The 9 to 5 Grind
By: K. A. Maxwell

“Good morning, I’m Alina from HR.”

Chloe tilted her head up at the voice to see a fairy who wore a sparkling green dress and blazer with the GVU logo on it. She made her response with an almost foreign dialect of gasps, wheezes, and coughs.

The strawberry-blonde-haired Searfae hovered down into Chloe’s vision. “What happened to you?” she asked. Each flap of her wings spewed out a sparkling trail of green dust that went up Chloe’s nose.

She sneezed, sending a blast of air that sent Alina spiraling down and crashing to the floor, kicking up a plume of green dust. For a moment, the Searfae didn’t move, and Chloe got on her knees, leaning in closer, listening for any signs of life.

Alina’s wings buzzed and stopped before she coughed and sat up, rubbing her head. She glared at Chloe and trails of steam rose from her face as she shot herself up.

“What did you do? Run a marathon or something?” she barked, waving her arms. “If you’re trying to get back into shape, we have training facilities, you know.” Her wings shifted to translucent orange, which made the green dust stop.

Chloe waved off the fairy. “Sorry for being late.” Her lungs and throat finally gave her some space to talk.

Alina pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips. “You didn’t have to rush. We give space for social networking before the onboarding. Your first day is supposed to be relaxed and fun, not a natural disaster.”

“I didn’t mean to do that, it was all that dust.”

“Humph.” Alina hovered back and forth, leaving a trail of steam behind her. “I told them the green dust would be trouble. What am I supposed to do against super breath? Sparkles are so overrated and messy, but no.” Alina’s voice picked up speed, and her wavy hair glowed with heat.

“Everything has to be on brand and sparkly. ‘Green dress, green dust, green sparkles with sparkly personality. Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle. Be a sparklemuffin and go out with a sparkle on your face. Ugh!”

Chloe stood. “Okay, I get it. You’ve turned off the sparkles, so, no more sparkles is good, right? Don’t sparkle if it makes you mad.”

Alina huffed and folded her arms. She took another look at Chloe and bit her lip. The steam still radiated, but now the glow moved to her cheeks.

“I knew I shouldn’t have skipped my morning coffee,” she muttered. “I’m always more peppy with my coffee and honey. I guess it’s better to be blown away by you, a Silvan, than having a slime embrace GVU by embracing me.”

Chloe cringed at that image. “Was it worse than getting a mud treatment?”

Alina shivered and held herself; the glow and the steam snuffed out. “It’s like swimming in swamp oil, which, of course, refuses to wash out.” Her shoulders stiffened. “So many things I had to pick out of my wings and hair…”

“I’m so sorry to hear about that.”

“It’s okay. I signed up for this. I have to be brave around most people no matter how they look or what abilities they have.” Alina relaxed her arms and shoulders, then gave Chloe a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. I have to make sure you start off at GVU right. Why don’t you go inside and mingle? We’ll probably start in about ten minutes.”

Chloe nodded. “Thanks.”

The conference room had a lot of open space with natural light coming in through tinted glass windows at the back where the snack tables were. When the light hit Chloe’s skin, her body tingled. It was very considerate of them to think of people who could feed through photosynthesis. On the food table, she spotted a platter of blood worm breakfast sandwiches, which included the aforementioned worms, egg, and cheese between toasted English muffins. As she took a couple of the sandwiches, a gray-skinned hand reached across and also took one of the muffins. Chloe followed the hand to its owner, who looked at the sandwich, hesitated and tried to place it near his mouth and then pulled it away. It didn’t exactly match the image of a guy of his stature: athletic, grey-skinned, bald, and in full security uniform.

“Come on, man! You can do it!”

“Eat the bugs! Eat the bugs!”

“Officer...” Chloe glanced up at his name tag embroidered on his suit. “Officer Trens?”

“I’m just a recruit,” replied Trens.

“You don’t have to be afraid. It’s safe to eat that. They made it so that everyone can try it.”

Trens leaned over closer. “I never ate things like this, that came from the ground before.”

“You eat vegetables, right? Those also come from the ground.”

“It’s not what I’m used to.”

Chloe glanced at the other security officers. “Did they ever try this?” she asked.

Trens shook his head. “It’s better that I be the one to try it first. Nobody else was sure if they’re safe.”

“I don’t think workplaces serve poisonous food to new people. And you’re not allergic, are you?”

