Might as Well

Sam turned around and looked at the guy who called out. He wasn’t sure it was for him as most people he saw in the vicinity looked like they yelled that line at least three times a day at people who had worked for them for years. However, as soon as he made eye contact with them, he knew it was about him.

The guy had slicked-back hair, decently tall and the suit on him looked like it was poured on him. High-quality material that was probably worth more than the yearly salary of the hangers-on who were also glaring at Sam.

Sam pointed at himself. “Me?”

The man scoffed. Scoffed! “Of course! What do you think you’re doing here? Do you even know where you are?”

“The Astran Tower?” he asked hesitantly. He was never the best at reading maps, that was why he hired a car service. Showing at that funeral parlor in the middle of a service expecting a massage happened in his previous life in another dimension still haunted him. He never wanted to repeat that…

“Yes, the Astran Tower! The seat of MY family!” the man exclaimed, throwing his head back, and staring into the distance ‘heroically’. Sam somehow expected some kind of wind or sound effect to go off. Instead, he got more from the goon squad.

“Seriously, can’t you even recognize where you are?”

“Hah, look at him… he probably can’t even read!”

“Shame, with some plastic surgery, he could look decent…”

Sam just stared at them, nonplussed.

“Then I’m where I wanted to be. Thank you for confirming,” he said and moved to turn back to the security gate where the two guards were refusing to meet his eyes. Hell, he even saw a guard further back, turning away and covering their mouth.

‘At least, not all of them have room temperature IQ…’ he mused.

“As if I would lower myself to help someone like you!” the man yelled, calling even more attention to their ‘conversation’. The common working people took one glance at Sam, standing in front of the group, with the slick-haired guy in the middle, averted their eyes, and continued to walk away, pretending they saw nothing. However, some of them stopped – Sam suspected they were either plants, higher-ups who saw an opportunity, or simply people who loved drama – and began to gather around, though at a respectful distance. “Now! Tell me! What are you doing here?”

Sam looked at the guy and then back at the security guard, who shrugged at him. He let out a sigh and answered.

“I’m heading for a meeting. Why?”

“You? At this tower? A meeting?” The man let out a short laugh and the surrounding goons followed along with their own titter. “You don’t even look like you would be allowed to clean up after my dog!”

‘Poor dog…’ he mused silently.

“I’m sure your dog would lament the day they heard of this,” he replied.

The man blinked at him in surprise. “What?”

“I mean at least then there would be someone paying attention to them…”

Sam actually saw as the man worked through the sentence – light speed it was not – until his face became angrier. Snorting angrily, he took a step forward and pointed at Sam.

“Listen. I don’t know who you are, but I’m Dominic Astran and I demand to know what someone like you is doing here!”

“As I previously stated, I’m here for a meeting,” he replied, as Dominic, either one of Lara’s cousins or a sad genetic experiment, continued to blather on.

“Right! Then why are you on the fifteenth floor? People like yourself should be on the lower floors,” he declared while taking another step forward.

Sam took the opportunity to take a few steps backward toward the security station. Even though the minions around Dominic saw this and began to yell-whisper among themselves.

“Look at him, so scared!”

“Heh, of course he is. It’s Dominic!”

“Wonder if he will piss himself?”

Sam watched as Dominic, still staring at him, seemed to swell as the whispers reached his ears, while the crowd around them began to whisper.

“He is an Astran?”

“So handsome…”

“Wish I could work for him…”

He just sent them a sorrowful glance, then refocused his attention on extricating himself from this ‘conversation’ before he suffered permanent brain damage.

“I have to be here as I have a meeting on the upper floors,” Sam answered, reluctant to mention the actual floor. Seeing as the building had only eighty-five floors.

Dominic snorted again. “Heh, what floor? Maybe I could be a gracious host and watch as they throw you out?”

Sam glanced at the security guard, who shrugged again. Well, if the big boss, who was undoubtedly watching this, didn’t mind…

“Ah, yes. That would be mighty kind of you,” he answered with a small smile. “If you would be so kind to escort me to the eighty-fourth floor, I’d be forever grateful.”

Instantly, a hush fell over the crowd as they heard the number. Dominic just stared at him agog, as if he didn’t know to laugh or cry.

“The eighty-fourth? That’s just one off from the top floor!”

“Indeed, it is. Young master Dominic is indeed wise in the ways of mathematics!” replied Sam instantly, before the fop before him could continue.

“You think you could just waltz into here and go to the eighty-fourth floor, in MY family’s tower?” Dominic asked as his minion glared at Sam as if ready to throw him out on their own for trying to besmirch the reputation of the building.

‘I wonder if they get training to act like absolute buffoons?’ he mused. ‘What a bunch of weirdos…’

“Not even I can go there without permission!” Dominic declared, the crowd gasping at the reveal as if that would make the place something out of mythology that even a family member couldn’t visit.

‘They probably find Dominic annoying so they told him that…’

“Don’t know what to tell you, mate. Got the invitation and everything. You can ask the nice receptionist,” he said while pointing downwards. “She even gave me this spiffy card!” He pulled out the security gizmo he was given, showing it off.

