Life can turn on a dime. 

Madison was reminded of this as she tried to find her Lexus in the hotel parking lot.

It was gone.

“No!” she said. 

She turned slowly, scanning the cars to be sure, but she knew she wouldn’t find it. She clearly remembered parking it next to the lamp post right there, and now in its place was a red Mustang.

She stomped the pavement. 

She clenched her fists and yelled at the sky. “Fuck!”

She doubled over and put her hands on her knees until she could catch her breath. She stood and looked at her phone, trying to decide whether to call a taxi or Uber. She groaned. There wasn’t time.

Fucking Lars! 

She called his number, fighting back tears as she crossed the parking lot.

“You piece of shit!” she yelled.

She got his voicemail greeting. 

“This is Lars Lundquist, guitarist and metal god. I can’t come to the phone right now. Please leave a message.” Beep.

She crossed the busy avenue, faced the oncoming traffic, and stuck out her thumb.

“I need my car! I need it right now! I know you took it! You’d better bring it back A-S-A-P, or I’m calling the police!”

She ended the call and stuck the phone in her purse.

A dozen vehicles passed her. One slowed, the window down, and the driver yelled, “Hey, baby!” but he didn’t stop. 

She turned and gave him the finger.

More cars passed. She feared she would run out of time. A silver Buick slowed, then stopped on the shoulder with its emergency flashers on. She ran to the passenger’s side and looked into the open window.

The driver looked back. He was about 40, with glasses and graying hair. 

 “I’m trying to decide if you’re safe,” she said.

“I don’t blame you,” he said.

“I’m desperate.”  

“Okay. Hop in.”

She opened the door and slid into the passenger’s seat. 

 “I’ve never hitched before,” she said as the man eased the car back onto the road.

“I’ve never picked anyone up before. Where are you going?”

“Do you know Commerce Park?”

“I do. That’s where I work. I can take you right there.” 

Lucky break. The Fates were toying with her, but maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad.

 “You know hitch-hiking is dangerous, right?” the man said.

“I wonder if any serial killers snag their victims at eight-thirty in the morning?”

“Beats me. I don’t any serial killers.”

“Anyway, I Had to take the chance. My car’s been stolen.” 

“That sucks. Did you make a police report?”

“Didn’t have time. I have a job interview. And there’s a chance the car will come back.”

“That literally never happens.”

“It might this time. I used to be married to the prime suspect. He’s done this before.”

The man didn’t say anything for a moment. He said, “Wow.”

“My name’s Madison.”

“Alex.” He didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Where’s the interview? I know a few of the neighbors.”

“It’s called Tucker-Herman. Have you heard of them?”

 “Why, yes.” His expression was peculiar. She didn’t know what it meant.

“What have you heard?” she asked.

“I’ve heard that it’s a great place to work, but the owners are a couple of assholes. Especially Brad Tucker.”

“Really?” She frowned. 

“That’s what I’ve heard. And here we are.”

He entered the complex and parked in front of a small office building.

She took a deep breath. “How’s my hair?”

“Fine. You look good.”

“Okay. Here we go.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. You saved my life.”

 She looked at her watch as she walked to the door.Ten minutes early.

Inside the entrance of the office suite, she found a well-appointed lounge without a receptionist. She found a coffee maker and poured herself a cup. She sat, sipped coffee, and tried to calm her jangled nerves. After a few minutes, a man came around the corner. She stood. His appearance said “tech entrepreneur chic”: a goatee, blazer, dress shirt open at the collar, jeans, and sneakers:

“Madison Lundquist?” he asked.

“Yes.” She extended her hand, and he shook it. 

“Brad Tucker. Right this way.”

He led her down the hallway to an office. The door was open, and he gestured for her to enter. “Take a seat.” He pulled out a cell phone and spoke. “I’m interviewing a candidate. I’d like you to be here.” And to Madison: “My partner will be right in. Before we begin, do you have any questions?”

“I’ve learned some things about you from your website, mostly. Which is terrific, by the way.”

“Of course. That’s what we do.”

“You have a good reputation and some big clients. Any plans for growth?”

Brad smiled. “That’s why you’re here. We’ve grown to the point where I can’t handle all the sales calls by myself. I’d like to cut back to sixteen-hour days.”

The man they were waiting for entered—Alex, who had given her the lift. Her eyes widened. It was awkward.

“This is my partner, Alex Herman,” Brad said. Brad noticed her dismay. “What?”

“Surprise! I picked her up on the way to work,” Alex said. “Her car’s been stolen.” He sat by the far wall to see the two others in profile.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Brad said.

