by Tasha Black
Today she just needed distraction. And pacing the thick carpets wasn’t helping.
She was worried about her sister.
Jess was pulling away. Retreating into herself. And Cordelia didn’t know what to do about it.
Cordelia thought that coming to work this morning would be the best course of action. She hoped that it would help get her mind off things. Maybe even give her some inspiration.
But it wasn’t working.
So she pushed all thought aside, and pulled up Peter’s schedule on her computer. There was a meeting she could fill in. That would pass about two minutes.
But as she pulled up the date and time to put in the new appointment, she saw that the time was already blocked out.
That was odd. She hadn’t scheduled anything there. She scrolled through the next few days.
There was another unmarked time blocked out that she hadn’t scheduled herself.
She pulled back to the monthly view and found several of these empty times blocked out. One of them was right now.
She figured there must be a problem with the software.
Cordelia hopped up and traversed the thick carpet toward Peter’s door. She’d have to ask him what to do about the bug in the calendar program.
And she would ask for a few days off. It was too hard to be here when she was worrying about Jess. Maybe if she took her sister away from Glacier City for a few days, they’d both feel better.
Oddly, the door to Peter’s office was closed. She’d never seen him do that before, not even when he was meeting with someone.
She had just lifted her hand to knock, when the door pulled open.
Familiar laughter greeted her.
Peter shook hands with Prince Isaam. The handsome dignitary was one of Worthington Enterprise’s biggest investors. He even held a seat on the board of directors. What was he doing here? And why didn’t Cordelia know about the meeting ahead of time?
“Cordelia, my flower,” the prince said immediately, his dark eyes flashing playfully. “What a joy to see you.”
Cordelia blushed.
“You’re still so solemn,” he teased.
“Prince Isaam has generously agreed to help fund some of my new initiatives,” Peter said, looking back and forth between the two. “I didn’t realize you were acquainted.”
“Once upon a time, Cordelia held the heart of Worthington in her palm,” the prince said. “Her guidance helped to bring it out of the dark. If you’ve acquired her expertise, I can make my contributions to you with confidence.”
Peter raised an eyebrow.
It was flattery, nothing more, Cordelia was sure of it. But she couldn’t stop the pride that expanded in her chest at his claim.
“What can I do for you, Cordelia?” Peter asked. “You’re not going to try to back out of the thing with the mayor tonight, are you?”
Crap. That was tonight. She’d finally managed to block it out of her mind. A fancy, black tie affair was the last thing she wanted to be doing tonight. But Peter had insisted his whole team be there for some big announcement from the mayor.
“No. It’s not that. I’m just having a little technical issue,” she said as vaguely as possible.
“Ah, technology,” the prince intoned thoughtfully. “The power to change lives, in the right hands.”
Suddenly, Cordelia wondered again what had made him so interested in Med Pros back at Worthington Enterprises.
“So what seems to be the problem?” Peter asked.
It hit Cordelia at that exact moment that Peter just might have marked that time off himself. What if it wasn’t a software bug? What were they really talking about in there, if Peter didn’t want the meeting on the books?
She paused. In the distance, the phone on her desk began to ring.
“Never mind, Mr. Watson. That’s probably Roy from IT. I’m sure he’s got it all sorted out,” she said with a professional smile.
She would ask for those days off later. Something was going on here, and she had a feeling it was worth looking into.
Peter returned her smile, relieved. She knew he wasn’t a very tech savvy person.
“Cordelia,” the prince said. “Please come with me. I will feed you lunch and hear about your life.”
Oh, dear.
Cordelia remembered the last time she’d shared a car and a meal with the man. He’d fed his companion, Noora, from his hands, and practically made love with her in the car and the elevator, explaining to Cordelia that life was too short to deny oneself joy.
And Noora wasn’t with him this time.
“I’m so sorry Prince Isaam—”
“Please,” he insisted. “Tarek.”
“—Tarek. I have too much work to do today, especially with the event tonight. I just don’t have time,” she apologized.
He placed one hand on her sleeve. As in the elevator, the last time, he leaned in close to her, so close it felt like he might kiss her. She could smell the hint of cologne and the musk of his distinct manly scent. His gorgeous face was even more angelic up close like this. And his eyes were nearly hypnotic.
“Cordelia Cross, you are given the same allowance of time as everyone else. One lifetime. No more, no less,” he whispered. “It is up to you to choose what you spend it on.”
12
Cordelia stood in the entry to the ballroom, breathless.
It was hard to believe something this extravagant could be going on, while so many people in Glacier City were struggling just to get by.
Even with the thought tugging on her conscience, it was hard not to get swept up in the splendor of it all.
A woman strode past, wearing a sheer gown that seemed to just barely cover the parts that needed covering.
Cordelia looked down at her own ensemble, and suddenly felt both over and underdressed at the same time.
