Celebration

Lisa stared at the human before her, eyes wide and her thoughts racing in a million directions at once. What was he talking about? Had he seen her when she had come for his soul? But that wasn’t possible, mortals couldn’t see reapers when they were invisible…but then again, mortals didn’t spontaneously regenerate new flesh when wounded. What if whatever had enabled him to heal those fatal wounds had also given him the ability to see her even when cloaked in darkness? Should I call Zadkiel, or maybe I can grab him and fly him to the sanctuary. What if he has told others about me… or maybe this is a trap they have set out for me…

Lisa was so absorbed in her inner paranoia and questions that she didn’t notice that Natasha had entered the room until the girl spoke right next to her.

“Oh cut it out Lucas, you promised you wouldn’t prank her,” Natasha scowled.

The latter just laughed, his dark eyes lighting up.

“Come on Tasha, look at her face and tell me it’s not funny.”

“Pra... Prank?” Lisa stammered, finally regaining her composure.

“Yeah, this idiot likes to start a conversation with every new employee by pretending they have met before, he thinks it’s funny to watch how people react,” Lisa supplied, her tone making it clear that she thought it was anything but.

“Fine, fine I’m sorry, but you have to admit, it was a bit funny,” Lucas grinned, unrepentant.

“I’m sorry for my brother’s behavior, our mom swears she dropped him on his head when he was a child,” Natasha said, giving Lisa a look that said; see what I have to deal with?

Lisa nodded at Natasha in gratitude. She expected that the girl would go on to chide her brother about his state of undress but no such thing happened. Maybe it's a CEO thing to go half dressed...

“Don’t listen to my little sister; she has no sense of humor at all. I am Lucas Black and I’m happy to welcome you to the team,”

Lucas came from behind his desk and shook Lisa’s hand.

His skin was hot, as though there was a furnace beneath it, Lisa found herself wanting to hold his hand for a minute longer and she retracted her hand jerkily.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Lisa forced the words out of her mouth, her eyes downcast. With Lucas standing in front of her, she was aware of his presence in a way that made her stomach churn. Thinking clearly was becoming difficult and the earlier prank as well as his naked torso wasn’t helping.

“None of that here, just Lucas is fine.”        

“Okay Lucas,” She mumbled, still trying to marshal her thoughts.

The prank had disoriented her and also reminded her how little she knew about humans. Reapers were not much for jokes so usually, anything said was taken literally. A lot of the reapers Lisa interacted with were austere and unsmiling, except for Pix. I have to completely change my way of thinking if I’m going to make this work.

“I am sorry for pranking you but I couldn’t resist, it’s kind of a tradition here. I think starting our relationship with a bit of humor is the best way to show you what type of environment you will be working in, “Lucas intoned.

“An environment populated by idiots,” Natasha snickered.

Lucas rolled his eyes at her, a smile splitting his face, “Just get the glasses.”

Natasha made her way to a small glass locker in the corner of the office and brought back a tray with three glasses and two bottles of what Lisa assumed was alcohol. It struck her as odd that they were about to start drinking in the office, from what she knew, she didn’t think that was normal workplace behavior.

“I hope you like Chardonnay, Lisa.”

Natasha handed her a glass filled to the brim with a sparkling, golden liquid.

“Sure, I love it,” Lisa replied.

That was a lie. Lisa had never had alcohol before and this would actually be her first time. Reapers ate and drank the same food as humans but they were not really particular about what they ate which is why the sanctuary served bland, at times tasteless meals. Food was seen as the fuel that was essential to powering their bodies nothing more. Of course, there were reapers like Pix who liked to try out different things and ate exclusively in the human world, but Lisa didn’t share her friend’s palette. Pix had once tried to get Lisa to try some whisky but refused, not seeing how being drunk would help her in her job. I wish I had tried it at least once, Lisa thought, at least she would have known what to expect. Well, anything to resolve the prerogative, she took a gulp.

The alcohol burned her throat as it went down and she couldn’t keep the grimace off her face.

“I’m guessing you haven’t had much time to drink since you woke up,” Lucas remarked, still standing very close to her.

“Um… woke up?” Lisa gazed at him confused.

“Yeah, from your coma. The recruitment agents said you were in a coma for the past 5 years, everything must seem so new to you,” Natasha chipped in.

“Oh, yeah…yes,” Lisa mumbled, remembering the cover story Zadkiel had come up with to explain away an odd behavior she would no doubt exhibit due to her unfamiliarity with humans.

“Well, in any case, we are happy to have you here with us Miss Riel,” Lucas clinked his glass with hers, his dark eyes boring a hole into her soul.

“Order some pizzas and more drinks; this is officially now a party.”

Natasha rushed to obey, typing quickly on her iPad.Lisa wanted to ask what was happening but already she was feeling a pleasant warmth in her chest. The first day at work was reserved for introductions, from what she had researched but nowhere had she read that the CEO would throw new employees a mini party. From the moment she had stepped into the office things had been happening so fast that she hadn’t gotten a chance to get her thoughts under control. I'm supposed to be investigating here, Lisa chided herself but the buzz from the alcohol was already making her mind foggy.

She didn’t learn anything at all that day except the discovery that she was a lightweight when it came to alcohol. The drinks went straight to her head and she found herself acting out of character, scarfing down the pizza like a starved pig. It tasted delicious, like nothing she had ever eaten before and every bite only made her want more.

The morning passed fast and Lisa kept drinking and feasting with her new boss and his sister, feeling pleasant in a way she had never felt before. The afternoon came by and went too as the three-person party continued. Natasha and Lucas were good hosts, keeping Lisa entertained with stories from their childhood, updates on things they assumed she had missed when she was in the coma, and lots of jokes. Surprisingly, Lisa found herself laughing and even contributing to the conversation. All through their mini party, she was aware of Lucas, his shirtless body, and the way his lips curved whenever he smiled at her. What is wrong with me?