Thank God for that. I think I'm going to be sick. I glanced at La Caz again. The corner of his lips lifted in a smile, but his eyes were still focused on mine. The magical current travelled up my arms, lifting my skin into tiny goose pimples. If I wanted to win this contract, I had to pull myself together and stop thinking about his body.
‘Don’t you think that twenty-five percent is too high, Miss Taylor?’ asked La Caz, directing this question to me. There was a hint of amusement in his tone. He was challenging me again, and I had no choice but to continue staring at him like an idiot. Was he using his vampire charm to torture me? Why?
I sucked in a long, deep breath and then I heard his thoughts: What is happening? I can't control myself. I want her and her blood.
Sometimes I could hear people’s thoughts, mainly when I was really scared or nervous, but this ability always caused more harm than good. I could never control myself, and right now his thoughts made my pulse skyrocket. All I wanted was to get the hell out of here.
Then the glass Jennifer was holding cracked slightly. No one noticed it, except me and La Caz, whose hazel eyes widened with amazement.
What the fuck? I normally can’t hear vampires. This is impossible. “I want her and her blood.” What’s that even mean?
Beneath the layers of my clothes the sweat was dripping down my torso. I couldn’t continue. The excess magic was accumulating inside me way too fast. Everyone was still waiting for my response, but I wasn’t able to carry on. I glanced at Jennifer. She had to take over.
‘I’m sorry…I think I need to go to the ladies’ room for a minute,’ I muttered, getting up.
Jennifer looked at me with confusion narrowing her eyes. She obviously didn’t understand what was going on.
Neither did I.
‘Miss Taylor, please allow me to show you the way,’ La Caz said, getting up so swiftly everyone in the room flinched.
I'm not going to pass out in front of these vamps. No way.
‘No...I’m fine,’ I mumbled, but he was right beside me. When I inhaled again, I smelled mint leaves and lemon. His smell stirred my emotions. We’d only just met, but I’d never before been so overpowered by anyone so fast.
‘Please, Miss Griffiths, continue,’ La Caz said to Jennifer when I was nearly at the door. ‘Mr. Porter, I trust you to wrap this up quickly. I’ve heard enough. I’m ready to work with Paranormal Personnel. Just get us a good margin, so both sides will be satisfied.’
I couldn’t look at Jennifer. I didn’t know what was going on with me. I had to get away from that room, from him. ‘I’m fine, Mr. La Caz. I can get to the rest room myself,’ I said, but my voice trembled.
Chapter three
Clever bitch. She was right, but I was still denying that I felt anything.
It was clear he wasn’t going to listen to me. He shut the door and took me by my elbow. His touch sent a tremor through me, and I felt the sparkle of magic running down my back. Strangely enough, I also had a good feeling inside that I was safe with him and he wouldn’t hurt me. The receptionist jumped off her seat when she saw us, but La Caz waved her off.
‘No, Miss Taylor, I need to make sure that you won’t pass out in my lobby,’ he said, and before I realised what was going on, we started walking towards the door that was behind the desk.
Five minutes later, La Caz marched me directly into a ladies’ room. My mind was spinning, but I knew I had to tell him to leave me alone. I couldn’t believe that he was with me in the ladies’ room. Thank God no one else was here. I looked at myself in the mirror and wanted to scream with embarrassment. I was flushed as if I just had an orgasm.
He stood there, still staring at me with those hazel eyes, as if he knew what I was going through. My heart was pounding fast, but I wasn’t going to show him he had any kind of effect on me. My magic was getting out of control.
‘Are you all right, Miss Taylor?’ he asked, adding softness to his voice. Was he seriously concerned about my well-being? He was standing way too close to me. He was handsome and he looked like a normal human being, not a freaking vampire.
‘I need a minute alone, if you don’t mind, Mr. La Caz,’ I stammered.
‘Call me Nathaniel.’
‘Okay, Nathaniel,’ I hissed. ‘You’re not aware, but you are in the ladies’ rest room. I don’t think any other female would be happy if she walked in here right now.’
