The Darkness of Shadows-Chapter 1

8/8/2019 The Darkness of Shadows-Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

The morning started off like every other day in my life. I woke to the sound of the country radio station exactly at 7 AM with sheer loathing. I detested country music, but it woke me up quickly and didn’t jolt me awake like the buzzer tended to.

I threw off the covers and shut off the noise. Sleep was always important,

especially lately because it seemed to be an increasingly rare commodity, and I could gothrough my morning routine on autopilot.It didn’t take me long to get ready for work, but then again, it never did. By

normal woman standard’s I was considered low maintenance. I hardly out on anymakeup and my hairstyle was such that it didn’t require a lot of work.

Then I poured a cup of Earl Grey tea in my travel mug and on my way out Igrabbed an oatmeal bar to munch on later. It didn’t survive the 20-minute ride to theoffice.

I worked for NyTech Industries, which occupied something like half of theJohnstone Building. Like most of the buildings in Grace City’s downtown core, it was adecades-old brick structure that had been extensively restored.

As I walked into the main foyer I was greeted by Bernie, one of the securityguards. He was your typical grandfatherly type, fairly tall with a friendly smile. His hair was buzzed so short it was hard to tell if he was actually balding or not. His light hair colour also lent itself to the illusion. It was a lot more concealing than the comb-oversthat I’ve seen some older men wear.

“Morning, Bernie,” I greeted him.“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m going to have to see your ID,” he replied in a more

serious manner than usual.“Come on, Bernie. Richard’s waiting for me.”Bernie glared at me, but it didn’t last long. His hidden smile made its way to the

surface and I knew he was trying to give me a hard time.

“Here,” I said sarcastically as I whipped out my company ID badge and held it soclose to his face that it almost got a nose print. Bernie barely had time to uncross his eyes before I put it back in my purse. “If I’m late because of you ...” I threatened jokingly.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Richard hasn’t come in yet. You’ve still got time,”Bernie said, even as Richard demonstrated Murphy’s Law by walking through the maindoor. Richard was my boss, a very senior but not quite C-level employee. As usual, hewas wearing one of several virtually identical grey suits which complemented his hair colour, a white shirt with button-down collar, and his flamboyant but not quite over-the-top Friday tie.

“What’s this I hear about having lots of time?” Richard said with a smile as hewaved his ID card in Bernie’s general direction.

“Way to go, now look what you’ve done,” I laughed.“Hi, Bernie. Dana?” Richard said without breaking stride.“Later, Bernie,” I shouted as I followed Richard to the elevator. Normally I

would have taken the stairs, but I had a feeling Richard needed to talk to me aboutsomething. Richard, however, didn’t say a word. He parked himself by the panel, hismind a million miles away.

“So shall I hit the button or will you?” I asked slyly. Richard was an extremelygood-natured person and would normally banter, but this morning he seemed distracted.



“Yeah, but I have lots to get done before he arrives and before I go on holidays,” Ireplied, thanking God for giving me such a workload that I could use it as an excuse tomake her go away.

“Not a problem. I’ll see you later then,” she said as she scurried off.I was reviewing my to-do list when I was once again interrupted. Hell, at this rate

I’d get all my stuff done sometime next millennium.“Dana!” Darren shouted as he ran around the corner, almost colliding with thedoorframe of my office. Darren was in the advertising department, so it was unusual thathe’d need to see me about anything. The odd time he’d need screen shots of a new program, but other than that, our interaction was limited.

“Hey, Darren, what’s up?” I asked.“I don’t know if you’ve heard but we managed to secure some advertising space

in Timescape, the computer magazine, and my preliminaries are due today for the ad. Ihad a photo shoot scheduled today but the person that was supposed to model for mecalled in sick.”

“And this involves me because ...?”

“Could you be my stand-in?” he pleaded.“Stand-in? You mean model for you?”“Yeah. It’ll only take a few minutes, I promise.”“I’d love to help, but I’m kind of behind on my work right now and need to play

catch up.”“It’ll only take ten minutes, tops. Please Dana, I’m begging you.” I tried to think

of a nice way to say no. “I’ll owe you one. Anything you’d like. Lunch on me maybe?”I had to laugh at that one. “If this is your idea of an easy date ...”“No, I didn’t mean it like that, I ...”“Good, because I don’t date people from work.” I said it jokingly, but it was true

