What sort of job was this? And who the hell warranted this level of caution?
The keys were scarier than the veiled and not so veiled threats of before. Cherry was Jerry’s baby. She was a candy apple red 68 Ford Mustang GT/CS, hence her name. I’d never heard of Jerry lending her to anyone. He did, however, break every bone in a gnome’s arm when he had the audacity to touch Cherry’s paint with his dirty hands.
I stood. Jerry’s attention shifted back to the paperwork in front of him.
“And Aileen, I don’t think I have to tell you to bring her back in the same condition I lent her to you in.”
I nodded quickly. “Of course.”
My footsteps echoed in the warehouse as I stepped down from the dais and walked away. My priorities for that money had shifted. It was now earmarked for a down payment on a car. I never wanted circumstances to force me to borrow Cherry again. My luck was just not that good. Hopefully, it would hold out for the night and I could return the car to Jerry undamaged.
CHAPTER THREE
I’M HERE TO see Mr. Barret,” I told the receptionist.
“Name.”
“Aileen Travers.”
“He doesn’t take walk-ins. Please schedule an appointment and then come back,” she said without lifting her eyes from the computer.
“He should be expecting me. I have an appointment for ten.”
The clacking of the keys paused, and the receptionist finally looked up. She scanned me skeptically. I fought not to fidget. I couldn’t help being a bit self-conscious in my tight athletic spandex pants and bright yellow fleece. I’d thrown a beanie over my hair before I left the house, and I was wearing my fingerless gloves. I’d dressed for riding my bike in fall. It was hardly the professional attire she was probably used to.
She pulled up a screen on her computer. “There’s only one appointment for ten.”
“Yes, it should be for Hermes Couriers.”
She arched one eyebrow. “You’re with Hermes?”
Nobody ever believed I was with Hermes. I didn’t know what it was about me that caused such doubt.
I reached into my messenger bag and pulled out my employee ID, holding it out so she could see.
“Please take a seat until you’re called.” She pointed one long finger at a trio of uncomfortable, modern looking chairs.
I checked my watch. It was 9:50. I had ten minutes before the pickup time. I could wait and hope he consented to see me before the deadline. On the other hand, this could be a test to see if I had the assertiveness needed for this job.
I’d never been one for waiting.
Ignoring the protestation behind me, I walked over to the double doors and pushed them open. Since there was no real attempt to stop me, I assumed I’d made the right choice. It was easy to find my way as the double doors led to a hallway, which led to a conference room unlike any I had ever seen.
It was nearly the size of a basketball court, which by itself would have been amazing considering this building didn’t look big enough to house a room of that size. The show stopper—the thing that made me catch my breath and drew my attention upward—was the night sky twinkling on the ceiling. It wasn’t a projection or painting either. The clouds actually moved, obscuring some of the stars. The moon looked so close and bright that I felt I only needed to reach out my hand to touch it. The sky was as beautiful as any I had seen in the mountains of Afghanistan. Better, because I knew it should have been impossible to see from this room or even in Columbus. Too much light pollution here to see the sky in this clarity. If not for the four walls surrounding me, I would have sworn I was standing in a field far from the city staring up.
I’d always had a thing for the stars. Once upon a time I wanted to be an astronaut or at the very least an astronomer. If not for my very real deadline, I could have spent hours staring.
“Magic,” I said softly. It was impressive. Probably more than any I’d yet seen.
“How very astute,” a voice said from right behind me.
I jumped and whirled around.
No one was there.
I searched the shadows, for the first time noticing that much of the room was hidden from me. With the help of my vampirism, I should have been able to see into every corner of this room as if it was daylight.
Looks like magic was good for more than turning a ceiling into the sky.
