by Jaye Wells
“Aye, aye, captain,” she said mockingly and hung up before he reminded her to be careful again. After gathering her bag, she headed to the employees’ entrance, making sure to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. She had no idea what a minion looked like, but she suspected they were a lot like the Goth kids she’d seen hanging out at the mall in their “The Cure” T-shirts and black fingernail polish.
However, she’d recently learned a lot of her assumptions about vampires were dead wrong. With that thought in mind, she made one last survey of the parking lot. When she caught herself eyeing a blue-haired museum volunteer suspiciously, she decided Logan’s doomsday attitude was starting to wear off on her.
She took the employee elevator to the third floor, where the staff offices were located. Since it was Monday, the museum was closed to the public. But the staff would be hard at work preparing for a new week of programming.
Syd walked down the corridor toward her office. She waved to a few coworkers and stopped to chat with another curator. It felt great to be back in her element, on familiar ground. She stopped outside her office and looked at Jorge’s empty desk. She shook her head. Her whole world had been turned upside down in the last week, but she could always count on Jorge to stay the same. She shrugged, figuring he was either chatting up one of the museum guards or taking a two-hour-long coffee break.
She opened the door to her office and shrieked. Jorge’s corresponding shriek echoed off from where he sat on top of her desk barefoot in the half-lotus position.
“What in the hell are you doing in here?” she demanded.
“You gave me a stroke,” he said at the same time.
“What?”
“Just when I was about to achieve inner peace, you barge in and throw off my chakras,” he accused.
“Jorge, get off my desk. Have you done any actual work since I’ve been gone, or can your chakras not stand the strain?”
“Duh,” he said as he untangled himself. “Of course I’ve been working. I was just taking my meditation break.”
“Meditation break? Since when do you meditate?”
“Since today. I owe it all to my yogi, Fred. He has opened a whole new world to me,” he said with a faraway look in his eyes.
“Wait, what kind of yogi is named Fred? And since when do you take yoga?”
“You mock what you do not understand. I started yoga on Saturday. You remember my friend Pierre? You met him at the Christmas party last year. Anyway, he told me about the hot instructor at his yoga studio, so I decided to check him out. Fred is a yoga god. You should see the positions that man can twist his body into . . .”
“Okay, enough. I get the picture.”
“No, Syd, I am telling you this is love,” Jorge said.
“Well, I am very happy for you and Fred,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. She’d missed Jorge.
“Thanks, girl. Hey, what the hell happened to you? I’ve been calling you for two days. You look like death warmed over,” he said.
“Gosh, Jorge, stop it. You’re going to make me blush with all the compliments.”
“Sorry. But seriously, girl, you look ragged.”
“Things have been . . . interesting,” she said.
“Oooh, do tell. Oh lord, please tell me those bags under your eyes are the result of playing marathon hide the salami with the Hot Scot all weekend.”
Syd laughed but didn’t really want to discuss Logan’s salami with Jorge. She decided to go with the story Logan gave Stiggler.
“No, nothing as interesting as that. They sent me to Asheville on Saturday night to check into their archives there,” she said.
Jorge narrowed his eyes. “Really? And you drove four hours to Asheville on Saturday night and fours hours back last night? Boy, that must have been some speed research you were doing,” he said.
She looked away, knowing she was busted. Stiggler might buy anything any the Murdoch’s were selling, but Sydney had never been able to get anything by Jorge.
“Okay, look, things have been a little weird over the last couple of days, but I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.
“Hmm. Given your appearance, I’d say you’ve been through the wringer. Just tell me one thing, and I’ll drop it. Did anyone hurt you?” he asked, suddenly serious.
She smiled at him, grateful for his friendship. Besides the thwarted attack in the alley and some damage to her heart, she hadn’t truly been harmed. Therefore, she looked Jorge straight in the eye when she responded. “No one has hurt me. I just have some things to work through.”
“All right, I assume this has to do with Logan. I know you don’t want to talk about it now, but if you ever do, I’m here okay? And if he ever does hurt you, I’ll damage his salami for you,” he stated loyally.
“Thanks, Jorge. You’re a good friend,” she said and hugged him.
“You’re a pretty righteous babe yourself,” he said and hugged her back.
“Miss Worth, why is it I am constantly finding you throwing yourself at men around here?” Stiggler’s grating voice asked from behind Sydney. She slowly turned to face him. “Although in this instance I use the term man loosely.”
“Mr. Stiggler, I resemble that remark,” Jorge said and sent Syd a wink before slinking out of the office.
“Mr. Stiggler,” she said, trying to mask the distaste his presence inspired.
“I see you’re back from Asheville. I trust you are here because you have wrapped up the Murdoch issue.”
“Not exactly. I came in to catch up on some other work. I am afraid I don’t have the proof yet,” she said.
“What’s the hold up, young lady? The police are following leads on this theft even as we speak. By the time they find the portrait, we need to have this matter settled,” he said.
“I understand the gravity of the situation. All I can say is I am doing the best I can. In fact, I have neglected all of my other work to focus solely on this case,” she said, hoping he’d take the hint and let her get back to her job.
