Page 27

Once she’s gone, I turn in the opposite direction and start the trek home. I’m a block away from the subway when my phone vibrates with a notification.

UNKNOWN NUMBER

Return to office. Now.

I stop dead in the middle of the sidewalk. Someone bumps into me and mutters something rude in typical New York fashion, but I barely notice.

There’s neither a name nor an explanation.

But I know exactly who it is.

With a sigh, I turn around and start walking back toward Lazarev Tower.

When I step onto the fiftieth floor, I find a stack of files on my desk, hundreds of pages thick. A Post-it note on top says:

Compile, collate, and summarize. Handwritten notes only. Leave on my desk when finished.

— LL

I flip through the first file. It’s a barrage of names, dates, numbers. None of it means anything to me.

I look at the clock. It’s already past nine. I sigh.

Like father, like son.

9

RAE

SECURITY CAMERA LOG - 50th Floor

02:52 AM:R. Everett (asleep at desk)

02:52 AM:L. Lazarev [ENTRY]

02:56 AM:L. Lazarev observing

02:57 AM:L. Lazarev observing

02:58 AM:L. Lazarev observing

02:59 AM:Subject awakened

I lose track of time somewhere around midnight.

I fight it as hard as I can, but when the Sandman comes for you, he’s gonna get what he’s after. Sure enough, my head starts to bob. The files start to blur together. Names become meaningless strings of letters and numbers stop making sense altogether. My tired handwriting gets sloppier with every page until I can’t even read my own notes.

Finally, I take mercy on myself and lay my head on my arms. “Just for a second,” I mumble aloud to the empty office. “Just to rest my eyes.”

The room is warm. The desktop is cool under my cheek.

I’ll just rest for a minute.

Just one minute.

Just… one…

Then I’m back in his office. I’m on my knees again, picking up scraps of paper from the floor, but they’re endless. No matter how many I pick up, there’s always more. To make matters worse, my skirt is determined to ride up.