Melting the Ice King

vi

ff the plane at JFK, it

ld

av

t she'd just come back from the only

zzed even be

ic. One from a number she didn't recognize, but she h

check the

t

races of Rome, and her body still

was exactly ho

ie

i

er, rent, utilities, and a medical b

corner and sat on the floor, back ag

idn't

dn't b

t the numbers on

self she'd f

lways

, the scent of Rome h

ess and hung it in th

r from Italy she

r skin and the way he whispered her

herself it

ni

str

portant things

cost more than her

, not to ask how she was doing, but

her mother said one morning over speake

for the

cruel. I'm be

igure i

ways sa

efore she said something

ened he

twenty-two job

posi

fir

ial of

gig with a wellness startup she

make the b

her brother's app

ated he

d her L

ver letter fiftee

idn't

offered interviews

y awake, staring

her guard slipped,

anger i

touched her like she was the

regret wh

g without knowing wh

ay morning, she

tation – Kane

l candidate interview for the position o

blin

Glo

remember ap

er spreadsheet of ap

l was real. Cle

at the bottom made

knew enough to recognize the name. They didn't

eone must have

d the mes

round in

t even do

't make

oo desperate

rmed the

ime in he

eels and the navy-blue sheath dress sh

her references. Rehearsed interview q

al saw in her-but she'd be dam

of Seventh Avenue with a deliberate cli

rom a nearby cart. She kept her eyes forward, watching her reflection in store windows-navy she

he Kane Global tower. She stepped in

s just

ust anoth

uture calling

ed it up

e fear of h

ting t

fal

te marquee, no blaring logo, just clean lines and authority. She took a steady

ished obsidian floors reflected the high, white ceil

w water feature, its motionless surface broken only by a singl

charcoal gray bespoke waited without looking up. The bad

, tapping a tablet once. "Please proceed to

No small talk. Just an

orridor where a uniformed guard s

lay. He raised his hand, scanned her badge himself, and the display l

sion: anticipation tempered by dread. No floor buttons. No music. Just the

s of her name on the cover. VIVIANE CLARKE. It felt surreal to see it there,

ator rose. She counted each flo

e closed her eyes briefly, centered herself. She had prepped for this. She'd run through likely que

Light filtered down a wide corridor lined with frosted-gla

rbing her footsteps. No assistant sta

each breath contained. A silent voice in her skull remi

cutive Officer. She paused, hand hovering on the handl

ng a desk carved from dark mahogany, bare except for

the picture of controlled power. He was slender but broad-shouldere

t turned

rned

moment

d. Her breath cau

me

illu

al

as r

as h

was h