"Oh, what was his name?" I squinted my eyes and furrowed my brow, starting to enjoy this. "Randy or something like that. He stopped by and gave Bran some paperwork, then left. It seemed like business. I kind of wondered why he was working so late, but I’ve pulled some overnighters myself, like when your one client decided to—"
"But what did you talk about?"She cut me off, pacing, frustrated with my answers.
"How did you know I had visitors?"
Eldora waved her hand and kept moving. "If you could remember these conversations you'd know I have cameras outside your condo. But you don't, and you won't remember it later, either. For which I’m actually sorry, because it would cut down on a lot of repetition But your brother-in-law insists."
I stared at her in shock. I'd missed that in the memories, somewhere, but then, there'd been a lot of them to go through. She'd been spying on me. "You've been following me?"
"Of course. You're the only one in your family who's shown promise in decades. I'm not going to lose you now. I need an heir, someone to take my position over when I die. You’re what I’ve got, once you’re ready to train."
A shiver ran down my spine. "What if I don't want to help you?"
She stopped and turned to look at me, her face set in lines of stone. "You will help me, or you will die." She scoffed. "It's not like you have a choice."
Eldora was serious. This wasn't a game to her. It was life or death.
And I had no idea how to beat her at it. Nor any idea of what was going on from her point of view. Why did she think I was her heir?
The wicked woman began walking around me again, and the magic pressed at me, like an animated tar pit. Gasping in mock sickness, I grabbed my head and moaned. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Oh, dear," she said, coming to my side. "Let me help you to the couch."
Her hand closed around my arm and she tugged me up out of the chair. I had to go with her or make it obvious I was faking, so I hobbled along to her couch.
"You don't seem too terribly sick," she said, her voice laced with skepticism.
Instead of looking up at her, I rubbed my forehead. "The headache isn't quite as bad as last time. Maybe I still have some of the medicine I took in my system."
She clucked her tongue. "I doubt that. I hope you aren’t getting resistant, I don’t want to have to use more extreme measures. Back to the subject—you were telling me about the matchmaking system you're in? Is there anything strange about it?"
"Oh, yes." I blinked several times. "Was I? Well, yes." Had to pretend to be confused. "It's been nice. Nothing weird, all the staff were very professional and pleasant, nothing creepy. I liked my first match quite a lot. Bran. He's new in town. So handsome, and very romantic. And athletic and smart!"
Her face hardened. “You do not want to enter a relationship with him, Andromeda. He's a terrible match for you. Take the sex, it will be great, but don’t get attached. Humans don’t mix with monsters long term.”
The words slapped at me, her magic pressing against my skin, as if it were trying to pass through and make a home inside me. Though it constricted, it couldn't get past the soothing film I’d conjured up, which I hoped meant I’d figured some way to counter this woman’s power. Because I was darned if I was going to let her and freakin’ Franklin start dictating my love life as well as my work life.
I breathed in through my teeth. When in doubt, let them assume what they wanted to believe. “Why are the men I attract always terrible?”
Her face relaxed a tiny bit. “Just bad luck, my dear. I know someone much better for you, and I’ll see you’re introduced as soon as possible.”
Uh-huh. Sure. Not in this lifetime. I shut my eyes and shook my head, pressing my fingertips against my temples.
She tutted again and touched my arm, the pressure of her magic letting up a little. "How are you feeling now?"
I made a retching noise and she jumped back, moving to snatch her wastepaper basket and put it in front of me. I did it again for good measure and slumped forward holding onto the arms of the chair. Maybe I should pursue a career in acting? "I just need to rest."
"Yes, you do that," she said hastily. The sticky magic pulled away from me, stretching like taffy before it snapped back to her. "You stay right there and rest. I'll tell Franklin you're here and check on you later."
She bustled out, the door shut with a click, and I was alone in Eldora's office.
Much as I wanted to act like my favorite characters in books and films and hastily search her desk, I refrained. Letting out a sigh of relief I dropped my head in my hands to keep my face concealed while I planned. If she had a camera outside my home, she probably had at least one in here, too.
What to do now? Staying wasn't an option, I had no desire to sit like a lump for the rest of the morning. After a few minutes, I'd had all I could take. Leaving and taking a sick day had just become the plan.
I hopped up and cracked the door open, peering down the hallway. The faint clatter of keys told me that the administrative assistant in the next office was busy on her computer, and the coast was clear.
This was my chance. Tiptoeing down the hallway, I made it to the lobby, then straightened my spine, smiled at the receptionist, and got onto the elevator. As the doors closed, Eldora walked out of a doorway down the hall. As fast as I could, I pressed my hand to my forehead and moaned. The doors closed, and I jammed twenty-three as hard as I could. "Move," I muttered to the elevator, much good it would do.