“No, I don’t think I am.” Trens took a bite of the sandwich and the other security people winced at the act. “Hey, this isn’t bad.”

Chloe nodded and took a bite; the taste of the worm patty was, as expected, savory, but the grease they used to fry the worms seeped onto her tongue. Accents of nuts and avocados accompanied it, which she didn’t mind, but she’d very much prefer ingredients that meshed with the worm flesh. She’d rate this three out of five.

She took a bottle of water and trudged over and sat with the others also dressed in business attire.

“I can’t be the only one who thinks real estate investments aren’t bad in this day and age, even if the supply among planets is high right now,” said a Demon Woman.

“The size-flexible segment of real estate has a lot of momentum, I think, especially with hive planets. Demand for lower-cost housing should be pretty strong,” said a Woolian man with curved horns.

Another man, Silvan, with cabbage green skin and brow spikes, snorted. “Are you two serious? Forces that create and destroy manipulate the real estate market.”

“I’d like to think the regulators have a handle on it,” said the Demon woman. “In some markets, you’d lose souls if you tried something foolish like that.”

“Too many forces out there. The trades, politics, I wouldn’t bet directly on it, but invest in some real estate funds.”

“Ima-aa-gine if you had access to the investments on a planet like Earth,” said the Woolian man. “It’s in a solar system with a sun that will last at least another billion years with other unoccupied planets.”

“Earth is way too far away, and no one has made first contact with them yet,” said the Demon woman.

“Not even the gods?”

“I have no idea.”

Chloe leaned forward. “But, there are humans from Earth that are on Neerg, aren’t there? I know I saw a few on TV.”

The three turned toward Chloe. She shifted back.

The Demon woman sighed. “Whether it’s by accident, fluke, or by the act of a god, nobody knows how the group of humans got here so quickly. Earth is what, a few million light years from us?”

“Last I heard, it thrilled them that they didn’t have to pay the prices they used to for housing,” said the Woolian Man.

“If that planet was on the market with a population in the billions, I’m pretty sure some would-be ruler would snatch it up,” said the Silvan.

“It isn’t that easy,” Chloe said. “There was a documentary that showed them having nuclear weapons, though their technology is more primitive. So, if it was that easy, why hasn’t anyone taken over Earth already?”

“You could just go to the nearest mercenary group and rent a few high-powereds to clear the planet,” said the Silvan.

Chloe sat speechless.

“If I had that money,” he continued. “I’d also be the most powerful guy on the planet, too.”

The Demon woman snorted. “Just because you can manipulate your size?”

The Silvan folded his arms. “No human can defend against a giant Silvan.” He turned to Chloe. “Right?”

“Up close, they’d have no chance. But with powerful enough weapons, any person could,” said Chloe.

The Silvan glared. “That’s a moot point. I doubt anyone here could make it to Earth on their own. Too much cost for little benefit to take over the human’s home world.”

Chloe bit into the sandwich, searching for something to defend those people with.

The Silvan Man continued, “They can’t fly, they can’t lift, they can’t do magic, they can’t transform, they’re devaluing their planet by polluting it, so what is their worth?”

“Hello everyone!” Alina spoke through the speakers. “I hope you all had a chance to get to know a little about each other. It’s now time we get started. I’m Alina Prettythorn, an HR Onboarding Specialist who will take you through the beginning of your Green Ventures Unlimited career. During the presentation, you’ll be introduced to your department leader, who will take you through the rest of your first day. I believe most of you are either Security Recruits or in the finance department. For those who aren’t in those departments, you should have been contacted by someone who will meet up with you afterwards to get you all settled in.”

She flew up and over the crowd, although this time, she wasn’t sparkling with green dust or on the verge of catching fire. She pressed a button on her remote and the screen began playing video from several places filmed around the campus.

“Green Ventures Unlimited is one of the Galaxy’s top Hybrid Venture Capitalist companies,” said Alina. “We have interests in a mix of start-ups as well as balanced growth companies that provide products and services to over 100 races and cultures. You might have heard of our companies like True Society, Specter Syndicate, Divine Real Estates, Turbo Transport, and McClare Memories. GVU operates with three values in mind: Green, Growth, and Go-getter.”

“Green: This color symbolizes the values that we strive for as well as putting values in our celestial space body’s health. Most of what is organic and supports habitable environments happens to be green. Of course, being in business, we do collect a lot of green as well.”

