by Ashley McLeo
James opened the conference room door at her approach.
“Evelyn. Come in,” he said, his gray eyes crinkling at the corners. “Now that we’re all here, we can begin.” James motioned down the long table.
Evelyn twitched as she took in the figure in the room she had not seen from the hallway. He was young, only a few years older than her, though his stance suggested otherwise. Tall, slender, and well-built, the man filled any space in the room not taken up by the large personalities of Evelyn and her parents. He looked up, saw her standing in the doorway, and with a closed-lip smile walked forward and extended a hand. Evelyn slammed down sturdy mind barriers—it was a self-imposed rule she’d devised for business interactions to keep them fair—before clasping his hand. Their skin touched for only a second before she pulled away.
What was that? She caught the man’s playful blue eyes.
“Sorry about that,” he said shaking his hand and extending it once more. “I’m Roman. Roman Simons. Didn’t mean to shock you. It’s a surprise anything can carry electricity in here, what with all the glass and paper decor.”
Evelyn nodded and took his hand again.
“Evelyn Locksley.” She tried to concentrate on Roman’s strong handshake rather than the alluring, peppery scent of cloves.
“Evelyn recently returned from a trip to Ireland. We’re so glad that your time in the city overlapped. We think you two will find much that you can agree on,” Sonja said taking her seat, her eyes trained on Evelyn.
“Ahh, Ireland. A charming country. I have familial ties there. Dad and I try to get back at least once every year, go hunting, feel the blood of our forefathers pound in our veins. You know, manly bonding. Too bad we haven’t made it yet this year, what with the company growing so fast and all.” As Roman spoke a slight twang arose, and Evelyn’s ears perked up.
“Where are you from?”
“Nashville,” Roman admitted, a blush accentuating his high cheekbones. “But don’t tell my father when you meet him that you caught onto the accent. He tried to train it out of us as kids. He likes to put on the big city persona. Thinks somehow losing the accent makes us appear to be better businessman. Truth is, he has a harder time covering up his accent than me.”
Evelyn stifled a giggle. “Fake it till you make it.” The words escaped her before she could catch herself. Where is this shit coming from? And did I just giggle in a meeting? An unfamiliar heat crept up her neck and Evelyn realized she was blushing. She looked at her father, hoping he'd be able to set the meeting back on track.
The grin on James’s face said it all. There was a reason he had wanted her here, and it wasn’t all work related.
“Well, now that everyone knows each other, what do you say we get on to business?” James said correctly interpreting her glower.
They emerged two hours later, having achieved more than Evelyn expected despite her humiliating performance. She couldn’t think of a single other meeting where she’d added less value. Reading figures off charts was about all she had been good for. Probably because she didn’t have to make eye contact with Roman or her parents.
How could they embarrass me like that? She slammed her notebook on her desk. She hated being out of control in the two arenas she excelled at: business and men.
Don’t they realize I have more to worry about than men?
She shook her head at the absurdity of her own question. Of course they don’t. I still haven’t told them my plans to go back to Ireland. Or the reason why. With that she turned and strode out the door to her father’s office.
Her steps softened as she drew closer and peeked in. Roman was gone. They were alone.
“Evie! That went well, didn’t it?” James jumped from his seat as Evelyn slid his door open.
“Depends on what your meaning of well is. Why didn’t you tell me this was some type of weird setup?”
James and Sonja locked eyes and Evelyn read the words that flowed between them as clearly as if she’d been reading their minds with her mind magic.
Guilty, guilty, guilty.
“To be fair, darling, we didn’t plan it this way. Roman’s father was set to come instead.”
“But you would have known days ago. Yesterday, at the very least, when you three went over the preliminaries.”
James winced.
Guilty again.
“You’re right,” her mother said, leaning back into her chair, her fingers tented beneath her chin. “We should have told you we found Roman extremely charming and the type of man we want you with. Probably that he was young, and handsome, too, but when has that ever mattered?” Sonja raised her eyebrows. “You always have the upper hand with men. I see it at every society function we attend. After I spoke with Roman yesterday I’ll admit, I hoped you’d take to him. Even date him once we finalized his accounts and set them to automation so it didn’t violate company protocol. But I wasn’t about to make a big deal over something that may be nothing.”
Evelyn studied her mother. No doubt Sonja was telling the truth. It didn’t make Evelyn feel less humiliated, but at least the air was clear now.
“Alright,” Evelyn said dropping into a chair next to her mother. “As long as we’re being honest now, I have something to say.”
Her parents nodded.
“I have to go back to Ireland soon. I’m not sure for how long and it’s not fair that Vicencia gets bogged down with all my work. I’ll be there for the foreseeable future so you’ll have to hire someone capable to help.” Her heart hurt saying the words.
“What do you mean foreseeable future?” James asked, his eyes hardening.
“Are you moving there?” Sonja bit her lip and drew her brows together.
“I . . . no. There are things I have to work on with my family there. Things I can’t do from New York.” Why can’t I say it? I’m a witch and I have to train to save the world. How hard can it be?
She opened her mouth, but the words stayed lodged deep inside.
