Ch-12 ★Men in striped shirts

[Aulaura]

Innovation Headquarters, London

The wind was nice and gentle, carrying coolness of the incoming rainstorm. I held my floral umbrella upright with my duffel bag slung across my shoulder. The rain fell on my umbrella gently as small platter sounds echoed through the cloudy afternoon air.

 I walked through the well-trimmed and well-maintained lawn of the Innovation’s main-office. The entrance to the Innovation Headquarters was grand. It showed the success and powers my father’s company held.

There were white, erected pillars holding the silver dome together. A blue, sign on which Innovation had been written was sticking out through the silver dome. I narrowed my eyes to read the caption under it ‘Inspiring the new generations of engineers’.

I know there are probably a million other people dying to work under the Innovation. I should feel lucky to be the daughter of the owner. I shoulder be grateful for having a brilliant father. I’m always told that there are millions others who are willing to take my place. I know there are millions other who desire to have what I have but still I can’t respect all of this.

Only a man who is hunger for this can respect it. A man who is powerless can truly respect power. A man who is starving will cherish food. A man who is poor will value money.

All of this was given to me. I didn’t ask for it. Maybe if I had to earn this position as the future CEO I would have respected it but I didn’t earn any of this. It was thrown in my face by saying that it was my destiny.

My soul was hunger for dance not this vain position of the CEO. Why is that we human’s want things that aren’t given to us? Why do we want attain things that we can never have? Why do we desire thing opposite to our set destiny or lives?

I stepped inside the company through the automatic, double doors as the warm, air conditioned air caressed my face. I closed my umbrella, hooking my hand with its handle.

The interiors of the company always managed to steal my breath as if it were first time seeing it. It was magnificent. There was a white, steal reception area beside it there were white couches with blue, grey cushions. The hall was majestic.  You could see a light, yellow design falling on the marbled floors from the silver dome.

There were two exits one which led to the fourteen elevators of the branch and other led to the triple, spiral staircase. The walls were white, adorned with various medals and awards the company had won. No-wonder my father walked around with a big ego.

The reception area was bustling with activity. There were four receptionists. All four of them were wearing the company’s uniform which was a white shirt and blue pencil skirt.

The receptionist on the right end sat behind the counter attending a group of four freshers (new engineers) while the other three were attending the college students who were visiting the company.

It was Friday which meant training time for the future CEO. My father thought it would be a good idea for me to learn the ropes of the business. Right after the college lecture were over, I was supposed to report to Mrs. Cummings’, the head of the marketing department. She was nice, old women with a strict demeanor and low temper. It was so easy to get on her bad nerve.

 All you had to do was disagree with her. She hated it when anyone told her she was wrong or she needed to change her ways. So basically all I did when I was around her was repeatedly say ‘Yes of course, Mrs. Cummings,’ or ‘You’re absolutely right Mrs. Cummings,’ and she would be my happy, chirpy mentor.

I walked past the reception towards the elevator hall. I heard some of the college student’s mummer things among themselves. They looked at me with awed gazes.

“Isn’t she Aulaura Grey” One of them whispered loud enough for me to hear.

“Yah, she looks so different in person,”

“Can we say hello to her?” one of the boy’s whispered.

I turned around and gave them a small wave. “I hope you guys enjoy it here,”

All of them looked at me with stunned expressions. I didn’t wait for them to reply before walking towards the elevators. I could feel their stares. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy attention but I didn’t like attention when I was minding my own business. If I were dancing, I’d want all eyes on me but not right now.

I pressed the button of the first elevator that came into my sight. The steel door opened up with a ding sound. I quickly stepped in pressing the number four. The entire fourth floor was dedicated to the marketing department.

~*~*~
I walked through the large, spacious hall with brown carpets. Few people passed by. Some of them greeted me. Men and women wearing tight shirts were walking across the hall. I felt a bit out of place in my red sweatshirt and faded jeans.

I stopped in front of a glass door. At the top of the door there was a black, granite plaque. The Marketing Head, Caroline Cummings was written in golden across the plaque.

Aiden stepped out of Mrs. Cumming’s office. He was wearing a red tie with a black shirt. His black hair had been combed to one side while thick-framed glassed lay on the bridge on his crooked nose. He looked dashing as usual.