“Growth: Our investments may have a focus on ventures of high-growth with high-risks, but we also value our business and you, our team. We have an interest and a commitment to invest in your career growth so you too can reap the benefits of working with us. In addition to your salaries, we offer a competitive benefits package which includes pension and a stock program where you too can become an owner and have an intimate stake in our success.”

“Go-getter: To do this, you have to go get it. Your role in our company is one that you have great strength in, although I don’t always mean your abilities, but your skill. I know a lot of you, mostly the security recruits, have a power level well above the average person in our solar system, but that alone won’t guarantee your success. The level of your skills will be what helps you in managing our assets or calming tense situations, among other things.”

The screens switched to a gallery with portraits of the executive leadership team. The first person shown was a female human of Southeast Asian descent with brown hair and dark brown eyes under a pair of glasses. Under the picture was the name “Exia Kim, President.”

“Our President is human?” whispered The Demon Woman.

Chloe leaned back in her chair and took another bite of her sandwich. The information about who Exia Kim was wasn’t new to her. What was new to her was the Chief Executive Officer whose photo had a different background that the others. This Dr. Asfee Napoleon had a body that wasn’t fully solid. It was a thick yellow smoke that somehow managed to carry a suit over him, with black marbles for eyes and black hair that ran past his shoulders.

“Is this the new guy they got?” whispered the Silvan.

“That’s their third CEO in two years,” whispered the Woolian. “He just joined the company a month ago.”

“Revolving doors at the highest level, huh?”

Chloe would have to do a bit of research on him so she could stay ahead of the curve. Her view fell into the middle of the screen where her boss’s photo was. Hilda Artemis, Chief Brand Officer, was a female Amazonian elf type, a Nyxazon, with long, pointy ears, blue eyes, strong muscular build, and blonde hair tied in a ponytail. When Chloe’s gaze left the screen, pairs of eyes scanned her as she ate, and her heart leaped in her chest. She coughed and almost choked on her sandwich, and she would have, if not for the water at hand, that made the gulp louder and drew more eyes to her, including Alina’s who flew in closer.

“You okay there?” asked Alina.

Chloe forced up a smile.

“As I was saying, your executive leadership team is an open team who appreciates your thoughts and feedback, especially where it comes to safety.”

Cheers and whoops echoed from the group of security people, a lot of them were all in much better shape than she was and the majority of them probably could out-lift, out-run, out-blast, out-live, and maybe out-smart her. These people could very well be licensed superheroes if they wanted to. Getting hired into a company’s private security force was the smarter thing to do these days if they could beat the competition; and it paid a lot better. It was a godsend for new graduates with mountains of debt.

“Let’s introduce you to the leaders in your department who will take you through the rest of your day, starting with finance.” Alina gestured to the door as it opened; a red-skinned demon with short hair and horns on the top of his head entered. He was average height, with blond hair and yellow eyes. He wore form-fitting khakis and a white shirt with brown shoes and had a smart-phone in his hand.

“Guess what?” he said with a smile. “Our stock went up four percent thanks to your hiring. With each dollar you put into the stock plan, we match fifty percent and have a competitive pension program. That means more green for you in the future. Get it? Green? Green Ventures? Ha ha.”

Chloe rolled her eyes as a mix of chuckles and groans came from the crowd. A few hands went up.

“Yes?”

“Is the pension plan defined-benefits or defined-contribution?”

“We have both, but if defined benefits are what you are looking for, you should sign up for it soon, since it will eventually go to Hell, ha ha. I like your pointed focus. That’s what we need in our department. Name’s Jez’gaan, call me Jez. I’m the Senior Manager for Wealth Investments. My role is to keep everyone engaged and looking out for interesting places to park GVU’s money. It’s nice to look at numbers for most of the day, but not all the time. I also spend a lot of time putting ideas in people’s heads like…” The slide changed. “A nice tropical beach with raging volcanoes in the background. That’s one of the hottest places in Hell. If you don’t like it, swap the volcanoes out and put in whatever background you have in mind. Do it now, close your eyes and imagine your happy place.”

Chloe kept her eyes open and continued to watch, arms folded.

“Okay? Got it? Good. Think about what you need to do to get there and all the numbers involved. Now open them.”

Most in the crowd opened their eyes and looked at each other, though a couple of the security people fell asleep and had to be nudged awake.

