“I take it that’s my cue to exit. All right. Nine PM. Don’t be late.” And without another word, he let himself out.
CHAPTER THREE
Next morning, I headed in to work. Penn stayed home, because she had orders to fill from her online store. I had told her about what Vaurice said about family marriage.
“I’ll cut off his dick if he tries,” she said.
“Doesn’t he scare you? He’s full demon, after all.” I admired the way she seemed to face down danger and spit in its eye. And yet, the woman was terrified of getting locked into a relationship.
“He’s nervous around Hecate’s chosen. I plan to remember that,” she said, grinning. “Go, have a good day, and I’ll see you tonight.”
I grabbed my travel mug, which held a quad-shot iced latte, and headed out the door. On my way to work, I noticed I was driving differently. I felt more confident. As I approached work, a text came through. It was from Penn.
i’m telling you, i’m not interested. that asshole is just trying to mess with my head.
what do you mean? who’s trying to mess with you? I asked, using the voice control.
i mean, i’m not interested in your brother. he just texted me. this time he asked me out on a date. i don’t mind taking messages from him, but i refuse to go out with him. he’s trouble.
Fuck. Vaurice was pushing his luck. I could handle it if he kept his efforts focused on me, but he was trying to rattle us. He clearly hadn’t learned his lesson from Hecate if he was willing to bother Penn like this. Or maybe he just liked living dangerously.
okay, i’ll have a talk with him. just ignore his text. i’m so sorry about this.
it’s not your fault, and i get why we have to play nice, but damn it, if seton wants me to go out with vaurice, he’s going to be in for a shock. talk to you later.
I pulled into the lot, parked, and sat there, staring at the steering wheel. Why did I have the feeling we were in for a whole lot of frustration before things got better?
As I entered the office, Sophia was arguing with Dante. “I asked you last week for those reports, and you still haven’t given them to me. If you expect me to fill out payroll for the end of the month, you need to get them to me.”
Dante sighed. “I did. I left them on your desk yesterday.”
“They weren’t there when I got to work this morning,” Sophia said. She was usually a patient person, but Dante could be a pain in the ass sometimes. But he was our pain in the ass.
“I tell you—oh, come on.” He motioned for her to follow him. They went into his office and I heard him say, “I was sure I put them on your desk!”
“Well, you didn’t. Give them to me, you goose.” Sophia returned shaking her head. “You’ll all be the death of me someday.” But she was smiling.
“Good morning to you, too. I’ve had a frustrating morning. And a frustrating evening, though yesterday was eye opening. I’ll tell you about it in the meeting. We have a client scheduled for today, right?”
“At eleven-thirty. I’m not too sure about this one, but there’s another case as well. For once, neither one involves a haunted house.” Sophia chuckled. “I had the feeling it was going to be one of those days when I couldn’t start my car and had to call Carson for a ride. We stopped on the way and bought breakfast, doughnuts, and coffee for everybody. Orik’s already here, too, so we’re ready for the staff meeting.” She gathered her tablet, her notepad a file folder, and headed for the breakroom.
I stopped at my office before joining the others. I tossed my jacket on the sofa, pulled my tablet out of my backpack, and headed in to find out what the day had to offer.
“So, my brother came over last night,” I said, raising my eyebrows.
Dante groaned. “What did he want?”
“My father expects me to join him for dinner tomorrow night, along with Vaurice. We’re meeting at Amané’s.” I rolled my eyes. “Vaurice was a total jerk when he came over, but I did find out he’s wary of Hecate. He mentioned something about being young and stupid around her and getting shut down. But this morning he texted Penn, asking her out.”
Carson stiffened. “He what?” He was drawn to Penn like a moth, but she had very firmly friend-zoned him so she wouldn’t break his heart.
“He and Penn got into it last night. She warned him not to mess with me, and they started sparring—verbally, of course. But Hecate came through loud and clear, and he backed off. I think he felt he had to have the final word, because this morning he texted her, asking her out.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I’m meeting my father tomorrow night and I’ll ask him to back off then.”
“I still think this is too dangerous,” Dante said. “Your father is a demon lord. Who know what the hell he’ll do if he finds out you’re spying on him?”
“I can only guess,” I said, feeling far from as offhanded as I sounded. “I think you’d have a new boss, because I’d either be in hiding or dead.”
“Is it worth it, then?” Carson asked.
