by Maria Xystra
Sam and Parisha on the other hand, distanced themselves from me after that day and I never really cared to find out why. Until one night when they were walking around the campus and a group of frat guys approached them. The girls had deliberately taken a detour from the bench where I was sitting and enjoying my cigarette. I kept my eye on them since they looked drunk, and as soon as I noticed the men blocking their way, I got up. They wouldn’t stop harassing them and I knew I had to do something.
I pulled my hood over my head and walked straight towards them. I deliberately bumped my shoulder against the guy holding Sam’s arm and used my weight to shove him. ‘Watch where you’re going doofus!’ he protested. The girls were smart enough to use the distraction I created and moved away. The guy’s hand reached for my elbow and pulled me back, turning me around so I could face him. ‘Don’t you think you should apologize?’ he stepped closer, inches away from me. ‘I don’t apologize for things I meant to do,’ I replied and shook my arm. His grip tightened around my elbow and he said: ‘I’m the captain of the football team!’ I raised my eyes to his and warned him: ‘If you wanna keep playing, get your hands off of me.’ He took it as a challenge and when his mates started whistling and joking at my threat, he threw a punch aiming for my face. I easily ducked away from it and when the rest of the guys started to join the fight, I took his fist in mine and twisted it around his body. He kneeled on the ground and moaned in pain. The closer the other men got, the more I made him scream. ‘Another step and he won’t be part of your team anymore,’ I threatened them.
Thankfully, they came to their senses, backed off and never tried anything like that again. I found Sam and Parisha in my room, waiting for me. They were hesitant and pretty scared, but they had sobered up after what had just happened. ‘We thought we should be afraid of you!’ Parisha blurted out and Sam nodded. ‘Me? Why would I ever want to hurt you?’ I asked in disbelief. They exchanged glances and eventually admitted they’d known I was a vampire for a while now. That night marked the start of our friendship and it changed a lot of things for me.
The same thing seems to be happening now. Earning Sam and Parisha’s trust and acceptance was something I could never even fathom. Now, with all these people getting closer and closer to me, I’m not sure how to handle it and I dread the possibility of them finding out about my secret. Al insisted that hanging out with people like Cole and Eric is great and that I need to tune down my insecurities.
At the back of my mind, the image of my father spiraling and drowning into darkness won’t stop haunting me. What if I end up like that, too? I can’t afford to, though. I gotta be stronger than that, stronger than him. For Lydia, at least.
*****
“So, are we set for the 4th of July weekend?” Sam asks and steals one of my fries. Spending most of our evenings at ‘Nirvana’ has become the norm for us now. I still can’t believe that this bar was here all along and we only started coming here a few months ago.
“Are you really not telling me what we’re doing?” I try to get something out of her, even though I know it’s all in vain.
“Not a chance! You know it’s a surprise. It’s the only time of the year I get to plan this for you and you will not ruin it! You have two months to get yourself ready for an amazing getaway and you’ll love it, I promise!” she reassures me.
Her previous 4th of July surprises included Las Vegas, San Francisco, Phoenix and San Diego. So, I’m not complaining. I’d just like to know what to pack!
She gives me no time to present my argument and quickly jumps to another subject.
“How did the speech go at UCLA?” her question comes muffled by the fries she shoves into her mouth.
“It was OK. The speech wasn’t that interesting, but I got to see Al. Oh, and guess what! Professor Cute-ington’s been made head of the department!”
OK, the guy’s real name is Cuttington and well, he was really handsome. He was one of those professors whose class you never missed, even if he was teaching astrophysics! That was about the time Sam’s weird word-joining started.
“Ooooh, really? Is he still married?” she gets excited in a second.
“Yes, but it’s not like that ever stopped you before,” I wink at her referring to an old fling she had.
“He was technically divorced!” she defends herself as always.
“He was technically still married! His divorce papers hadn’t been finalized yet!” I give my usual answer.
“You promised you’d stop bringing this up!” she accuses me.
“I just couldn’t let the chance go by!” I laugh at her for getting itchy about it.
“Just don’t mention this to Eric,” she drops her face and plays with her drink.
“I won’t,” I bump my shoulder on hers.
A minute later she switches the subject to the AMC’s Sunday fundraiser.
“So, can we go through the gala guest list?”
“Sure,” I open my email and we spend an hour confirming attendance and going through every single detail a person could think of – damn you, super-thorough Sam.
CHAPTER 22
Buried in a pile of paperwork, an intriguing thought comes unwelcomed to my mind – and it is like a punch in the stomach.
It would have been so easy to miss it, with all the accounts’ statements, the bank letters, and the receipts for the Auracle project. Going through all of that for every transaction of every business for the past decade has sucked the life out of me. Thankfully, after a couple of months of hard work I’m nearly done with it. And the 4th of July weekend is only a week away! Yay!
This disturbing possibility has been itching at me for a while and I catch myself hoping that I’m wrong. See, the thing is…I think that maybe there’s a chance that …Digit could be stealing from Cole.
