“This is Holly. She’s a new hire like me,” Lina said, introducing the woman.
Two spots of pink bloomed on Holly’s cheeks, and she looked as if she were going to burst into tears or song. “This job is a dream come true. Mr. Rollins hired me as an administrative assistant. It’s my first real job. My kids are so proud of me they pack my lunch every morning and I have to wait until they’re off to school and daycare before I can pack something besides animal crackers and string cheese,” she explained to us in a rush.
“That’s so sweet of them,” Naomi said.
“Congratulations,” I said, hoping that Lucian wouldn’t turn his dragon fire on the poor girl and reduce her to ash.
“Did you say something about coffee?” Naomi asked hopefully. “Because I would love one.”
It had been almost thirty minutes since her last hit of caffeine.
“How do you take it?” Holly asked with an eager smile.
“Any way I can get it,” Naomi joked.
“I’ll bring you my specialty then. Can I get anything for you?” Holly asked, turning to me.
“I’m fine, thanks.” With my luck, I’d spill an entire mug of coffee all over Lucian’s fancy-ass office and he’d sue me for damages.
“I’ll catch up with you on your tour,” she promised and darted off.
“She’s sweet,” I said.
“She really is. Two weeks ago, she and her two kids were homeless. They left an abusive home and ended up in a shelter. Word is Lucian hired her on the spot. She started the next day and moved into an apartment last week.”
“That’s amazing,” Naomi said, clasping her hands to her chest.
“Why was he there to hire her?”
“Apparently your archnemesis is a major sponsor of the program,” Lina explained.
“Yeah, well, I guess even ogres can do something good for a tax write-off,” I muttered.
I didn’t enjoy stumbling onto evidence that contradicted everything I believed about the man. I liked having him well defined. For years, heck decades, he’d been nothing but a two-dimensional caricature of a villain. Now, however, I was beginning to wonder what other signs of humanity I’d missed beneath those custom suits and heartbreaker cheekbones.
If there was a hypothetical heart that beat somewhere inside that broad, wealthy chest, what did it mean that he still hated me?
Lina continued our tour, showing us an impressive array of break rooms, conference rooms, and offices.
Hers was a light-filled, minimalist space with a desk, a couch, and a great view. There was a picture on her desk of her and Nash strapped to a parachute.
“So what exactly do you do here?” I asked, trying out the couch.
“The firm’s primary purpose is to support candidates as they run for and hold office.”
“So you dig up dirt on political rivals, blackmail them, and if that doesn’t work, have them ‘disappeared?’” I guessed. “Do you hide the bodies, or are you further up the chain?”
“Sloane,” Naomi hissed.
“There’s an entire supply closet dedicated to corpse disposal down the hall,” Lina joked, spinning around in her ergonomic desk chair.
“Everyone here seems so happy,” Naomi said, trying to switch to a more positive subject.
“It’s hard not to be,” Lina said. “The pay is well above fair. The benefits are generous. And the boss is a beautiful beast of a man who no one wants to disappoint.”
I sniffed. “I guess if you’re into the whole fire and brimstone thing.”
Both women eyed me. “Even you have to admit that Lucian is unnaturally good-looking,” Naomi prodded.
“Good-looking?” Lina snorted. “The man looks like the hottest gods in the universe got together and made the hottest baby in the universe. I’m not convinced that he’s mortal. Has anyone ever seen him sleep?”
I had.
Those inky lashes against bronze skin. The slow and steady cycle of breaths that made his chest rise and fall. But even sleep couldn’t steal the tension from that marble jaw.
I hated that I had those memories in my head waiting to sneak up and punch me in the feels. Guilt. Fear. Fiery, righteous anger.
“Vampires don’t need sleep,” I said. “Which way is the restroom?”
The bathroom was like the rest of the office, sedately fabulous and stupidly luxurious. The backlit granite vanities held baskets of high-end hand lotions, glasses cleaner, and tidy selections of feminine products.
There was even a makeup mirror and counter built into an alcove.
I dampened a towel so soft it had to be cashmere and held it to my cheeks.
The past few weeks had made me question everything I’d been so sure of. Things I believed in like they were immutable laws of nature.
I could always count on my parents.
There was no rush to start my own family.
Lucian Rollins was a horrible troll of a human being.
Now I felt…lost. Like I had somehow stepped into an alternate dimension where up was down and down was purple. I couldn’t handle any more change at the moment.
I patted my face dry. Then, because the supplies were there, I cleaned my glasses.
“This is all just part of the grieving process,” I told my reflection. “You don’t really care if Lucian is human or not. Your brain is just trying to find something else to obsess over. Things will get better. Eventually. Probably.”
Half-assed pep talk complete, I exited the restroom and ran smack into a hot, hard chest.
My tote hit the floor with a thump as big, warm hands steadied me.
I knew who it was without looking at his face. I knew it from the electrifying current that streaked through my body.
“Is looking where you’re going too much to ask from you?” Lucian said gruffly.
“You’re the one plowing past the ladies’ restroom at a hundred miles an hour,” I pointed out, giving him a shove. He didn’t budge, and that irritated me.
I was the one who conceded and took a step backward. I reached down for the straps of my bag, but he got there first.
“Jesus, what are you carrying in here? A dismembered body?”
“Why do men always feel the need to comment on the weight and contents of a woman’s purse?” I asked, lunging for the straps.
He held the bag out of my reach. “Curiosity. We can only carry what fits in a wallet or a briefcase. This feels like an entire set of encyclopedias.”
“If you must know, they’re Dad’s files. I found them this morning and was going to give them to Lina to give to you.”
“You were going to give them to Lina,” he repeated, his voice dangerously calm.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“Rather than me.”
Something prickled at the back of my neck. Danger. Beware. Proceed with caution.
I ignored the warning. “Yep.”
“Why?”
“Why?” It was apparently my turn to play parrot. “You know why.”
“Elaborate,” he insisted.
“No.”
He fixed me with a glare, then turned on the heels of his very expensive loafers and marched down the hall with my bag.
“Hey!” I had to jog to keep up with his long, well-dressed legs. That bag didn’t just have files. It had all my essentials like car keys, lipstick, tablet, pepper spray, and snacks.