nonetheless.Darren looked so desperate that I couldn’t bring myself to refuse him.“Fine, I’ll help, as long as you promise it’ll only take ten minutes.”“Cross my heart,” he said, smiling.I got up from my desk and followed Darren to the other side of the building.“Darren, can I ask you something?”“Umm, sure.” He looked concerned.“No, it’s nothing like that. But why me? I’m not exactly supermodel cover girl

material.”“Maybe not, but you’re the closest thing to it on this floor.”“So you’re saying I’m the least ugly woman here?” Darren looked stunned until

he realized I was joking.“What exactly do you need me to do?” I asked.“Sit over there at the computer and pretend to be typing.”“Umm, I don’t claim to be an expert in the field of advertising and photography

but don’t you think this is an odd spot for a photo shoot? Don’t you need special lightingor something?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a few lights to set up but I’ll be doing most of the enhancementsand touch-ups in Photoshop.”



It only took him a few minutes to set up the lights he had and to snap off a coupleof pictures with his digital camera. Technology’s a great thing when it works properly.

“That’s it,” he said.“You weren’t kidding when you said it would be ten minutes, were you?”“Nope. And I really appreciate you standing in for me. I am eternally in your

debt,” Darren said as he jokingly bowed like a Renaissance actor.“I’m going to hold you to that,” I said light-heartedly as I heard Richard callingmy name.

I stood up and looked out over the maze of cubicles. “I’m over here, Richard.”“Dana, I was looking all over for you until Bobbi-Jo told me where you were.”

Why was I not surprised? Bobbi-Jo knew everything that was happening at the office. Itwas almost as if she had psychic abilities.

“Why such a panic, Richard?”“Because the meeting has been pushed forward. Mr. Whitmoore will be here any

minute.”“Actually, I think he’s here now,” I said in a hushed voice as I looked behind him

and gestured with my head.As Whitmoore stood there I realized that the pictures I had seen of him didn’t dohim justice. It’s not that he didn’t look like the press release photos, but in person heseemed so much more of a presence. Part of it was physical, because he had the build of a professional boxer. He had broad shoulders to go with a massive six and a half footframe, and even though he was wearing a suit I knew that his bulk was all muscle and nofat. I wasn’t overly short myself but next to Whitmoore I looked like one of the sevendwarves. I could tell that he was a fastidious dresser from his immaculate and expensivecharcoal suit. There was no way he’d bought it off the rack; it had to have been tailoredspecifically for him. Its cut would not have been out of place any time in the last half-century or so. But I guess when you pay that much money for a suit, you’d want it to befashionable for a long time. His hair was dark brown, almost black, which very muchsuited his look, but was so uniform a colour that I was sure it had come out of a bottle.He carried a pair of reading glasses in his left hand, presumably so he wouldn’t spoil theline of his suit jacket by putting them in a pocket.

“I am sorry to interrupt,” Whitmoore said in a deep voice. His voice was exactlyas I had imagined it would be, baritone, full of forced charisma, with more than a hint of an accent. He sounded like a pretentious Shakespearian actor.

“It’s nothing, really. I was helping Darren but we’re all finished now.” Ihesitated for a moment until I remembered my manners. “I’m sorry, we haven’t been properly introduced. My name’s Dana Harker, and this is Richard Kennedy.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Richard,” Whitmoore said as he shook Richard’s hand.“And Dana Harker, of the IT department?” he asked as he shook my hand.

“I take it my reputation precedes me?”He laughed, seemingly because he thought it appropriate to do so. “Actually, I

reviewed the personnel files of everyone on this floor. From your performance reviews,you are something of a rarity in this day and age. You are one of the few people who puts your heart and soul into your job. Most people come to work solely for a paycheque, but not you. You are passionate about your work.”



At that moment a secretary with a thin sheaf of paper appeared at Whitmoore’selbow. “Excuse me, sir,” she said, “I need your signature on this.”

“Pray excuse me for a moment,” Whitmoore said. He took a few steps away fromus, took the document from the secretary, and started reading it.

“You never told me you wrote any of that in my permanent file, Richard,” I

wisecracked in an undertone.He smiled and shrugged it off. “You never asked.”“And to think I didn’t even have to bribe you to give me a good review.”Whitmoore had signed the document and returned it to the secretary, who scuttled

off in the direction of the elevators. It occurred to me that Whitmoore hadn’t put on hisglasses to read the document; they were obviously for show.

“Would you like me to take you around and introduce you to the rest of the staff?”Richard asked Whitmoore.