“He didn’t tell me who he was.” Madison laughed. “He said Tucker-Herman was run by a couple of assholes. Funny.”

“It’s true. I can be an asshole sometimes,” Brad said.

“What about Mr. Herman?” Madison asked.

“He’s an asshole all of the time.”

Alex laughed.

Brad started the formal interview. He asked the questions while Alex observed. They reviewed Madison’s education: the BS in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, main campus; graduate work in Marketing at Eau Claire. No master’s yet, but hopefully, that was in the cards. Work history: ad sales for several newspapers in the midwest, a radio station in Des Moines, and finally, the ABC affiliate tv station in LA.

“Why did you go into sales?” he asked.

“Because I’m really good at it,” she said.

 Brad nodded, then asked one last question. “I know it’s a cliche, but I have to ask: where do you see yourself in ten years?”

She said, “Right here, if the work is rewarding.”

Brad looked at her closely. “Okay. Give us a couple of days to interview the other candidates. We’ll get back to you on Wednesday.”

They all stood.

“Do you mind if I stay and meet your staff?” Madison asked. “I’d like to make sure this is a good fit. I promise not to get in the way.”

Brad looked surprised but pleased. He’d probably never had a candidate make that request. He pulled out his phone. 

“Are you busy?” he asked the person on the other end. “Do you have time to give a tour and make introductions?” He put the phone away. “Lilith will meet you in the lounge,” he told Madison.

“I have work to do,” Alex said. He extended his hand to Madison, and they shook again. “Welcome aboard,” he said softly.

“See you later, asshole,” said Brad. 

Alex chuckled as he left the office.

Madison found her way back to the lounge, where she was met by a willowy young woman wearing a Goth-inspired ensemble. Eccentric, but the young woman wore it like a business suit.

“You must be Madison. I’m Lilith, graphic design. Come on. I’ll show you around.”

Lilith took her to the break room and showed her the restrooms, the conference room, and a block of offices. It seemed as though Alex and Brad were the only occupants.

“Where is everyone?” Madison asked.

“You’ll see.” Lilith led her to the end of the hall. “We call this ‘the pit.’” She opened the door to the room at the end. Inside were eight or ten young men and women staring at monitors, clicking at keyboards. 

“This room was set up for the programmers, but we all get along pretty well, so we spend a lot of time here. If anyone needs some quiet time, they can go to their private space. Best of both worlds. Hey, everyone! This is Madison.” Everyone swiveled in their office chairs to face the door.

“Hi, Madison,” said one man about Madison’s age.

“That’s Garth,” Lilith said. “He’s our senior programmer. And next to him is Bob.”

“Junior programmer,” Garth said.

“Get over yourself,” Bob replied. “Madison, what do you play?”

She was puzzled. “Why? Are you starting a band?”

They all laughed.

“We’re all gamers here.”

“Oh, of course. Minecraft, Fortnight.”

Bob said, “We’ll get you into some edgier stuff.”

“We’ll see. I haven’t been hired yet.”

“That’s strange,” Garth said. “Brad never gives a tour unless it’s a done deal.”

Lilith smiled. “I’ve got a good feeling.”

Madison stuck around the pit and made herself comfortable. She sipped coffee and listened to the banter, mainly good-natured ribbing, like that of siblings.

She could see herself working here.

At lunchtime, they abandoned their computers one by one and went to the break room. She bought a tuna sandwich from a vending machine. Alex sat at a picnic table outside, eating something from a casserole dish. She opened the door.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked.

He looked up. 

“Not at all,” he said. “What do you think?”

“It’ll do. If I get the job.”

“You will. All the other candidates have sales experience, but not in advertising. That’s a whole different animal. And you did great in the interview.”

“You’ve got a twisted sense of humor, Mr. Herman.”

“Call me Alex. I just wanted to see how you’d react.”

“How’d I do?”

“You handled yourself like a pro. Let me know when you’re ready to go. I’ll take you back to the hotel.”

“I can get an Uber. I wouldn’t want to put you out.”

“It’s on my way. I can finish what I have to do at home.”

“Thanks. This day would’ve been a disaster if you hadn’t come along.” 

She returned to the pit and stayed until after two, and then her anxiety got the better of her. She had to get her car back. She dreaded the showdown with Lars.

           She found Alex’s office and tapped on the open door’s frame.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yep,” she said. 

He closed his laptop, put it in a bag, and joined her at the door.

When they pulled into the hotel parking lot, her Lexus had returned, two spaces from where she had left it.

“There it is,” she said.

