Augustine’s officelay on the seventeenth floor. He’d chosen that location precisely because it satisfied his requirements for being high up but lacked the ostentatious statement of a top-floor office. During his tenure as the CEO of MII, his father had occupied the penthouse business suite. When Augustine officially took the reins of MII, he resolved to never enter it again, and he hadn’t set foot there in years.
The elevator doors whispered open, and he invited Diana forward with a sweep of his hand. They walked across the spotless dark blue floor through his kingdom of tall white walls and cobalt-tinted light streaming through the sheath of blue windows that wrapped around the building.
He watched Diana’s expression covertly. Her face was relaxed and pleasant, her eyes calm. Prime Harrison moved with smooth grace, almost gliding across the floor, and theDoberman at her side matched her stride. The dog’s natural ears were down, her mouth half-open in a canine smile. He had seen enough Dobermans in his line of work. They were cautious dogs, alert and restrained in a new environment. This one was doing a fine impression of a golden retriever. There was an odd synergy between the woman and the dog—both sleek, assured, and pretending to be harmless.
They reached his office, where Lina sat at a pristine desk, presenting the last line of defense to the visitors. The desk was crafted from polished metal, with a single white orchid growing from a simple pot. His secretary chose to match the orchid today. A white dress hugged her body, perfectly tailored and form-fitting, yet elegant. Her deep emerald hair, wrapped in a trendy twist, shimmered with peridot highlights. Her eyebrows were black and shaped with laser precision, and she had selected green and black eye shadow to accent her eyes and mauve to tint her lips. As always, the effect was stunning.
Unfortunately, his newest intern had referred to that precise shade of mauve as “hot dog lips,” and now he could not divorce himself from it. Mentoring the youngest Baylor child came with its own annoyances.
He nodded to Lina and led his visitor to the right, where a translucent wall of frosted glass hid his office space. A nearly seamless door swung open, and Augustine paused on the side, letting Diana enter. She walked in and sat in a chair, smoothing the skirt of her elegant grey business suit with a practiced gesture. The Doberman dropped on the floor to her right. Not a concern in the world.
Augustine sat behind his desk. His office was located in the corner where two walls of blue glass met at an angle, and from his vantage point, he had a wide view of Downtown Houston. Unlike most people, he loved heights.
Diana glanced at a sign on the right wall, a quote without attribution.Trust Not Too Much in Appearances.
“Virgil,” she said.
It appeared that House Harrison believed in a classical education. “It’s a reminder,” he said.
“To you or to your visitors?”
“To me. We do our best to convince our visitors that we are trustworthy.”
“Is that why you chose a modern aesthetic for the building?”
He nodded. “Most people who want to hire an illusion mage come to us unsure what they might find. Consciously or subconsciously, they expect to be deceived. Our business requires trust, so we keep the interior simple, almost austere. Long unbroken walls, concrete floors, and transparent glass leave little room for illusions. People find it reassuring.”
“I see.”
She wasn’t giving him very much to work with.
“Are you truly trustworthy, Prime Montgomery?”
Augustine leaned back in his chair. “That depends on your definition of trust. Will I keep everything you tell me confidential, and will I do everything in my ability to help you if we reach an agreement? Yes.”
“In that case, would you mind answering a question before we begin?”
His guess was proving accurate. Nothing about this visit would be boring. “That depends on the question.”
Diana gave him a small smile, but her eyes remained watchful.
“I know that Arabella Baylor visits this office twice a week, and she hasn’t told her mother or her sister, Catalina, about it.”
Diana’s gaze turned direct and unblinking. She likely felt protective toward the Baylors. He wasn’t obligated to explain, but good business relationships relied on trust. And it was areasonable question. Catalina, Arabella’s sister, was the Head of the House. Anything hidden from the Head of the House usually wasn’t good.
Augustine reached into his desk, took out a folder, and offered it to her.
Diana glanced at the contents. “Internship agreement signed by Nevada Rogan? Arabella’s oldest sister gave her permission for this?”
“My sister graduated from Donovan High.” Normally he had a knee-jerk reaction to avoid speaking about his family, but for some reason it didn’t trigger in her presence.
Diana’s eyebrows rose. “Donovan? Not Heritage?”
Of the two high schools catering to the magically gifted, Heritage was far more prestigious. If you were a scion of a House, you went to Heritage, while Donovan took the rest.
“Yes. She attended under an assumed name.”
And an assumed persona. If Verena’s former classmates ever met her off school grounds, they wouldn’t recognize her. Except for Arabella, none of them had any idea what his sister truly looked like.