Whitmoore turned to him. “Thank you, but I think I will manage. Besides, Ms.Harker and I were getting better acquainted.”

Behind Whitmoore’s back I gave Richard a subtle look that practically begged

him to help me escape so I could get back to work. Richard gave a smile and I knew thathe had no intention of helping me out.“If there’s anything I can help you with, please let me know,” Richard said.“Thank you, Richard, I will,” Whitmoore said in a dismissive tone, as he turned

back to face me. “How long have you been with us, Ms. Harker?”“Please, call me Dana. And it’s been about five years.”“Five years? So you would have started out here, I am guessing, fresh out of

university.”“Almost. If memory serves me it was actually a couple of years after I

graduated.” He gave me an uneasy feeling but I dismissed it.“Really? I presume, then, that you are in your mid to late 20’s. I must say, you

don’t look a day over 22.”“Umm, thanks,” I said, not entirely knowing how to respond.“And I hear you are in charge of the negotiations for the upcoming contract with

Horizon?”“Yes, sir.”“I would really like to hear a progress report.”“I wrote up a report for Richard a few days ago. I could forward that to you.”“Actually, I have already read the report. I wish to hear it in your own words.

Reports tend to be too factual and lack ... subjectivity, if you will. It is much moreinformative for me to hear it verbally, direct from the source.”

“Sir, I ...”“Immediately after lunch. 1:30, perhaps.”“I have a meeting with Richard at that time.”“Then come to my office after that.”“I was actually going to leave for the day right after that meeting. I have family

visiting this weekend and I booked a couple of days off.”“Oh, I see. Well, I am quite certain you could spare a few moments of your time.

It should not take longer than 30 minutes at most.”I was so stunned that I responded with silence.



“I must excuse myself so I can be introduced to the rest of your colleagues. It wasa pleasure to meet you, Ms. Harker, and I shall see you this afternoon in my office,”Whitmoore said with an insincere smile.

The only thing I could think of as he turned around and left was how much of anass he was. And how much of an idiot I was for not saying anything.

* * *Lunch came and went like every other day. I gathered my notes together andheaded to the conference room for my meeting with Richard, grabbing a cup of water from the cooler on my way by. I sat down near the end of the table and sipped from thecup, my mind not on the task at hand but rather what the next several days would hold. Icouldn’t remember the last time Rachel was over and I was looking forward to the timewe’d spend together, but I didn’t have anything arranged by way of entertainment. Mostlikely we’d rent movies and order pizza, nothing overly exciting.

It was only when Richard spoke that I came out of my trance. “Am I disturbingyou? You looked deep in thought. No doubt thinking about the Horizon contract.”

“Actually, no. I was thinking about what I was going to do this weekend.”

“I’m impressed,” Richard said as he sat in the chair opposite me. “This is probably the first time I’ve seen you this deep in thought and not thinking about work.”“Doesn’t happen very often, does it?” I smiled.“I guess we’d better get started, that way here we can get on with the rest of the

daily chores.”“Speaking of chores, I wanted to thank you for bailing out when it was time to

meet Mr. Whitmoore.”“I did my best.”“It didn’t seem that way from where I was standing,” I mockingly chastised him.

“And it’s all your fault that I had to deal with him and now I have a meeting with himright after this one.”

“But I thought you were leaving early today?”“Not anymore, and it’s all thanks to you,” I said slyly.“Whatever,” Richard jokingly waved it off as he grabbed a pen and paper from

his briefcase. “So what’s on the horizon with Horizon?”I gave the attempt at humour the attention it deserved. “They have a copy of the

contract and they’re supposed to get back to us sometime next week. Either the termsand conditions are fine and they’ll sign it, or there might be a few things we need totweak.”

“In your opinion, how long do you think it’ll take?”“As far as I can tell, there shouldn’t be any more amendments or changes so my

best guess would be soon. Could be as early as next Wednesday.”“Perfect.”“I can call Bob today if you want and see where he’s at with it.” Bob was my

opposite number at Horizon.“No, that’s fine. We don’t want to seem desperate. Give them until Wednesday.”“Sure thing,” I replied as I jotted it down on my PDA.“So assuming we do land the contract, what will that entail for hiring more staff?”“I’m not entirely sure. We’ve gotten to the point where we know what we need to

do, but we haven’t broken it down into sections and figured out who will do what.”



“Best guess?”“Right now, I’d have to say three to five people, at least. But that could also

change.”Richard scribbled furiously for a moment. “Understood. So do you think we

should start advertising for programmers?”

