Silver

The white Fiat 500 sped down the street, ignoring the speed limit and accumulating speeding tickets at a death-defying rate! The thrilling tring tring filled the car and she rapidly swiped the answer button. “I’m on my way,” Selene stated frantically then slammed the breaks at the red light. She let out a strained breath, tapping her thumb on the steering wheel. She banged her head into the wheel then let out a shaky breath. “Ohmygod,” she breathed. “Is everything okay that side? Please say ‘yes’!”

“Yes,” Cassandra replied calmly. No doubt Cassandra was sitting unnaturally still and waiting for her. The light went green and Selene sped across the intersection before any of the cars around her. “I’d drive faster if I were you. Things aren’t looking good.”

Selene sighed before she took a sharp right into the building’s parking area. Haphazardly she rushed into an open parking space and grabbed the cardboard cup holder, the brown paper bag and her handbag. Her black stilettos echoed across the underground parking while she ran towards the elevator.

Before the doors were fully closed, she locked her car and breathed a small sigh of relief. Impatiently she tapped her black stiletto against the ground as the elevator ascended. She watched the LED lights flicker with each passing floor. Today of all days the elevator was unusually slower than usual. The building suddenly had more floors.

The doors parted a few people filled in; all set with their morning coffees and already working on their phones or tablets. Selene moaned softly to herself while still tapping her foot impatiently. When the doors opened again, only one man got out. She turned to the panel; two more floors! What was a minute felt like an eternity! She bolted through the mechanical doors, sprinting through the corridor.

At the frosted glass doors, Selene cursed under her breath while singlehandedly rummaging through her bag for her ID card to swipe across the scanner. Relief was awash when she saw Cassandra just sitting at her desk, resting her head on her hand; probably doing her daily Instagram check-in.

Selene puffed her cheeks then modelled straight into the kitchen; Alixandre wasn’t there yet! She unsheathed the pocket mirror Corinne bought her for her birthday some years ago to straighten out her hair. Nodding to herself, she began setting up the huge breakfast muffin and the bagel onto stark white plates.

Inhaling sharply Selene made for the assistant’s desk to set the bagel before her as well as a tall coffee before her. Cassandra’s dark blue eyes looked up at Selene accusingly and she raised a stiff eyebrow. “Butterscotch cappuccino with vanilla, caramel, full fat milk and three brown sugars,” she stated.

“Hm,” was all Cassandra said. Selene bit her lower lip then shook off the thought of a ‘thank you’. She turned back to the kitchen, finally taking in the white torture inspired reception. “You’re much more reliable than the other one,” Cassandra added squarely and Selene bit back her squeal.

Cassandra’s sweet tooth was the only sweet thing about her; that was probably why out of all Alixandre’s assistants, she lasted the longest. Selene exhaled her relief then went to set the grande Americano on Alixandre’s glass desk. The view of Montpellier there was unrivalled! Even in the central business district, the gothic architecture and conical towers beautifully merged into the skyscrapers and tram tracks.

Alixandre knew what he was doing when he moved Click Chat’s office into its current building! Even with the beach barely visible in the back, the sweeping view was breathtaking! What was more breathtaking was seeing a pair of playful glassy eyes that made Selene’s gasp hitch in her throat. There, in the doorway, stood Alixandre Isolde. The founder and CEO of Click Chat.

The rumours were true; out of everything there was to see about Alixandre Isolde, the most eye-catching was his eyes. A light - almost transparent - grey that looked as if they glowed. Not grey, then. Silver. Complimented with dusty brown hair and eyebrows. One of which was still arched at her.

Selene set the bagel in front of his keyboard then hurried out of his office, avoiding his silvery eyes. He wordlessly shut the glass door behind her, but the remnants of a soft chuckle followed her out. Selene exhaled heavily then set her latte beside her keyboard, along with her triple chocolate breakfast muffin.

Click Chat is an edtech company which produces language-learning and provides language certification. Selene is one of the paid interns who were all vying for their own podcast on the app’s podcast site. On its main app users can practice vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation using spaced repetition.

Apart from listening exercises, flashcards and multiple-choice questions - which drilled in new words and phrases - the service had a community feature that allowed for connecting with other people learning the same language. The Click Chat podcasts were just one of those interactive features that coincidentally made a lot of money for the hosts.

