A Charitable Scandal

The Constellation's Tale

"Excellent," he said, rising from his seat and heading for the door, "let's head down to the cafeteria then."

"Oh," I said, my voice a tad shaky as I popped out of my seat, my surprise more linked to the strange feeling of disappointment I felt rather than over the revelation that we'd simply be moving down a few floors to the large eating space. "Okay, then, let me grab my employee card and..."

"Just so you know, that's not where we'll be eating," he said, his words drawing my eyes back to him to find a slight smirk on his lips. "We're just grabbing food, then we'll be heading to a more comfortable and a far quieter location."

"Oh, alright." The disappointment that had rumbled my words earlier was replaced by a swift change of emotions. In it's place, my wild curiosity returned and wondered what exactly my devious subconscious was so intrigued by.

I stewed on my emotions as we made our quick run to the cafeteria to acquire food. However, by the time we were back in the elevator and Alec had selected the second floor from the top for our destination, I had yet to dissect the surge of energy prickling along my skin. And that energy was only amplified by Alec's strange selection for our dinner arrangements. As far as I knew, the floor he chose was reserved for the executives of Quinto Technologies as well as their various administrators and aides. I assumed there would be far more spacious offices with wide open windows available on the executive floor, but not anything worth going out of our way considering it would look all very similar to what we had left.

Alec, however, seemed confident about his compromise. He hummed a little to himself as the numbers ticked away. Despite my best efforts, his sweet tune, the smell of the warm, savory scents wafting up from our dinner, and the image of us standing side by side in the reflection of the elevator doors caused me to smile a delighted grin. One I hoped he couldn't make out from our blurred mirror counterparts in the door.

Once we reached our floor, Alec ushered me out and into the labyrinth of offices. The halls were dark except for the few safety lights that illuminated just enough of the floor to keep it navigable. Alec, however, didn't seem to need the guidance. He stepped around corners without hesitation and swept past doors without giving them a second's notice. Finally, he reached what had to be the farthest end of the floor from the elevators. There, two glass doors awaited us.

"Wow," I said, as Alec held one of the doors open for me and sent me out into the cool night air. "Who knew some place like this existed here?"

Clearly the answer was Alec and everyone on the executive floor, but that didn't quell my shock. Before me stood a wide patio paved with ornamental stones and lined with vibrant fall flowers and tailored bushes. Beyond the intricate cast iron railing was the purpling sky with only a subtle orange glow painting the horizon and illuminating the city. Alec headed over to one of the plush couches that encircled a long table of dark, polished wood. He flicked on a lamp so that a soft halo of light gave us some visibility in the dwindling reach of the falling sun.

"It's intended for executive use," clarified Alec with a satisfied smile, "but most of them have either headed home or out for long dinner meetings. So I figured the floor would be wide open and the patio free for use."

"You're lucky you are high enough to get to use spaces like this," I said with an awe that only propelled me forward in my dream to climb the ranks in the company. "It seems like you know this place pretty well. You must get to enjoy this pampering all the time."

"Mhmm."

That was the only response I got as I placed my dinner and notes down on to the table. I looked up at him from the tops of my eyes, trying to decipher his muteness. However, all I found were thin, hard set lips and a distant gaze that focused somewhere on the city skyline.