Hearts Under Ice - CS Patra Page 0,7

war.

“I gotta go, guys!” Olivia said as she headed out the door. “I’ll be back before five. If I do stay late, I promise to call.”

“Make sure you are careful on the road!” her mother threw in. “Use your GPS if you need to! If you think you’re going to be late, call the office!”

“Yes, yes! I’ll see you guys tonight!” she waved at her parents one last time before getting in the car and driving off. As much as she loved them, their overprotective nature was starting to get on her nerves. She wished that this new job would pay her enough so she could finally move out. She felt so embarrassed that she still lived with them. Sure, she didn’t have to make house payments or do much housework, but she wanted more freedom.

As she turned on the radio and cruised down the road, she thought back on her research of Dr. Vaughn. His talk about parallel universes had caught her attention. There were times when she had wished to go back and start grad school earlier. She wanted to go on more double dates with her friends and see if that led to anything. She wanted to be able to see other countries and not worry about passports or declaring anything at customs. For a second, she just wanted to believe Dr. Vaughn and his ideas.

Reality, however, came crashing in as she thought about where she was going. She had a job now. She needed to focus on that.

Living in a parallel universe. Yeah, right. I have enough issues dealing with the one that I’m living in. She thought, mentally folding up this information. She had already gone through the interview process, but her mother insisted that she learn as much as possible beforehand. If Dr. Vaughn asked her about his work, she had to be prepared. Olivia was still skeptical about the parallel universe theory, but she was willing to listen and see what he had found. If he was honest and all of this was real, then she would like to see just what another world was like. It could be nice to know who she would be in a different world. Maybe this other version of Olivia Mendoza was a strong, confident woman, who’d already finished school and had a family. There could have been an Olivia that was rich, listened to no one but herself, and ruled with her mind and her heart. All of that was very appealing, and now she was starting to hope to learn the truth about Dr. Vaughn’s research.

Olivia parked in the lot that was designated for employees and got out. Her mother would have been pleased to see that her daughter parked the car in the right area. Vaughn Industries itself was a rather large building with five stories. Her office would be on the very top, which was where Dr. Vaughn also worked. Once she got inside, she hopped in the elevator. The instructions she had been given told her to meet with the secretary at the front and get a security clearance into the fifth floor. Once there, she would also receive her badge and be taken around the area. The elevator doors opened, and Olivia went to the desk where a secretary was sitting. She was a woman of about forty, with bright red hair and tight pink lips. She was talking on the phone when Olivia came up to her desk and looked around for a sign-in sheet. The instructions had also mentioned something about that, but she could not see one. The secretary finally hung up and noticed that she had company.

“May I help you?” she asked politely.

“Yes, I’m supposed to start work today. I’m working for a Dr. Vaughn here, and I was wondering where he was.” Olivia looked down at the words she saw scribbled on the paper. It looked like such an important name—Donovan Vaughn. If someone had two last names in their name, it always made them sound like an authority figure.

“You must be Olivia Mendoza. Dr. Vaughn is a little busy at the moment, but I can show you to your desk.” The secretary said, getting up and holding out her hand. “I’m Pam. I usually work the front desk from nine to five on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Janine is the secretary that takes over on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We’re both over here if you need anything.”

“Yeah, that’s great!” Olivia exclaimed, hoping she didn’t sound overly