Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
“I mean. I look forward to working…”
“I know what you mean.” He smiles “You can relax. The hard part is over. You will be shown to your new accommodations, and once you are settled we can go over your duties. Work begins tomorrow. There is much to be done.”
I can’t believe it. I literally cannot wrap my mind around it.
I keep it together long enough to leave the room. Once outside the door, I punch the air in victory, nearly bashing Arlo in the nose. He seems to simply appear when he is needed, like magic.
“I got the job!”
“I heard,” Arlo smiles. He seems happy for me. These aliens are so damn nice. A lot of people were paranoid when they showed up, thinking that they’d come to destroy us all, or steal our oil or something, but instead all they’ve done is help. Sometimes, you can trust people. Well, not people, in this case. Aliens.
“I will take you to your living arrangements. I apologize that you have only three rooms at the moment, but we have attached a solar balcony for a little extra space.”
“Three rooms and a solar balcony, holy shit, if you could see where I’ve been living…” I have to repress this near irrepressible urge to blurt out the truth of my life. I’ve just gotten the job, but I could be fired before I start if I am not careful.
“Arlo…” It’s Cir. He’s come out of his office. He towers behind me, casting a solid shadow over me. “I have some time. I will show Jessica to her rooms, thank you.”
“Oh. Yes. Very well.” Arlo’s slightly stilted response seems to suggest that this is not common procedure.
“You’re going to show me around too? That’s very nice of you.”
Cir smiles at me and I feel like ice cream left out in the sun.
“Come,” he says. “You’ll have to remember the way from your rooms to my offices every day. The Halo is larger than it appears.”
“It is? It looks fucking huge. I mean… freakin’.. I mean, very. It looks very huge.”
The muscle in his alien cheek twitches, as if he is trying not to laugh at me.
I don’t pick up a thing on the way to my new place. I can’t pay attention to things like directions when I have Cir next to me being the sexiest creature in space. The way his long legs look clad in those dark suit pants make me feel especially quivery on the inside. I have to wonder what he’d look like if he took them off.
“Here,” he says, opening a door into a room that glows with indirect light, the kind of light that you see used in really high-end places. I’d be happy with anything that has a roof and walls, but this is above and beyond.
There are three vast hexagonal rooms interlocked with one another. They’re lit indirectly and warmly, all the way out to the middle room which leads out to the solar balcony, a shielded ‘outdoor’ area jutting out into space.
This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. My view of the stars is supreme, and I can just see the corner of Earth if I stand at the edge. A thin membrane protects me from outer space, but it’s translucent so I only know it is there when I touch it and it bows out around my face and pulls back against it, sort of like if I stuck my head against a big empty condom.
“Easy,” he says, gently pulling me back. I feel his big hands on my shoulders as he touches me in a more intimate way than a handshake, and a pulse of reckless desire shoots through me. Holy fuck. I feel weak at the knees. I feel like a princess in a fairytale, and oh my god, what a prince.
“This is all mine? For me to live in?”
“Yes.”
“WOOO!” I scream with excitement and do a happy dance around the balcony and into the room. I can’t help myself. Maybe it’s whatever Arlo gave me, but I’m having trouble holding back like I usually do. It’s like all my feelings and desires are being brought to the surface. They’re more intense than usual too. I was born in New York. I know how to keep my feelings to myself. Or I did.
“What was in that drink?” I spin around to face my new alien boss who is still disappointingly clothed. He’s looking at me with his head slightly tilted, a quiet, satisfied smile on his face.
“I am glad you are happy with the space,” he says. “Obviously, your compensation will allow you to further upgrade as you see fit. If you need food, which I imagine you will, you can order off a complete menu. You’ll find it all on the tablet over on the counter there.”