Existence Denied

CHAPTER 1

Jared slipped into the elevator just as the doors began to slide close. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad he caught the elusive contraption on the first try. Walking up nine flights of stairs to reach his office would make an already difficult day worse. The elevator, a fanciful steel and glass structure, resided on the side of the twenty-story building. The outer glass wall faced the beautiful sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters of Florida's Gulf Coast. Had Jared taken a moment to step to the glass and view the idyllic scene of cloudless skies and palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze, it might have calmed the riotous emotions teeming in his head.

However, Jared only turned away from the picturesque scenery, lost in his own musings.

Jared Johnson, a whiz at data analysis, had once been the shining star of Natural Progressions, a subsidiary of the U.S federal agency that oversaw the initiation of Life and Death records. There were other branches of Natural Progressions in other countries, but the United States branch remained the worldwide headquarters, the crème de la crème of its existence. Human life did not occur until Natural Progressions, or the NP, initiated the proper records for the right to a lifecycle. Higher ranking employees of the branch able to assign life went through an intricate selection process and tutelage sanctioned by the E.B., or the Existence Bringer, the giver of life.

Jared had been one of the lucky few. The E.B. choosing him had been a badge of honor, the icing on his own proverbial cake of success.

The elevator rose to the second floor, and the automated voice blared out the level before the doors opened. An older woman dressed in an expensive forest green pantsuit stepped inside—the confined space filled with the stench of excessive amounts of perfume and hairspray. Ready to give the nod of acknowledgment from one stranger to another, she let out a gasp of surprise as the doors closed. The woman knew Jared, and her look of polite indifference turned to one of well-bred malice.

Now Jared bemoaned his luck on catching the elevator. Perhaps arriving five minutes earlier or taking the stairs would have cleared his head. But now, he stood yards away from his former subordinate, Madeline McPherson. With her coiffured white hair and disagreeable attitude, the older woman had not been the easiest person to manage. From the start, Jared understood her outrage at working for a man half her age, fresh out of college. She made her displeasure at the assignment known to any and all who'd listen, in a well-bred fashion, of course.

Madeline had wanted his job from day one, and with his departure, she had achieved her goal. He wondered how his former team coped under her authoritarian nature and tendency to micromanage.

"Jared, how good to see you," she lied as her wrinkled hands played with the pearl choker surrounding her neck. "I was shocked to hear you left the group. Such a surprise."

"I transferred to another department, nothing more than that, Madeline."

She gave a refined laugh of disbelief as she stared at the dark-skinned man, a hint of malice in her voice. "Transferred or demoted?" Her eyes narrowed. "You do know what the rumor mill is saying about you..."

"I assure you the rumors are nothing but lies." He kept the stoic look on his face, his eyes meeting hers.

"Hmm," she replied, looking downward to avoid his gaze. The small victory gave Jared a tinge of pleasure. Madeline had always been a viper. Words from her serpent tongue at times were sweet, but the sting could maim. "You do know a fire never starts without something fanning the flame." Madeline raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow as she smirked in his direction.

How Jared wished he had fired her when he had the chance!

Straight out of a prestigious ivy league college, Jared had become a top Liveliness Inquisitor for the NP, assigning life and overseeing life records for couples wishing to marry, singles, or doting parents interested in a prospective bride or groom who could produce a living organism. Jared and his team fielded forms for the rich, poor, the educated and unskilled, the young and old for his assigned district. He had run thousands of scans and probabilities, determined eligibility, double-checking the work of his peers and subordinates.