Chapter 7: Disguised & Deceiving

Later that afternoon, Marie found herself thinking about the man that she had bumped into earlier that morning. It had been nice of him to help her pick up the contents of her briefcase; then again- he'd caused it! So it had been very befitting of him to do so. Marie wondered who he was, where he worked. She really wouldn't mind running into him again. She didn't even know his name. He'd rushed off so quick that she hadn't a chance to get it out her mouth before he was rushing off down the sidewalk.

Clearing some papers from her desk, Marie paused and stared out the window. Up on the eighty-second floor, the building's front courtyard looked small; the people still walking about looked smaller. Not that it mattered anyway. She'd already missed lunch, so it was an even bet that she'd probably have to put in a long day too. But that was okay in her book. Marie never really minded staying at the office to work late. She was used to it now. She glanced at the small clock on her desk when the alarm started beeping. Three o'clock. It was time to go down to the company library and gather materials for the boss. He'd be expecting everything before he left around eight pm. Marie sighed, then she picked up a folder that was full of paperwork.

She had to get to the 21st floor for another meeting between the managers and their department leads. Her presence was required only as an observer for Thomas Skyy. Once the meeting was concluded, she'd come back here and prepare her paperwork. After that, she'd give Skyy a full briefing on the company departments. Marie made sure that the folder was fully closed, then she left her office and walked to the elevators. She had plenty of time to get to where she needed to be.

--

Alyson was inside the building and observing everything. This is where she knew the pendant was. That young woman worked in this building someplace. She had to find her and get the pendant back before Arricus decided that she was stalling and pulled her from the mission. She took her shades off again and looked around the lobby of the huge office building. There were two corporate security guards sitting at a guard desk off to the side of the main entrance. One of the guards stood up from the desk and approached Alyson after she glanced sideways at him. He looked to be around 24 or 25, with nicely tanned skin and a perfect smile. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair as he gave her a smile. Alyson slowly looked towards him and returned the smile.

"Good morning miss. Is there something that I can help you with?" He asked her, placing both hands on his holster belt. Alyson gave a wry smile and appeared as nervous as she possibly could.

"Yeah I'm trying to reach a friend of mine that works here somewhere...I just don't know which floor that she works on though."

The guard smiled and gave Alyson a quick once over. Beautiful and exotic looking? She was probably the dream girl of every man in America, not to mention a few boys too. He chuckled to himself and looked at his watch. The woman was obviously some type of model. A few minutes of his time in trying to help find her friend was better than sitting at a desk staring at monitors of people. The guard looked over to his partner and jerked his thumb towards the elevators.

"Hey Randy, I'm going to help find her friend. I'll do a check on some of the floors and radio in. Be back in a few. And make sure that Calvin gets the log book."

Randy, the other security guard- looked up from one of the monitors and nodded.

"Yeah, ok. But make sure that you come straight back to the desk, Mike. Last time you went off on one of those little 'missions' of yours, Gerald had a fit when he came in and saw me here by myself. You can only be in the crapper so many times before he starts realizing that I'm lying."

Mike nodded and a smile appeared. He looked at Alyson and made a 'he's crazy' gesture towards Randy. Alyson smiled politely, then looked away from the desk towards the elevators. Mike adjusted his belt and turned the volume on his radio back up to full power. He looked over at Alyson again and made a dramatic gesture towards the row of elevator doors.

Alright then, miss. We're ready to go find your friend. After you, please."

Alyson nodded her head and walked past Mike, who watched her as she passed. He took a very discreet glance at her waist and her thighs, and let out a low whistle.

"Jeez, she's hot." He murmured to himself.

With that, he straightened his tie and followed Alyson towards the elevators. Behind the desk, Randy smiled and pulled out his paperback book again. At 32, he'd been married for five years. There was no need for him to be all frisky anymore. But still, Mike was younger. He needed a good workout. Besides, it wasn't everyday that a nice looking woman came into the lobby playing damsel in distress, and Mike could take care of himself.

Randy chuckled to himself, opened his book and went back to reading.