‘No one comes here except the receptionist,’ he said. ‘I just want to have her here and sink my teeth into her delicious neck. She will probably taste divine,’ I heard him think. Then he shook his head and I heard him again. ‘What are you even thinking? Control your urges.’
‘Don’t touch me!’ I yelled, stepping away from him and losing my balance for several seconds. I was so nervous and I couldn’t stop hearing his deepest secrets.
His pupils dilated and he stepped back slightly, staring at my hands. ‘I can assure you, Julia, that I’ve no intention of hurting you,’ he said in a business-like tone.
‘Don’t give me that bullshit. I just read your thoughts,’ I said, feeling much braver. In your face, Mr. La Caz!
He didn’t seem to be taken back by the fact I knew what he was thinking. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and turned around to face him. My fingertips were tingling with flames.
‘What are you, Julia? I can most certainly say you are not a witch or a vampire,’ he asked, stepping closer to me. Now his face was only a couple of inches away from mine and, oh boy, I could see his eyes so well right now. Desire rushed to my core like a firecracker and I flushed again. But I could tell he wasn’t going to admit that he wanted me.
‘My father is an elf and I have some of his abilities,’ I whispered. Then he smiled and whatever I was seeing in his eyes was long gone. I covered my head with my palms. This was my worst nightmare. I just got promoted and I messed up this whole meeting because of this cocky Mr. Perfect. I looked at him again. ‘Nathaniel, normally I don’t behave like that. Would you just leave me alone so I can start thinking what I’m going to tell my regional manager?’
‘You have me on board, so don’t worry. Your regional manager should be happy with you today, Miss Taylor. I'm sure your colleague will negotiate a good deal for both of us,’ he said, putting his hands into his pockets. ‘And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’ve got to admit you do smell unbelievable.’
Cocky bastard. ‘Just give me a second, Nathaniel,’ I snapped.
He gazed at my lips again, but after a moment, he nodded and left me alone. I had to rinse my face under the cold water. At least my heartbeat was slowing down. Nathaniel La Caz was not a regular vampire. He couldn’t be—this was just impossible. The way he made me feel was dangerously frightening.
Pull yourself together, Julia. He is rich, powerful, and he wants to drink from you. That’s all. I took a few deep breaths and calmed my unpredictable emotions down. My magical abilities were still out of control and I had to cast some kind of spell soon. I looked as if I had run ten miles, but at least my heart wasn’t beating like crazy now.
Nathaniel looked even more gorgeous than before, waiting for me by the entrance. My attraction to him was boiling inside me, but I pushed it away, dismissing it. ‘Do you want to work with us?’ I asked, looking directly into his hazel eyes.
He brushed his lips with his thumb and smiled. ‘Of course, I had a few other offers, but no one was as persistent as you, Julia. I think we will make an excellent team.’ He smirked.
‘That’s great. Shall we go back to the room? I need to check whether Jennifer negotiated the right margin,’ I said and started walking away from him.
When I passed the receptionist, she looked at me as if I were a leech. I wasn’t sure what her problem was. I walked into the conference room, and Jennifer glanced at me, searching for some kind of explanation, but I tried to wave it off for later.
‘So, Mr. Porter, Mr. Carter, is it all wrapped up? Have we agreed on the margin?’ Nathaniel asked.
/> ‘Yes, Miss Griffiths has agreed to twenty percent on top of the hourly rate for temporary workers. We will negotiate the rest later on,’ explained Mr. Porter, and Jennifer nodded.
Thank God for that. Jennifer saved us.
‘Fantastic. I think the ladies need to go to the HR department and sort all the paperwork,’ ‘You both need to be introduced to our HR director. Miss Taylor, tell the receptionist to take you to her.’
I was avoiding La Caz, focusing on Jennifer and the other two vampires. ‘I sincerely apologise that I had to leave,’ I said, trying to breathe, staring at Mr. Porter and Mr. Carter.
‘Not to worry, Julia. I’m sure everything will go smoothly next time,’ said La Caz. I could have sworn that I heard a hint of laughter in his tone. Jennifer was moving her eyes from me to La Caz in confusion, no doubt wondering how we were already on a first name basis. I had to look at him; this time his gaze was even more intense and I felt myself flushing yet again. It was time to end this meeting.
