Gaia

“You can’t skip work again.”

“Yes I can, I’m the boss.”

Mari laughed as Eli yanked her back into bed, locking his arm around her so she couldn’t try to get away. She’d been trying to convince him to get up for at least twenty-minutes, but he had decided that there was no need to go to work and wanted to stay in bed all day. He brushed Mari’s hair out of the way so it wouldn’t get in his face, kissing her exposed neck as she laughed.

“I finally get a job and my boss won’t let me do it,” she said.

“Your boss is also sleeping with you,” he grumbled. “Which sounds really fucked up when I say it out loud, so forget I said it.”

“Eli, I have a whole bunch of stuff to do,” she told him. “May I remind you that you’re the one that wanted me to do it all, too?”

“I changed my mind,” he said. “I want you to stay here.”

“I've been wearing the same clothes for like 24 hours now,” Mari whined.

“It's okay, just take it off.”

Mari laughed and pushed him off her again, this time getting out of bed successfully. He gave her puppy eyes from where he was still lying, but she just shook her head.

“I'll be back, okay?” she said. “I'm just going to change and run a few errands. It'll just be an hour, tops.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Gosh, now you want to work?”

“I'm getting paid this time,” she said, giving him a quick wink on her way out.

She quickly went home to shower and change, finding that Andy wasn't around. She hoped he'd gone after some kind of job, but knowing her brother, he'd probably ended up at some wild party and was hanging out in some girl’s bed now. She ran a few errands on the way to Eli's office, letting herself inside the office and building with the key he had made for her. It was empty for the most part, since it was a weekend, other than a few people floating around and doing weekend work like Mari was. She swiped into Eli's office, but froze, seeing someone else was already in there.

She recognized the man from the elevator in Tower O, from a little while ago. She remembered how tense Eli acted around him, and how he'd snapped at Mari when she asked about him. The man looked up at her and she felt her blood turn to ice when his gaze landed on her, eyeing her up and down. She realized all too suddenly that this must have been the lord Eli had been talking about in his story about what happened to his family. She never caught a name, but this was definitely him.

He was snooping around in the drawers of Eli's office, and closed a drawer as he saw Mari in the doorway. He smiled at her as if she'd walked into his office. She scraped together a little bravery and confidence and stood up straighter, clearing her throat.

“You're not allowed to be in here,” she told him.

“I apologize,” he said, sounding sincere and respectful as far as Mari could tell. “I was hoping to catch Mr. Beckstrom here, but it seems he's not in today. But I recognize you. You're the PA, aren't you?”

“Yeah,” she said, watching him suspiciously. “Mr. Beckstrom is feeling under the weather. Can I take a message?”

“No, I'll just come back another day,” he chuckled. “It wasn't that important. Please, do what you need to do, I won't get in the way.”

He stepped aside as Mari quickly grabbed some folders and files out of the drawer, keeping him in the corner of her eye. She wanted to get out of there quickly, but he followed her out.

“I'm on my way home,” he told her. “Why don't I walk you out?”

“I think I can manage,” she said.

“Why are you running away from me?” he laughed. “I'm sorry if I frightened you, being in that office. That really wasn't my intention, and I'd like you to know that.”

Mari sort of just kept her eyes on the floor and walked, wondering why the elevators seemed so far away. The man walked alongside her, and no one paid him much attention.

“You must be new around here,” he said. “I'd remember a face like yours if I'd seen often.”

“Relatively new,” she said plainly.

“How do you like working for Mr. Beckstrom?” he asked. “I hear he's… grumpy.”

“He has his good and bad days,” she said.

“Why do you think that is?” he said, looking over at her. “He has no reason to be upset, he lives a wonderful life.”

“I don't know,” Mari lied.

“Especially with a pretty thing like you around him all the time,” he added. “If you were working for me, I doubt I'd be able to keep the smile off my face.”

“Oh,” said Mari, unable to come up with another answer.

“So you work closely with him, yes?” he asked. “You must know more about him than anyone. More than his own mother.”

Don’t talk about his mother, Mari thought, pursing her lips into a tight line.

“Are you alright, Miss Gold?” he asked, concern spreading over his face.

“Yeah, I'm- How did you know my name?” she frowned.

“Apologies, I heard someone else call you that,” he said. “Marilyn Gold, yes?”

“Right…”

“You go by Mari,” he continued. “Mari Gold. Like a marigold. I bet you hear that often.”

“I don't know what a marigold is,” she said.

“Ah, right,” he nodded. “It's a flower, from Earth’s green days.”

Mari's grip on the folders had tightened, holding them to her chest to hide her quick breathing. He swiped the elevator for her, standing by her as they waited for it.

“Mr. Beckstrom has been avoiding work recently, has he?” The lord asked.

“His immune system must be weak,” Mari shrugged.

“Must be,” he nodded. “Unless he's hiding from someone.”

“I doubt it,” Mari said. “He's not afraid of anyone.”

“Oh yeah?” he grinned, as the doors opened. “That's good for him, then. After you, Miss Marigold.”

Mari hurried inside, but he got to the buttons before she did.

“What floor are you headed to?” he asked her.

“532,” she lied.

“The shopping district?” he asked, raising a brow.

“I have a paycheck to spend.”

“Alright,” he chuckled. “I just figured you'd be headed back to help take care of Beckstrom.”

“I'm an assistant, not a nanny,” she shrugged.

“And you're just going to carry those folders around while you shop?” he asked, inputting the level as well as the one he was headed to.

“Yes,” Mari said defensively. “Do you have a problem with the way I work?”

“Not at all,” he laughed. “I’d kill to have someone like you working for me.”

Mari didn't respond, impatiently waiting to get to her floor. The Lord reached into his pocket and handed her a small business card, with his name printed in gold writing. Lord Desoto.

