Chapter Six

April is quickly coming to a close and I am still in the process of trying to find another internship for the summer. I currently have two offers from two smaller engineering companies, but I am still holding out to hear back from a newer technology company called Voyager Industries. They've only been established since September, but they are on track to be one of the biggest technology companies in the nation. They are right below Caspian Technology in terms of quality of output, but they are making their name for some of their work ethics. Every invention that has been put out by the company oftentimes has the last name of the creator.

As I walk into my building, I make a b-line for the mailboxes and open my apartment's mail slot. I am severely disappointed when I just find junk mail and nothing from Voyager. My shoulders sag slightly as I resign myself to another twenty-four hours of waiting. Walking over to the elevators I press the button and wait for it to come while I check my notifications. My eyes widen when it buzzes and there is an email that just came through from none other than Voyager. Opening it quickly it reads,

'Dear Miss Arlington, we have reviewed your application and are interested in your work. We would like a professional letter of recommendation before setting up an interview. Please have someone send this as quickly as possible so we can continue the interview process,'

"Letter of recommendation?" I muse out loud as I walk into my apartment.

I head up into my apartment trying to figure out who I could ask to write me this letter. By professional letter it probably means from a previous employer, I wonder who I could ask.

"Alexander!" I say pulling the business card out of my phone. I had forgotten this was even there.

"Alexander who?" My dad asks walking out of the kitchen.

"Alexander Caspian; I need a letter of recommendation for this job I am applying for and it dawned on me that maybe he could do it," I say.

"Isn't the asshole that made you leave your job?" My dad asks confused.

"No, it's his brother who helped me not get fired or quit," I say.

"Well dinner is ready," my dad says, and I trail behind him into the kitchen.

"How was class?"

"Good, I received a ninety-four on my last two exams," I say with a proud smile.

"How goes the extracurricular studying that you insist upon?" He asks me amused.

"Well I got through the chapters I needed to last week, but I haven't even had a chance to start this week's work."

"Well don't push yourself too hard," my dad says but we both know I will.

After dinner, I sit in my room with the business card in my hand and my phone in the other. What if he doesn't even remember who I am? What if he is too busy to write me a letter? What will I do then? With a sigh, I dial the number and it rings four times. I almost hang up when I hear a male voice answer the phone.

"Alexander Caspian," his familiar voice says.

"Hi Alexander, I don't know if you remember me but it's Aviva Arlington," I say.

"Aviva Arlington, I haven't heard from you in forever. How have you been?" I can practically hear his smile over the phone.

"I've been doing pretty well. I actually called you to ask you for a very small favor," I say.

"And what would that be Aviva?" He asks me, and I am relieved by the lack of malice or annoyance in his voice.

"I need a letter of recommendation for this company I am applying to for an internship over the summer," I say.

"Which company?"

"Voyager Industries,"

Instead of receiving a response, I hear booming laugh echo through the phone. I can't help but make a face of confusion and Alexander laughs on the other end. Did he think I would never make it in there? Did he know something about the company that I didn't? Why the hell is he laughing so hard over this? I didn't say anything funny.

"I'm so sorry about that," Alexander says recovering from his laughing fit. I hear a click in the background of the call

"Madge, can you bring a file for an Aviva Arlington, she is a prospective intern," I hear Alexander says to someone else.

"Alexander?"

"I'm sorry Aviva, you see I am the Co-CEO of Voyager Industries with Cathleen Winters, Cathleen and I are basically like cousins because were family friends, and after she found out I was leaving Caspian Technology she asked me to immediately come on board and help her start this company," Alexander explains.

"When and why did you leave Caspian Technology?" I ask surprised.

"Well, the day after your meeting I gave Lyle my four-week notice. I would have left sooner but it was written into my contract that if I wanted my severance package I would have to give that long of a notice. He made my life miserable throughout those four weeks but that only made me want to leave more."

"You never said why you left," I say, and I hear some mumbling in the background.

"Because you weren't the only person this happened to and I couldn't stand to work with someone who treated his employee's so poorly and most importantly women," Alexander says, and I hear a door shut in the background.

"Why did you ask for that file in particular?" A strong female voice asks.

"One second Aviva," Alexander says before there are a momentary shuffling and some static on the line.

"I have worked with Miss Arlington before and she is not only an incredibly hard worker but smarter than most people I have come in contact with. I wanted to put in the paperwork to hire her," I hear a muffled voice say.

"So, if I understand this correctly, since she is on the line, that she came to you asking for a letter of recommendation and clearly since you are in the power to hire her you were going to?" The woman's muffled voice continues.

"Yes,"

"I would still like to have an interview with her, but we can bypass the letter of recommendation. Can I talk to her?" The woman continues and there is more shuffling.

"Miss Arlington?" The woman continues, and her voice is smooth as silk. Her tone is so effortless and musical. 

"Yes," I reply.

"My name is Cathleen Winters; I am the other CEO of this company. I would like to schedule an interview with you for the position you are applying for," her beautiful bell-like voice says. I am pretty sure it is not customary for the CEO of a company to interview interns but maybe Voyager works differently.