“Not yet. I want to see this deal finalized first and then go from there.”“You think it may fall through?”“No, I just want to play it safe.”“Fair enough. And how are the other projects coming along?”“The inventory control system is coming along fine. The boys ran into a bit of a

snag on module three and are taking some time out to do some R&D. Depending howthat goes, I may need your authorization for some overtime.”

“I can’t see that as being a problem. Let me know how many hours you’ll needand we’ll see what we can do. Johnson hasn’t been giving you a hard time, has he?”Richard asked with a grin, knowing full well what my response would be.

“Not any more.” Nick Johnson and I had butted heads a few times in the past. He

sometimes had the “I’m a man so that makes me smarter than a woman” attitude. I didn’tcare what he thought but it was such a pleasure to bask in his stunned silence whenever Icompleted a complex task.

“I think that’s about it,” Richard said as he got up from the table.“That’s it?” I asked in disbelief.“Why, was there something else you wanted to add?”“No.” I hesitated for a moment. “So let me get this straight. You booked a board

room big enough to hold thirty people for the two of us to hold a ten-minute meeting?”“What of it?”“Nothing,” I laughed lightly. “We could easily have had this meeting in your

office.”“Maybe, but I wanted to do something different. Makes me feel important,” he

smiled.“You’re such an ass.”He smiled as he shrugged. “I try.”“You mean it doesn’t come naturally?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.Richard stifled a laugh and shook his head at me the same way as an amused

parent would at a toddler.“See, that’s why I love it here. Where else could you work and not get fired when

you call your boss an asshole?”“Actually you called me an ass, not an asshole,” he said matter-of-factly.“I stand corrected.”“Do me a favour and don’t go around calling the other senior executives asses.

Especially Mr. Whitmoore.”“Can I think it real loud?”“You think that highly of him?”“I’d like to haul him up by his $200 tie and slowly lower him into a paper

shredder.” Richard looked at me and stifled a laugh. “I mean, let us just say his firstimpression left something to be desired. But as I do not yet know him well enough to



form an honest, well rounded opinion, I will refrain from speaking my mind.” I did my best to imitate Whitmoore’s verbal mannerisms.

Richard scoffed. “The day you don’t speak your mind is the day the devil skatesto work in July.”

“I’ve been known to bite my tongue on occasion,” I stated matter-of-factly.

“And somewhere in Arkansas there really is a pig that can fly.”“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Richard.”“You are many things, Dana, but subtle isn’t one of them,” he said, giving me a

pat on the back as we left the boardroom.I quickly returned to my desk to drop off the paperwork that I had brought to the

meeting with Richard. If Whitmoore asked any questions about the contract I was certainI could answer them all without having to review any notes. Everything was engraved inmy brain because I’d been working on it for so long.

I got off the elevator at the eighth floor and for a moment I thought I was in thewrong building. I found myself in a huge, high-ceilinged room. A receptionist’s desk dominated the center and what was probably the most expensive set of chrome and

plastic table and chairs that money can buy sat off to the side. Straight ahead, directly behind the receptionist’s desk, a wide hallway led to large double doors. To me, it wasobvious that the room was designed to overwhelm visitors. It made me wonder if Whitmoore was compensating for something.

I walked up to the receptionist, who was in the middle of a personal phone call.There I stood there for a minute or so, knowing full well that she saw me, but she madeno attempt to end the call quickly. Finally the other party ended the call. Thereceptionist hung up the receiver and acknowledged my presence.

“I have an appointment with Mr. Whitmoore.”“He’s on a call right now, but if you will take a seat I’ll inform him of your

arrival.”“Thanks,” I said as I sat down on one of the chairs. It was even more

uncomfortable than it looked. There were a few magazines neatly arranged on the coffeetable, the most recent featuring a preview of the Windows 2000 operating system. Ichoked back a laugh. We were a technology company and the magazines in the CEO’sreception area weren’t even from the current millennium. I made a mental note toarrange for the Horizon contract signing to be held at their office.

I was trying to decide whether I was up for a history lesson when my cell phonerang. I took a quick look at the caller id and pressed the talk button.

“Hey, Trin, what’s up?”“Where are you?” Trinity sounded more anxious than usual.“At work. Why?”“I tried calling you at home but I didn’t get an answer.”“No, you wouldn’t have because I’m at work.”“Did I catch you at a bad time?”“Not really. So why are you in panic mode?”“I made a huge oops. I thought I would be able to get my damage deposit from

my old landlord today to help pay for the damage deposit for the new apartment, but Iwon’t get it for a day or so and my new landlord needs it today.”