When he caught the sight of me, his face lighted up into a blinding smile putting the suns light to shame. Aiden is Mrs. Cumming’s assistant and my office buddy. We sort of had a love-hate relationship. That is because on my first day of office I had spilled a hot cup of tomato soup on his spotless white shirt and we had gotten into a heated fight (which involved me messing up his hair and tie and him spilling the rest of the soup on my head, yah we didn’t behave our age but he should have known better, he’s a twenty-six year old after all).

 That fight had almost gotten Aiden fired and I got a long-lecture from my father on CEO appropriate behavior. I don’t think I wanted to hear one of my father’s bore some lectures ever again. I was about to chop my ears off by the end of the lecture, the torture!

“Mrs. Cumming has been waiting for you. You’re late again,” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking annoyingly smug.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was lying as usual just to get me riled up. “I’m on time cuzz I’m not a lazy bum like you,”

“My bum is not lazy actually it’s quite fine has girls lining up my doors,”  He pointed  a finger towards his butt.

“Gross,” I cringed. “What do girls see in a nerd like you?”

He feigned hurt, placing a hand on his chest. “How can you resist Aiden’s charm? How can a girl resist my charm?” He motioned towards his body. “Do you see this? This is perfection,”

“Because I have a freakin brain,”

He tapped his chin with a finger. “Are sure you about that?

“As sure as I am about you not having one,”

“Well, if I didn’t have a brain then there is no way I could be working in this company,” He shot back, a haughty smirk covering his lips.

“That just proves you’re a nerd,”

“But you just said that I didn’t have brain-“he wagged his eyebrows up and down.

Ah He’s going to win this argument like usual.  “Cut it out Aiden. I’ve had enough of your drama,” I held up my hands in defeat.

“Okay, fine,” He grinned. “Anyways did you miss your boyfriend?”

I knew where he was heading. He was trying to annoy me to the limits.

“Who’s my boyfriend?” I pretended to be innocent, messing with the strand of my duffel bag.

“Me, of course” He shrugged as if he was talking about nothing other than the weather.

“You’re not my boyfriend, “I retorted, rolling my eyes.  

He gasped, his eyes widening out of their sockets. “I thought you got over your denial phase,”

I laughed at the comical expression he was giving me. He mouth was slightly ajar. If we were comic cartoons I’m sure his jaw would be hitting the ground.  “Give it up already. I’m never dating you,” He looked slightly offended.

“How can I give up on my love?” A serious expression on his face crossed his face. His grey eyes were transfixed on me. I thought he was joking like usual. I felt slightly uneasy. I never looked at Aiden in that manner.

Suddenly he burst into fits of laughter. “I was kidding. Gosh your face was it looked you need to pee,”

 I felt so relieved. I let out a sigh. “You had me for a moment,” I slapped his arm.

“Oh come on, you know how I am,” He smiled. “Now go before Mrs. Cummings reports to your father that you’re late,”

I smiled back, giving him a side hug. “Okay, see you later,”

I stepped inside Mrs. Cumming’s cabin. She was sitting behind a large, sleek wooden table. Her brown hair with streaks of white were tied in a high, sophisticated bun. There was a pen stuck behind her ear. She tapped her nails against the keyboard while occasionally looking at the file lying beside her laptop.

I knocked on the open glass door. Mrs. Cumming lifted her head to look at me. She smiled politely in my direction.

“Aulaura, Come in, take a seat,” she motioned towards the empty chair in front of her. “I have a special assignment for you,”

I took a seat in the cushioned chair. I was already dreading what she meant by ‘special assignment’

It either was going to be something that required my full, undivided attention or it was going to some very important task which I’ll probably mess up then I’ll be subjected to more work in order to fix the mess. In the end, I’ll become a drugged monkey, who won’t be able to open her eyes in the morning because she’s so freakin tired.

“Great,” I muttered under my breath.

Mrs. Cummings leaned forward in her desk. “I want to you to supervise the commercial-shoot for our new product the lighting 4.0,”

 “I don’t know a thing about commercial shoots,”

She waved her hand. “You’re going to be doing nothing just supervising. Just make sure the agency we’ve hired for the commercial are doing their job,”

“Oh okay,” Hopefully I won’t mess up this.

