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Recently, a squadron of Giant Kindred had re-established contact with the main group and a number of them had moved to the Mother Ship. Commander Torus was one of those—his slate-grey skin and enormous height made him an extremely intimidating figure.
But he was also a very good boss, Molly thought. He never shouted or raised his voice or tried to belittle any of the workers that were under him. His chiseled features and silver-grey eyes were always calm and impartial—he might even be called stoic, she supposed.
Most of the girls in their department seemed to think his impassive demeanor made their huge boss unapproachable. They whispered about how “scary” he was. A few of the single ones, however, had taken his glacial calm as a challenge. Karen Geners, for instance, had been throwing herself at him at every opportunity for weeks.
Karen was a slinky blonde with a Barbie-doll shape who had gotten her job at the Mother Ship through a friend who was already mated to one of the huge warriors. She was always wearing low cut blouses and tight skirts and making excuses to drop something in front of their boss so she could bend down and pick it up while her boobs practically fell out of her top.
So far, however, her efforts seemed to be in vain. Commander Torus paid exactly as much attention to her as he did to everyone else working under him. He never gave any of the women working for him in the Mother Ship Information Department special attention. Though once or twice Molly had felt like someone was watching her and had turned around to see him staring in her direction.
But as soon as she looked, it seemed her boss was concentrating on something or someone else, right over her shoulder. Or else he would just look away entirely. So she was certain she must be mistaken about him staring at her. After all, why would he look at a pasty, freckled redhead like her with way too much junk in the trunk when he could have perfect Barbie-doll Karen Geners any time he wanted?
Molly thought she had an okay face—she had big hazel eyes with long lashes and a cute nose. Her long, flame-red hair was probably her best feature. It fell in thick waves almost to her waist when she let it down—which she seldom did, preferring to keep it in a bun at the back of her neck. But there was no denying she was curvy verging on plus sized and not many guys liked that. Especially when all that extra weight was covered in freckles.
Because Molly had freckles everywhere—not just a cute smattering across her nose. She had them all over her face and all over her body—she even had freckles on her armpits and between her toes! Not many guys were freckle-freaks and chubby-chasers at the same time.
Zach said he liked the way you looked, whispered a little voice in her head. Until he suddenly didn’t anymore. When he?—
Molly shut that thought down in a hurry. Now that she was finally free of her ex and his influence, she was making an effort to capture every negative thought she had and replace it with a positive one. She had a whole new life here, free of Zach. She needed to start thinking on the bright side.
There’s nothing I can do about my freckles but now that I’m not stress eating all the time, maybe I can finally lose some weight, she thought, trying to stay positive. She’d been trying to lose weight all her life with varying degrees of success. She wasn’t really unhealthy—well, unless you consulted those awful body mass index charts—but she was certainly too big to be attractive to most men.
There you go, thinking negative again, she scolded herself. Who cares what men think of you? You need to learn to love yourself, Molly. You used to be happy with who you were—remember? Before Zach? Now look at you—you have a great new job and wonderful new friends like Lana.
True, she wasn’t working in her chosen profession—she’d been a first-grade teacher and had loved every minute of it down on Earth. Well, until Zach had?—
Nope! Not going to think about that! she told herself. The main thing was, she liked her new job just fine. Answering calls from people on Earth who had questions about the Kindred and the Mother Ship wasn’t too bad and the benefits were great.
Occasionally she got an angry or abusive caller, but Commander Torus always handled those calls personally and when he was finished with the caller on the other end, they were much more respectful. He always said that he wouldn’t tolerate anyone abusing the women who worked under him—not even verbally.
It was nice having such a protective boss, Molly thought. He?—
“Uh-oh—here he comes now!” Lana hissed, breaking her train of thought.
“What? Who?” Molly looked around.
“Commander Torus of course!” Lana winked at her and hurried back to her desk, which was in the cubical across from Molly’s.
Sure enough, a moment later Commander Torus’s tall, muscular figure came into view. He was so tall that his head nearly brushed the ceiling and his shoulders were so broad he had to turn sideways to go through doors. He was wearing the standard Kindred uniform—tight black trousers and tall black boots that came up to his knees. He also had on a dark blue, long-sleeved button-down shirt that looked amazing against his slate-gray skin tones.
Molly’s ex had loved WrestleMania. Zach had dragged her to several live matches and Molly had always been struck by the sheer size of the professional wrestlers. They were huge.
But any one of them would have looked like a little person next to Commander Torus. The top of Molly’s head only reached his elbow—she always felt like a little kid around him. Not just because of his size, but because of his stern, no-nonsense attitude. Her huge boss never cracked a smile—not even when Lana tried to joke with him. And Lana could get a smile out of almost anyone.
The Giant Kindred was walking quickly through the rows of cubicles and staring straight ahead, so Molly felt free to study him for a moment. He had longish, thick black hair which he wore loose around his shoulders and his silver-gray eyes looked distant, as though he was thinking of something far away. For just a moment they flicked in Molly’s direction and for a split-second, she felt like her boss was staring into her soul.
Blushing, she looked down at her hands which were clasped in her lap.
Don’t be silly—it’s just your imagination. He wasn’t really looking at you. He barely knows you’re here! she told herself.
Commander Torus was just about to head into his office, at the end of the row of cubicles, when a high feminine voice said,
“Oh Commander, thank goodness you’re here!”
Lana leaned over and caught Molly’s eye.
“Uh-oh—here comes the show!” she whispered.
Molly rolled her eyes and they both watched as Karen Geners came strutting down the aisle between the cubicles in heels that would have made a stripper proud. Her bright pink pencil skirt was so tight it was easy to see her perfectly toned ass cheeks working against each other and the white silk blouse she wore was unbuttoned down to the third button, showing a generous amount of perky cleavage.