“I’ll be damned.” His brow furrowed. “Why would your ex do that?”

She shrugged. “Why does he do anything?”

“He must have spare keys.”

“He said he lost them. Must’ve found them again. How did he know where I’d be? I haven’t talked to him in months.”

“Do you think he was following you?”

She laughed. “Not the way I drive.”

“Tracking software on your phone?”

She shook her head. “Got a new phone after we split up.”

“Then he put a tracking device on your car.”

“I don’t think he’s that smart.”

Alex fiddled with his phone. “Checking for Bluetooth devices,” he explained. “It’s just a hunch.” After a minute, he got out and walked to the Lexus, looking at the phone. Madison followed. He got down on his hands and knees and looked under the rear bumper. Nothing. He felt under the left rear wheel well, then the left front.

“Here,” he said. He pulled out a small, round device, a bit larger than a quarter, glued to a magnet.

“That son of a bitch,” she said.

“It’s a new thing. They make it easy to stalk people these days.” He gave her a stern look. “You should go to another hotel until you find something more permanent.”

She agreed. Alex took the tracking device and stuck it to a nearby light pole. 

“He’ll think you’re still here.” He handed her a business card. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

He got into his car and headed home.

She checked out of the hotel and found a room on the other side of town.

She left a message for Lars on his voicemail: she didn’t appreciate being stalked and having her car stolen. She demanded he return the spare keys. He called back the next morning, and they arranged to meet in public, at the Olive Garden on State Street.

She parked the Lexus at the shopping mall a quarter mile away. She didn’t want to give Lars a chance to plant another tracking device.

Lars walked in forty minutes late. He looked haggard and malnourished. His long blond hair was dirty. The charisma he used to have was gone. He wasn’t the guy she’d married anymore. It was sad.

“You’re late,” she said.

“It took me a while to find the place.”

“Really? Because it’s literally right across the street from where you stole the Lexus last night.”

“I only borrowed it.”

“I almost missed a job interview because of you.” She held out her hand. He produced the keys and dropped them into her palm. “Do you owe money to someone?”

“The club owner stiffed us on our last gig. I needed some...things.”

“So you used my car as collateral for a loan.” For drugs, no doubt.

“Our car. My name’s on the title, too.”

“Not anymore. You’re lucky I didn’t call the police.”

He glared at her. “Why are you being such a bitch?”

The waitress came with a menu for Lars. “Can I get you anything?”

“Yeah,” Madison threw her napkin at Lars. “I’d like a restraining order for this dipshit.” She stood and made for the door.

She walked outside and toward the shopping mall. She found the pepper spray in her bag and got it ready, just in case. She was halfway to the mall when, sure enough, she spotted Lars’s junker out of the corner of her eye. She entered the mall at the entrance by California Pizza. The mall had too many doors for Lars to predict where she’d go out. She exited at the south JC Penney entrance, where her car was parked. She looked around. Lars was nowhere to be seen.

The next day, she was anxious. She exercised and showered, which helped. She ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. She checked google maps to get the lay of this new town she might be calling home. She took a nap, swam, and watched tv when evening came.

Wednesday morning, her phone rang from a number that wasn’t on her contact list.

“This is Madison.”

“Brad Tucker here. Congratulations. You got the job. Can you be here tomorrow at nine?”

Over the next few weeks, she settled in nicely. Brad took her along on his sales calls. The idea was that if she worked out, and once she got comfortable, she would handle the smaller clients, allowing Brad to focus his charm and energy on the big money accounts. But for now, they went out as a team. She shadowed him for the first two weeks, acted as his assistant, and observed. In her second two weeks, she handled clients while Brad watched and gave her feedback. 

Her first impression of Brad was that he was arrogant, but she grew to like him. He was intelligent and charismatic. She had mistaken his confidence for arrogance.

Alex supervised the programmers and kept to himself, so she had less contact with him. Her first impression of him was that he was sophisticated and aloof, like James Bond. That first impression also proved to be wrong.

Lilith was eccentric. She had an interest in ancient religions and led a Neo-Pagan worship group. She was a vegetarian and practiced yoga. She was exactly the kind of quirky individual that Madison was drawn to. They quickly became close friends.

Madison got to know the rest of her coworkers—four programmers, another graphic designer, two copywriters, and a woman specializing in animation and audio. Everyone at Tucker-Herman was brilliant because Brad only hired the best. 

She learned what kind of take-out they ordered, who they were dating, which online games they played, and what music they liked. She became comfortable, and happier than she had been in a long time. Tucker-Herman started to feel like family. 

She was going to be okay.