She took a post-it note and scribbled something across it with her pen. “Here’s the address, now off you go,”

Taking the slip from her hand, I read the address she had written down.

Bulkers Factory’s, North 89 Street, Avenue Park, London

“Wait isn’t that the abandoned biscuit factory,” I asked, looking up from the note.

“Yes, it is,” Why would they shoot a commercial in a place like that?

“But that place is a junkyard,”

Mrs. Cumming’s shrugged her shoulders, turning her attention back to the files. “Don’t ask me about that. I don’t have a clue about the commercial,”

~*~*~*~

The driver had dropped me off outside the Bulker’s Factory. I asked him to stay but he had said that he had to pick up mum from the airport because my mother’s driver was on a holiday.

I stood outside the wired gates of the abandoned factory. Even in broad daylight, the factory looked spooky as ever. An eerie silence surrounded me. Torn posters and smashed boards surrounded the factory premises. The factory building itself was broken and crumbling.  

Brick walls were torn apart and gravel was scattered around it. The walls were covered with green, slimy mold. The broken, glass panes gleamed in the sunlight.

The roof was slightly slanted with wooden chips falling off by the incoming wind. Was this building even structurally safe for shooting a commercial?

 I pushed the wired gate; it opened up with a loud creaking sound causing all the birds sitting on the bare, electricity wires to fly away.

The ground was uneven. I was having a hard time walking on it. There was a rusty, red door in-front of me. I walked past it, stepping inside.  

There was barely any light inside the factory, the only source of light being the broken panes and holes in the high roof. I couldn’t make out anything. It smelled like rotten eggs inside the factory. There wasn’t a single soul visible. Where is the commercial shoot?

“Hello, anyone here?” I shouted. My voice echoed through the factory, chilling my spine.

No Answer.

I don’t think there was a commercial shoot here. Maybe Mrs. Cummings gave me the wrong address or something. Maybe she got the wrong address. There was definitely some sort of mistake here.

This factory was giving me the creeps. I need to get out of here. Who knows what could be lurking in the darks shadows? I’ve heard this factory is haunted. I don’t want to interact with a ghost.

I’ll call Mrs. Cumming’s once I get out of here.

I turned around, facing the red door. I could see a piece of light coming in through the door. Suddenly the piece of light disappeared, suspending the entire building in darkness. I felt a shiver escape my body. My heart beats were erratic. I could literally feel the pulse sticking out of my veins.

Please, no ghosts. I hope the ghost won’t hurt me.  

Wait, There is no such thing as ghost. I chanted that line inside my head. There is no such thing as ghost. I heard a shattering noise. Holy shit, ghosts are real.

 Forgetting everything, I rushed towards the door.

In an instant I was pulled back, my duffel bag was snatched from shoulder and a strong, human hand was clasped on my mouth. I was terrified of out of my wits. I tried thrashing, moving away from the person holding me.

I felt bile rise up my throat. My stomachs churned in a painful manner. I could feel my hands tremble terribly. This isn’t good.

“Gotcha ya,” the voice was deep and manly. “Now a be good girl and don’t try to escape,”

The building was fled with light. Someone had turned on the lights. There was a group of three men surrounding me. They were wearing formals clothes, blue –striped shirts and black pants. Wait, that was the Innovation’s office uniform for freshers.  A man with blond hair and black shades was holding my duffel bag was smiling at me with a wicked smile.  Another man with red, curly hair sneered at me.

The man holding me tightened his grasp on my mouth. 

Then it clicked. It wasn’t an accident that I had gotten the wrong address. All of this was a trap and I had foolishly walked into it.

Note: I know, I know. This was a bit of a boring chapter. Cliff hanger? Yes. I know cliff hangers are annoying. : ( btw I love Aiden and you’ll find out soon why I love him the way I doooo.

There isn’t much I have to say.

 Oh baby oh baby please comment, vote, and fan and I’ll love you for foreva

Under Control-Ellie Goulding suits the creepy feeling of the fac-factory.

Keep on dreaming,

Tak