She’d dug up the blue bridesmaid dress she’d worn the night West had stood her up at Les Cadeaux. Of course he had only stood her up because he had been thrown from the twelfth floor of Worthington Enterprises, but she hadn’t known it at the time, as she sat at the table of Les Cadeaux, nursing a single glass of ice water.
She had felt like a fool. All gussied up and of course West hadn’t shown up.
It was pretty much the way she felt every day now- foolish to have thought she could have it all.
She’d been miserable putting the dress on again tonight.
But it wasn’t like she had two evening gowns.
She pushed the thoughts away and looked around again, unable to help feeling a little excited. It was like a fairy tale come to life.
The walls were thick with white wainscoting and golden embellishments that crawled up around the windows like vines, reaching for the curved ceiling as it swept up high, like a church. Three enormous crystal chandeliers illuminated the marble floor and the stage at the back of the room. Lining each wall, enormous pillars reached from floor to ceiling. A cozy window seat was nestled between each set of pillars, so that the whole room looked as if it were lined with romantic little nooks. The dulcet notes of the string quartet at the entrance echoed the mood of the room.
Nearby, tables groaned under the weight of platters with every manner of delicacy, as champagne flowed from the fountain in the center.
The room was crawling with men in suits and women in elegant gowns.
Cordelia wondered, not for the first time, if West might be here tonight. This was just his type of event - high profile, black tie…
The thought of West in one of his suits made her heart pound and she felt herself blush.
What in the world was she thinking?
Cordelia tried to bring herself to heel. She needed to keep her wits about her. Just being close to him for a few minutes outside the Worthington building had been enough to make her feel reckless.
And besides, he probably wouldn’t come tonight anyway. Cordelia was sure he had plenty to occupy himself with in the evenings.
Almost the instant the
thought crossed her mind, she spotted him. She’d barely taken ten steps into the room, and her eyes had been drawn straight to him.
He stood tall in the crowd, the light of the chandeliers gleaming off the darkness of his hair. As always, Cordelia’s gaze caressed the angle of his cheekbones, his sensual mouth. He leaned slightly on a shining silver cane, and his dark eyes flashed as he held court over a small group of Glacier City’s elite, regaling them with some story or another.
They hung on his every word.
Cordelia was always amazed by the effect West had on people. At first glance, it seemed like they might be interested in his wealth, or his rugged good looks. But it was more than that. He was one of those people who knew how to assess the person at hand, and give them things they didn’t even know they wanted.
West said something, and the group erupted with laughter, like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard.
He looked up and caught her eye.
The rest of the world dropped away.
It was only the two of them. No complications. No outside forces tugging her in one direction or another.
And in that empty world, Cordelia was drawn to West. Beyond any doubt. Two souls, two bodies, a perfect match.
“Cordelia,” Peter’s voice interrupted, bringing her back to herself. “So glad you could make it. You might want to grab a bite while you can. Once the mayor makes his announcement, we’re going to need all hands on deck.”
That’s right. She was here to work. She’d almost forgotten.
She turned to Peter, but he was disappearing into the crowd again.
When she turned back to West, he had already gone back to his conversation, though maybe his expression wasn’t quite as animated as before.
Well, she might as well take Peter’s advice.
Cordelia headed for the decadent spread on the tables. Most of the food was stuff she didn’t recognize. She made up a plate of some things that looked safe. She was pleased with her choice of shrimp, fruit, and a tiny ham sandwich. A round ball of cheese caught her eye, and she spread a bit on a cracker and added it to the plate, then stepped back to the sidelines to watch the party as she ate.
All around her the guests were having fun. Some showed off their dancing lessons. Most were talking and laughing.
West wasn’t with the same group of people as before, which was probably a good thing. She didn’t want to spend the whole evening staring at him.
She looked down at her plate instead, and chose a shrimp.
Delicious.
How could someone do anything to an ordinary shrimp to make it taste that good?
And it didn’t stop there. Each bite was more delectable than the last.
Until she got to the cheese on the cracker.
She bit only half the cracker, but that was enough.
Pungent and peppery, with a strange texture, the whole thing felt almost as if it were wriggling in her mouth.
It was the most revolting thing she had ever experienced. There was no way she could choke it down. She wasn’t even sure she could make it to the bathroom to spit it out.
“Casu Marzu?” West voice said, from behind her. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type.”
She turned and West took her plate and handed her a napkin, then moved her backward between two of the pillars to shield her from view of most of the room.
Cordelia didn’t have a choice. She spat the writhing mess into the napkin, praying she could fight her gag reflex enough not to vomit.
Suddenly, a flute of champagne appeared in her hand, and the napkin vanished like a magic trick. She took a sip and swished to clean her mouth before she swallowed.
“What the hell was that?” she asked West.
“Casu Marzu. Affectionately known as maggot cheese,” he explained teasingly. “It’s considered quite the delicacy.”
“It’s not really…” she trailed off.
“Riddled with living fly larvae?” he asked.
