Chapter 7：Department XXX. (1/2)
Emily Hayes was standing in front of a huge black door. If she were asked the first thing that came to her mind at the moment, she would answer ”the gate to hell.”
The door was covered with varnish, under which the silhouette of Osiris was depicted. This detail did not surprise the girl. As far as she understood, the Pharaoh publishing house expressed its name in the interior details.
But it was this door, behind which she had to work, that made Emily tremble inexplicably.
She did not immediately find the entrance to her department, she had to return to the reception and ask the guards to explain where this secret department 30 was located, to which there was not even a sign!
She also noticed the strange look of the guards when they asked if she really needed to go to section 30, not 03. After Emily showed her pass, the guard thoughtfully looked at it, then at the girl again, snorted and waved his hand for Emily to follow him.
”Good luck,” he said goodbye to her, and Hayes felt sarcasm or sympathy in his reply. In general, he left, and she had been standing in front of the door for five minutes, not daring to take the last step.
The girl straightened her skirt, jacket, glasses on the bridge of her nose and leaned her pass against the electronic lock. Above the door flashed the inscription ”Department XXX. Forget yourself, everyone, who is about to step in here.”
”What the hell? Who thought of such a greeting?” Emily frowned and went inside. The door slammed shut behind the girl.
Her subconscious guessed the trick in the first two seconds, as she crossed the threshold of the department. But the brain resisted and sent encouraging signals that her best friend could not frame Emily so hard.
The corridor was drowned in darkness as if someone had turned off the light. The only hope of salvation - to open the front door again - was irretrievably lost, since Emily could not even find where to attach the key card.
”Is anybody here?” she hesitantly threw the question into the void. After standing for about a minute in complete silence and darkness, the girl took a step.
At that moment, the lamps on the ceiling flashed, and the light from them sparkled along the walls. The sparkles gathered into bright balls and took the form of goldfish. The sound of waves was heard.
Emily realized that the walls and ceiling were nothing more than huge displays on which the picture was broadcast.
The fish dived into the depths, disappearing under the floor, and instead of them dolphins jumped out and, cutting through the water, swam along the corridor, indicating the direction.
”I don't even want to imagine how much it all costs. A terrific waste of money,” the girl was amazed at the detail in the picture. The image was at least 4K, or even 8K - everything seemed so real and alive.
And although the installation of conventional lamps would save a huge share of the budget for the interior, it would not have caused such surprise and smile from Emily, as this unexpected performance at the very beginning of the working day.
If she sees such a show every time she crosses the threshold of XXX department, then this alone will compensate for all possible shortcomings that Emily was not aware of yet.
”Welcome to your domain, my queen.”
In surprise, Emily Hayes jumped to the side and crashed into the wall. She was so staring at the dolphins that she did not notice the man standing at the end of the corridor.
The shock of the dolphins' appearance now seemed like an ordinary advertising block, before the start of a real blockbuster.
A man was standing in front of Emily. Tall, handsome, and... naked. Well, 99 percent naked. He was naked in comparison to her.
In one hand he was holding a spear, the other was stretched out along the strong torso.
A real gladiator, the girl thought, frozen on the spot and not knowing what to do next.
The stranger looked at her, not taking his eyes off, and obviously tried to suppress the grin that was almost about to escape from his lips.
”My queen?” the man's low baritone echoed down the empty hallway.
Emily swallowed and gently backed away, ”S-sorry, I guess I got the wrong door after all,” she muttered. This naked (amendment: half-naked) gladiator was a head and a half taller than her. And she was in heels, by the way!
The man raised an eyebrow, scanned his guest again, and broke into a mocking smile, ”Are you new or something? Where do you need to go to, fearful bird?”
”My name is Emily Hayes. Starting today, I work in department 30, but apparently, I did not get there. Sorry.”
”Why not there? You are indeed there,” he grinned and took a step to the side, pointing to the door that was behind him, ”The entrance is here.”
”Are you sure?” the girl asked with hope in her voice. Somehow she no longer wanted to know what was hidden behind the next door. She remembered the anticipant face of Justin Evans as Emily left his office.
”More than. And I advise you to hurry up, Miss Hayes, if you do not want to stand in my place tomorrow in a mermaid costume and meet your colleagues. We do not welcome lateness.”
This argument was enough for Emily to immediately sneak past the formidable giant, strike the keycard on the door, and dive into the rabbit hole called Section 30.