“Yes, don’t think I haven’t noticed the neglect. I am watching you, Miss Worth. Once this Murdoch fiasco is over, you and I are going to have a long talk about your future at this museum. Or should I say your lack of future?” he said and sneered.
Syd stared at him for a moment, struggling not to take the bait. Her fighting side wanted to get into it with him right then. She had had enough of his crap. But to go there would guarantee she’d be fired before the end of the day. All she could do for the time being was to be professional and appeal to the museum board later on to keep her job.
“Mr. Stiggler, if you have complaints about my performance, I suggest you document them. But for now, I have work to do,” she said as calmly as she could.
“I have already begun a file,” he said. “Rest assured the board will be receiving a full accounting.”
“Until then, I have a job to do. Please excuse me,” she said and walked to the door, giving him a not-so-subtle hint to hit the road.
He continued to stare at her in what she guessed he thought was a menacing manner and then finally left. She closed the door firmly behind him, feeling proud of herself for remaining calm. After dealing with vampires, Stiggler was about an intimidating as a kitten.
A knock on the door broke into her thoughts. Hoping Stiggler hadn’t come back for round two, she opened it. Jorge stood there with a huge grin.
“Girl, that was awesome! Way to go,” he said and held up his hand for a high five. Syd halfheartedly slapped his palm and turned to sit at her desk.
“Why aren’t you doing the happy dance? You put the pig in his place,” Jorge said, taking a seat in the small chair opposite her.
“I have too much to do to start celebrating yet. Besides, he basically said after I finish the Murdoch case I am going to be unemployed.”
“Come on, Syd. There’s still hope. You still have the museum board behind you,” he said.
“I know. I am just tired of dealing with ever
ything. I think I need a vacation,” she said.
“Oooh, girls' trip. We should go to this great little island in the Caribbean that Pierre told me about. Hot guys as far as the eye can see,” he said with a dreamy look in his eye.
“First of all, what happened to Fred? And second, I doubt those kind of hot guys would have any interest in me.”
“Syd, I’m in love, not dead—I can still look. And as for you, I thought you just needed to relax. What better place to relax than an island where none of the men will be trying to get in your pants?”
Syd laughed. “Maybe you have a point. But first I have to sort through all this mail,” she said, gesturing to the huge stack on her desk. Apparently, Jorge had been too busy meditating to do his job.
“Ooh, look at the time. I need a coffee break,” he said and stood to leave. “Have fun with that.”
Before she could stop him and order him to help, he was gone. Her cell phone rang from her purse, which she had dropped by the door. She bolted out of her chair and grabbed it as it hit ring number three.
“Don’t yell. I had to dig through my purse,” she said by way of greeting.
Logan’s deep laugh filtered through the line. “That’s okay. I am calling fifteen minutes later than I said I would. I decided after my last call I was acting like a mother hen.”
Syd chuckled back. She felt comforted by his rich voice. “I thought you were going to sprout feathers.”
He chuckled again. “So how’s it going?”
Syd sighed. “I have used up almost an hour of my allotted three and have gotten no work done. But on the bright side, I had a run-in with Stiggler.”
“Do I need to call him?” Logan said, suddenly sounding protective again.
“No, I handled it. For now. I was just about to dive into a week’s worth of mail when you called.”
“Okay, I’ll let you get to it. Listen, it seems silly for me to call you again when you’re so busy. Why don’t you just give me a ring when you leave?”
“Thanks, sounds like a good plan. I am probably going to just lock my office door for the next hour and a half and focus on work anyway. But I’ll call you when I leave,” she said.
She hung up the phone after their good-byes feeling slightly better. Odd that the only thing she wanted to do earlier was get away from him, but now she just wanted to get her work done and go home. She paused.
Home?
No, she didn’t mean home. She meant Logan’s house. And she only wanted to go back there because . . . Well, she didn’t know why exactly. Best not to think about it now. She glanced at her watch. She had one hour and fifteen minutes before she had to head out. Time to get cracking.
An hour later, Syd had sorted through her mail, returned eight phone calls, reviewed the plans for an upcoming exhibition, and gotten an update from Jorge on all the museum gossip. After all that she decided she deserved a restroom break. Jorge knew where she was headed. Not because she volunteered the information in the name of caution, but because, being Jorge, he asked.
After doing her business, she went to the sink to wash her hands. The door opened, and Geraldine walked in. The woman paused in midstride when she saw Syd. Her mouth gaped for a second, but she recovered quickly.
“Sydney, I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said.
“Did you think I used the men’s room?” Syd joked.
Geraldine looked confused for a moment, and then her face cleared, indicating she got it.
“No, I meant here at the museum. Mr. Stiggler said you were in Asheville,” she said.
“Oh, uh, yes, I just got back and decided to come in and catch up on some work,” Syd replied.
“How long are you planning on being here today?” Geraldine asked. Syd frowned at the woman’s nosiness. She wondered if she was spying for Stiggler.
“Actually, I am leaving in a little bit,” she said.
“Oh, good,” Geraldine said, sounding relieved. At Syd’s questioning look, she quickly added, “It’s just I know you must have a lot of catching up to do since you’ve been working on that project for the Murdochs.”