“How much do you need?”



“I really hate asking for this because it isn’t exactly like borrowing a dollar to buya coffee.”

“You didn’t ask, Trin, I volunteered. Now how much do you need?”“$500,” she said quietly.“That would buy a hell of a lot of coffee.” I thought for a minute. “I’m waiting to

go into a meeting right now but I can’t see it being a problem. Do you still have your computer hooked up?”“Yeah, why?”“Because I’ll e-mail the transfer to you. I can set it up right away from my cell.

That would probably be the easiest.”“Thanks, Dana. I promise I’ll get the money back to you in a few days.”“I’m not worried. Besides, I know where you live.”“True,” Trinity laughed. “Look, I got to go but I’ll call you later on. Thanks

again, Dana.”I sat there for a minute shaking my head in amusement as I set up the transfer. I

picked up the magazine again when the receptionist said, “Mr. Whitmoore will see you

now.” She didn’t shout, but her voice carried easily. Either the room had excellentacoustics or the receptionist had stage training.I tossed the magazine back on the coffee table and proceeded down the hallway. I

knocked on one of the massive doors.“Please come in.”I opened the door, which was as heavy as it looked.Whitmoore rose from his chair. “Ah, Ms. Harker, a pleasure to see you again.

Please have a seat.” He gestured towards the antique chair opposite his desk. “Iappreciate your being able to meet with me on such short notice.”

“Not a problem, sir,” I said as I sat down.Whitmoore resumed his seat.I got straight to the point. The sooner I finished this, the sooner I could go home.

“I’m waiting to hear back from their negotiator, Bob Strumble.”Whitmoore nodded absently. “I must confess, Ms. Harker, that the contract was

not the actual reason why I requested your presence here this afternoon.” He looked atme and I knew he was waiting me out.

“Then forgive me for asking, but why did you want to see me?”“I wanted to inform you that I am most pleased with your work on the Horizon

negotiations. However, after we have finalized this contract, I think it best for you not toseek more clients for the time being. I will require you to work more closely with the programming department than you have on other projects.”

“Are you demoting me?” I asked bluntly.“I would never dream of doing so. I wish to focus your efforts on programming.

We are going to need all the experienced programmers to help out while we hireadditional staff.”

However he worded it, I knew that I was sliding down the ranks. I had no problem helping out the programmers when they needed it, but for him to explicitly tellme not to look for any more clients? I couldn’t believe what he was telling me.

“May I be frank?” I asked, trying not to convey my annoyance.“Certainly.”



“While we’re working on the Horizon software, who will be out looking for our next contract?”

“I have just the man for the job. And never fear, you are not being demoted or replaced. When the software nears completion, you will be working with a partner togain more contracts.”

I sat there for a minute, dumbfounded.“I believe we have covered everything,” Whitmoore said in a flat voice. It wasobviously a dismissal.

I got up slowly and left the room, still trying to make sense of it all. As I walked back through the reception area I noticed that the magazines on the coffee table had beenrestored to their former locations. Checking first to make sure the receptionist waswatching me, I reached down and flicked the topmost magazine to the far side of thetable.

* * *I was still in a daze as I got ready to head out. I didn’t even notice Richard

standing outside my office. When he called out my name, I almost jumped.

“Sorry to startle you, Dana. By the look on your face it didn’t go well.”“It could have been worse. I could have been fired.” I told Richard of Whitmoore’s decision and he was almost as infuriated as I was.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go talk some sense into him.”“Thanks, Richard, but don’t do anything stupid. You might find yourself working

in the mail room.”“I doubt that. You go on home and let me take care of it.”“I appreciate your offer but I’ll handle it when I get back. Now I really have to

run if I want to make the next bus.”“I’ll see you in a few days. Have a good mini-vacation.”I quickly got my things together and left the building. I was almost all the way to

the bus stop when I realized I had left my coat back at the office. I uttered an appropriatecurse, turned around, and headed back. I wasn’t going to make the early bus anyway.

As I retraced my steps, a burgundy sedan pulled out of the alley, blocking my path. I paused to let it pass, but instead it stopped and the back door swung open. I felt asoft cloth over my nose and mouth and my world went pitch black.

The Darkness of Shadows-Chapter 1

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