There were some oohs and ahhs from the crowd, but to Sam’s disappointment there were no dramatic gasps. Probably because the people in the crowd were trying to ‘somehow’ use their reaction to brown nose with an Astran. How that would work, Sam didn’t know…

“Hah!” exclaimed Dominic, not unlike an inventor who yelled eureka. “I caught you! Possessing that device is illegal without permission from our family.” He pointed at the nearest guard. “You there. Come and scan it. I want to see who he stole it from!”

Sam glanced at the innocuous device. ‘This is that important? I should ask Lara next time…’

However, before he could think about it further, one of the minions, probably in an attempt to suck his already brown nose even further into Dominic’s rectum, began to explain it.

“Hah, now we know you definitely stole it! If you had one legitimately you would know it is only given out to members of the Astran family, the heads of departments, and important employees!”

Instantly, the whispers started again.

“Never seen one! But heard about them!”

“My boss has one! Nobody is allowed to touch it!”

“I wonder how he got it?”

The guard approached, stopped before Sam, and waved a device in his hand over Sam’s gizmo that seemed to be very important to these people.

“Mr. Lawrence. Welcome to the Astran Tower,” the man stated in a voice that told Sam that he wanted to be anywhere but here.

Dominic just blinked. “Wait! Who is Mr. Lawrance?”

Sam just waved. “Hi!”

Deciding that it was enough to satisfy the old man up in his tower, he turned around and headed for the cordoned-off area.

“W-where are you going? I wasn’t finished with you!” Dominic yelled as another guard waved Sam through an arch that beeped and lit up with a gentle green light off to the side.

“Welcome, sir. Eighty-fourth floor?”

“Yes, please.”

The doors behind the guard opened, showing a small atrium with several lifts around the room.

“Please take the one on the left,” came the quiet instruction from the guard. Sam nodded, thanked the man, and headed toward the lift, which was already helpfully open.

As he walked into the atrium, he could still hear Dominic and his posse talking.

“Boss! Aren’t you going after him?”

“Yeah! He could still get up to no good!”

Sam could hear the frustration in Dominic’s voice as he replied to his minions.

“Hah! As if that gnat is worth it! I have better things to do!”

Sam couldn’t help but snort.

‘Of course, he didn’t have one of those,’ he chuckled as he put the small card-like gizmo into his breast pocket and stepped into the lift. The doors closed immediately with a gentle chime and clack, and Sam could feel the acceleration as the carpeted lift elevated him to the top of the building.

He stepped out of the lift barely a minute later – not having to listen to any kind of elevator music – into a carpeted hallway, decorated per the latest trends he didn’t know anything about. But everything looked super clean and super expensive. Dozens of vases, some filled with exotic-looking plants, some empty. An actual wall fountain connected to an aquarium with exotic fishes swimming in it. There were several low tables surrounded by plush chairs but nobody was using them. Some smart-looking people were standing around and talking with each other, but they only stopped for a few seconds, looked at a tablet device that one of them was holding then hurried off, not even glancing at Sam.

At the end of the hallway, the area widened with another giant desk that was merged with a counter, containing one extremely pretty receptionist.

“Welcome, Mr. Lawrance,” the man greeted him with a smile that actually pinged.

Sam blinked the spots out of his eyes, caused by the hallway’s light reflecting off the receptionist’s teeth.

“Good morning,” he greeted the man, wondering if he was some kind of tank-bred ‘perfect receptionist’ or if he was naturally this pretty.

“You are expected inside, so simply go through the doors,” the man told him, his smile never wavering as he motioned toward the opulent double doors. “Would you like something to drink?”

“A raspberry lemonade, if possible.”

“Certainly, it shall be waiting for you in there,” came the prompt reply.

“Thank you.”

With that, Sam stepped away and headed for the door, trying to ignore as the guards – looking much more dangerous than the ones down on the fifteenth floor – stared at him as if daring him to step out of line.

The double doors opened easily, and he found himself in an equally opulent office, with a table in the middle, already holding a very nice glass of lemonade and an older man sitting on the other side, slurping from a teacup.

Sam took a moment to take in the man and saw he looked a lot like Lara, but with more hardened lines and gray hair, peppered with a few remnants of wilting black.

Behind him stood three people, one woman and two men, holding tablets in their hands.

He let out a sigh and vaguely gestured downwards.

“Was that absolutely necessary?” he asked, causing the woman to let out a small, scandalized gasp.

The old man finished his tea and put down the cup, every motion showing years of training and experience radiating absolute elegance.

“Necessary?” His voice was gravely, but still casual and friendly with an edge. “No. But was it funny? Absolutely! Hahahaha!” He let out a loud belly laugh as the people behind him shifted awkwardly.

Sam walked forward, sat down, took a calming sip from his excellent lemonade, and looked at the old man, who was in turn eyeing him and no doubt evaluating all his moves.

“So, why did you call me here?” If the old man wanted to play games, he could also refuse to use the expected genuflecting and expected social behavior.

The old man grinned. “I just wanted to get to know the second man in my granddaughter’s harem!”

Sam stared at the old man and took a deep breath. “Well, I’m a Taurus, prefer long walks in flowery meadows, and just love talking about pretty houses,” he stated completely seriously while also batting his eyelashes at the old man.

The man behind the grinning man whimpered.

“Oh no, not another one…”