Click Chat offered podcasts for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels in association with Pod Media. Though dominated by native speakers all over the world, one of the best and efficient ways of getting a Click Chat podcast was through the paid internship program. Paid internships offer students a way to gain relevant knowledge and the skills required to succeed in a specific career field while making some money over the course of the internship.

Not here! Not entirely. Click Chat’s interns got an all-access pass into every inch of the company’s day-to-day running. They rotated through the different areas of work on a weekly basis; from hosting a podcast and content creating all the way to finance and assisting the CEO, himself. If not taken seriously enough, the internship makes one’s head spin.

Selene blinked away her podcast daydreaming to finish up on the last-minute slideshow she stayed up all night on. Hence why she overslept and almost caused a hit-and-run, along with a few vehicular accidents. At 21:30, Cassandra gets a hold of Selene to tell her that the slideshow Jacqueline Chasseur - a fellow intern - was supposed to do was handed to her because of their rotation.

She took long sips of her latte while uploading the slide from her USB. Overall, there was nothing daunting about Selene’s first morning as the CEO’s secondary assistant. All she had to do was take calls; reply to emails; book meetings; and there was that one call to his barber to set up his next appointment.

During her lunch break, Selene found herself with a small group of friends she made during their internship. Jules Dupont and Clotilde Mercier. Clotilde was sitting with her homemade blueberry jam sandwiches discarded for Jules’ macaroni and cheese. They both froze when Selene gracefully slid into the seat in front of them.

“You look surprisingly collected,” Clotilde pointed out. “I take it your presentation was a hit?”

“We’ll find out later,” Selene sighed then began with her naan and lentil curry. “Thanks for all your help, Jules.”

He merely gave her a two-finger salute while scrolling through his phone. “Cassandra,” he asked, and Clotilde leaned towards her eagerly.

“I swear her parents were an iceberg and a serial killer.” Clotilde burst out laughing, covering her mouth. “She’s terrifying! We didn’t talk at all, but it was like she was strangling me with her mind. Wait until you’re on rotation with her!”

“Well, I’ll be taking diligent notes from you two, so I know what not to do,” she laughed.

“Word of advice,” Jules began. “Get back, like, ten minutes before your break ends. Trust me, don’t be fooled because people call her ‘Silent but Deadly’ behind her back. That woman can scream!”

“What about Bruce Wayne? What’s he like?”

“He had meetings for most of the morning and he’s at a lunch date so...” Selene replied. “Although, there was this awkward moment when I was in his office for coffee delivery. Nothing happened but I didn’t hear him come in; I didn’t feel him watching me. It was as if he just condensed out of nowhere. It was weird.”

“You see his eyes?”

“Don’t get me started.”

Clotilde looked between them expectantly. “What about his eyes?”

Jules and Selene only looked at each other and smirked before returning to their lunch. Clotilde huffed then looked away from them. Jules chuckled then took a gulp of his water. Selene shifted uncomfortably then looked at the time on her phone she still had time, but something egged her to leave.

Politely she excused herself and blindly followed her gut back to the top floor. She hung her black jacket over her arm, revealing the snow-white dress she wore underneath that matched her pleather handbag. The elevator was empty and yet the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. For whatever reason she looked around, Selene wasn’t satisfied she was alone.

When the doors dinged, she all but leaped out of the contraption. She hummed her disdain while returning to her desk. The reflective white tiles below her black shoes were pristine and polished like the white walls. Even the black leather seats had sparkle to them. Cassandra was still at her desk; there always had to be an assistant to take calls.

Hearing the scanner beep its allowance of Selene, Cassandra leaped to her feet and modelled out. Not at all bothered or considering the reason Selene was back so soon. Still, Selene set her jacket on the back of the chair and settled into her seat. Absentmindedly she began typing random thoughts into the search bar.

From why do I feel like I’m being watched to ice cream bars near me. A few random questions later, she typed in Mercredi. The town her mother and sister absconded to after the messiest divorce known to man! Marc and Virginie Corbin weren’t meant to be. Whether it was Virginie’s late nights or recreational-gone-wrong drinking or Marc’s affair with his now wife, Corinne... they simply weren’t destined to be together.

Virginie and Félix - Selene’s younger sister - had lived there just under a year now. Life before that was just as perplexing; legally married parents that can’t look at each other, much less have civil conversation! The only time they managed to talk calmly was when their lawyers were there and if they were discussing legal guardianship for Félix.

