Daisy was up early the next morning to run errands and clean her apartment. She had just finished a load of laundry when she remembered she had left a flash drive at the office. The drive contained research materials she would need over the weekend. After starting another load of clothes, she grabbed her coat and the office keys she kept in her tote bag and headed over to K Street. When she reached her office building, she took the elevator up to the Global Human Rights offices and let herself in. She immediately noticed that the lights were on in the rear of the suite.
She was a bit relieved to find she wasn’t alone--she didn’t like to be the only one in the office, especially on the weekend, because the entire building was practically deserted. The only people around were the facilities people who worked in the building lobby and in the basement offices. Having watched one too many horror movies as a teenager, Daisy harbored a fear of the dark and of being alone in an otherwise empty space. She hurried toward her office and closed the door behind her.
A moment later she had the flash drive in her hand. Slipping it into her pocket, she opened her office door and stepped into the hallway just as a shuffling noise came from the direction of Mark John’s office. Or perhaps it was the other direction, from Jude’s office. Daisy couldn’t tell. She glanced over her shoulder and walked straight into the water cooler in the hallway. It teetered in its base, making loud gurgling noises as large bubbles rose to the surface of the water inside. She reached for the water container to steady it, then heard a voice behind her.
“Hello, Daisy.” She jumped in surprise, not recognizing the voice immediately, and whirled around to see Brian standing in the hallway outside Mark John’s office.
“Brian! What are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly, tapping the cooler to make sure it was in place.
“I was just leaving some books for Mark John in his office.”
“How did you get in?” Daisy asked. She had recovered from her surprise quickly, but was curious about Brian’s unexpected appearance.
“One of the guys who works in the lobby let me in. He’s seen me here plenty of times. He must think I work here,” Brian said with a chuckle.
“Heh,” Daisy gave a half-hearted chuckle. “On Monday I’ll let Mark John know you were here.”
“Oh, no need for that,” Brian replied. “I just texted him. He knows I’m here.”
Daisy nodded and glanced toward the door. “Well, I’ve got to go. I have a load of laundry that has to go in the dryer. See you later, Brian.”
“I’ll go with you. I mean, down in the elevator. Not back to your apartment,” he said with a laugh. Daisy smiled thinly and followed him to the front door of the suite. She trusted Brian. Didn’t she? She didn’t know him well, but her interactions with him had been harmless and his geeky reputation in the office was legendary. He is just a sweet man who misses his sister and wants to connect with his brother-in-law, Daisy thought to herself. But still, she felt better walking behind him so she could see him. He stepped out into the elevator bank and she locked the Global Human Rights door behind her, rattling the door handle to make sure it was locked. She hoped Brian was catching on to her subtle hint—that the employees of GHR cared about their security and didn’t want guests entering uninvited when the office was closed.
They stepped into the elevator. Daisy inched toward the back corner while Brian pushed the button for the lobby. Thankfully, only the service elevators in the rear of the building weren’t monitored via video feed, so Daisy wasn’t really worried about being in one of the main elevators with Brian. The guards in the lobby could see her, so that eased her anxiety. She considered asking Brian about the chain of ownership of Trudy’s diary, but seeing him in the office had so unnerved her that she decided not to. She just wanted to get off the elevator. She glanced at Brian, who happened to look at her at the same moment. He smiled at her and whistled a nameless tune through his teeth as they descended. She was relieved when the elevator reached the main floor and dinged softly as the doors slid open. She made a motion with her hand inviting Brian to exit the elevator ahead of her, but he responded saying “Ladies first.”
She nodded and stepped out in front of him, then pretended she was searching for something in her coat pocket while she waited for him to leave the building. She briefly considered speaking to the doorman about Brian and asking that he not be let in again while the office was closed, but then she reconsidered. If he really did have Mark John’s permission to be in the office on the weekend, it would be inappropriate of her to ask that he be barred from entering.
Brian left the building and Daisy watched him turn left and disappear into a coffee shop up the street. She was headed in that direction, too, but something told her to go the other way. She headed to the right once she was outside the building and walked around the block. When she had walked most of the way around the block and returned to K Street, she was dismayed, but not really surprised, to see Brian standing across the street leaning against the front window of the coffee shop, his arms folded in front of him. Too late, she realized he had seen her. She picked up her pace in the direction of her apartment, trying to be discreet as she checked over her shoulder to see if he had followed her.
He hadn’t. He was watching her walk away, but he stayed where he was in front of the shop. Daisy shuddered. Why does he make me uncomfortable all of a sudden? she wondered. He’s a nice person. A harmless history buff.
She slowed her pace as she began to relax, scolding herself for being so timid. Back at home, she finished the laundry, fixed herself a quick lunch, and decided she deserved a reward for all she had accomplished during the morning. She sat down on the couch and opened Trudy’s diary.