Chapter 1: The Garage

He knew exactly where and how she arrived at work every day. She took the same route to and from her boring accounting job every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Only on Tuesday did she veer from the route, and that was only to fill up her car and to treat herself to an expensive coffee.

On the weekend she ventured out to the Farmer’s Market, two blocks from her apartment, and then to the movie theater on Saturday. Both were within walking distance and she enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine, plus the company of being surrounded by strangers. It was her way of claiming adventure in her otherwise dull life.

Her recurring dream consisted of her being helpless, broken down on the side of the road at night, waiting for a tow truck and wearing nothing but a bright pink g-string. It horrified her to the extent that she often woke up just as the tow truck pulled up. A big burly biker type gets out, laughs at her predicament and then gets back in his truck and leaves. Other times, in her dream, he would not even notice her while he hooked up her car. Then he would take off leaving her there stranded and nearly naked. She always woke up wet between her legs even though it scared her. Fear and humiliation seemed to always pair up in her life.

She dressed modestly for her office job located in the city. Generally, her knee-length dress and matching heels were sufficient for the weather, unless rain ensued, which might include a London Fog rain coat. The company was known for hiring beautiful women, so the goal was not to show off her body. Her breasts were naturally large, 38D, and her perfect rear end always drew attention with the right clothing. She tried to blend in as much as possible with the other gorgeous women in her department and draw a decent salary. Her dark red hair was always pulled up in a tight bun, which accentuated her perfect complexion and wire rim spectacles. Not that she needed glasses to read or see, they were purely esthetic. She had a photographic memory. Nobody except her parents knew that. Her private life was where she spent her time living vicariously on the web.

Parking was on-site underneath the high-rise where hundreds of college degrees were utilized for their conformity rather than their minds. Bernadette was probably smarter than 80% of the people in her company, but she had learned early on that her beauty took her farther than her brains. Accounting was her way of settling. Over the years she had succumbed to following orders rather than leading. It was easier and didn’t require expertise or strategy. She saved that for her lurking online persona after work. Occasionally, she was required to work overtime, which didn’t bother her. In fact, the extra income helped facilitate her after hours activities.

Other than being a Tuesday and having to work over, nothing else was special about August 22, 2023. She knew in advance that she would be working into the night, but security at the building was generally good and safety was never a concern. She ended up staying later than anyone else in her department and, for that matter, anyone else in the company. The end of the day norm for upper management was 9:00 pm, but Bernadette was so involved with the project that she didn’t even realize she was hungry until her stomach growled. She glanced at the clock overhead on the wall. It was 10:30 pm.

She quickly gathered her purse and the necessary files to finish up the project at home over the weekend and headed for her car. As soon as she stepped out of the elevator and into the garage, the automatic lights lit the entire floor where she was parked.