I sure hope I’m wrong. Digit has been Cole’s accountant for years but there’s a detail in some bank statements that doesn’t add up. I’ve collected all the receipts from every single transaction – even for straws –, but there’s a significant amount of money paid each month to a company called ‘Over the rainbow’ I can’t find any receipt for.
That’s strange. Over the past five years, Cole has been signing checks for this ‘ghost’ company that amount to about $30,000. And none of my internet searches for it has been fruitful.
“Hans…,” I mumble as I make the difficult decision to talk to Cole.
My Hawaiian assistant hurries into my office with a huge smile on his face. I try to smile back but he quickly picks up on my mood and gets serious.
“What’s up, sugamama?”
I run a hand through my hair and rub my eyes furiously. My exasperated sigh says more than I intended to.
“Are you OK? You look like you’ve had a rough day. And night. And not in the good way…,” he observes and comes closer. “Do you want me to hold your calls?”
“No… I need you to call Mr. Theron, please.”
“Oooohhh! That explains a lot!” he winks at me.
“No, no… this is about work,” I simply say, not realizing that this time I didn’t correct his insinuating comments that there might be something other than work.
“Oh, OK,” he sounds defeated and a frown settles between his eyebrows. “I’ll ring him right up.”
A second later I hear him having a brief conversation with Cole before he passes the call to me.
With stiff determination – though my hands start to sweat – I pick up the line.
“Hey, Lexy, let’s make this quick, I’m in the middle of something,” he quickly orders me.
Stunned, I try to find the right words to begin.
“It’s about… it has to do with…um… Do you know a company named ‘Over the rainbow’?”
“What’s this about?” he sounds in a rush.
“It’s a… a company you’ve been giving money to for a while now…”
“I don’t know. Call Digit.”
“Digit is… he is… I can’t get any
answers from him,” I reply exasperatedly.
“What’s the company called?” he continues in busy mode.
“Over the rainbow, do you know what it’s about?”
“It’s a non-profit organization for children, right?”
“A non-pr-, says who?” I try to draw his attention on the matter.
“Can you get to the point, Lex?” he hurries to dismiss me.
“I can’t find any receipts for your donations to it and-”
“And you’re calling me why?”
I mumble through my words and he sighs. I’m officially getting pissed off.
“I don’t have all day, Lex. What do you want? Didn’t I give you the authorization you needed to get information from the bank?”
“Yeah, but there aren’t any documents concerning this organization and I think… I think…”
“You think what?” he asks authoritatively.
“I think Digit might be stealing from you,” I finally blurt out.
“Excuse me?” he says after a moment of silence.
I sigh deeply and repeat, “Digit might be stealing from you.”
“Do you have any proof?” he asks in a low voice.
“I…no… I mean there is some suspicious movement here, but-”
“Well, if you can’t present me with something substantial, then find some proof and call me back,” he hangs up the phone.
I blink once or twice, in an effort to register what just happened and replace the receiver on the device. What an asshole. I’m telling him someone he trusts has been cooking up something dirty and he doesn’t even give me the time of the day to explain how I came up with the assumption?
Except… except if he already suspects it too. Could it be? Well, it’s Cole so of course it’s possible. One thing is for sure though. He is not willing to help me with this and I can’t ask Digit yet, so…I’m gonna have to get to the bottom of this on my own. And I will. You want proof Mr. Theron? I’ll get it and when I do, you can shove it up your-
“So, how did it go?” Hans’ head appears on my door.
“Great. Just great.”
*****
That same evening, I rack my brain to come up with a possible explanation or at least a scenario I could look into but come up blank.
Knowing that Sam had to run some errands for the gala, I ended up alone on a Friday night, lounging on the couch and going through take out menus, thinking of my dinner for the night.
With my hair still dripping and forming funny wet stains on my t-shirt, I roam around my apartment thinking about Digit’s agenda.
Why would he steal from Cole? And most importantly, how?
I’m afraid I’m gonna have to pay a visit to this ‘Over the rainbow’ company to get some answers.
My eyes rest on the chest grandma and grandpa gave me before I left Greece. The damn thing won’t open!
Just what I needed, another mystery I can’t solve. Just like any other night I tried to find a way to open the lock, I have for once more ended up cleaning it all over. The difference is that this time, the carved shapes on top of it seem to be letters. Like someone has written something on it. I lean closer to see if I can make anything out when the doorbell spooks me.
I open to find a delivery man handing me a bag full of food. I frown trying to remember what I ordered and realize that I didn’t!
“Um… I’m sorry I think you got the wrong-”
“Are you Ms. Davis?” he asks me with a slight latino accent.
“Yes, but…”
“This is for you then. And it’s already paid for.”
“Already paid for? From who?”
“Don-know, don-know,” he shrugs and hurries to leave.
As I take the food bag from him and get ready to close the door, the elevator bell sounds and the answer to my question walks out.
The tall, handsome man holds the elevator for the delivery guy to enter. He gives me a sideways glance, accompanied by a captivating, full-dimple smile.
