The Lady and the Tiger
Leilanie Stewart © 2018
The glass tower block called The City, shone before me in the morning sun. I popped a mint into my mouth and took a deep breath, then climbed the front steps and walked through the revolving doors into a wide lobby. My interview letter said I had to go to the thirtieth floor, so I made my way to the lifts to the left of the reception desk.
I pushed the button and waited. The doors opened and I saw a smartly-dressed woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a tweed jacket and pinstripe trousers. Next to her, on a leash, was a Siberian tiger.
“Are you getting in?” she asked me.
“Really? Is it safe?” I replied.
She smiled. “Sure. A lady can’t be a lady without her tiger. And a tiger needs a lady for balance. Up or down?”
“But- aren’t we on the ground floor?”
She shook her head. “No, it gets much lower than this. Rock bottom.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I got in and stood with the tiger to my right. I raised my hand towards the panel on the left side, but noticed that the numbers only went as high as twenty-five. The doors closed, but the lift didn’t move.
“How do I get to the thirtieth floor?” I asked her.
“You take the lift,” she said.
I frowned. “It doesn’t go up there.”
“Up where?”
“To the thirtieth floor.”
“What about it?”
I paused, not sure if she was playing a game with me. “I need to get to the thirtieth floor.”
“Do you?” she said, smiling.
I could feel my blood rising; in a new place, with no help, being toyed with by a lady and her tiger.
“Can you tell me how to get to the thirtieth floor?” I snapped.
“You take the lift,” she said.
I pushed the button to open the door and shook my head as I walked out. On the right side of the reception desk, I spotted a door that I had not seen from the entrance. A tall, handsome black man opened the door and came out.
“You must be Cara?” he said.
“Yes, I’m here for an interview. But it was supposed to be on the thirtieth floor.”
“Not yet,” he said smiling. “Ms. Leading will see you first.”
~END OF EXCERPT~
This story is included in Diabolical Dreamscapes: Strange and macabre short stories.
Ebook available for pre-order for £1.99/$2.99:
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