Page 13 of After the Fall
Scott picked up on the first ring.
“Sorry, can’t talk right now.” He sounded out of breath, huffing through the ear piece. “I’m on my way to an interview. My fourth one this week,” he grumbled. “No one is hiring right now.”
“I haven’t even started looking,” I sighed. Getting fired from the paper hadn’t come as a surprise after my run-in with Michelle Carder, but Scott’s getting let go had. The Carders had cleaned office, bringing in most of their own staff.
“At least you have that hunky piece of man candy and his mansion. Heck, if I had a billionaire girlfriend, I wouldn’t be wearing this stupid suit jacket, having to fake smile my way through another pointless interview.”
I glanced around Wyatt’s swanky office. It was definitely nicer than my old cubicle. I couldn’t exactly tell Scott that I was trapped in a multi-million-dollar mansion and hating it.
An unfamiliar feeling was brewing inside me. Rage.
Scott had been given the same forgetting potion as me, and it was times like this that I wished I could have a deeper conversation with him, nothing held back – one where he knewmythical creatures existed. But that possibility had been taken away from me. Like my ability to leave the mansion.
“Before you go, do you by any chance still have access to The Sun’s interweb?” I asked. “My login stopped working the day I was let go. I know it’s a long shot but…” I sighed hopefully.
“One sec. I’ll check.”
My fingers absentmindedly twirled the end of my ponytail. After a minute, Scott’s voice returned. “You still there?”
There’s nowhere for me to go,is what I wanted to yell. But instead, I answered with a sharp, “Yeah.”
“I still have access. Guess there’s too many names to get through,” he tsked. I could picture the frown on his face, the furrowing of his brow. His hatred for the Carders was equal to mine, though for different reasons.
“Can I—”
“Password is 123456.”
“Original,” I laughed. “Thanks. You’re the best.”
“I know. Let’s hope that Flyfishing Magazine thinks so, too.”
“Scott,” I groaned. “You hate fishing.”
His voice lowered a notch. “Yes, but I hate being broke even more. Good luck with your research, and let me know what you find on the Carders.”
“How did you know that’s what I’m researching?”
“Please, Harper. I know you well enough by now.” He paused. “And, I am all for taking down that snarky blond bitch. Just promise me one thing?”
My lips pursed. Promises weren’t something I was sure I could keep. “What?”
“That I get to see the look on her face when she realizes it was Harper Davis that crumbled the Carder empire.”
My grin stretched from ear to ear. “Absolutely.”
It was a promise I would do my damnedest to keep.
Even with Scott’s login,the Carder trail went cold. They remained a mystery, along with Genocorp. In my experience, the less you shared with the world, the more you had to hide.
Brown Dog lay curled in a ball in the dog bed I’d placed next to Wyatt’s desk. The occasional snore that came from his still form told me he didn’t have the same level of interest in the Carders as I did.
As I paced Wyatt’s office, I paused in front of the bookcase, the light walnut a contrast against the hunter green walls. Its shelves were stuffed with various trophies, a mishmash of gold and crystal. I carefully picked up a diamond-shaped one and read the inscription:Climate Leadership Award 2023. Grinning, I traced the inscription,Wyatt Westwood, feeling like a proud girlfriend.
My stomach growled as I set the trophy back on the shelf. It was nearly two o’clock. I’d worked straight through lunch, my prison sentence flying by.
“Come on, Brown Dog. Let’s get some food.”
He bolted awake at the mention of food and followed me silently out of Wyatt’s office, trotting down the stairs behind me. I hoped I wouldn’t have another unwanted run-in with Tank. But thankfully, the living room was empty except for the raging fire, and only one guard stood at the front entrance. I turned my body as I walked past so I wouldn’t have to make eye contact.