‘Oh no, it took me weeks to sort these names out,’ she whined. ‘Why do Mondays have to be so crappy?’
When no one responded to her rhetorical question she got on with her work. Kate was holding it together, but I knew that sooner or later she would jump down Sara’s throat. I wanted to get along with people but working was Sara was draining.
By lunchtime my day improved and our clumsy co-worker didn’t have any more accidents, my grandmother hadn’t come back, and I managed to see three clients that were currently working for La Caz Corporation.
I left the office at one o’clock, hoping to munch on something fat and caloric. All my scars had healed. My neck was slightly sore, but other than that, I was fine and, in the past few weeks, I had been killing myself at the gym. Yes, I’d gone through a terrible breakup, but I wasn’t going to let myself down. People needed to see that I was fine and that I didn’t need a man to make me happy.
My phone rang when I was stuffing my face with spaghetti Bolognese on the busy High Street. I wasn’t surprised to see Nicky’s smiley face on the screen.
Prepare for a lecture.
‘Hi, my best, best friend,’ I answered the phone.
‘I just spoke to Loony,’ she began. I bit my lips, ready for her to start shouting. She’d insisted on setting me up on a blind date and kept nagging until I said yes. Loony was supposed to be my type: tall, blond, and handsome. Yes, maybe he was good looking and he was tall, but he had the personality of a turtle.
‘He loves you, Julia. I couldn’t get him off the phone today. He kept saying that you were perfect. He wants to see you again. Please tell me that you’re going for another date with him?’
Here is the thing, Nicky. I was too pissed to even remember anything from that day.
‘Err, listen Nick, I don’t think that it’s going to work out between us,’ I told her straight.
‘Are you crazy? He is perfect for you. Rich, handsome, funny, and he’s an elf. What else do you want?’
Well, he isn’t Nathaniel La Caz, for starters.
Chapter four
Do I have the word DESPERATE tattooed on my forehead?
‘Nick, listen, I can’t see myself with him. We didn’t click,’ I said. I appreciated what she was doing for me, but I needed time to rebuild my energy. I placed the bar high and, so far, no one was coming close to Mr. Bastard.
‘Come on, give him a chance; at least he won’t bite you and your parents will love him.’
‘Nick, I’m fine. I don’t need a date. All men are prats,’ I pressed, getting tired of telling my friend that I would be much happier on my own.
‘All right, fine. I’ll stop, but I’m worried about you. Let me cast a spell on that vampire so he’ll get what he asked for—’
‘No, it’s nothing to do with him; I shouldn’t have let this go that far. Right from the beginning he said that he couldn’t do a relationship,’ I explained, playing with my food. ‘I’ll be at a networking event tomorrow to take the edge off my bad mood. By the way, how are the kids?’
‘Fine. Obviously I can’t make you happy,’ she replied with a sigh. ‘Kids are behaving. When are you going to pop over?’
‘I’ll see; the work schedule is pretty hectic, but I don’t have any plans on the weekends so we will figure something out. When you see Loony again, tell him that I have contagious elf typhus and I’ll call him when I’m better.’
Nicky laughed and some human who was sitting next to me narrowed his eyes, staring at me like I’d lost my mind.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Loony, but I still think he would be perfect for you.’ She chuckled. ‘Think about this.’
‘All right, bye,’ I said, ending the conversation.
There, I did it. I told her that she shouldn’t set me up with anyone else. I was a strong, independent woman and I didn’t need a boyfriend just because people expected me to have one. All men turned out to be bastards; Jasper (my ex-boyfriend number one) was psychologically unstable and, in Nathaniel’s world, the word ‘relationship’ didn’t exist.
When I went back to the office, Kate looked like she wanted to kill Sara. She told me later that our favourite co-worker made a mistake with the payroll and jinxed the whole system so Kate couldn’t fix the error with her magic. No one was talking and we didn’t have any more customers. I had written a few more adverts to recruit a number of production operative workers, but other than that, the rest of the hour passed quietly and without further complications.