He moved between her and the table, but not before she caught a hint of squirming movement in the cheese ball.
The blood drained from her face.
She was going to throw up. Right here. In front of everyone.
West’s warm hand enveloped her elbow, steadying her.
“Easy, Cord. Just breathe. Concentrate on the sound of my voice,” he said.
That was easy. There was nothing else in the world Cordelia wanted to concentrate on more.
He led her deeper into the nook between the pillars, where they couldn’t see the table anymore. It was darker, and felt almost private from the party.
“Everything is going to be okay,” he whispered.
She wanted that to be true so much.
The sick feeling began to recede. At last Cordelia felt like herself again.
West was still holding her elbow.
She risked looking up at him. His eyes darkened.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said.
The blood was back in her cheeks instantly. Every part of her leapt to attention as if those four words were designed to call her home.
She took a sip of champagne, hoping it would calm her.
Instead, the taste slammed her back to the night in the garden when they’d sipped champagne from coffee mugs. When he had put his hands and mouth all over her until she had wanted to die from the pleasure.
Suddenly, she was warm all over.
They couldn’t keep going like this. They needed to talk to each other, they needed to bring everything out into the light.
“It’s nice to see you again,” she said, her voice a timid whisper. “I never got to say goodbye the other day. You just vanished. Like a… ghost.”
She watched his expression turn from aroused to shocked.
“I’m not an idiot, you know,” she told him. “I was there that night, with Sean Cooper. Who else could do the things you do?”
She had know from the first news story about the vigilante and his almost superhuman abilities. She’d just figured it was something West need to do on his own. And it had seemed to give him some of his old fighting spirit back.
“Of course,” West said. “I just thought…”
He looked like he wanted to say so much. Why was he holding back? What was he so afraid of?
“It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone about your alter ego,” she said, touching his left arm, the real one.
West winced in pain.
It reminded Cordelia of the days spent in Cobble Slope with West, nursing him back to health in spite of his anger and frustration.
She hadn’t known, back then, how good she had it. She would trade anything to have that back.
He looked down at her in wonder and Cordelia waited, for what she wasn’t sure. For his kiss, for an explanation, for something that would bring them together again.
The music from the string quartet stopped abruptly.
She looked up to see Peter motioning for her.
The mayor was stepping up to the small stage.
Cordelia sighed inwardly.
“Duty calls,” she told West, trying not to get lost in his eyes again.
“Of course,” he smiled down at her, but didn’t let go of her elbow. “I’m glad I got a chance to see you tonight,” he said at last, pulling her in to brush the top of her head with his lips, then releasing her.
“Me too,” she said, dashing away to stop herself from wrapping her arms around him.
13
She’d been so close. West had practically held her in his arms. The smell of her hair had him half-drunk with love.
But what really hit him was the fact that she knew. She knew he was the vigilante, The Ghost, and maybe she had known all along.
But she’d always read him like a book. He wondered if he was as easy to predict as one of her zoo animals.
The mayor had the stage now, and all eyes were on him. This could be important. West had to table his thoughts of Cordelia.
For no
w.
Mayor Hillman looked like the mayor in a blockbuster movie. Middle-aged, fit, thoughtful. His light brown skin didn’t even shine with sweat under the lights. He was the kind of straightforward man who didn’t have to be nervous. The mayor pushed his glasses up his nose and began to speak.
“I want to thank you all for coming out tonight,” Hillman’s biggest flaw was his nasally voice. It was almost grating, and the man always seemed a bit too confident, a bit too prone to laugh at his own jokes. But West had known him for a while. He knew that Chester Hillman really did try to do the right thing for the city.
“On behalf of Glacier City, I thank you for your generous contributions. As you all know, the city has been struggling under recent budget cuts and the impact the recession has had on the city. But the five hundred pound gorilla in the room is the increase in our crime rate. The Glacier City Police Department simply isn’t staffed to handle the sudden surge in street crime.”
So much for pleasantries. He was getting right down to business.
The guests had been clapping and smiling at each expression of gratitude. When Hillman paused to allow the last line to land, there was silence.
“For any of you who don’t know him already, this is Peter Watson. Everyone knows he has been doing some amazing things securing funding for the city. He is here tonight with a brave solution. A bold step forward for Glacier City. Peter, please come tell us more about your project.”
As Peter stepped onto the stage, West heard a whisper from nearby.
“That one should run for mayor, he’d be a shoo-in.”
West couldn’t help smiling.
He was glad Peter was doing well. And on his own. They could probably be friends again, now that Peter was out of West’s shadow.
If it weren’t for Cordelia.
West tried not to seethe as Peter gestured for her to join him onstage. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on between the two of them. He hadn’t really dared to let himself think about it.
“The people of Glacier City are good people,” Peter began. “They deserve to be able to walk the streets without fear. The GCPD has been pushed past its limits. The department is not equipped to deal with the rising threat to our citizens.