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69: Northward Bound
“He looks particularly taciturn and even a little moody,” Evelyn said softly as they neared Blink who was carefully readying the ship for their final day of sailing.
“There was a liberal amount of alcohol flowing around here and a bikini contest last night,” Andrew reminded her. “If he’s sullen and uncommunicative at all—which I must admit, will surprise me—it seems more likely it’s from a late night and a whopping hangover than anything else. I’m certain we’ve nothing to fear, darling.”
Despite his reassurances, Evelyn’s anxiety didn’t lessen. Her head throbbed dully, compounding her discomfort, even though they’d imbibed only mildly, gone to bed early—particularly for them—and they'd both rested well. The crisp morning air studded with bird calls and singing should have set the precedent for a perfect day.
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World of Tomorrow 70: The Brown Derby
“Mr. James,” said the Trust’s manager, “performing the duties of a bank teller are not entry-level responsibilities. When you asked me about an internship, I expected you were hoping for experience for you or another man of your acquaintance. Women really don’t belong in roles such as this. It requires a highly detailed mind and with the emotions they have, they’re not as trustworthy. They’re better suited as data clerks.”Outside the manager’s office door, a disappointed Evelyn attempted to catch Andrew’s eye, worrying the tip of her thumb with her teeth. There was no good that could come of this—if the man didn’t want her around, if he thought that way about women in general—then he would only make the time she spent here miserable, even if she did get to learn some things she might never have the opportunity to otherwise.A wicked green
World of Tomorrow 71: Lucky Charm
Evelyn was waiting at the Trust’s double front door before eight o’clock the following morning. She recognized the first of the bank tellers to arrive—a generally pleasant young man with bright blue eyes and blonde hair named Rupert. They’d met yesterday afternoon during her introduction and tour. Though their coloring was the only commonality they shared, the soft-spoken introverted man still reminded her of Lily. It started a little homesick ache in her heart. He nodded brusquely, inserting his key into the door’s lock, then met her polite smiling gaze. “Good morning. I’m afraid the bank lobby won’t open until ten.” As was wont to happen, as soon as he looked into her eyes, he froze. She waited until he came to whatever conclusion he was going to about her presence and intention, giving him a brighter smile as he flashed his. “I must apologize, ma’am. I’ve forgotten your name. I remember now that you toured the lobby yesterday afternoon.” He flushed a little in embarrassment. “It
World of Tomorrow 72: Meddling 2
Andrew was waiting in the Ambassador lobby, engrossed in the newspaper when Evelyn arrived after her first day of real work at the Trust. Having the opportunity to observe him, unnoticed and uninterrupted, she ambled towards him more slowly, enjoying the view. The man was impeccable. So much so that sometimes it was achingly difficult not to fawn. Still, that was the last weakness she’d ever allow herself. She had to be careful about inflating his ego as it was. Since they’d arrived in California, he’d taken to keeping his hair shorter, which allowed him to avoid styling it with pomade. Though she preferred it longer purely for the sake of winnowing her fingers through it, there was no denying the sun-kissed waves had an appeal all their own. In combination with his handsome features and that fine, kissable mouth, he set the gold standard for a spectacular looking man. Abruptly, he folded the paper down, doubtless having reached the end of the article he’d been reading, and glanced
World of Tomorrow 73: Revisited
By the end of the week, Evelyn had settled into a regular schedule working in the LA Trust lobby. She’d become adept at assisting with the morning clearing house reconciliation and was particularly quick at the verification of checks against the bank’s signature cards. To her, it seemed only natural. After all, she’d spent years already keeping account records as a secretary. If there was extra time after the reconciliations were complete, Evelyn was allowed to practice using the Burroughs bookkeeping machines. Getting comfortable with how its calculation mechanism functioned required thinking in a different and challenging way, but she was determined to master it before they left to return to New York. During business hours, when the lobby was slow, she practiced using the comptometer. This device, while much more straightforward in its computation mechanism, still required some slight change in thinking. The most skilled operator at the Trust turned out to be Rupert. With the occas
World of Tomorrow 74: Remnants
“Of course she’s been seen by a doctor,” Andrew snapped. “I told you what he said.” Evelyn could hear the tension in his voice even before she woke fully. She ought to get up and check on him, before his temper escalated to something they’d both regret. The instant she tried to move, however, her body objected. Vehemently. She lay in bed, her eyes still closed to block the light, and took stock of her physical state. Dear God, I hurt. Not just a little either. Every single muscle from her head to her feet throbbed with exhausted pain, as if she was a new recruit after her first day of military basic training. Oh, how she longed for that magical vial of aspirin Madame Moreau had included in her toiletry bag and the relief it promised. Even the muscles in her hands felt as though she’d abused them. If she considered how that was remotely possible, it seemed a truly singular feat indeed. “I beg your pardon?” Andrew’s words
World of Tomorrow 75: Backlash
Evelyn leaned on the sill of one of large drawing room windows, her forehead pressed against the glass. The intermittent rains and fitful breezes of the last week had become sustained downpours with whip-like winds over the course of the weekend in advance of a dark heavy line of clouds that hovered ominously on the distant horizon, but fortunately, hadn’t drawn nearer. “There’s flooding in the streets below,” she rasped through her bruised and swollen throat. On the sofa, Andrew flicked down the newspaper to look at her, uncertain he’d heard her correctly with her back turned and the noise of the storm outside. “Was that flooding you said, darling?” Despite the sheeting rain on the windows and the occasional wind-driven bursts, she could still see part of Wilshire Boulevard from their vantage on one of the uppermost floors of the Ambassador. There’d been warnings, of course—people urged to stay indoors. Still, a few vehicles eased their way down the flooding streets, wiper blades
World of Tomorrow 76: Eye Wall
Collapsed lightly atop Andrew’s chest with her weight supported on her knees straddling him, Evelyn passively allowed him to move her, tugging her out of the twisted tangled silken nightgown she wore. As she settled over him again, she squirmed and stretched to put her mouth to his ear. “Do you really consider undressing is wise?” Planting his heels, he arched his hips upward into a tabled position, sending a blissful rippling aftershock through her, originating where their bodies were still merged. Hearing her soft groan so close to his ear, he groaned in response, hurrying to slide his sleep pants down his hips before relaxing flat on the bed again. “I consider anything that keeps as much of my naked flesh directly against yours to be wise,” he replied with a chuckle, his lips close to hers as she'd done to him. Tipping his face to hers, he pecked a brief kiss upon her lips as he used his legs and feet to work his sleep pants the rest of the way down his long legs.
World of Tomorrow 77: Jinx
The sound of the wind was noticeably diminished, the sound of the rain returned to a normal pitter-patter. Which confused Evelyn as she opened her eyes to see muted sunlight ringing the now curtained windows. Her throat felt dry after sleeping, and the scratchiness added to the pain she already felt from such a disrupted sleep cycle. Rolling towards the center of the bed, she was dismayed to find she was alone. Which was when she realized the pitter-patter of water she’d mistaken for light rain was actually coming from the bathroom. Andrew must be in the shower. Having learned over the course of this month that he was seldom in there long, she relaxed to wait him out. Covering her eyes with her elbow, she toyed with Andrew’s engagement ring on her fourth finger. There’d been so much to occupy her mind this month, she’d barely given any thought to the fact they weren’t actually married. An anxietal knot twisted sharply in her stomach and she flinched against the pain with a soft gru
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