The Caretakers
By David Nickle, first published in Tor.com
A female employee works for a strange, controlling boss. During the course of a meeting at a hotel, the boss subjects her employees to her nefarious whims.
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Plot Summary
A group of people works for a strange, controlling, and intrusive boss named Miss Erish. All the employees must respect the boss. One day, Miss Erish calls for her employees to attend the fifth-floor meeting room of a hotel. Evelyn, one of the employees, flies in from out of town the night before to not be late. Evelyn and the other employees arrive early in the meeting room only to discover that the forum has been changed, as indicated by a note left by the boss. They find out that the meeting was earlier and they don't know its location. The employees enter the hotel lobby and find the boss sitting in the bar. The bar is not open, but the employees are welcome to sit there. One of the employees is new. Her name is Amy, and Evelyn knows her only by her email address. Amy does not enter the hotel bar but instead leaves the hotel. Andrea, another employee, chases after her. Evelyn texts Andrea to find out what's happening with Amy. Andrea replies that Amy is afraid of the boss and compares the boss to a vampire. In the bar, the boss questions Leslie, a male employee, about how much he had to drink the night before. She notes that he has gained weight and tells him that drinking beer is like drinking cake. Amy and Andrea don't return, and Evelyn leaves the bar to find out what happened. When she returns, unable to find the two women, she discovers that everyone is gone. Evelyn goes to her room and finds the boss sitting on a chair beside her bed. The boss tells her that she's disappointed with Leslie's drinking. She ordered one male employee to take Leslie to the roof to deal with him. An empty pool is on the top because it's winter, and the boss implies that Leslie has been killed. Evelyn and the boss hold hands, and the boss reads an email from the new girl, Amy. In the email, Amy says she's thankful for the new apartment the boss is giving her. The boss then tells Evelyn about how she was dragged under a raging river and drowned. The boss says she was dragged out to the sea, suggesting that she is a supernatural being.