Carnal Magnetism

Chapter One

The clock on the wall ticked almost too slowly, tempting her to look at it but she refused, blowing her bangs out of her blue eyes. She was determined to stay at work until she finished the report staring back at her from the too bright computer perched on her desk. Selene Fogarty was a force to be reckoned with when it came to self control.

Failure, embarrassment, and awkwardness were looming forces over both her work and home life. The thought of being in a situation that led to any of those three things sent her into a panicked state.

Her anxiety was crippling to a point where she didn't feel comfortable with herself, down to the very core. Her feelings, her thoughts, her body.

So, she tried to keep everything inside, only revealing the bits and pieces of herself that wasn't scared to let free. Her sheer will had bloomed and blossomed with years of practice at keeping her flaws contained.

"Just a little longer then I can go home and relax with a hot bath... Maybe a good book," she thought to herself, a soft smile gracing her lips and that was the last boost of encouragement she needed.

Continuing to type away at warp speed, but not quite as fast as her skilled fingers could go as to not make any unnecessary errors, she was sucked into a trance as seconds turned into minutes which turned into an hour before she even felt like she blinked.

Her neat, minimalistic, corner office had dimmed with the waning of the sun and it didn't even phase her. Her consciousness afloat deep in her mind; a place she thought of as space, somewhere she existed in half the time.

Selene had worked exhaustively for the last two years; starting as an intern, to get herself in the haughty management position she now held. She had used her intelligence, little tricks like relaxing her typing to save time, and her love of caffeine to all but annihilate the other interns looking to climb the proverbial ladder.

The focused woman let out small sigh as she typed out her name, giving the report a quick once over before hitting send. Selene stretched, letting her arms raise above her head, feeling almost as if she had just woken up from a long nap. She shook her head, sending her collarbone length brunette hair once tied up loosely with a scrunchie, flailing to hang haphazardly around her shoulders.

Finally back to reality, she smiled at a task completed and a job well done. She always felt better when she knew without a doubt she was doing what she needed to do, when she needed to do it, and how it was supposed to be done.

Pushing her big black rimmed glasses up on her nose she nearly jumped right out of her chair as her phone rang. The obnoxious ringtone belonged to her roommate, one of her best friends, and the mother of their tight-knit three person group, Louisa.

"Ugh, how long has it been since I looked at my phone?" Selene asked herself quickly, remembering that she hadn't so much as thought about her phone since enthusiastically guzzle down that pastrami sub earlier.

Selene let out a panicked little squeak, looking out her window at the darkness, and then over at the traitorous clock on the wall with wide eyes before lunging to answer the phone.

"Louisa!" She grimaced, scolding herself for sounding too enthusiastic and out of breath.

"Mi Cielito," Louisa's thick Spanish accent drawled out, laced with a mix of sugar and spice, "You haven't replied to our messages since lunch, get your culo home!"

"Yeah, Fancy! Don't keep your Scene Queen waiting!" their third musketeer's voice could be heard booming through her phone in a sing-song tone, sounding dreadfully impatient.