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"You need to find a new job."

"No I don't, Mom." Gina rested her forehead against the heel of her hand and stared blankly at her computer screen.

Her mother sighed loud enough to rattle Gina's office windows. "You're wasted there. You could be running that company, or at least heading their marketing department."

"EnClo Corp. doesn't have a marketing department."

"See? Obviously you need a new job."

"I like my job."

"You don't even know what they do downstairs!"

Gina refrained from tapping her fingers against her desk in irritation. Both her mother and the mystery in the basement were galling, although right now her mother was edging ahead in the competition to see what would cause her to snap first. Mostly because her mom was right. "I'm hanging up now. Thanks for calling."

"Oh! Your Aunt Judy is coming over for dinner tonight. That's why I called—you should come."

"I can't." Several hours' worth of comments about her dead-end life would not make for a fun evening. "Say hi to her for me."

"Why not?"

Gina's mind blanked. "Uh...well, I...have a date."

"A date! Who with? You haven't had a date in months."

"I'm well aware of that." Gina flinched at her mother's excitement. "I'll tell you about it later, okay? The owner is coming in and I don't want to be caught talking on my cell."

"The owner? How strange. I thought the owner was anonymous."

"Apparently Mr. Sparks changed his mind about anonymity. Look, I have to hang up. If I get fired because I got caught talking on the phone, I swear I'll move...somewhere. Somewhere with jobs. Maybe Saskatoon."

"Don't you dare move to Saskatoon. People get murdered there. There were six people killed there last year, don't you know. And you'd better call me tomorrow to tell me all about your day and your date, missy. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye." Gina hit the end button with a feeling of relief. Once upon a time she and her mother were close, but ever since she'd dropped out of university their relationship was colored by a certain degree of disappointment.

Then there was the job. Nine months had passed since she'd been hired, and Gina still didn't know what EnClo Corp. actually did. All she knew was that it was a testing facility working on a pilot project of some kind, and the building was stuffed with scientists and engineers and loaded to the gills with security features like steel doors, electromagnetic locks and endless CCTV cameras. As far as she could tell, she was the only employee without access to B2, the basement level where all the magic happened.

Maybe she should move to Saskatoon. Or further, to LA or New York, crime rate be damned. She might actually land a useful job.

Gina tucked her phone back in her purse, and her purse back beneath her desk. She was the only person in the lobby. Everyone else at EnClo Corp. worked in the offices behind the elevator or in the basement levels. It was lonely, but at least she had a bank of CCTV camera monitors to keep her company. If she couldn't talk to anyone, at least she could spy on them.

A six-inch-high plastic alien queen overlooked the In-Out tray perched on the corner of her desk. A pile of paper an inch and a half high sprawled in the In tray. The Out tray was empty. The smart thing to do was tackle the In tray and get rid of some of the paperwork, but working was boring. Instead Gina opened her browser to check the news.