Félix resented every cellular part of Marc and Corinne too. They still lived in Montpellier since Selene was finishing high school, but Selene had since moved out. Thinking over it now, the last Selene saw her parents genuinely happy was when they adopted her and Félix. This barren couple that walks into a playroom and their faces just lit up at the sight of two Asian sisters playing with broken Barbie dolls.

Selene remembered taking a while to warm up to them; still reeling from her father just giving them away. Félix was too young to remember him and that was the only thing Selene appreciated about that life. Her sister didn’t have those scars. Felix’s scars though, would come from this unassuming town.

Mercredi, despite being easily overlooked on most maps, had everything one would expect to find in a town like that. Office buildings; hospitals; shops; hotels; the park; schools; and of course, wild animals! Simply typing in the town’s name and the very first result is Bizarre Animal Attacks around Mercredi. Victims now include...

She was about to click on it to read on when she felt the need to just look behind her. Sure enough, Alixandre stood there with a raised eyebrow above his silver eyes. Selene cleared her throat and pursed her lips fearfully. “You are not stalking me, are you,” he asked jokingly.

“S-stalking, sir?”

“Mercredi, I mean,” Alixandre replied as he straightened up. “That is where I am from.”

“Oh. No, no. My mother and sister live there.”

Alixandre hummed then leisurely retreated to his office. “I never caught your name,” he stated then abruptly stopped to face the Chinese face. “Your name is...?”

“Selene, sir. Selene Yi-Corbin.”

His silver eyes went wide, and a playful smile spread across his face. “Selene? Like the moon?” Before she could elicit a nod, he cut in, “come inside, Selene Yi-Corbin,” he called and held his office door open for her. Wide eyed she found herself obeying him. Awkwardly she shuffled inside. “I do this with all the interns,” he stated then opened his filing cupboard.

Selene’s eyes went wide from its contents. Rows and rows of leather-bound books at the top and all sorts of objects in the shelves below. Daggers, swords, vases in elaborate shapes, a makeup kit even jewellery! Spellbound she just breathed in the odd collection. There was nothing unifying about the items. As if they were just randomly taken and put into the same space.

Alixandre mutely gestured her to his collection of oddities. A white antique fan with pink blossoms on it. She jumped back from the taxidermised mouse. There was a white urn with a Chinese dragon on it. By the looks of the dusty fingerprints on it, the urn was occupied. A few carefully rolled scrolls and some elaborate masks. The type for a glamourous masquerade or a lively parade. There was even a bright yellow umbrella.

“No need to be bashful, Selene, pick one,” Alixandre egged on. Jules never mentioned anything about this strange tradition! The skepticism must have registered on her face because Alixandre left out a hummed laugh. “It is a gift. I guarantee.”

She swallowed hard then scanned over the items again. Selene bit her lower lip before looking passed the umbrella at the black box behind it. Carefully she took it out. Inside was a bracelet of sorts. Thick white rope braided together with little steel clasps keeping the braid in place. Selene only hummed while admiring it while Alixandre was already closing the cupboard doors and latching it shut.

The latch’s snap made Selene look up, faintly agasp by his sudden movement. “Would you like me to help you put it on?” She was still processing how he moved so quickly to the cupboard, but Alixandre was already clasping the bracelet on. Still trying to compose her thoughts, Selene’s phone rang. “Go ahead,” Alixandre replied.

“But we’re not supposed to take personal calls while-”

“Who is going to tell?” He let go of her wrist with a bright grin but Selene was still stunned. “Go ahead, answer.”

She forced a grin then hurried into the kitchen. “Selene speaking,” she replied into her phone. “Yes. That’s my mother and sister.” The little colour in her face was drained while Alixandre stepped in to spectate. “What,” Selene bellowed fearfully. The CEO stopped what he was doing - typing on his phone. “No, no, no! A-are they alright?” She caved to her knees in front of the fridge while tears uncontrollably poured out from her. She sniffled with a nod. “T-thank you.”

Her hand dropped hopelessly into her lap and she stared ahead unfazed by the strange man. “Selene?”

“I-I have to go,” she stated when he knelt. “They were attacked... they’re in hospital... I... my mama... my sister... I-I... I can’t breathe.”

The CEO took her hands in his and squeezed them reassuringly. A menacing grin spread on his chiselled features. “It is okay. I will take you.”