It wasn’t long before it was too quiet, so Sara started talking about her adventures in Romania. I was in charge today, but I couldn’t be bothered telling her to shut up. At least I was able to switch off and think about what I was going to wear for that networking event tomorrow. I was counting the minutes until half past five. Yoga after work was on the agenda and, after that, a bottle of white wine was waiting for me in the fridge; I was looking forward to a relaxing evening on my own.
Throwing me off my thoughts was the next client who appeared in front of my desk. I yawned and my jaw dropped when I saw Michael Longbridge in front of me—this time he was without a chainsaw or baseball bat. Kate took out her magic wand; as the air around us thicken.
What the hell is he doing here?
He passed Sara, who stood up and dropped the bulk of her papers on the floor, immediately starting to apologize. To some extent I owed him my life. One night when I was searching after Claudia, Longbridge rescued me and Nathaniel from an obscure bar in the middle of London, in an area where no one hung out after dark. If it wasn’t for him I would probably be dead already.
‘Miss Taylor, nice to see you again,’ he said, smiling widely. When he wasn’t threatening me with a chainsaw or smashing chairs with a baseball bat, I had to admit that he was good looking. His black hair was cut short, his ebony eyes focused entirely on me. He even dressed better this time around.
‘Mr. Longbridge, how are you? It’s been few months,’ I asked and pointed at the chair in front of my desk. I nodded to Kate, telling her that I had this situation under control. Sara finally sat down and started cleaning up the mess on the floor.
‘I’m great, thank you. I just started own business; I deal mainly with vamps.’
‘What sort of business is that?’
‘Security.’
I nodded, impressed. He looked good, dressed in black trousers and a navy shirt.
‘That’s fantastic news. I’m glad.’ I paused. ‘So, what can I do for you, Mr. Longbridge?’
He leaned toward my desk and flashed me another wide smile, staring directly into my eyes. ‘Well,’ he began, leaning closer, ‘I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me?’
I didn’t respond straight away and there was a long, uncomfortable pause as I tried to pick up my jaw off the floor.
Do I have the word DESPERATE tattooed on my forehead?
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kate, who was trying not to laugh. Sara wasn’t paying much attention to us; she was too busy with the mess on the floor. I’d never been out with shapeshifter or a werewolf. Michael was good looking, and he probably had a great personality, but I just couldn’t put myself into more of a mess with men. Besides, a few months ago he showed up in very suspicious neighbourhood, and I never learned what he was doing there, so he was a no-no.
I cleared my throat, trying to stay professional. ‘I appreciate your proposition, but I’m afraid that I’m not interested in dating right now. You see, I just broke up with someone.’
He was kind of cute and my father would probably like him, but I had to be honest with him. His jaw clenched and he shrugged his shoulders, like he was ready to attack or shift. I could only hope that he wasn’t going to lose his temper again. The glass on Sara’s table started to vibrate—the tension in the room was getting to me.
‘You’re turning me down?’ he asked, raising his eyebrow.
‘Yes, I’m afraid I am.’
‘I think we’re very much alike,
Miss Taylor, but you’re right. Maybe it’s too soon. After all, you went through a lot when we saw each other last. I don’t mind waiting—here’s my card.’ He handed me a business card. ‘Call me, when you change your mind.’
He rose, smiling, then sent me a sneaky wink before going on his way. The glass stopped vibrating and I exhaled.
‘You’re certainly not lacking in that department.’ Kate smirked, looking at me.
‘Please shut up. Is it time to go home yet?’
***
The next day I woke in a much better mood. I used my unsettled magic skills to make breakfast and, for the first time in years, I didn’t spill or break anything. Sometimes I had to use magic to stay away from trouble; otherwise, I was too dangerous to be around humans. My day in the office went better than I expected. I filled a few call centre vacancies, registered two trolls, and left at five to get ready for my networking evening. Kate wished me luck, and Sara mentioned that I should try to pitch a few giants as they were very reliable and knew how to do business. I tried to get through to Rufus today but his phone was going straight to voicemail. He was probably in Manchester sorting out the urgent query.
