Three played a 'Wicked Game.' Now, it's time for round two.
One will fight. One will meet The Maker. And one will try to keep them all safe.
The world may be black and white but to win this game, they'll have to play in the gray.
"Hey, Isabeth..." Gidget started as she swiveled her desk chair around. "Do you want to go to McRae's or Fresh for lunch?"
Isabeth looked over at her dazzlingly. She'd been staring at her computer screen trying to decide which font she wanted to use for the second example of invitations for the Blackbird Gala. Kieran assigned her the new task that morning but she just started on it half an hour ago. Her usual affinity for getting her work done in a timely matter evaded her once she set her nude strappy-heeled sandals into the intern's office.
The intern's office was on the third floor where all the Blackbird affairs were conducted. The white room with emerald embellishments had a picturesque view of Jade Park but Isabeth's focus couldn't make it past the one of the four desks set paralleled to each of the four walls.
It was the neatest desk in the office. The clear high-back chair is pushed underneath the desk with the closed laptop resting in the middle. A gold lamp sat on the corner and a gold-plated square pencil cup with all black pens was placed on the other corner right next to a stapler. It was Faith's desk void of any clutter that the rest of them had in their workspace. Harper's desk was always cluttered, Gidget's desk was organized in the morning and disarray by the time the work day was over and Isabeth's desk had peaks during the hour when there was chaos but she took time before starting a new task to tidy things up. Unfortunately, now Faith's immaculate desk looked desolate without her sitting behind it tapping away at the keyboard with perfect posture.
Isabeth took her tortoise-shelled glasses off, "It doesn't matter to me. I can eat anything." She set the glasses on the desk and pushed the wheeled chair away from the desk, "Just as long as it's not messy."
"So, McRae's is out." Gidget spun her chair around and hopped up. "Fresh it is. I hope they haven't run out of the Tuscan wrap." She fixed the strap of her floral-printed white summer dress that hit just above her knees. "Those always go fast. I think some people pay extra to reserve those." She wagged her pointing finger at Isabeth.
Isabeth didn't disagree; nothing was off limits to the entitled inhabitants of Evening, "If the Tuscan wrap is gone. There are many other delicious choices." She smoothed her hand over the light wrinkles that formed in her muted yellow Burberry sleeveless dress. "The Baja Burrito bowl, quinoa corn chowder, or the strawberry-cucumber spinach salad."
"You know, what..." Gidget bent over to retrieve her satchel purse. "Let's head over to FireRock and get a slice of chicken pesto pizza." She nodded as she spoke, digging the thick heel of her cowboy boot on the floor.
"Cool." Isabeth agreed, pushing her chair back under her desk. "I'll text Harper where we are so she can meet us there after she gets through at Pastel Petals." She said leaning on her desk and saving her work on the computer.
"Excuse me..." A nasal voice pulled the girls' attention to the door. A young man around their age stood in the doorway deck in khaki pants and a sky-blue collared shirt tucked in with the words Pastel Petals embroidered. "I'm looking for a...Isabeth." He shifted his eyes from girl to girl.
"I'm she." Isabeth held up her head timidly as if she was in class and wasn't sure if she had the correct answer. Her sight moved from the young man's brown eyes to the bouquet of ranunculus he was cradling in a clear vase.
"Happy day!" He strolled over to Isabeth. "These are for you and also...." He reached behind his back and produced a letter, "This."
Isabeth sat on the vase harboring her favorite flowers on the desk and quickly took the card from the man. She wondered who sent her the lovely gift. Alex and Faith were MIA. Her parents were in another time zone. Oh! she thought, maybe it was from Harper since she had been at the flower shop all morning.
"Man, I wish I had a boyfriend like Alex." Gidget quipped before inhaling the pleasant floral scent. "You know...minus the personality disorder thing." She stood back up.
Isabeth scrolled her eyes over to Gidget, "What do you mean personality disorder thing?" Her flawlessly arched eyebrows knitted together. "He's as sane as anyone around here...probably more."
"Oh! I wasn't saying he's crazy. I was just saying—" She held up her hands in surrender. "I'll just meet you at the elevator bank."
"Yeah, do that." Isabeth looked back down at the letter in her hands as Gidget and the delivery guy left the room. She delicately ripped open the letter with her nude gray nails. She slid the card out and the neat, black letters reduced her intake of air to shallow, "Ruin my day, why don't you." She muttered to herself before rereading the note.
Isabeth,
The time has come for you to fulfill your first duty. Our friend Oryn is quite languished. He needs more fuel and we need you to find someone he can siphon it from. He's type O. Find another like him. I'm sure you know some doctors. Find a donor by midnight. I'll be at the church in Poe Woods. Don't be late.
P.S. This task is worth the reward!
Do you think Isabeth will be able to follow through on this task? Who do you think this task is for?
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