“That is all you need. Your formulas, plans, skills, and gut feeling to get to that place. GVU is investing in you because you are capable of those things and we can help you get to your happy place through salary and financial programs. I’d been in the business of helping people dream and connect with them for over four-hundred years before I decided to try something new and leave my comfort zone. I’m glad I did. Life is definitely greener when it has some red once in a while.”

With a wink and applause from the audience, Alina flew up to the front again. “Thanks, Jez. Let’s hope that red doesn’t show up on our annual reports. Next, a leader from the GVU security force.”

Everyone looked at the door. When it opened, people got what they expected: someone strong, powerful, and dominant. The height of this leader made many of the guys in the room flinch. As their torso and face became visible, a sudden silence fell on the room.

“Hey, you recruits,” her voice boomed with her smile, revealing fangs. “Enjoy this moment while you can, because I’m your trainer!” Just like Hilda, this person had long pointy ears that were mostly hidden by her brown hair, puffy and curly in volume, green eyes, and brown skin. She was in full combat uniform wearing a bodysuit under chest, shoulder, and knee pads though Chloe doubted very much she would need it for protection as her muscular build exceeded all but the largest of the guys, only a couple of them, who sat in the back.

“What the hell is this? Female elves with muscles?” one of the finance people whispered. One eye blink later, the elf stood next to him, just a couple rows ahead of Chloe.

“Yup.”

He flinched and almost fell over.

“You don’t have to run from me. I’m here to protect you and everyone else, remember that.” The elf tapped her pointy ear. “I’m on your side.”

Chloe blinked again and the elf now stood next to one of the larger men, a ten-foot tall Stone Giant in the back.

“Hey recruit, what did you just say?”

He stayed quiet, mouth agape. The female elf folded her arms and smirked. “Come on, I heard what you said, and you got it right on the nose, say it.”

The large stone man cleared his throat. “You’re Bridget Ebony of the Nyxazon Knights. I watch your games.”

Bridget gave the man a firm pat on the shoulder, and from her pocket she pulled an envelope.

“Good man, I love it when people come in with their intel ready to ‘Go-getter’. In the field, things can happen, and people are counting on us to maintain peace. It’s my job to train you to be the best at that. Being on the GVU Security Force will only make you better, and it isn’t just about brawn either. Here, recruit, a reward: tickets to a Nyxazon Knights rugby game.”

“Thanks, Bridget.”

“That’s Lieutenant-Commander Ebony to you, recruit.”

“Yes, sir... ma’am?”

“Sir is fine, don’t sweat it. More on that later, after onboarding. Alina wanted me to talk about who I am and what I do.”

This time, Bridget walked at normal speed back to the front.

“I train recruits like you to become awesome at security. Being Nyxazon, I trained as a fully honoured warrior from my childhood days. I’m all about the gladiator fights and battles. Hearing the stories of how tough battles were fought and won inspired me. When I turned twelve, I started my gladiator career, and I sucked hard at it.”

She paused as people looked and whispered at each other in surprise.

“Yeah, it’s true. I hate losing so much, but I trained even harder so I could win. I never gave up and eventually, I finally won for the first time. Who has intel about me on how long it took before I won my first gladiator match?”

“One month?” asked a man.

“Nope, try again.”

“A day?” asked another woman.

Bridget laughed, “Goddess, I love the respect Miss, but I wasn’t that awesome, one more guess.”

Chloe opened her mouth, but then closed it and shook her head. It was two years, but she wasn’t interested in attending any of the Nyxazon Knights games.

“One year.”

“Nope, two years. I went zero and twelve before earning my first win when I was fourteen. I went on to win a lot more matches from there. Once I turned twenty, I joined the Nyxazon Knights rugby team. In the next four seasons, we won three golds and one silver at the Universal Championships, not to mention two bronze at the Divine Championships. It’s pretty popular on planet Nyxazon and my team was on the cover of ‘PowerGame Magazine.’ We even got in the swimsuit issue too during one year.”

More murmurs.

“Hum? Ha ha! Go and buy the issue, dude, if you don’t believe me. Oh, good one, I heard someone ask, ‘wouldn’t you be better off working in the Nyxazon Army or in construction?’ To be honest, I’m not interested in that stuff. I wanted to live a cool and happy life. Working in security on a foreign planet was the next best thing. Lots of travel, fighting, sports, training, and food. If you want to get on my good side, treat me to a night out at a no-holds-barred buffet restaurant, but it isn’t going to be cheap no matter where you take me. So, I’m going to tell you now, don’t bet on ‘taking Commander Ebony out for food,’ for getting ahead. That’s going to put a huge hole in your wallet. I can eat tons.”