Syd assumed Geraldine was spying for Stiggler and didn’t answer. She watched the woman fidget for a moment.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Geraldine finally said. “I just remembered I have to make a phone call.” She scrambled out the door, leaving a confused Syd behind.
That was weird, Syd thought as she tossed her paper towel into the trash. Syd knew Geraldine was a bit eccentric, but her behavior just then had been downright odd.
As Syd made her way back to her office, Logan’s warnings briefly flitted through her brain, but she shrugged them off. Geraldine was harmless, and Syd’s initial hunch was probably right—the woman had just been snooping on Stiggler’s behalf. She pushed Geraldine from her mind and concentrated on wrapping up for the day.
Twenty minutes later, Syd turned off her computer and picked up her cell phone.
“Hey,” she said when Logan answered. “I am about to leave.”
“Are you in the car?”
“No,” she said stifling a yawn. “I am heading there now.”
“Why don’t you call me when you’re in the car so I know you made it okay?”
“Logan, I’m fine. What could happen between my office and the car?”
He sighed that long-suffering sigh of his. “Fine, but if you’re not here in the next thirty minutes, there will be hell to pay.”
Syd chuckled. “Okay, then. That just means I’ll have to drive really fast in that hot car of yours.”
“Just wear your seat belt,” he said, but she heard the smile in his voice.
“Yes, sir. See you in a bit,” she said and hung up.
She grabbed her bag and made one last pass through her office to be sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. Then she went out to give some last minute instructions to Jorge.
“Headed back to Maison d’Murdoch?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t grill her.
“Are there a lot of boxes left to go through?” he asked innocently.
She heaved a mental sigh of relief. “Yes, a few. Look, I really need to get going. You can call my cell if anything comes up. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”
“Okeydokey, boss lady,” he said with a friendly smile.
“Have a good day. Tell Fred I said hi,” she said with a wave as she turned to go.
“Will do. Oh, and Syd,” he said.
She paused and turned back with her eyebrows raised in question.
“Don’t forget to use a condom,” he said with an evil grin.
She felt her cheeks heat as she recalled the econo-sized box sitting in her suitcase. Knowing she looked guilty as hell, but not knowing what else to do, she just turned and walked away. Jorge’s laughter followed her as she hurried to the elevator.
All the way to her car, she could only think about condoms and Logan and how she was on her way back to his house. She lectured herself that given the current state of affairs, the last thing she needed was to muddy the waters by sleeping with Logan. Again.
The memory of their first encounter nudged its way to the front of her mind. Maybe the fact he was a vampire was to blame for their explosive lovemaking. After all, the same heightened senses and strength that gave him an edge over mortals in everyday life had to translate into bedroom activities as well. She decided that must be the reason he was the best lover she had ever had. Granted, her list of lovers was brief, but he definitely took the cake.
Looking at it that way, she rationalized, maybe using more condoms wasn’t such a bad idea. After all, she should take advantage of his special skills while she still had access to them. Because she knew soon she would go back to her life, and he would continue with his. Eventually, she would be old and grey and he would still be beautiful. Who knew? Maybe by then he’d settle down with some vampiress.
She frowned at the thought. If her attraction to Logan was only physical
, then why did she feel ill at the thought of him with another woman? After all, it wasn’t like she loved him or anything.
Right?
She stewed as she approached the Porsche, which gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight. She reached for the door, but stopped when a red Corvette pulled up alongside her. Geraldine got out of the car and came around to where Syd stood.
“Hi, Geraldine, what’s up?” Syd asked, trying to hide her lack of enthusiasm over the woman’s interruption.
“Syd, I am so glad I caught you,” the older woman huffed, out of breath.
“Did you need something?” Syd asked.
“Actually, yes,” she replied, her eyes darting nervously around the empty parking lot.
“Well,” Syd said, wanting to get this conversation over with and leave.
“I need you to come with me,” Geraldine said quickly.
“Where?” Syd asked. Feeling uncomfortable, she started to back away.
“I can’t tell you, but please Syd, just get in the car,” Geraldine pleaded as she took another step toward her. When the woman reached into her purse for something, Syd’s instincts went on red alert, and she decided it was time to get out of there.
“Geraldine, I’m sorry but it’s been a long day. I really need to get going,” Syd said as she started to reach for the car door.
“I really didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.” Geraldine suddenly pushed a rag in Syd’s face and held tight while she struggled. “It would have been so much easier if you had just come along nicely. But no, you had to be difficult about it.”
Syd swiped at the woman’s hand, but Geraldine had a surprisingly strong grip. She had no time to question why Geraldine would be doing this to her. She tried to hold her breath, but soon she was gasping from the combination of the struggle and fear. The smell of chemicals hit her like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, she felt lightheaded, and her strength seemed to desert her.
After dragging her to the Corvette, Geraldine shoved her into a low seat. Her head lolled to the side, and her eyelids felt heavier by the second. She felt rough hands on her chin as her head was turned.
“Still awake, huh? Jeez, you’re stubborn. Don’t worry. You’ll be out before you know it.”