“That complicates things,” James said leaning forward in his chair. “Your advancement within the company, for one thing. Especially if you don’t know when you’ll be back. And that’s not even taking into account our current situation.”
“What situation?”
“The one where Roman has asked to work with you as his lead account manager on this project. I hope he’ll still be amenable to working with us once he learns your exiting. It’s a large deal for Locksley Enterprises.”
Evelyn’s stomach hardened. She’d seen the numbers and knew how large a deal it was for them. If Roman’s company kept expanding at its current rate, it meant hundreds of millions to billions in added revenue every year.
A battle broke out inside Evelyn. The business woman in her jumped at the chance to prove herself. To grow her father’s company in a way that with their average clients could take years. To be the one who took Locksley Enterprises to the next level.
The witch was cautious.
From what Brigit told them after the battle between Evelyn’s witchy family and the vampires in Alexandria, the triplets were nowhere near as prepared as they should be to face their foes. Evelyn knew she should be in Ireland training and learning magic. She didn’t want to fall behind in her training and be the weakest of the three. Especially, now that they'd lost the element of surprise and secrecy.
Evelyn shivered as Brigit’s ominous words of warning that they should be battle ready at any moment came rushing back to her. That Brigit had only been willing to give them two weeks with their adoptive families before returning to Fern Cottage spoke volumes. And Evelyn was all too aware her time in New York was almost up. Brigit probably wouldn’t have let us leave Fern Cottage at all if Lily hadn’t been so deep in mourning. Not after the horrors they saw in Alexandria. But I don’t want to disappoint dad either . . .
She hated letting her father down. James Locksley, the man she had looked up to all her life. A man who had given so much of himself to his company and yet always ma
naged to put Evelyn and Sonja first. A father who was annoyingly supportive when it came to Evelyn becoming acquainted with her birth family. The one person who helped them get to Alexandria to try to save Lily’s kidnapped family member from the vampires, no questions asked, when it seemed impossible. I can’t do that to him.
"I’ll stay to help with the Simons account, but only until we get the initialization plan off the ground and running. A month, two at the absolute most. After that, someone else will have to take over for the next few months before automation. It will take at least that long at their current growth rate to stabilize. And it can’t be Vici, she’s already got enough. Hire someone and I can supervise remotely until they are comfortable taking the reins.”
James smiled, “That’s our girl. Roman will be pleased. He took a liking to you.”
“And us trying to set you up is a moot point, now that you’re taking an extended break. You won’t have time to fall for him,” Sonja teased, though Evelyn could tell she was trying to put on a happy face at the news of her daughter leaving again.
Evelyn returned her father’s smile as her stomach flipped uncontrollably. How am I going to tell Brigit? And, even worse, Lily? We’ve finally gotten on semi-even ground and now I’m abandoning her for two months? And I still have to tell everyone I’m a witch . . .
Evelyn closed her eyes briefly. One thing at a time. “Thanks, Dad. Have Natalia send Roman my information, will you? I’m late to meet Vici for lunch.” She turned to leave, feeling even more confused than when she’d arrived at the office that morning.
Acknowledgments
Prophecy of Three is like Lily, it was raised by a village.
Thank you to my husband, Kurt Leopoldt for always believing in me, even when my drafts were not so great, and allowing the space and time to follow my dreams. You keep me thankful for your love, unyielding compassion, and support everyday. I love you babe.
To Jennifer Roop, my editor, I'd have so many misplaced commas without you! In all seriousness, you brought my work to a new level and gave me valuable, constructive, kind input when I needed it. Thank you for caring about Prophecy, being open to discuss my ideas, and supportive. You're the best!
A huge thank you to all my family and friends. Especially the ones I bugged with strange but pertinent questions to make Prophecy seem more real. Thank you for indulging me. Unlike some authors I never had the experience of anyone being anything but supportive and excited for me. That went a long way in the days when I myself wasn't very excited about my work. Those days were usually when the manuscript was covered in red, and right before my novel got better. In short, thank you for the push to rise to the next level, and being willing to read my first crappy drafts with love.
To my beta readers, I seriously could not have written Prophecy to a higher standard without your input. Every one of you were wonderful to work with and brought new insight to the table. Please never leave me!
Max Tsikhach, my talented cover artist. Thank you for creating such a beautiful cover and being a delight to work with. I hope we work together many more times in our futures as artists.
Sometimes an artist author more than critiques on their work, and that is where my Indie Author Business Group came in. Thank you to everyone in the group who helped open my eyes to a whole new world of marketing and promotion that every book needs to be successful. I learned so much in our Friday meetings.
Finally, thank you to my email list subscribers for taking a chance on a newbie author. Your support means so much, and I hope our relationships continue to grow.
* * *
With love and light,
Ashley McLeo
About the Author
Ashley lives in Portland, OR with her husband, Kurt and their dog, Flicka. When she’s not writing she enjoys traveling the world, reading, yoga, cooking, and connecting with family and friends. She’s currently studying to become a yoga instructor and obsessed with poke bowls and moon water rituals. Prophecy of Three is Ashley’s debut novel.
@amcleowrites
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