‘We are looking forward to working with you,’ Jennifer said, obviously feeling my tension. She started shaking their hands.
‘It was nice meeting you, Miss Taylor,’ chimed Nathaniel, and he lifted his hand to shake mine. I hesitated for a split second, but I had no other choice than to touch him. The scent of mint leaves and lemon hit me again, but this time it was overwhelming. When our skin touched, my stomach flipped with wanting him. Our eyes locked for several seconds and I was sure he felt it. His skin was warm, not cold as I was expecting. I doubted he was a real vampire. They didn’t smell like he did, and they weren’t warm-blooded.
I pulled away from him, shook hands with the others, and left the room with Jennifer as fast as I could. Carter gave the receptionist orders to take us directly to the HR director. Once we were in the lift, I wanted to bury myself underground and die.
I knew Jennifer wanted to ask me what the hell was going on, but the receptionist was in the lift with us, so we had to wait. The meeting with the HR director went well. She was a mermaid, like Jennifer. She talked a lot and gave me the impression she was tough to work with. We signed the contract and discussed her expectations of us. An hour later, I left her office, feeling worn out.
‘Right,’ Jennifer, began, placing her hands on her hips and stopping in the middle of the underground car park. ‘What just happened up there?’
‘To be honest with you, I have no idea,’ I responded.
‘Don’t give me that crap, Julia. You went all pale and I thought you were going to pass out,’ she said. ‘I told you he was hot, but you didn’t listen and you couldn’t hold it together.’
‘It wasn’t about him. I don’t know; I think I had a panic attack,’ I lied, checking my bag for some painkillers. My mind still wasn’t working right, but we were out of there and hopefully I wouldn’t have to see Nathaniel La Caz ever again. At least my body stopped buzzing with magic.
‘He was into you, Julia. He ran after you, and I could see the way he was stripping you in that meeting room. God, I was getting all excited there myself, no wonder you had to leave.’
‘C’mon, La Caz has no interest in me at all. He just wanted to see if I was all right,’ I stuttered in embarrassment and stopped to look at her. ‘I’m so sorry I left you there by yourself. I fucked up and you saved our asses. You deserve to get promoted, not me.’
‘Come on, don’t fool me. I didn’t do anything. He was going to sign up with us even if we started singing “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” He didn’t care what we could offer him. He wanted you and that’s why he went ahead with the agreement,’ she said, smiling widely.
I sighed. Clever bitch. She was right, but I was still denying that I felt anything.
‘All right, all right…maybe he felt attracted to me, but it’s all because of my blood. You know that all the vamps love elves and fairies.’
‘Whatever. You have to tell me what happened in the ladies’ room,’ she demanded.
I rolled my eyes and smiled.
‘He just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to pass out,’ I explained. ‘He is so prestigious and arrogant, so way out of my league. Besides, he’s a vampire!’
Chapter four
Hmm, obviously she wasn’t too keen that Daddy married a human.
Jennifer drove through the busy traffic, ranting about La Caz and how handsome he really was. It was just after four in the afternoon and I was aiming to do some grocery shopping. Darkness covered the streets and the cars in front of us were moving slowly. I still had goose pimples and my magic had been whipping through my body since we left the meeting. I had to cast a spell, knowing that if I didn’t, it would get worse.
‘Listen, just drop me here. I need to get some shopping done before I get home,’ I said and pointed at the alley on the corner.
‘Are you sure? We’re miles away from Croydon.’
‘It’s fine. I need fresh air anyway.’
‘Told ya, he is already messing with your mind,’ she sang, but I only rolled my eyes and crossed the street, feeling light-headed. As the larger supermarket was a few streets ahead of me, I started walking, Nathaniel’s reaction to my smell making me ponder my elf half.
Yes, I was a half elf from my father’s side. When I turned fourteen, my father decided I was old enough to find out that I wasn’t a human at all. On my birthday, he took me to my grandparents. He told me to listen and not interrupt because my grandmother had something important to say. I was sort of expecting to be included in their will, but what they told me blew my mind away.