“How powerful are you, Commander?” asked a security woman.

“How powerful am I? You might just find out later today. But, hey Alina, how are we doing for time?”

Alina gritted her teeth while smiling as her hair floated and steamed. “Commander, I think everyone got a good enough idea of who you are.” Alina’s voice dropped to a hiss.

“You’re sure? I forgot to talk about the missions I did here at GVU, like that one time I wrecked that Invasion force of 200 Kilen or saved planet Bonne from a giant meteor.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Alina flew right in front of Bridget with a hardened smile, and her strawberry-blonde hair glowed.

Bridget stood back. “Um, no problem. I’m done, you can chill, Alina.”

The fairy flew forward and resumed her calm demeanor.

“Before we finish, I wanted to point out that even though you’ve met only a couple of leaders today, we are also welcoming new leaders to GVU as well, three of them.”

Oh oh, Chloe knew where this was going. What was she going to do when her name was called?

Alina read from her tablet computer. “Stand up, Skel Gruth. Skel is the new General Manager of Solar Suds. With beginnings at Mount Brews, he worked his way up from being an assistant brewmaster, to a master mixer. He is one of only three who are certified within our solar system to brew their flagship beer. Skel made sure that the fusion of over 330 ingredients matched its signature taste and met the highest quality standards using his unique palate. After ten years, he decided to make the jump to GVU to lead in the building of a new microbrewery from the ground up.”

“Cheers,” he said.

That wasn’t so bad. Alina didn’t ask for anything and all that Skel did was say ‘Cheers.’

“Where’s Dr. Quhaltos? Calling Dr. Quhaltos. Can you stand up for me? There you are. Dr. Deron Quhaltos is our new Chief Engineer in our Research and Development department. His studies include nanotech, artificial intelligence, and space travel. He’s already involved with a couple patents that let ships use a modified space bending drive utilizing a shape that increased faster than light travel efficiency by 10%.”

“Yes, nowadays there is a push for greener, more efficient solutions that save on fuel and will help to connect to more systems,” said Dr. Quhaltos. “I’m gratified that the project I’m on has a large amount of seed money. Hopefully, by year’s end, I can share more.”

“Looking forward to hearing about it. Lastly... Chloe Ceres?”

Chloe stood up.

“Umm… Hello,” Chloe said. All eyes were now on her, scanning, inspecting, judging, and digging into her like information hungry wolves.

“Chloe Ceres is... Director, Macmor Products. Ms. Ceres is known as the Project Management Warrior with a degree at the School of Business at Vynes University. It was where she and former Senior Sales Executive, now Director of Macmor Sales, Melinda Calanke, formed the Superhero Team, ‘The Market Maidens?’”

Chloe tried to put on a smile and kept herself frozen, hoping there wasn’t much left. Someone made an audible snicker.

“Being one half of the Market Maidens, as Ms. Money.”

The snicker grew into a light laugh. Alina paused and looked around before continuing. Chloe’s body stiffened as she glanced at Jez who just shrugged and Bridget, who had glared at someone, and the laugh stopped. Bridget then turned towards her and gave a reassuring smile.

“Ahem. Being one half of the Market Maidens as Ms. Money with Melinda as Ms. Dealbreaker, they used their business skills and abilities to uncover widespread fraud at a major retail company. It led to the destruction of a crime cartel that saved the city of Arval on Planet Rojam from going bankrupt. As a result, they graduated with top honors and were granted keys to the city. She then took on project managing jobs for three Wheel 600 companies, most recently as a Senior Project Manager at Puracorp.”

Alina paused, but this time there were murmurs in the group. Even Chloe could pick up words like “rumors” and “questionable practices.” Chloe closed her eyes and clasped her hands together behind her back, focusing on her breathing.

“Chloe has a mad passion for foods, reading, and interior design. At Macmor, she will be taking on our biggest clients with managing monster-sized projects.”

A pause. Was it finally over? She opened her eyes to the sight of a fairy face in close, holding a microphone.

“So, Chloe, since you obviously are very experienced in leading the execution of excellence, what would you say to everyone in the room for inspiration?” asked Alina.

Chloe leaned away and shook her head.

“You sure?”

Chloe nodded her head.

“Not even one word?”

