Tuesday waits for me to settle down. “Better?”
I nod and smile at him. “Yes. Thank you, Tuesday.”
“Go to sleep, Zo. I’ll stay on the line until you drift off. You’re safe with me tonight.”
The steady, rhythmic sound of his breathing fills my ears as I drift into a dreamless sleep. I do feel safe with him near.
Preston,theOmegainUnit 101, is the biggest headache of my week. He leans over my desk, and the smell of his sickly sweet pheromones is so thick I can taste it. It doesn’t tempt me at all; it just makes the air feel heavy. He has a lot of money and the kind of high-strung energy that makes him find a problem with everything just to feel like he’s getting his money’s worth. Right now, his fingers are tapping a fast, annoying rhythm on the black marble of my desk while he glares at the ceiling vents.
“The banging, Harris, it’s consistent. It starts right when the building gets quiet at night, often around two. I’m paying way too much for this place to deal with interrupted sleep. Fix it, or I’m calling my lawyers to start the lease break.”
I lean back in my chair and cross my arms until he looks uncomfortable. People like Preston expect a manager to grovel or give them a scripted apology, but I don’t have the patience for it today. His rent covers my time, not my interest in his complaints.
“The acoustics in the building are set up for a specific vibe. That noise you’re hearing is the filtration system keeping theair neutral. If your ears are too sensitive for the best climate control in the city, we can look at the termination clause. I’ve got a waitlist of three hundred people who’d jump at the chance to move in, noise and all.”
His mouth snaps shut. He looks like he wants to keep arguing, but there isn’t much to say to that. I stand up and smooth out my slacks. I like things to be organized and efficient. I designed this place to work right, and Preston is just a loud annoyance in an otherwise productive day. He stands there for a second, probably waiting for me to apologize, but I just continue to stare.
“I’ll have IT check the floor tonight for a malfunctioning vent system. You’ll get a report in the morning. In the meantime, maybe try the tea service in the cafe. It’s meant to help when you’re feeling overwhelmed.”
He huffs and turns to leave. I wait for the door to click shut before I let out a breath. It’s been a ten-hour day of pretending to be a “Beta” manager, and my neck is killing me. The office is quiet now. I shift my chair and pull the center monitor closer. I pull up the RAA server logs.
My pulse jumps when I see the activity from the last few days. Micah, Tuesday, has had two sessions with her. I click the timestamps and see he spent over an hour with her both times.
It’s an annoying weight in my chest. I’m the one who did the legwork for all this. I handled the sponsors, the contracts, and all the red tape to get her into this building where I could protect her. I’ve been running her career from the background for years, but I’m the one who hasn’t been on her screen yet. I haven’t heard her voice when she’s alone and relaxed. I’m stuck down here dealing with residents who can’t handle the sound of an air filter while my cousins and brother are getting through to her.
I switch to the left monitor to the hallway cameras and start scrolling through last night’s footage. My eyes narrow when I find the right frame. There’s a figure in all black moving witha quiet, steady pace that doesn’t look like any of the residents. They disappear into a corner by the service elevator.
I lean in closer to the screen. It’s a blind spot. A tiny gap in the camera coverage that I missed when we set up the system. I never thought I’d have to worry about a predator being inside the building. The Polaroid they left is in the safe, but I can still see those burned-out eyes in my head. We were so busy watching her that we didn’t notice someone was watching us. It’s a massive screw-up on my part. I should have seen it. I should have accounted for the angles near the service lift.
A notification pops up on my tablet. Zora is logging in.
I check the GPS for the others on my right-hand monitor. Dameon is at the gym, probably hitting a bag. Micah is in the clinic with a patient. Theo is working on a server reset. They’re all tied up. None of them are near the camming unit. None of them are even looking at the portal right now.
This is my chance.
I grab the keys to the camming unit and head for the stairs. I’m not waiting for the elevator and risking a conversation with someone like Preston. My boots hit the concrete steps in a fast, steady rhythm. The air gets cooler as I get further away from the lobby. I can feel the tension in my shoulders easing away.
Inside the studio, I get ready stripping down to my underwear and reaching for the silver filigree mask on the console. It’s cold metal, and it’s formed to fit me, covering my upper face and hiding the scar on my eyebrow. I’ve spent a long time hiding who I am, and the mask feels more natural than the suit I wear downstairs.
I check the preview on the monitor. My eyes are all she’ll see. To her, I’m not the guy who manages the building.
I’m Sunday. I’m the one who tells her what to do.
I sit in the leather chair and drop the voice modulator to that deep baritone. I hit the ‘Available’ toggle and watch the light turn green. The connection pings fast.
The connection goes through and Zora’s face pops up on the center monitor. She’s in her bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed with those amber fairy lights glowing behind her. She looks stressed, hunched over her laptop with her hair messy. My profile has been dark since she got here and I can tell she’s curious. This is the first time she has seen me active. I keep my posture stiff in the chair, my skin cool in the unit’s air now that I’m down to my underwear.
“I haven’t seen you on here before.” Her voice is a soft thread through the speakers. I don’t offer a greeting or a smile. I stay still, the metal of the mask cold against my skin.
“I am Sunday. You clicked on my profile because you need a regulator. Strip. Right now. I want everything off.”
I let my natural voice come through. I am no longer forcing myself to speak in a higher range. The sound drops into a low bass that vibrates in my chest. I want her to feel it in her teeth before I even say a word.
Zora flinches a bit, her eyes going wide. She’s used to Micah being soft or Theo being a flirt. She wasn’t expecting this tone. I watch her hesitate for a second, her eyes searching the silver patterns on my mask for some kind of sign, but I don’t give her anything. She reaches for the hem of her silk top and pulls it over her head. Her movements are a bit stiff. The shorts go next. She sits there naked, the light catching the warm tone of her skin.
“Turn the camera. I want to see everything. Lower it until I can see how much you want this.”
She obeys, her hands shaking as she tilts the laptop screen down. I have a clear view of her now, the dark curls and slick. I lean forward, my chest feeling tight as I watch her. I want toreach through the screen and put my hands on her, but the mask and the distance are what keep me in this chair.