"Of course," I say not wanting to argue.

"I understand you are still in school so when would be a good time for you?" She asks, and I am shocked that she is so flexible about this.

"I don't have any class next Wednesday if you have any slots available," I say trying to give her as much time as possible.

"I have a two o'clock opening, will that work?"

"That would be perfect," I say pulling out my planner and writing it down.

"Wonderful," she says before the line goes dead.

I can't help but sit there slightly stunned as I try to process everything that just happened. Alexander has left Caspian and is working for a different company. He is a Co-CEO with the Cathleen Winters. She is twenty-seven and has already owned two different million-dollar companies. I wonder why she wanted Alexander to join her in running this business in particular. I google her and find that she has no STEM background but rather a law degree from Harvard. She also received her master's in Business, Energy, Environment, and Sustainability from Wharton.

I raid my closet for an interview outfit and find most of my clothes to be worn and not new enough for an interview with such a prestigious person. The next afternoon I finish class early and decide to go shopping for once. I stroll through multiple stores until I find a new vibrant purple blazer. I grab a cream blouse and a new pair of slacks before checking out. I am glad I was able to find something to wear. I fold everything up and put it in my backpack.

Walking back from the store I cut down a small side street to try and cut down on the amount I have to walk. Turning the corner, I come across a man pointing a gun at two teenage girls. I stumble in surprise and they all turn their attention to me. The man turns and points the gun at me. I push my glasses on top of my head and the world breaks apart before my eyes.

"Give me your damn purses or I am going to shoot her!" The man yells and I hear the one girl whimper.

I focus on the mass of black where the gun is in his hands. Feeling for all of the weakest parts of the gun I easily identify where the gun lacks support and break it apart into a few pieces. I watch as the molecular structure is destroyed, and the pieces fall and blend into the mass of molecules that is the ground.

"What the hell?" He snaps, and I push my glasses back down.

"Leave them the hell alone," I growl out.

"What is a little girl like you going to do about it?" He snaps walking over to me.

I make eye contact with one of the girls and she grabs her friend and they both sprint out of the ally way. I focus my attention on the man before me and I cannot help the noise of annoyance I make. I didn't need to deal with this right now.

"You think you're so tough because my garbage gun fell apart?" He asks coming within five feet of me.

Instead of answering him I turn on my heel and run. I turn a corner and I can hear him swearing at me, but I ignore it. I take my glasses off and shove them in my pocket. I pull on a loose piece of trash wood and use it as a step onto the top of a dumpster. I jump again and pull myself up onto a low rising roof. I take off across the rooftop and jump to the next one. The man is practically on my heels. We jump from rooftop to rooftop. I grab my bag and make it disappear before turning my head.

I can see it in his eyes that he is so enraged that he didn't even notice my blatant use of my powers. I spin back around and am forced to run on a narrow ledge. There is no way I can stop running so I jump to the next building which has a higher edge. I land on a ledge that is no wider than six inches and do a perfect forward roll, before scrambling back to my feet and I keep running. There are two-stack of bricks in front of me. But I still can't stop; I do an aerial walkover, over the stack of bricks before running and jumping to the next building.

I feel for my assailant and don't find him behind me. I slow down and see that he is still back at the building I jumped from with the huge gap. I laugh relieved before running to the edge of the building and jumping down onto the fire escape. I quickly climb down it and hit the ground running. I wind my way back onto the main avenue before finishing my walk home.

It dawns on me that I have no clue where my backpack is now. I remember the feeling of the molecules disappearing off my back, but I could have permanently lost my computer, two textbooks, and my new clothes. I reach into my pocket and at least find my keys there. I am glad they weren't in my backpack or I wouldn't know what to do. I wouldn't even be able to get to the front door of my apartment without them.

My dad and I reach home at the same time and he doesn't notice my lack of things, so I don't mention it. We walk into the apartment chatting about our days and I edit the part where I stopped a man with a gun and used my abilities. He walks into the kitchen and I hear him open the fridge before everything goes quiet.

"What's wrong dad?" I ask confused following him to see what's the matter. My dad pulls my backpack out of the fridge with a confused look on his face.

"That's where I put that! I was so anxious this afternoon that I got a glass of water quickly and went for a walk. Instead of putting the water pitcher back, I seemed to have put my bag in there in my daze," I say laughing uncomfortably.

"Please go to sleep early tonight," my dad says handing my bag to me.

"I will, I promise," I say nodding and agreeing with him. Anything to make this conversation go away.

"I'm going to make dinner, why don't you go rest," my dad says, and I nod again.

"Call me when dinner is ready," I say, and he gives me one last look before starting to cook.

I walk back into my room and close the door. I let out a huge breath that I didn't realize I was even holding. I lean against my door for a moment before dropping my things and crashing onto my bed. That was way to close. My dad can't find out that I am using my abilities, or I would be in so much trouble. I am twenty-one at this point but as long as I live under his roof, I have to listen to his rules...