward.
As we neared the entrance, I kept us close but not joined at the hands.
“Act like normal you.” I handed her a photo ID badge with her picture on it before stepping into the building. Security guards stood beside metal detectors and a podium that scanned the barcode on the badges.
I gave the guard on my side a hello nod, and he ignored me when the podium lit green.
“You stay dry today. They’re saying it’s gonna rain later.” Emily smiled at the guard nearest her. The guard’s lips cracked into a tiny smile as she walked by. Her badge lit the podium, and we walked into the large glass atrium.
“These are fancy. Where’d you get them?” Emily leaned close as I stopped to look around the open area.
“AJ, the heroes’ tech genius. I looked at the blueprints of the building. The research labs are in the palm wing.” I pointed to our right where two signs pointed in different directions: orchid wing and palm wing.
“Cute names after all the plants in here.” I followed her gaze, taking in the various plants and trees growing in little natural cutouts of the floor. It looked like the tropics in here.
“The plants provide us with fresh oxygen while sucking up our carbon dioxide. Keeps the air quality in the building perfectly balanced.” Emily yelped as a feminine voice came from behind us. I turned slowly with a plastered smile on my face.
“It feels very fresh in here.”
The black-haired woman with blue eyes scanned me in a familiar way, then shifted to Emily, her smile growing wide. She shifted her petite body to one side, stretching her green dress as she moved.
“You must be Brandy and Tod, our recruits from Griffin Enterprises. We’re so glad to have you jump ship to ours. I’m Haley. I’ve been assigned to show you around, make sure you find Terratrex comfortable.” Haley’s hand shot out to shake mine first, then Emily’s, whose smile was one hundred percent fake.
“Sounds great. We like being comfortable. Griffin Enterprises was so not comfortable,” she rambled, and if Haley weren’t watching, I’d shush her rambles with a kiss. The raven-haired woman nodded like she understood and gestured for us to follow.
“Workday starts at nine. We want our employees to prioritize a work-life balance. We take frequent breaks in the meditation lounges or yoga in the courtyard. There’s a class every hour if you’re interested. Jill is my favorite instructor.” She gushed about her job, and it sounded nice, but it didn’t make up for the devastation they caused to the rivers and bay from their last humanitarian stunt.
“We have refreshment bars in this atrium, and one in the common spaces of each wing. All juices are made from the fruit of our very own orchard, as well as the coffee and tea from our farms.” She walked us over to the bar and ordered three blackberry green tea lemonades.
“These drinks are to die for and have proven to give you a boost to focus better. I get one every break to stay hydrated and on top of work.” She grinned and I wondered if they put something in the drinks. Maybe this was a “don’t drink the Kool-Aid” situation.
“Sounds yum. I’m excited to try it. This sounds like such a nice place to work. Yoga, drinks, and taking care of the environment. Woot.” Emily pumped her fist in the air. Haley gave her a nod, then handed us the drinks.
“Here you go.” I lifted mine to my lips and pretended to sip just in case. I’d take Emily to the hospital or jump back and smack the drink out of her hand if anything happened.
“So good, right? Let’s take a moment to bask in the goodness of our drinks and get to know each other.” Haley took three big sips of her drink and leveled me with a sultry stare.
“Vincent, do you have a girlfriend?” she bluntly asked, and despite her firm grip on her drink, the cup flipped over and spilled the cool liquid all over her green dress. Shit. She wasn’t in control yet, and Emily’s powers knocked over the drink by accident.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emily
It wasn’t an accident. As soon as Haley appeared, she’d been giving mad come-hither eyes to Vincent. I’d been practicing with my powers when I could. Sometimes it felt like they had a mind of their own, and sometimes we worked together. When she asked him about his dating life, my powers and I were on the same team.
“I’m so sorry. I can be such a klutz. Go ahead and start this tour without me; I’ll catch up. Your offices are down the palm wing if you want to start there.” Haley raced off, and I bit back the smile.
“At least we have space to look around, privately.” I sipped more of my drink, then took steps to the palm wing.
“I assumed that was an accident, but your nonchalant vibes say it wasn’t.” Vincent bumped my shoulder, and I neither denied nor confirmed. A simple shrug had Vincent fighting his chuckle.
Terratrex’s headquarters gave off the impression of a caring and kind company. The workers appeared happy. They all had a plant or art in the offices and were chatting away on the phone or working with each other.
“I don’t see a door to any labs or anything suspicious.” I glanced around as Vincent nudged me forward. Haley would eventually find us, and then our snooping would be over. Thankfully, a clue appeared. A man in a white coat walked out of the break room and slid his badge down a reader on the doorjamb. It felt odd to lock up a break room, but maybe they had fancy snacks in there.
“Let’s go.” Vincent stepped forward.
“Will our badges work on this?” I didn’t know how this worked, but I assumed some people had higher clearance than others.
