Work Text:
Strexcorp was a powerful company that owned about ninety percent of Desert Bluffs. The company had first started off small. First they bought out the frozen yogurt shop, then the local grocery store. After a few of the roads. Now, after several years, they owned everything, but the church. That was more like a business partner. Not a threat.
The community of Desert Bluffs had only seen workers from the company. One's like Daniel, some not. The owner of this company had never shown their face to the public nor had spoken a word. So the town's people had rumors about the owner.
There was one about the owner being a huge gun fan. It was believed that they had a cabinet full of pistols of all sizes. If one were to walk into their office, they would only get to see a silver bullet before they fell. This was caused from the NRA in Night Vale says that guns don't kill people.
Another rumor was they were related to the scientist in Night Vale. The one with perfect hair and teeth like a military cemetery. Siblings? Cousins? No one knew. No one dared to go to Night Vale and ask the scientist. Someone tried to say that business and science aren't related.
The town's favorite rumor was the owner of Strexcorp was sent from the Smiling God. He was going to help with productivity and show that smiles and work are the best partnership. This was mostly due to the propaganda of Strexcorp showing flyers of images of the smiling god with the Strexcorp logo.
The thing was, the town never saw the face of Strexcorp. They made up great heroic stories of this owner. Sometimes they were announced on the radio, when there wasn't much to talk about. Similar to today's broadcast. It wasn't a rumor. It wasn't some fan fiction about the local owner. It was more so of an accident that happened when the radio host held down the recording button.
The weather was playing on the radio as the radio host was getting his finale script a good check. It was a lot report today, but it was so happy. It made most of the town smile brightly as mini suns. Maybe, the radio host thought. Maybe the smiles will brighten the day even more. The sun was already beating down on the town. It was the desert.
There was a few minutes left of the report when the recording booth door opened up. To Kevin's surprise, he wasn't expecting anyone today. That wasn't on the agenda until Thursday. It would be rude to rush them out of the room, so he let them stay.
Her outfit was odd actually. The intern Strexcorp shirt was underneath denim overalls. Her unzipped jacket had blood stains around the cuffs. The sneakers she wore were white high tops with faint red hand prints. Fingerprinting with kindergartens maybe. The teal beanie seemed to pop out the most. It had covered over her brown waves. Half of her hair hid her left face. Slightly mysterious, with a hint of rebel.
To Kevin, she looked around her late twenties, maybe early thirties. He wasn't the best at guessing ages, but he tried. Makeup and sacrifices had always made people look younger. He was curious, but it would be rude to ask for her age.
Well, she looked like an intern to Kevin, so that's what he was going to believe in. He glanced down at the weather report time. Less than a minute. He could get the intern to get what he needed. He turned his complete attention to her and spoke up.
"Go get the traffic report from the printer, will you? Thanks!" He gave a bright smile toward her before turning back to his desk. He was about to finish up on his report when he had noticed a lack of footsteps in the room.
The female didn't move. She had leaned against the door of the recording booth just staring at Kevin with her one visible eye. She waited until the red light on the equipment lit up to speak. Kevin was now on air.
"Shouldn't you have all your papers ready before your broadcast?" Her honeyed voice carried over into the microphone. She had walked over towards Kevin, forced his chair to spin and face her and waited.
Today, Kevin was feeling a bit courageous. He glared back at her with his darken eyes and replied. "Shouldn't you be listening to your--"
The words were stuck in Kevin's throat when he had saw what she had pulled out from her pocket. He soon regret what he had spoken when he saw the plastic card held in her hands.
"Now, I believe you are on air Kevin. You should maybe finish your report without the traffic." She spoke like the devil.
She took a few steps back from the desk and the feared radio host. Nothing was getting done with her over him. The town was built for productivity, and if nothing was happening then they were failing.
It took ten minutes for Kevin to finish his show. It had been a while since the radio host spoke with a shaky breath and heart racing. Viewers thought death was with the radio man on how he was reacting. It was possible, but his guest was worse. Much worse.
The female was still there in the recording booth waiting patiently for the radio show to finish up. Once the light of the recording booth went off, she walked over to the man. She seemed to carry a stern demeanor, but something whispered it was an act.
"I'm surprised, Kevin." She gave a soft smile. "Not one word about me in the radio. That was sweet of you, but you don't seem to know much about me now do you?"
The man shook his head. It seemed he was afraid of speaking in front of his boss. The boss he knew nothing about, other than rumors he believed in. She could just be someone posing as his boss. Anything was possible.
"Ah... Well let me tell you something. You mustn't tell anyone or the radio, got it?" She trusted Kevin. She trusted him with knowledge about her. Only he would know about this information that has been a secret for all her life.
"Y-Yes... Yes ma'am. You can trust me." His voice was shaky, but he knew he had to keep this promise. To him, his life might depend on this secret. Life or death.
A bright smile came from the boss which seemed to lighten the mood. "Perfect! First things first. I'm Kinsley. The business owner of many of these companies in Desert Bluffs. I'm the reason you're still alive." It was a cheerful voice that came from her.
Her fingers seem to run through his hair to move it out from his scar on his forehead. "You can't tell anyone that I'm the boss of the company or anything." She leaned close to him and whispered. "Or I will become your worst nightmare, Kevin."
Her words seem to send a shiver down his spine. Fear had taken him and there was no turning back until she left. The feeling was interesting and he seemed to enjoy it. That risk was getting his blood pumping. He gave a nod showing he understood her rules. She was, of course, the boss.
Kinsley took a step back and pushed her hands in her jacket pockets. "Good! Well I'll see you around Kevin. Have a wonderful and productive night!" Spoke the devil.