The Project Chimera

AVA

My mouth still tastes like Marcus and I feel like I want to scrape my skin off.

The mere sight of the coffee machine makes me see him and the elevator makes me think of the family dinner, the way he kissed me, the way he looked at me like I was a car crash he couldn't stop watching.

"Ava. Julian wants you. Now." That was Victoria. She didn't even raise her head from the tablet she was holding. She only pointed towards the big glass doors at the end of the hall.

"Is he busy?" I asked. My voice sounded frail. "I've got those floor plans from the uptown project, I could just "

"He said now, Ava. Don't make him say it again."

I walked. My heels were like gunshots on the marble. I opened the door and the air was different. It was cold in there. Julian was by the window, facing away me. He looked like a sculpture made out of very expensive wool.

"Have a seat, Miss Thompson," he said. He didn't turn around.

"I have the uptown files," I said. I perched on the arm of the leather chair. It was an uncomfortably plush chair as if it wanted to engulf me. "The elevations are done. I thought maybe we could go over the-"

"Forget the uptown project," he interrupted. He finally turned around. His eyes were like steel. "That's small potatoes. I'm transferring you."

"Moving me? Where?"

"Project Chimera."

I was briefly dumbfounded. "The waterfront? The multi-billion dollar redevelopment? Sir, that's... that's for senior architects. I have been here only a few weeks."

"I couldn't care less how long you have been here," Julian responded. He was coming back to his desk and pushing a huge blueprint roll across the desk. "What I care about is what I saw in your portfolio. And I care about focus."

"Yes, I'm focused." I was trying to steady the loud thumping of my heart in my chest. "I really am."

"Are you?" He was leaning so far that his hands were flat on the desk. "You look distracted. You seem like you are not doing drafting but things that have nothing to do with it."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't make up stories for me, Ava. It's uninteresting." He was clicking the blueprints with his fingers. "Chimera is the future of Sterling. It's my legacy. I'm making you lead junior architect on the design team."

I was gasping for air. "Lead junior? Me?"

"Yes. But there's a condition."

"Anything," I said then bit my tongue. I shouldn't have said anything.

"Caleb is the creative consultant," Julian said. He watched me closely. He was looking for a flinch. I gave it to him. My eyes widened. "He'll be working directly under you on the aesthetic integration. So, basically, you'll be working together. Constantly."

"Caleb and I...we don't really agree on design," I said. "He is... very intense."

"He's a mess," snapped Julian. "But he has a spark that you lack. And you have the discipline that he hates. You'll fix each other."

"Sir, I don't think-'"

"I didn't ask for your opinion. There will be late-night meetings. Here. In this office. I will be personally supervising every session. The three of us. Until this is perfect."

I felt a cold shiver go down my spine. "The three of us? Together?"

"Is that a problem, Miss Thompson?"

"No. It is just... a lot of time."

"It is all your time," Julian said. He walked around the desk. He was standing too close. I could smell his cologne. It smelled like rain and old money. "I saw what happened at the bar the other night, you know."

I froze. "What?"

"That man. The investor. You thought I just happened to be there? You thought I was a knight in shining armor?"

"Weren't you?" I whispered.

Julian laughed. It wasn't a nice sound. "I was watching. I wanted to see how you handled a predator. I wanted to see if you'd break or if you'd bite. You did neither. You just waited for someone to save you."

“That’s not fair,” I said. “He was—”

“The world is not fair, Ava. This office isn’t fair. This family isn’t fair.” He moved closer. I could feel his heat. “I put you in that position to test you. And now I’m putting you in this position to see if you have anything left.”

“You’re using me,” I said. The realization slammed into me. “You’re putting me between you and Caleb. You’re using me to get to your son.”

“I’m using a tool I hired,” he growled. “Caleb is obsessed with you. Marcus is… well, Marcus is Marcus. Everyone wants the new girl. But I own the firm. That means I own the project. That means I own your schedule.”

“‘I’m an architect,”’ I said, trying to sound brave. “‘Not a prize.’”

“Well, prove it,” said Julian. He pointed to the blueprints. “Chimera is a monster. It will consume you if you allow it to. You will have no more time for conversations with Marcus, no more quiet talks with Caleb. Only the work. Only me.”

I examined the blueprints. They were lovely. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. It contained everything that I had ever dreamed of, entwined with a trap.

“And what if I say no?” I asked.

Julian leaned in close to me. “Then you're finished. Not just here. Everywhere. I’ll make sure you don’t get to design a doghouse in this town.”

“That’s a threat.”

"That's a fact," Julian stated. "This project is what Sterling is all about. This project is who I am. ‘Maybe’? I have no room for ‘maybe.’ Feelings? I have no room for ‘feelings.’ Don’t let emotion cloud your judgment, Miss Thompson. It’s either be fully committed or be out, period," he stated firmly.

“Fully in,” I reiterated.

“To the project,” he said. But his gaze wasn’t about buildings. “To me. To the vision. Are we clear?”

“Yes,” I said. “We’re clear.” My voice was no more than a whisper.

“Good. Caleb is in the conference room. He’s already ripping apart the first draft. Go take care of him. I’ll see you soon to start our first late-night session.”

I took the blueprints. They were heavy. They were a cloak. I headed toward the door. My legs were made of lead.

“A

I stopped. I didn't turn around.

“Don’t look so glum,” Julian said. I could hear the smirk in his voice. “You just got everything you ever wanted.”

I walked out. The corridor appeared to be longer. I reached the conference room and saw Caleb behind the glass wall. He was throwing designs to the ground. His hair was disheveled. He looked broken but beautiful. He caught my attention and stopped. He noticed the blueprints in my hands. He understood.

I pushed open the door. I wasn't thrilled anymore. The excitement of the promotion had worn off, and I'd been left with an enormous sense of dread. Today, I wasn't an architect. I was a game piece on a board, and Julian had just relocated me.

“We’d better go to work,” I told Caleb.

“He’s doing it on purpose,” Caleb said. He moved closer to me. “You realize that, don’t you? He’s trapping us in there.”

”I know,” I said. I put the blueprints down on the table. “Now take those sketches. We have a deadline.”

I did not look at him. I couldn’t. I only looked at the lines on the paper, trying to put out of my mind the taste of the whiskey, the sensation of the trap closing. I had to make the choice on the career. I had to. Even if it killed me.