2. Sal
Chapter Two
SAL
I shut the doors to my office and pulled down the shutters on the glass walls to buy myself a small bit of privacy before sinking into the chair behind my desk and letting out a heavy sigh.
I wasn't usually reactive. It had taken too much for me to build a career on this planet and climb up to the position I was in to let minor inconveniences bring me down.
Humans could get annoyed. But I wasn't human.
I had to be better.
But that Clay Reed ... why did his thoughts always have to be so loud ?
Sighing, I tried to push the accountant from my thoughts and turned on my computer.
“ 'You were late too,' ” I mumbled under my breath in a mocking tone. “Yeah, well, I'm the boss. I make my own hours!”
There was a quick knock and then the glass door to my office opened. My receptionist peeked inside, took one look at the cranky look on my face and nearly backed back out again.
“What is it?” I asked tiredly.
“I have some forms for you to sign,” she said uneasily.
“Well bring them in then. Don't just stand there.”
She came in like I had a gun pointed at her and shifted from foot to foot while I looked over the papers I'd been expecting before signing them and handing them back.
“I'll fax them straight over,” she said and practically ran.
I shook my head, watching the blinds shake back and forth from the force of her shutting the door too fast.
This wasn't going to work.
Cara was young, but she had plenty of experience. She had seemed like the best candidate but since hiring her just over a month ago, she'd yet to get used to my appearance. According to my business partner Bill, she was scared of me. Many people were. It wasn't my fault that we Kreots happened to resemble what humans had designed as the devil's look. I had horns, a spiked tail, forked tongue. Luckily, I didn't have hooves or people would run screaming. You'd think being green would be enough of a reminder that I was just a run of the mill alien, but no, put me in a business suit and that made it even worse.
With another heavy sigh, I went back to work.
I stayed in my office for the day. There was a lot to do, plenty of phone calls and emails to attend to and burying myself in my work was how I kept myself sane.
I didn't even realize that I was still working past business hours until Bill called at six pm.
“Hey Buddy,” he said in greeting. “Where are you? I'm heading to the Gastown Bistro if you want to join.”
I leaned back in my chair, looking at the time, then the email I was halfway through writing.
“Actually, I'm still at the office, there are a couple more things I have to do?—.”
“Uh oh, I sense a slump coming.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I'm not in a slump.”
“Alright, prove it by leaving work only an hour late and coming out for drinks with your friend.”
Sighing, I shut down my computer.
“I'll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Great. See ya.”
Bill hung up, leaving me to grudgingly get up to meet him.
He was already sitting at the bar when I arrived, enjoying the hockey game while he finished a pint.
Bill was a big guy and an alien too, but no one really noticed that about him. After all, he was a shapeshifter and for the most part, remained in his human form. You would have to be looking closely to catch the thin silver marks on his temples just by the hairline and they were the only giveaway.
“You're right,” I said in greeting. “I'm in a slump.”
He glanced over, grinning.
“Aha! I knew it!”
He reached over, patting my shoulder.
“What is it this time?” he asked. “You lonely?”
“No, it's not that... okay, maybe a little.”I chuckled. “It's more the fact that I can't seem to get to know anyone because...”
I shrugged.
“You know. The usual.”
Bill grimaced.
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
“Twenty years,” I said.
He already knew. We'd been friends since college. We'd bonded over being the only aliens on the whole campus. It was still rare for Aliens to be on earth long enough to integrate to the degree we had, and Bill was the only one who had gotten me. We were from different planets, but we related. We were both outsiders. Me more than him.
“So, you've been on earth for twenty years. You grew up here. You're practically human.”
I snorted.
“I may not be very different on the inside, but I just can't seem to get past this .” I gesticulated to all of me. “It's the first thing people see and—I don't know. It just feels like no one will ever see past my appearance.”
Bill frowned.
“Come on, Sal,” he said, shaking his head. “I've seen plenty of people throw themselves at you. It's not like you're hard on the eyes.”
“That's not what I mean,” I said.
Even when people were into me, which granted wasn't an uncommon occurrence, there was something unnerving about it. Like I was an object to fulfil a fantasy. Not a person.
There was no way in hell I was going to explain that to him though. All I'd get was a big eyeroll.
He was giving me a look, waiting for more.
“Let's just watch the game,” I sighed.
Bill didn't argue, so for a while, we drank and ate appies and watched hockey.
When we were getting up to leave, Bill paused while pulling on his coat.
“You should make one of those Alien Mates profiles. Try to meet someone.”
I laughed.
“I'm trying to avoid being judged by appearance alone,” I reminded him. “I don't think a dating app will make me feel much better.
“Don't put a picture up,” he suggested. “Just chat with some people, get to know them, it'll probably make you feel better.”
I considered.
“Yeah, you might be right.”
Bill grinned and patted me on the shoulder.
“I'm always right,” he told me, and I shook my head.
“Will you be at the office tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I'll be there. See you in the morning.”
“Bright and early,” I agreed, thinking of Clay despite myself. Tomorrow, I would beat him there.
The next morning, I walked off the elevator ten minutes early, a smug smile on my face as I strolled into our offices, ready to see Clay's empty seat.
But to my surprise, he was already sitting at his cubicle, his face turned toward the screen.
My steps faltered despite myself, and he glanced over, giving me a forced friendly smile equipped with dimples and all.
“Oh, good morning Mr. Kort,” he said, voice dripping with falseness. “What brings you in so early?”
I bit my cheek, attempting to keep a frown at bay.
“Just making sure everyone is on time today,” I said. “Unlike usual.”
His fake smile dimmed, a touch of hostility entering his bright eyes.
“Well, nothing to worry about here.”
'...you sexy bastard.'
There he went again with the loud thoughts.
For a second, I was too shocked to move, then I gave a curt nod and hurried on to my office.
Clay thought I was sexy?
And he was admittedly incredibly cute.
I shook myself fervently, stopping that train of thought before it got going. It took a little longer to calm the heat rushing through my body, probably tinting my skin with a peach blush.
I really was lonely if that was all it took for me to start entertaining highly inappropriate thoughts about my own employee who happened to hate me.
I sat down, determined to make the most of this early morning, but after a few hours gave in to the fact that my head just wasn't in it today.
I pulled out my phone instead and looked at the app for Alien Mates. It looked so cheesy with the pink heart and stereotypical UFO as its logo.
For a while I drummed my fingers on the desk before finally caving and downloading it.
Bill was right. I needed more in my life than work. I could chat with some people, get to know them. It would be nice.
I didn't need it to turn romantic. I would happily get to know aliens or humans.
Feeling less weird about it, I filled in my profile.
Under Searching for : I put friends, male or female, and alien or human.
When it came time for a picture, I turned and snapped a shot of the skyline out the window.
For my profile, I simply wrote. Looking for friends to chat with.
There. Generic but to the point. Hopefully it was only enough to attract those who wanted the same. If they wanted someone to talk to, it was right there in my profile that that was what I was looking for.
With that done, I tucked my phone into my desk and got back to work.