Confrontation

Izora got ready for work. All she could think about was how to talk to Raf about her dreams. *He'll think I'm crazy* she thought, not noticing that she'd mis-buttoned her shirt.

When she got to her desk, she stood there for a moment, contemplating whether or not to knock right away. She eventually decided to sit down and wait for Cadence and Raf to leave for their morning meetings. After a few hours, the doors opened and Izora looked up. But only Cadence walked out. She glanced at her with an aloof expression then walked towards the elevator.

"Wait!" Izora got up from her desk. "Where's Raf...I mean Raphiel"

"He's not here today, he wasn't feeling well" said Cadence frowning. She glared at Izora, as if blaming her for Raf's absence. "Your shirt's mis-buttoned" she scoffed. Izora quickly scrambled to fix her shirt and fidgeted nervously.

"Is there anyway I could talk to him? I-" Izora was cut short by Cadence who sneered at this request.

"Why would you need to contact him? You're only a secretary. What business do you have with Raf? If there's anything you need to tell him you can tell me." She barked making Izora back up against her desk.

"N-Nothing, I..I just wanted to wish him well...to tell him to get better soon" Izora stammered, feeling like she was just slammed against a wall. She hated confrontation and wished she'd kept her mouth shut. *I guess I'll just have to wait until Raf comes back* she sighed and sat back in her chair as Cadence got into the elevator. Cadence smiled a wicked smile and checked her phone as the doors closed. She'd gotten a text from Raf.

[Let me know how Izora's doing] it said. Cadence frowned again. Her masters would not be pleased with this.

[She's fine] Cadence replied. She couldn't let the young master know that Izora had asked for him. She had to keep them apart.

____

That night Izora was restless. She couldn't fall asleep because she didn't want to have the nightmare again but she was so tired. Eventually she couldn't fight it. This time the dream was more vivid. She was holding Raf's hand and they were walking. She felt happy. All of the sudden Cadence appeared. She transformed into a strange, hideous, half bird creature. Izora wanted to run, to pull Raf with her but Raf was gone. She was alone, and Cadence was flying towards her. Screaming she tried to run but her feet wouldn't move. Just as Cadence was almost upon her, Izora woke up with a scream. Her alarm was going off and the time read 8:45.

"Shit!" *I'm going to be so late!* Izora scrambled to get ready and headed to work.

As she was running into the building she could see some people getting into the elevator from the security gate. She quickly tried to swipe in but gate beeped and flashed red. She tried again with the same result. She went over to the receptionist's desk but the girl from before was gone. Instead a new woman was there.

"Hello, I work here but my key card for some reason isn't working today" Izora quickly handed her card to the lady who smiled and checked it. The lady frowned and picked up the dialing a number.

"Just a moment" she said to Izora with a forced smile. Izora fidgeted in the spot, not wanting to be late and more than anything wanting to see Raf and attempt to confront him about her nightmares. The receptionist was whispering into the phone with her hand covering her mouth as she spoke.

"I'm sorry but your card says that you are no longer apart of this company and I'm going to have to ask you to leave" the receptionist said with a smile gesturing towards the door. Just then two bulky men in black suits appeared. They stood next to the desk and waited to see what Izora would do.

*Maybe I was fired. But I still need to speak to Raf* Izora stood there for a moment, frozen, trying to figure out what she could do to get to Raf. She knew she had to be smart about her next choice of words.

"Oh, I see. That's fine but I do have a few things I left at my desk that I'd like to pick up. If one of you men wouldn't mind escorting me so that I may retrieve them and then I will go" The receptionist looked at the men who looked at each other. One of the men turned around and spoke into an earpiece then turned back.

"Follow me Miss" He said and turned to walk towards the elevator not waiting for Izora to respond. Izora quickly followed him struggling to keep up with his wide strides. The elevators doors closed and Izora bit her lip, trying to figure out how she was going to get Raf's attention.

*I could try and pretend that I can't find one of my items and hope Raf comes out while I'm there...But what if he's not here today again. I need to figure out a way to get in contact with him. There's probably some information on my computer I could use, but I'll probably be watched.* The doors opened and just as Izora had decided what she'd do, she was face to face a smiling Cadence.