Read Online Super: Origins by Palladian - Free Book Online Page B

away into darkness, and she slept peacefully on.
    Sometime later, Lex felt herself floating upwards through veils that were progressively lighter colored. Eventually her eyes fluttered open. As she looked at the clear morning light slanting through the mostly closed blinds, she sat up quickly and glanced at the clock. It read past nine o’clock, later than she'd wanted to wake up. She muffled a curse and jumped out of bed, missing the soft sheets and pillows even as she did.
    Running to the intercom, Lex turned it up as high as it would go, so that if someone tried to ring in while she showered, she would hear it. As she quickly pulled her clothes off, Lex called the downstairs desk on the intercom to let them know about the courier and ask them to ring her back if one came.
    She finished undressing as she rushed into the bathroom, throwing her clothes into the hamper and starting the shower. Lex frowned as she thought back to earlier that morning, however, remembering waking briefly as Kurt dressed to get ready for work, around seven thirty. She’d smiled sleepily at him and asked, “Why didn’t you wake me up? I could have made you some breakfast or something.”
    Kurt had smiled back at her as he’d finished knotting his tie in the mirror. “I could tell you got to bed late, since you didn’t even move when I got up. I knew you had someone coming later to talk about the job you interviewed for yesterday, so I thought you needed your sleep.”
    Lex’s smile had grown as she’d closed her eyes again. “Thanks, sweetie,” she’d replied. “Could you set the alarm for an hour from now? I’d like to be able to shower and dress early so that I’m ready in case anyone comes.”
    “Sure thing, sweetheart. Just go back to sleep,” Kurt’s voice had floated down to her as she slipped back into dreams.
    Maybe he just forgot , Lex thought, but she still felt her face set in an expression of suspicion as she washed up. She shook her head as she tried to let the questions go, closing her eyes as the warm spray hit the front of her body and deeply breathing in the faint scent of chlorine.
    Finishing her shower in record time, Lex smiled as she realized she hadn’t heard the intercom, and hurried to her closet to find a suitable outfit. Since she wasn’t sure whether the courier would come or whether it would involve another interview if they did, Lex opted for a button-down oxford shirt in French blue and off-white dockers and anxiously threw it all on. After straightening herself out in the mirror, including her hair, she felt a little more relaxed and went to the kitchen to fix some breakfast.
    When the intercom finally sounded, she jumped at the loud noise and then ran over to the speaker to turn it down. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she pushed the talk button.
    “Ms. McKilliam?” the person from the front desk said, “Your courier is here.”
    “Thank you. Please send them up.”
    Lex re-folded the newspaper she'd been reading and took her tea out to the living room, opening the blinds to let in the bright blue day. She realized she still felt a little nervous, so Lex sat on the couch and concentrated on breathing deeply and slowly, holding her tea mug and letting the warmth seep into her cold hands, until she heard the knock on the door. Even then, Lex had to hold herself back from jumping at the sound.
    She opened the door to see shoulders and had to look up to spot a thin face with dark eyes, lots of dark wavy hair, and what looked like a chauffeur’s cap on the man’s head. She felt a bit surprised at that, never having seen such a thing in real life, but she realized as she drew back from the door that the outfit he wore looked every bit like a chauffeur’s uniform, something she’d previously only seen in films.
    “Hi,” Lex finally managed, “come in, please.”
    The man walked through the door, ducking slightly. He wasn’t quite that tall, but with the addition of the hat it might have