3-10-26
Zion has an unexpected visitor
The buzzing of incandescent light often served as a metronome for tireless Zion Diamine, watching overhead and down on him, like the tutors and teachers in his past. They served to keep him aware of his surroundings, yet not so distracting as to keep him from focusing on his endless paperwork.
As he slumped forward and onto his strewn documents, the buzzing gave way to something of a lull.
A firm knocking at his door jolted him upright, his papers flying off the desk in a frantic flurry.
“Come in,” he answered.
Who entered the room with measured grace but Amanda Mandrake herself. She was as he remembered her, elegant, but organized. Classy, but practical. She wore her signature cream blazer and modest pencil skirt to match, both tailored to her form. Over top her royal purple blouse, a string of milky pearls and gold. Her coif of dark leafy green done up in a tight bun with flowing purple petals fanning out the top. The one accouterment she wore that Zion really paid attention to was the stern yet concerned furrow of her eyebrows underneath her thin rectangular glasses and the downward curve of her lavender laced lips.
He choked on racing thoughts before managing to speak. “Amanda?”
“Zion,” she began in her low and rumbling voice. “We need to talk.”
He looked like he'd seen a ghost.
“Is something wrong?” She tilted her head, hovering in the doorway.
“No, nothing's wrong. Come in.”
The executive stepped in, gently closing the heavy wooden door behind her with a soft click. The delicate clacking of her heels grew closer to the edge of Diamine's desk.
“Please, have a seat,” he offered.
Amanda shook her head. “I've been sitting on my hands for a while now, I think I'll stand.”
Zion's glassy crystal blue eye never once blinked the moment she made herself known. He tracked her every movement. He swallowed hard. “What's this about, Amanda? What do you want from me?”
“You seem like you're in a bad mood,” she observed. “I take it you're under a lot of stress these days.”
Zion cleared his throat, his right palm pressing against his chest. He could feel his heart trying to beat its way out of his thin ribcage. “You could say that. Things have been getting out of hand. Your daughter is… what one would call a maverick. Her little stunt has been turning things upside down for me.”
Amanda smiled and folded her hands in front of her. “She takes after me. But there's nothing little about what she's been doing for the past decade.” Amanda began to pace the office floor restlessly, dizzying Diamine with a rhythmic left to right. “You’ve got a mind like a tack. You understand what our last meeting entailed, right?”
“It’s been a while. Like you said, it's been about a decade. But yes, I remember. Your proposal for Solance and its pricing.”
“Just making sure that really happened. It's as though that talk never even took place.”
Zion’s voice found its ground and he stated firmly, “You died, Amanda.”
She stopped her pacing in front of his desk and turned to look him in the eye with unwavering discipline.
“Funny how that happens. But I'm still here.” Her eyebrows relaxed, turning into concern and compassion. “I'm sorry I can't say the same for you, Zion.” Amanda promptly turned around for the door and twisted the handle.
The CEO sat upright, straightening his spine as chills ran down. “Excuse me?”
Before he could protest further, she took her leave, the door slamming behind her.
Zion shut his eyes at the sound and jolted upright, papers flying off his desk as he rose. Once again, he found himself all alone in his office with nothing but his mountain of work and the incandescent lights’s hymn droning above him.