‘So, Julia, have you ever wondered why you are so intelligent?’ asked my grandmother.
She was a hard woman and never took any nonsense.
‘Well, I don’t know, Gran. I guess I do well in school.’
‘That’s not it, hon. Have you ever been able to read anyone’s thoughts?’
I felt my face heat up, but I had to admit that I had. I was hesitant to tell her about it, because I wouldn’t want to have my thoughts exposed to other people.
She nodded, and my father, who was sitting next to her, shifted on his chair.
‘Julia, you are an elf, darling.’
I started laughing. Yes, I wasn’t getting it. My grandmother narrowed her blue eyes; she didn’t look happy at that point, so I stopped laughing and looked at my father. He wasn’t laughing either. Then I thought about all those unexplained things that kept happening to me since I was ten and then it sunk in. I widened my eyes and dropped my mouth.
‘An elf?’ I choked.
‘Yes, Julia. Your grandfather and I—we are pure elves. Everyone in the family has similar gifts, but because your mother is pure human, you only have some parts of your father’s magic,’ she said dryly.
Hmm, obviously she wasn’t too keen that Daddy married a human.
‘Does Mum know about this?’ I asked my father, who went pale.
‘No, Julia darling, your mum has no idea I'm pure-born elf and I would prefer you keep this to yourself.’
I turned to face my grandfather. He wasn’t even paying much attention to our conversation as he was mesmerised by a football match. Then I realised that everyone on my father’s side had snowy white hair and blue eyes with sticking-out ears. That got me thinking.
I knew what gift my gran was talking about. After all, I was able to move things without touching them. Reading people’s thoughts was an issue sometimes; I couldn’t do that all the time, only when I was relaxed enough or when I was stressed. My skin often twitched, buzzed, and sparkled, trying to release all the excess magic I didn’t know I had. Once during an English lesson, I was upset—the teacher didn’t pick me for the school play—so I blew up his coffee mug. No one knew it was me and I never told anyone about this, but deep down I knew I had some sort of gift. Now I understood that it wasn’t all a coincidence.
‘So I’m an elf?’ I asked with disbelief. My grandmother smiled and relaxed.
‘There are other creatures in this world besides elv
es, and today I’m going to tell you all about them, so relax and listen,’ she said. That day I found out all about the otherworld, and I had to admit I wasn’t that surprised.
As I walked down the sidewalk, the memories of that evening flying through my mind, I heard someone shouting my name, I turned around and saw my cousin Claudia standing on the pavement on the other side of the street. She was waving at me, so I rushed toward her, wondering what the hell she was doing in this part of London.
I was about to cross the street, when I saw a black van pull in front of Claudia and at least two men jumped out and caught her by surprise. Within a moment, they pushed her to the van. I was a few meters away, so I began shouting her name, but it was already too late, she was dragged in, trying to free herself. She didn’t have a chance. The men had large builds and Claudia was a petite girl. The van drove off, forcing its way out of the traffic. It looked like no one else apart from me noticed that a girl has just been taken away against her will.
‘Claudia, oh my God Claudia!’ I screamed, glancing around, but people only stared back at me like I was crazy. I reached the spot where Claudia stood a few moments ago. My hands were shaking when I dialed my dad’s number and spoke to him.
I had no idea if he understood anything from what I said, but half an hour later I was sitting in the police station trying to describe for the fourth time what I saw. My dad was pacing up and down, shouting at his subordinates. My memories were hazy and I didn’t even fully realise when I was picked up by a police car and driven away from the place where Claudia had been taken.
‘I told you, I couldn’t see their faces. This all happened so quickly. The two paranormals had large builds, maybe they had dark hair, but I can’t remember. Claudia was so scared. Oh my God,’ I cried, burying my face in my hands.
‘Don’t worry, hon, it’s not your fault. I have to call her mother, and she’s going to get hysterical,’ said Dad. Then someone called him out for a minute or two and Dad left his office. I clenched my fists, wondering what Claudia was doing in that part of London. She was one of my close cousins and I couldn’t imagine how scared and frightened she probably was.
Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Page 2