“Wait, what?”
“Ah, yes. Your trademark false modesty. I won’t have it, Mina. Not this time. The bonus we’re all going to get. You really took one for the team. I take back everything I ever said. Of course, you really managed to leverage yourself into quite a lovely promotion. Tell me, Mina, tell the truth, was this all just a devious ploy to get yourself promoted? I never thought you had it in you, my girl, I really have to say that. Of course, I’ve been promoted as well, so don’t go thinking you’ll have your revenge on me as my boss…”
Paolo blathered on and on, sounding like he was very intoxicated, and Mina stared out her window, utterly flummoxed. When he finally began to wind down, Mina managed to make her mouth move.
“Paolo,” she said. “What the hell are you talking about?”
There was a peal of delighted laughter—a terrifying sound, especially since Mina was positive she had never heard Paolo make any sound except a scream. “We’ve given you a few days to relax before the party. Don’t say I never did anything for you. I’ve taken the liberty of getting you a dress, it should be sent over later today—oh, Mina, so sorry, love, I have to take this call. It’s president Echheir. I’ll see you Friday, yes?”
And with that, Paolo was gone from the screen and the last vestiges of his maniacal voice echoed through her home, and then it was silent.
“My love?” she asked aloud.
What on Earth—or in the universe—was happening?
Mina stood up and rushed to the comms, her mind racing.
Perhaps Paolo, with his sadistic sense of humor, was being sarcastic? Or maybe he had designs on humiliating her publicly? What the hell was he even talking about?
Mina sifted through what he had said, trying to make sense of it, but he had been talking so fast and it had been so unexpectedly different than what she was anticipating that she couldn’t make sense of it all. She desperately waved her fingers over her comms screen, attempting to summon the deleted messages.
The device glowed and sounded again.
Her sister?
Mina would have ordinarily not answered, and even more so after what she had done, but the conversation with Paolo had been so disorienting, she thought maybe speaking to her sister would clarify things a bit.
Aidtha’s face appeared on the screen. As usual, her sister seemed to disapprove of Mina from the start of the conversation.
Well, Mina thought. At least Aidtha would provide her with the unvarnished truth.
“Not doing video, I see,” Aidtha said dryly. Aidtha, a stunning beauty who somehow never had a hair out of place, always did video, because she knew that most people—especially men—could not get enough of her face.
“I’m space-lagged,” Mina told her dourly, returning to her couch. “What do you want?”
“Nice to hear from you, Aidy,” Aidtha mocked. “Well, down to brass tacks then. I just received this lease agreement from BKG, and I can’t make heads or tails of this. Will this be ready by tomorrow? They get out of quarantine at 5pm and I’d really rather not leave them there any longer than they have to be. Those places are so dreadful.”
Mina blinked, her mouth open.
“Aid, what the hell are you talking about?” she said finally.
Aidtha sighed. “Right. Okay, you know what, I understand that you’re just getting back from a long journey, and I get that you had BKG do this because you’re… I don’t know, some kind of big-shot now, but honestly, Mina, I just can’t be expected to handle all these details. They can’t stay here.” Aidtha sighed again. “Hello?”
“Aidtha,” Mina said slowly. “I just… can’t understand… a word you’re saying.”
She heard her former lover’s voice in the background. “Aidy, she just got off a flight, call Paolo and I’m sure he can arrange it all.”
Only months before, the sound of Pfiegro’s voice would have caused Mina to turn to a puddle of tears on the inside. After she hung up with her sister, she would often end up in a depression for days, the longing and pain and anger burning her from the inside out.
But strangely, she didn’t even feel a thump in her chest.
She just really, really wanted to know what was happening.
“Mina, I just need to know what you’re doing about…”
Aidtha droned on and on, but the comms announced a new, even more confusing development—someone was asking for permission to enter her building. And even more curiously, the device was displaying the results of a bio-scan. Which was reserved for the entry of alien entities only.
“Aidtha… I…” Mina said, distracted beyond all hope. She had no idea what was going on.