The networking event was being held at the prestigious five-star Hilton hotel; I had to look my best. I put a lot of makeup on and visited a hairdresser earlier. I went for a pair of killer dove-gray heels and a matching skirt, along with an elegant scarlet-coloured blouse. I had my business cards in my purse and I was ready to rock. My stomach was rumbling when the taxi driver dropped me by Park Lane. The street around the hotel was busy, filled with sophisticated looking paranormals and some humans. This was the part of London where everyone wanted to be. A lot of celebrities had stayed in this hotel and I was glad I had a chance to represent Paranormal Personnel around here.
I took care of the bill with the taxi driver before making my way toward the hotel. This whole event probably cost the business a fortune, so I couldn’t let Rufus down. Surely this was very important and I couldn’t leave without solid contacts.
I spotted humans and paranormals dressed in suits following the uniformed hotel staff. The lobby was impressive, large, with a long reception desk and, behind them, the round of beautiful fairies ready to take care of arriving guests. After spotting the advert for the networking event, I headed through the long corridor following two men in black suits. I looked good, smelled good, and my magic was under control, at least for the evening, so I didn’t have to worry.
A pretty fairy in uniform invited me to go through the wide door. The main event was set up in a large room. I was a bit early but a lot of paranormals had already started pitching, talking among each other. I stood by the entrance, looking around. This whole event was supposed to be for paranormals only, but I could see a few humans among the guests. The room was getting busy so I decided to hang by the bar, trying to catch anyone from large manufactories or contact centres. The bartender handed me a glass of champagne and I joined a group of wizards, clearly overhearing their discussion about margins. I didn’t know anyone here so I had to start somewhere.
Chapter five
One, two, three, four ... breathe. Tell him to fuck off!
‘Yeah, it’s hard to do business in a recession; my profit dropped by three percent last year. People don’t want to work and I can’t afford to pay them more than minimum wage,’ said a tall werewolf, shaking his head.
A man next to him shrugged. ‘Tell me about it, Donald.’
‘Oh, come on, gentlemen. Why are we all so negative?’ fumed another wizard, patting a large stocky man on the back. ‘I found a few customers here already. British economy might be sinking, but the paranormal world isn’t.’
‘Of course, Roger, your connections are impressive,’ said another paranormal, frowning.
‘I agree with Doug; times are tough at the moment so I’m trying to make the best possible savings. I lost twenty percent of my workforce due to cutbacks,’ said one of the small wizards with a silver beard. He reminded me of a Merlin figure, although he was wearing a black perfectly-cut suit.
‘Well, the government doesn’t make it any easier for us,’ Roger agreed, smiling. ‘Doug I think you should talk to that witch; she specialises in taxes. She saved me tons of money last year.’
‘So that’s your secret, Roger, you old git.’ Doug chuckled. ‘That’s how you made your fortune?’
‘Let’s talk about the workforce, gentlemen.’ Someone else interrupted who had been quiet. ‘I can’t afford to employ people that have been out of work for a number of months. I’m only working with the most prestigious clients.’
‘Yes, young people are so unreliable these days.’
‘Excuse me, may I interrupt? Julia Taylor, I’m from Paranormal Personnel. We deal with recruitment for paranormals. We can always negotiate margin and we don’t charge high fees,’ I said, barging in flashing my best and sweetest smile. I knew that I was being rude, but this was the perfect opportunity for me to show them that I could be their problem solver.
‘Paranormal Personnel?’ asked a small troll who just joined our group. ‘Don’t you guys supply people to La Caz Corporation?’
La Caz, that name will haunt me for the rest of my life, even if I die.
‘Yes, we do,’ I said quickly. ‘We supply people on a daily basis. We are based on Main Street in Croydon and have several paranormals approach us looking for work.’
‘What sort of sectors do you specialise with?’ asked the stocky wizard.