Chloe glanced around the room. Everyone still had their eyes on her. She kept her shoulders tight, breathed in, and spoke. “Let’s do our best,” she said. She picked up her bag and jogged outside.

Bathroom stall. Peace. Breathe. Have to breathe. Chloe twisted and turned as her energy shoved and surged through her. Her hands clenched and shook. Control. Control. She took a deep breath and released it slowly until the surge leveled off. She stretched before getting back on her feet. The quiet solitude of the environment was a welcome break, and it helped that the facilities were pretty clean too.

“Ms. Ceres?” Alina’s voice spoke from outside. “Ms. Ceres, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay. I just needed a moment,” Chloe replied.

“Bridget and I are going to enter. Is it safe? We want to come in and make sure you’re okay.”

Chloe almost laughed at the prospect, but when she thought about it again and Alina’s job, it seemed like she was being sincere.

“It’s safe,” said Chloe, walking out of the stall.

The bathroom door opened with the Searfae leading the Nyxazon who looked around the bathroom. When she reached Chloe, she stepped back at the sight as the changes were evident now, being at eye-to-eye level with her.

“Wow,” said Bridget.

“I’m glad you’re fine, Chloe. I know we didn’t start off on the right track, but I was worried,” said Alina.

“I think Hilda was maybe a bit too excited when she wrote all those things about me,” said Chloe.

“Your boss is Hilda? By the Goddess, Hilda is a legend and a true Elder Warrior among Nyxazons. I grew up watching her when I was a girl,” said Bridget. “She is a pillar of wisdom and taught me ways to refine my battle technique when I first started. For her to choose you means you must have incredible abilities and skills. So many questions about your past, and you must have so many stories of your battles as a superhero.”

“Commander,” scolded Alina. “This is only her first day.”

“But it’s exciting.”

Chloe snickered, and with a breath, she compressed and calmed her energy. Her eye line on Bridget lowered until it reached just below her chest level. “There, I think I’m normal again.”

“Do you need anything else, Ms. Ceres?” asked Alina.

“What do you mean?” asked Chloe.

“Don’t take this the wrong way. I mean this sincerely when I say that we do have counselors on campus available if you need them, although they are often busy. Our health benefit plan also covers a portion of costs if you’d rather see external ones. I want to make sure your first day isn’t too overwhelming.”

“I appreciate that, Alina, thank you.”

“Really, if I knew you were going to work with Melinda, I probably would have treated you better from the start. That’s all I can do,” Alina said, voice dropping.

Chloe tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“She never told you?”

“Told me about what?”

Alina and Bridget looked at each other, eyes wide.

“You should ask her what she does during her breaks,” said Alina.

“Goddess, it all makes sense with that Market Maidens story.” Bridget folded her arms across her chest. “Her role is sales, right? But when there’s security incidents on campus during the day, minor ones even, she’s almost always nearby. Sometimes we get culprits arriving at security begging us to take them in because a very tall Puman with a tail and claws threatened to break their bones if they didn’t surrender.”

Chloe clenched her jaw. That was Lin, all right.

Alina sighed. “I didn’t think I’d know anyone who was more bored than you, Commander.”

“I don’t find fun in stalking people like a vigilante. I’d train at the gym instead,” said Bridget.

“But she means well, and she has hero experience,” said Chloe. “Maybe she’s just keeping her skills up for a time when she’s really needed.”

“There’s no point. I’m already here,” said Bridget. “The rest of security is made up of high-powered officers. If she wanted a job in security, she should just apply for one. Chloe, she’s not us.”

Alina snapped her fingers. “Ah, you know what I think, Commander, now that Chloe is here, maybe she’ll keep Melinda occupied and out of harm’s way.”

“That would be awesome.”

Chloe growled. “I think I should go now. Nice meeting you two.”

“Likewise, don’t hesitate to reach out, Chloe,” said Alina. “Just before you go, we also have your GVU Career Bag.”

“You mean the ones on the table?” asked Chloe.

“Those ones are for the others. Directors get a different bag,” said Alina.

Chloe caught a giant bag half her height and stumbled back a few steps.

“Good catch. You should train with me some time,” said Bridget. She gave a thumbs up and walked back outside.

“Good luck with Macmor and Melinda,” Alina waved and followed the Nyxazon.

Once the room went silent, Chloe leaned back against the sink and reached her hand up to massage her brow spikes.

“Lin, what did you get me into this time?”