Chapter 26

Olivia Byrnes was a petite young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was about five feet tall without high heels, weighed around one hundred pounds, small breasted, shapely legs, tiny waist that made her hips standout all the more. Her most distinctive feature was her beautiful face. Her dark hair was cropped very short but in a feminine way. She was an expert in putting on makeup which set off a facial glow to her. Olivia was a fashion show wearing her clothing in a very attractive manner.

College educated with a degree from Washington State University in financial and stock options. She sat at her new desk at the Coles and Rogers Financial institute in downtown Spokane, Washington. It was her first day on the job and after filling out a myriad of forms for her employment at the firm, she was given her customer base. As she perused the lists, she was aware that many of the men were stealing glances at her. She may not have been the sexiest woman they ever seen, but Olivia was very attractive nonetheless.

In the past she had been May Flowers, Erin O'Brien, and now Olivia Byrne. The ten months of being a Siberian tiger in Russia, she had molded another barrier around her soul to escape detection. Her password to her computer was April_May1132. She underscored the difference knowing hackers seldom could break into her website.

Everyone in the small firm came over to her desk to introduce themselves. Some of the males were quite good looking but only one wasn't married. She scanned him and found him not to be Breeder material.

Since her arrival in Spokane it took her two days to find a decent apartment, buy furniture and do a little decorating. She had sent her resume in beforehand so it wasn't long before she was called in for an interview. The office manager was so taken back by her comeliness and charming smile he didn't hesitate to hire her. He waited a day before calling her with the offer. This was on Thursday and she was to begin the following Monday. She shopped for clothes, shoes, and accessories to broaden her wardrobe.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" Cora Milton asked at about ten.

"That would be lovely," Olivia smiled. She scanned the older woman and found that she wanted to see if a friendship might start up between them. She also found that Cora was on the up and up and had no ulterior motives. They agreed to take the one o'clock hour. Coles & Rogers frowned upon all their employees leaving the office at the same time. With phones being unanswered and trades neglected, it only made sense to have lunch in shifts.

Some came in as early as 2am to monitor the overseas markets on both sides of the oceans. Others stayed until 11pm doing the same. Olivia's hours were from 8am to 5pm for the time being. Once she learned the system and the other markets worldwide she would most likely be put on one of the earlier or later shifts. No one knew that Olivia knew the markets better than the owners. She had done this before when she was May Flowers-Marks.

"Are you from the Spokane area?" Cora asked as they sat at a table in a Chinese buffet restaurant. It didn't have the comfortable booths that most restaurants back in Chicago. The food wasn't as good either.

"No, I am from Chicago but I decided to move west when I received an offer of a scholarship at WSU. Go Cougars," she smiled.

"I have to tell you that you look too young to be a college graduate. You've got the males in our office panting like dogs over you."

"I'm not here looking for any romance. I just want to do my job. However I'm twenty-three years old and if the right guy comes along then I'll deal with that when time comes."

"Any guys in the past?"

"I dated some in college but not too often."

"Most girls go to college to find a husband," Cora smiled.

"I guess I was the exception to the rule. Yes, there were lots of girls finding young men to marry but I was more concerned with my studies than anything else," Olivia explained.

Returning from their lunch Olivia settled at her desk. She booted up her computer and noticed the date. August 30th, 2029. Less than six years before the coming Insurrection. She had looked around for a week or so since her return from Siberia and saw that everything looked to be normal. The national election was ten months ago with promises of no new taxes. The Insurrection was because of the most burdensome tax raise in history. It had to come with the next election. The incumbent President Joe Walsh was a dud and people had Walsh fatigue hoping for some fresh face in the White House.

Sighing, Olivia returned to work. She had a job to do. She made some calls to her customers to introduce herself to these investors. They were surprised by her pleasant manner compared to the man who handled these accounts in a way that he was doing them a favor taking the time to talk to them. They found her to be much more co-operative than her predecessor. Before she knew it was past five and all of the people had left. The night crew were drifting in for their jobs. A few introduced themselves as she was shutting down for the night. She scanned all the males but none were Breeder material.

Living only six blocks away on South Hill, she decided to walk home. She didn't know it but there was two block stretch where many homeless and drug dealers and addicts were on the street. All of them unsavory characters that every city possesses. She ignored them walking on as she heard cat calls and walked past some lewd remarks. She was surprised to see that in this city there were few blacks living here. All of the trashy men were white which only reinforced her belief that it was not race but the individual.

Arriving in her apartment, Olivia pulled a bottle of water out. She kicked off her heels and sat down for a few quiet moment. She scanned her immediate area and found no danger.

"Barbara," she threw her thought to her daughter.

"Mom! I'm glad you're back. Where are you?"

"Spokane."

"What are you doing there?"

"The same thing I did when you were a baby."