‘Manufacturing, mainly, but we do cover contact centres, admin, and other sectors. We’re pretty flexible,’ I informed him.
‘Yeah, I heard from La Caz himself that those guys are good. It’s a shame about the fire, apparently all your files have been destroyed,’ muttered the troll.
Nosy fucker, how does he even know this? Unless Jennifer started talking?
‘We are re-registering people, and—’
‘The fire was just a terrible accident, Mr. Liroy. Paranormal Personnel has never let me down.’
The familiar voice folded over my shoulder. My body locked when I felt his palm on my back. His voice woke my magic and every ounce of desire that I had been dismissing for so long. Air caught in my lungs as my need for him sank into my stomach. I wished I could just melt away. Every cell in my body clung to his presence and magic spurt over my fingertips. An electric flux of energy caused every small hair on the back of my neck to stand up.
Breathe, just breathe, and pretend he isn’t standing behind you.
‘La Caz, I’m surprised to see you here. We were supposed to have a meeting together the other day, but your secretary said you were in Geneva?’ The troll standing next to me frowned.
I didn’t dare turn around, but I could smell Nathaniel—lemons and lime zest. It was his signature scent, which normally drove me cuckoo, and right now I was barely controlling myself, shaking with pain and desire. I would never have attended this meeting if I’d known that this bastard was going to be here. Lucinda mentioned he was out of the country. I was supposed to have fun on my own.
Fate was on his side, surely not on mine, and I hated the bitch.
‘Some unexpected events brought me back to London,’ the half vampire said behind me. He was standing a few inches away, turning my body into mushy peas. His smell, his voice, and him just being so close deprived my skin of heat. ‘Gentlemen, will you allow me to take Ms. Taylor away? I promise to return her to you as soon as possible.’
‘I’m not finished here—
‘Make sure you do, La Caz. I certainly need to talk to that beautiful elf about my own company. I desperately need to a few temporary staff.’
‘Yeah, La Caz, I know your tricks; you only want to keep her for yourself,’ fumed the Merlin look-alike wizard.
I need to get out of here. Breathing the same air as La Caz is bad enough.
His palm was still on my back, and my magic was going crazy, swirling inside me like a tornado. We moved away from the group of businessmen an
d stopped by the bar, where he could watch what was going on around the room. He shifted his weight and leaned toward me, his sweet breath near my face. Warmth crawled through my skin and down between my legs. I was ready to tell him to leave me alone before he started to speak.
‘Julia, look at me—we need to talk.’
We were in a highly professional environment, so I didn’t want to make a scene. My heart was pounding and I was just about to faint when he placed his palm on my arm. His touch was like a bonfire in the night on my skin. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t pull away; a tremor passed down my spine. We were both aware that people were looking at us, but he didn’t seem to care. His attention was focused entirely on me. His hand moved my chin up and I couldn’t avoid looking straight into his eyes.
Fuck! He still looks incredibly sexy, as if this breakup didn’t affect him.
His hair was longer and smoothed nicely to the sides; his hazel eyes hardened. I couldn’t move or breathe, but the excess magic that had been accumulating inside me for weeks was going through rapture. Nathaniel La Caz knew what he was doing to me, standing so close, but he wasn’t planning to move; I could see it in his gaze. The brief memory of him in his office between my legs coiled through my mind. A flush crept up on my cheeks.
‘Julia, you can’t even imagine how happy I am, seeing you here,’ he said, his voice a whisper.
One, two, three, four ... breathe. Tell him to fuck off!
‘Really?’ I asked with a small voice. ‘You can’t even imagine how much you pissed me off by being here. Thank you for ruining my business pitch. I just lost a good business contact.’
Something flashed in his eyes, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Desire? Resentment? When he smiled, he was back to his normal self and my world was crashing down.
‘Don’t worry about those tight tycoons. They won’t go away,’ he said. ‘I’ve missed you, my firecracker. I want to straighten things out between us.’ He moved even closer, his voice just a husky whisper. The soft wind circled between us and my skin tingled with small cracks of static.
Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Page 26