“Hey, Tipsy!” he greets me offering me a six-pack. Not the kind I craved for. I realize that I’m stripping him with my eyes as if his black tee has just been ripped off by an invisible force and hurry to look down- up! I mean up! His eyes travel from my wet hair to my chest. I can feel my breasts swelling under his scrutinizing gaze and involuntarily my nipples become two hard buds clearly visible under my t-shirt.
“Hungry?” I ask Cole hoarsely.
“Starving,” he replies in a husky voice.
“For what?” I carry on.
“Uh...wh...ah...”
Did Cole really just go all ‘uh…wh...ah...’ on me? Way to go Lex! Lexy vs Cole: 1-0. Victory dance in front of him – in my head. Boo-yah!
“What? You don’t know what you ordered?” I tease him and nod for him to come inside.
“Subs and jacks,” he says and makes his way to the kitchen bar.
“Great. Be right back,” I leave him for a sec to put on a bra, for God’s sake! And mine.
And of course, he notices.
“Aww… You shouldn’t have,” he starts with a wicked smile.
“Shouldn’t have what?”
“Dress up for me,” he says, and a giggle escapes him.
“Oh, no? I thought it would help you avoid any ‘uh...wh...ah...’,” I mock him for his previous ‘words’.
He grants me with an adorable laugh.
“So, how come you’re here? No date tonight?” I mock him.
“Oh, I had a date…”
“And she blew you off?” I reply, too late to realize the innuendo.
“Well, you could say that...”
Motherf-
“Oh, and what? No rainbows and butterflies?” I retort.
“I don’t do rainbows and butterflies,” he states and passes me a dish.
“Speaking of rainbows, what’s the deal with that company-”
“No work talk, Tipsy,” he shuts me down just like that. Again.
“The guys are asking if you’re coming to poker night this weekend,” he changes the subject.
“Can’t,” I reply as I bite into my sub. “Gotta help Sam with the gala.”
“Isn’t that next Sunday?”
“Yeah, but you know Sam, she needs to have everything ready well in advance,” I point out and he nods.
He is of course invited to my company’s annual gala, as are all clients and staff. Like seeing him five days a week isn’t enough!
“Who are you going with?” he asks unexpectedly.
“Hmm?” I try to swallow.
“Are you bringing a date with you?” he says and drinks from his beer.
“Don’t know yet,” I try to sound as casual as possible. “What about you?”
“Are you asking me to be your date?” he raises an eyebrow at me.
“Ha! You wish, Theron.”
When he pays a visit to the bathroom, his phone starts ringing, and I reach over the coffee table to read the screen.
‘Charlotte’. In a split second, I make the foolish – yet very brave dare I say – decision to answer it.
“Yellooo!”
“Hey Colie bear!” a squeaky voice comes through.
“Colie bear can’t come to the phone right now, who is this?”
“Oh, it’s Charlotte, who is this?” she replies.
“I’m his…secretary. Can I take a message?”
“Oh, OK! I just wanted to know if we’re still on for tomorrow night.”
Cole comes out of the bathroom and I lock eyes with him.
“Just give me a second Ms. Charlotte to see if he’ll be available at that time.”
“He can’t cancel on me, again!” she hurries to say. “It’s been so long since we last…met.” My eyes blurred. From anger.
“Oh, let me check his schedule for tomorrow. Let’s see…umm.. Mary, Hannah, Gloria… Ryan…I’m sorry sweetie it seems Mr. Theron won’t be able to do you tomorrow!”
Cole takes two strides and comes
towards me in a threatening way. I climb over the back of the couch and jump out of his reach as I hear her mumbling something.
“OK, gotta go, now! Bye!”
“Hand me the phone. Now,” he commands and starts chasing me.
I toss it to him and make a run for it.
He manages to get hold of his phone with one hand and use the other to grab me by the waist. In my effort to escape his hold, I end up swimming in the air.
He drops me on the couch and falls on top of me to immobilize me. I freeze in place. My heavy breathing has nothing to do with our chasing. He gives me a throaty giggle and a full view of those adorable dimples.
As I try to bring my breathing back to normal his scent invades my brain and all I want to do is draw it all in, even if that means I’d never breathe again.
I let my eyes run over his face, his lips, his neck. I bite my lips in order to contain myself from acting on it and instantly become aware of our lower bodies’ closeness. Even with our clothes on I can feel the heat emanating from every pore of him and I’m sure he gets the same sensation from me.
He slowly leans towards me, bringing our faces in dangerous proximity.
He runs his fingers over the side of my face removing some strands of hair and lowers his lips on mine.
He softly brushes my lower lip and I try to remember how to breathe.
As if some kind of revelation hits him, he stops and sets his forehead upon mine, sighing deeply.
As my limbs are ready to give in to this irresistible attraction and let myself spread under him in a silent invitation, I hear him whisper, “Damn you, Eric.”
My eyes dart open and I am violently thrown out of that hazy trance I was in.
My phone starts ringing, and Cole lifts himself off me.
I answer the call while he slumps onto the couch and after adjusting his jeans, he throws his head back and brings his hands over his face.
“Alex?” I talk to the person on the other end of the phone.
Cole’s eyes dart to me and I look away.