Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
~Harlow~
It seems like the following week flies by in a blur. All four of the asshole Alpha-gang keep dumping ridiculous tasks on my shoulders, but the one I’m stuck on now is definitely the icing on the goddamn cake.
“Here is the key you can use to lock up when you leave. The delivery will be at the loading docks behind the building,” Rhen says with a chuckle as he passes me the key. This is so unfair! I have to stay behind for an hour after the workday ends.
I watch him leave with the others before I make my way down to said loading docks.
The place looks like what one would expect to find—down here, it’s a dimly lit area, but I still manage to find a few staff areas, a cleaning supplies closet, and some kind of storage area packed with packs of printer paper of various sizes and broken computer parts.
This week, the four men have done everything and sought any—even the stupidest—reason to fire me.
Too bad for them, because they’ve actually taught me a valuable lesson about myself—I’m damn amazing at working under pressure, and each time I complete one of their ridiculous tasks successfully, I swear, Thane looks like he is about to blow up or murder me.
Ah, the sweet, silent taste of little victories.
As I wait by the loading dock, I glance at the key in my hand and the security password. I’m back to sleeping in the plaza stairwell, and the last few nights I had barely any sleep. I have also reached a dangerously low amount of my suppressants, which only makes matters worse.
I dread running out of them because Thane and Raidon have me running ragged all day long; I’m too tired to even walk to the strip club and beg Tal for some work.
Oddly enough, Leon was AWOL today and yesterday. The rest of them are tense and acting out of character, making me wonder what is going on with the fourth asshole.
Nevertheless, this is not the time for me to dwell on something that is not even remotely related to the task at hand nor any of my business. So instead, I watch the time tick by and grow annoyingly impatient. Where the hell is this delivery person?
My eyes are once again drawn to my phone as I glance at the time.
I have fifteen minutes until the delivery arrives.
Honestly, I still don’t understand why Thane didn’t let me leave work and return around the time I am supposed to pick up his delivery.
And what really confuses me is why he couldn’t get it delivered to his packhouse if he needed it there, not at the office.
A chuckle leaves my lips as I shake my head at the silly thoughts.
Of course, I know why Thane is doing this.
He wants to break me and have a reason to fire me or push me out of the company by driving me to quit.
I guess that’s the reason why he and the rest of the assholes have been doing nothing but killing me with one impossible task after another for the past week.
God, do I hate them. I hate them with passion.
My eyes dart in the direction of the storage locker behind me.
I have a master key to the building. For a brief moment, I contemplate skipping across the street to the smoke store where I know they have a key cutter.
I pass by the building so many times that it’s impossible to miss the sign.
Besides, the store is only open for a few more minutes, so technically, I have enough time to run there and back before the delivery person arrives.
In spite of my better judgment, I succumb to the temptation as I chew on my bottom lip. At least it sounds a little better than spending my nights on the stairwell at the plaza.
Taking the risk before I can hesitate or overthink, I run across the road, and my stomach instantly drops when the man behind the counter announces that cutting a copy of the key would cost me fifteen dollars.
I hand him the money and the key, cursing to myself as now I’m left with twenty-five dollars to cover food and other necessary items.
I tell the man I will return to pick up the key once it’s done and rush back to work to wait by the loading dock.
I tap my foot against the concrete impatiently when I notice a smoke store worker pull the roller shutters down; I shriek and rush back across the road.
I wave my hands at the man from the smoke store, only to see the delivery van pull into the loading docks. Fuck, damn it, shit!
“The key!” I extend my palm toward him as I ask the vampire who works there to return what I paid for, along with the original.
Leaving such an important key in the hands of someone as shady as this guy is absolutely not an option for me.
My career, and probably my life, would be at stake if I make a mistake like that.
As the man groans, he pushes up the roller shutter and darts inside, cursing and groaning.
A few minutes later, he comes out again and hands me an envelope with both keys inside.
When I see the delivery driver get out of the vehicle, I gush a quick, “Thank you!” and I sprint back to the loading docks as a woman steps out of the delivery van.