It finally lurched and started moving down with my sigh of relief. Running from confrontation had never been my style, but in this case discretion seemed the better part of valor. Eldora had skills and powers I lacked, and getting into a contest with her when I didn’t know what I was doing would be stupid.
While I hated to pretend to be under her spell, even faking it, but at least now I had an idea what they were trying to do with me. Careful to keep up appearances, I wobbled into my office rubbing my temples and shut the door.
I emailed that I was taking the rest of the day off, grabbed my hat, pulled out my phone and texted Bran.My home is under surveillance. Cameras outside.
He replied within seconds.We will be careful. And I'll have Harry go check and make sure there are none inside.
The flash of anger at the thought made me draw a long hissing breath. It made sense, but if Eldora and Franklin were surveilling my personal moments there would be heck to pay for it. I rubbed my temples more as I left, ignoring the sympathetic gances I got, and waited until I was out of the office and in the lobby before I decided to tell Bran I wanted to meet him.
It took me a minute to think of a place we could get together where I wouldn’t run into people who knew me. That left sushi and Indian food out of the picture, as well as steak places.
I finally got on my phone's maps app and found a wine bar that wasn't in my normal traffic pattern. I'd never been there before, and it wasn't a place I'd normally hang out. Wine bars weren't exactly my forte.
I shot off one more text to Bran, asking him to meet me at the bar as soon as possible. We had to figure out what in the world to do next. And it was strange to use the word we—I didn’t normally wait for other people to give their input on my decisions.
9
ANDROMEDA
Despite being awayfrom people who made me angry, I was a little on edge as I walked into the wine bar. It was a popular spot to see and be seen, crowded even at lunch, and though it wasn't exactly my scene, due to the fact too many of my clients hung out there at the moment, it would be a good place to meet Bran. At least there was no danger of Franklin walking in. This was far too trendy a place for him. He was more likely to be in some gentleman's club, the few that still existed in the world, full of cigar smoke and leather. And misogyny. My sister had mentioned they hadn't gone anywhere for fun in years, just business functions.
"Excuse me," I said to the hostess, a young woman with purple-striped black hair. She wore a crisp white shirt and black trousers, narrow at the ankle. "Has a Bran Smith arrived?"
"No, but he does have reservations." She smiled at me, grabbing two menus and heading for a table.
Of course they did. I was the one who'd made them under his name thirty minutes ago, including the request for a table in back. "I'll just have a seat and wait for him, then." Even though it was unlikely Franklin would think to look at this particular randomly chosen restaurant, I'd avoided using my name to be safe. Heck, I probably should've put them under a fake name like Dolly Parton or Seymour Butts.
The woman walked me through the dim restaurant to a small table in the back corner. The server came over immediately with a glass of water. I ordered a glass of pinot grigio and a charcuterie board. I didn't know exactly what Bran would like, so I got a side order of olives, a beef tenderloin and fontina cheese gourmet pizza, and in a moment of whimsy, potato skins. Something for all palates. It wouldn't hurt to take some home for leftovers, or Bran could take it to his goblins.
Hisgoblins. What a thought. Goblins were real and the ones I'd met so far were, well... they'd been a delight. They probably ate a lot. Didn't monsters have large appetites? They certainly did in all the stories, but then, none of the goblins in the stories looked like Bran, either. Not even slightly.
I couldn't help but feel a little impatient as I waited. I'd asked Bran to meet me here as soon as possible, and he’d affirmed, but I had no idea how long it would take him. Every minute felt like another opportunity for Franklin and Eldora to use whatever it was they did to find me and try to mess with my mind again. Fury pounded against my temples, thankfully painlessly, but it kept me antsy. I needed to hit something. Or someone.
Franklin. I needed to hit that son of a—
The server began to set the appetizers down on the table. I mentally bit my tongue and sighed, then remembered my manners and thanked the woman. It wasn't her fault my brother-in-law was a piece of trash.
The food did look amazing. I was starving. Maybe a side benefit of magic was it burned lots of calories?
The cheeses and aged meats were delicious, and the artistically arranged condiments on the board to swipe them through tasted amazing. I eyed the pizza, then took a potato skin instead. Cheese and bacon. Yum.
I was just about to start in on the olives when Bran finally arrived. Walking in, I watched him speak to the maitre d, but then spotted me. He looked a little frazzled, but no worse for wear. When his gaze landed on me, his face morphed in a way that told me he was truly happy to see me.
Way to make a girl feel good.
Geez. He was still just as handsome as the first time I saw him. And the second time. And the third. How had I gotten matched with this gorgeous man?
Oh, yeah. He was a goblin who needed my reputation skills. Could he have manipulated the match thing?
No. Surely not.
"Sorry I'm late," he said , dropping a kiss on my forehead before he sat down with a radiant smile. "I had to make sure my people were taken care of. Neither of them have been…in the city…for very long."
"It's no problem," I said. I'd been sitting here for almost half an hour by myself, feeling a little awkward as I nibbled. Now that Bran was here, though, I felt better. More secure. He'd keep anyone from trying magic on me. It was then I realized the way I'd been feeling had been incredibly vulnerable.
I didnotlike feeling vulnerable.
Straightening my spine, I glanced at the food. "I ordered some appetizers. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything."