“Well if you find you need a change in employment, feel free to give me a call,” he said, just as the doors opened. “It was a pleasure to see you again, Miss Gold.”

She just gave him a slight nod, slipping out the elevator before the doors even fully opened. He didn't follow her after that. Mari shoved the card into her purse, wandering around the floor until she somewhat calmed her nerves. It was probably nothing. Desoto was probably just acting like a creep. She took a deep breath and started heading back towards the elevators, realizing she'd been gone much longer than an hour. On her way, she spotted a familiar face sitting on the edge of the fountain and flipping through a magazine.

“Hi Renee,” Mari said, giving her a bright smile.

She didn't return the smile, just barely glancing up from the magazine.

“Hey,” she muttered.

“Getting a little shopping done?” Mari asked.

“What is this, ‘girls night out’?” she scowled. “No. I've got my eye on the guy in the yellow.”

“How come?”

“He's a dealer.”

“How do you know?”

“Because my case file said so,” Renee sighed, glaring at her. “You're like a little kid. You ask so many questions. Go away.”

“The guy in the yellow is looking at you,” Mari told her.

“Shit,” Renee grumbled. “Fine. Sit down. Like we're friends, meeting up.”

Mari sat down, glancing towards the dealer as he looked away from them again.

“So this is what you do as an enforcer?” Mari asked.

“Among other things,” she said, eyeing the folders. “You're still working for Eli?”

“Yeah, why?” Mari asked.

“It's just… Never mind,” she shrugged.

“No, tell me,” Mari frowned.

“Listen, don't get upset when I tell you this,” she said. “Okay? Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise,” Mari nodded.

“You're not the only girl in Eli's life.”

Mari raised a brow, unsure of how to respond.

“Pardon?”

“You seem like a nice girl,” Renee told her. “You really do. I'm telling you this because you deserve better. Eli? He doesn't give a shit about any girl who comes along. You're just a booty call.”

“But he's sweet to me,” Mari protested.

“He does that,” Renee shrugged. “One day you're hooking up and you think, ‘hey, this could really be something cool’. And the next day it's back to formalities, and you go from a first name basis back to ‘Officer Perona’. And it sucks.”

“Renee?”

“I meant ‘Miss Gold’. My mistake.”

“I don't think it's the same,” Mari said. “It doesn't feel like a hookup.”

“That's what everyone thinks, until they get dumped,” she said. “And between the two of us? He won't keep you around for much longer.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He thinks you're annoying as hell.”

This struck Mari hard. She drew back slightly.

“What?”

“Don't cry or anything, okay?” Renee sighed. “I don't want to deal with it. He talks about you. You talk too much, you have no sense of personal space, and you pry too much. I think you're nice, but that's what he said.”

“He told you this?” Mari asked.

“Yeah, he did.”

Mari thought she might pass out right there. Just then, the man in yellow stood up and walked away. Renee stood up too, keeping an eye on him.

“I have to go,” she said. “Do yourself a favor, Mari. Just go home. You're better off.”

She left with that, and Mari stood there, trying to process it all. She eventually made her way back to Eli's house to drop off the folders, and only to drop off the folders. Eli moved towards her when he saw her, but she side stepped around him before he could touch her. She wordlessly went to the home office to leave the folders on the desk. Eli followed her, looking confused.

“You took a little longer than an hour,” he said.

“I took the long way,” she said.

“Why are you packing up your stuff?” he asked.

“I've spent a lot of time here, I should probably go home,” she told him.

“Mari?” he frowned. “Hey, look at me. Why aren't you looking at me?”

She turned and looked at him, and when he saw her somewhat impatient expression, he looked concerned.

“You okay?”

“I'm tired,” she lied. “I want to go home.”

“Something is wrong,” he said. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” she said.

“Marilyn, you were fine when you left this morning,” he said. “What's bothering you?”

Mari crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing him up and down.

“You want to know what's wrong, Eli?” she said. “What's wrong is that you think I'm some kind of booty call you can keep around for a week or so until you find someone who annoys you less.”

“What the fuck would make you think that?” he asked, shocked.

“Every girl you've ever been with since Jess,” Mari said. “There's been a lot of them, huh?”

“Not a lot,” he said defensively. “I don't know what brought this on, but you're dead wrong if you think I share my pain with just anyone.”

“So you never told anyone you thought I was annoying as fuck?” she accused. “And that I talk too much? And I pry too much? Be honest, Eli. You're over the relationship thing. No one is ever going to replace Jess. You don't want anyone to replace Jess. You just want someone to take your sexual frustration out on every once in a while.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” he repeated, yet again. “You're nuts. You're insane.”

“Oh, so now I'm crazy?” she said. “God, Eli, you've really got a way with women. Go hang out with Renee. You guys deserve each other.”

“I don't even know Renee,” he said in exasperation. “Did she tell you all this bullshit?”

“It doesn't matter.”

Mari watched Eli's expression go from the guy she had grown to care about to the grump who'd knocked her unconscious and dragged her up here in the first place.

“Fine,” he said. “You want to leave? The door is right over there.”

“Excuse me?” Mari scoffed.

“You don't believe me when I say none of it is true,” he said. “If you're not going talk to me like a human being and let me defend myself, then I'm not going to stand here and be mocked.”

Mari just scowled and bit her tongue before she made him even angrier, turning on her heel and storming out. She stopped in the doorway, digging through her purse and taking out Desoto’s business card. Eli followed her to the door and she threw it at him, though he paid it little attention and just let it flutter to the floor at his feet.

“What was that?”

“I didn't want to get too annoying,” she said sarcastically. “Some guy was snooping through your stuff. I thought you'd like to know.”

Eli didn't even look at the card, his gaze locked on Mari. She just slammed the door on him on her way out.