He nodded. “I was grabbing something to eat.”
“When I was walking to get a cab, I could’ve sworn we bumped into each other.”
His eyes looked back blankly at her. “If you saw me, I didn’t see you.”
She licked her lips. He said he didn’t see her, but did she believe him?
He was trying to conceal his thoughts, but her intuition told her that she was right. What had happened wasn’t a dream.
She decided to take a risk.
“Roman told me some very interesting things about your family.” She leaned forward, closing the distance between them. “Things that I found very surprising.”
“Roman has a big mouth. He doesn’t know when to shut up.”
“I won’t argue with that.” She said with a deep laugh. “But I can’t help but think about what he said.”
He cocked his head at her with a puzzled yet amused look. His brilliant blue eyes reflected the candlelight of the sconces on the walls.
“What sort of shit did he tell you?”
“That you have a very…long family history. With roots in Transylvania. Or Romania. That’s what that the country has become, right?”
His square jaw was lacked firmly into place. Obviously he didn’t expect Roman to spill the beans like that.
“He told you all that?” He asked gruffly.
Harper just nodded.
“And you believe him?” He added.
“I don’t know what to believe at this point. But he — I don’t know what he did last night, but he wiped my mind.”
He looked down at the table, deep in thought. It was as though he was trying to decide what to say next.
“I looked everywhere for you. I lost your psychic trail. But I got to his mansion right after he sent you back to your house.”
“So you did see me last night.” She said, standing up. “How dare you lie to me.”
She grabbed her bag and made her way to the door. She didn’t care if the limo was there or not. She’d walk home. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand was being lied to.
“Harper, let me explain!” Bryce said. He chased after her and grabbed her wrist gently, pulling her towards him. The patrons of the club stared up in alarm and surprise.
“Let go of me, Bryce!” Harper shrieked. He released her arm and she pulled it towards her chest.
She turned and fled on foot, down the steps and into the front of the club where she saw the limo waiting. She ran over and pounded on the door. “Let me in! Let me in!” She demanded.
As she got in and told the chauffeur to drive, Harper wiped a tear away from her eye as she saw Bryce rush out through the front door, passing a bunch of men holding golf clubs out of his way. He looked right and left, a concerned expression on that handsome, chiseled face.
“What have I done.” Harper sobbed. “What have I done!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“How was the meeting?” Her boss asked later that afternoon. “We got a call from Bryce Petros saying he was interested in going forward and attributed his interest to your negotiation skills.”
“He said what?” She said, eyes wide. Harper knew she blew it earlier. Lost control of her emotions. Didn’t keep her cool. And now Bryce was complimenting her to her boss?
“That’s what he said. He wants to double his offer. And he’s demanding that your commission be pushed from .05 percent up to 5%. I think he’s interested in hiring you after this is all said and done. I don’t like that one bit, but it would mean you’d only have to work a couple more years before you got to retire. I’ve heard he’s a very generous employer.”
“I don’t understand. That meeting couldn’t have gone worse than it did.” Harper said.
Her boss shrugged. “It is what it is. We’ve all had meetings that have gone badly and then were perceived totally differently by the client.”
She sighed and stood up and stretched. “It’s almost 6:30. Mind if I go home? My mom’s in town.”
He nodded. “But I expect you here early tomorrow to go through Roman’s proposal.”
“Did you know that Mr. Washington was a programmer? Apparently what they want is an algorithm that he wrote.”
“Is that so? It’s included in the sale of the label?”
Harper raised her hands slightly. “We’ll have to talk to Mr. Washington about that. But if he coded it while he was an employee, it might be part of the sale.”
“This is the first I’m hearing about it. I want you to investigate.”
Harper smiled politely as he left the room.
She drove home quickly. She was excited to see her mother.
But she was also curious to see if what Roman told her was true or a lie. Was her mother really sick? Or was that just a sick joke he played to manipulate her emotions.
“Mom, I’m home!” Harper said as she stepped into the foyer of her condo. Fresh cut flowers were in a vase in the circular table that was the centerpiece of the table. “Mom, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble!” Harper said as she followed the trail of delicious smelling food to the kitchen.
The kitchen had always been her mother’s favorite place, and Harper was glad to see her mom was making herself at home.
“I got a gourmet meal for us tonight.” Her mom said with a smile. “I’ve been cooking all day. It’s really taken my mind off my worries.”
Harper set her Birkin down on the expensive granite countertop. “What worries are those?”
“We’ll talk about that later, honey pie.” Her mom said with a reassuring but sad smile. Harper felt herself choke up a little. There must be some truth to what Roman said to her in that dream-like state.
But now Harper knew it wasn’t a dream. It really happened. Her lunch with Bryce earlier that day basically confirmed that it was a real event.
As they finished up the delicious meal and after her mom caught Harper up with all the gossip from back home, it was quiet for a few moments.
Harper reached forward and took her mother’s hand. “Mom, tell me about these worries.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Her mom said. “The doctors think they found a lump on me.” She said with a laugh.
Harper’s blood ran cold.
“A lump?”
Her mother nodded slightly. “It’s really nothing to be worried about. It happens all the time.”
Harper took a deep breath. “I want you to move in here with me, Mom. While you go through the treatment.”
“Oh, baby girl, I couldn’t impose on you like that. It’d be wrong. You’re a young, single woman. I couldn’t infringe on your privacy like that.”
“It’s what I want to do.” Harper said firmly. “So will you move in with me?”
Later on that night, Harper stepped out into the soft night air on her balcony. She wrapped her Burberry shawl around her shoulders and stared off at the moon.
Her mother was asleep and Harper was comforted by the fact that she’d be able to take care of her mom through her trying ordeal.
But at the same time, Roman’s words…his premonition about her mother…seemed more like a threat. Like he knew it was serious and he was going to do what it took to use that against her.
Could I really give up my humanity to save someone I love? Harper thought to herself. Is becoming a vampire that big of a deal? How would her life change?
But I would do it if it meant saving my mother’s life, Harper decided.
Between Roman and Bryce, there was only one of the two who she thought she could trust. That was Bryce.
“I have to call him and apologize,” he thought to herself. “He must think I’m a lunatic.”
The phone kept ringing until a female picked up.
“Hello Harper.”
It wasn’t Bryce, that’s for sure. It was a woman. A voice she remembered but couldn’t place, even though in those few seconds she was racking her brain for where she heard that voice before.
“And who I am speaking to?” Harper
asked.
“It’s Victoria.” She responded snappily. “His assistant. We met in the bathroom, remember?”
Harper flinched.
“I just wanted to have a brief word with him. Do you know when he’ll be available?”
“He’s out of town until further notice, but I expect him back in a week or so.”
“Out of town? But we were trying to work on that deal to sell the record label.”
“Obviously it’s not a high priority of his. Otherwise he wouldn’t have skipped town.”
Harper felt her face flush with those stinging words. Not a priority. That was harsh. Bryce knew how important the deal was to Harper.
“Well, that’s too bad. I’m going to have to proceed with other options, I guess.”
“We’ve sent a letter to your office via courier requesting that you hold off on any deals for at least a week.” Victoria said icily.
“But you just said it wasn’t a priority. You need to take a second and reflect on whether or not this is something that’s important to Bryce.”
Harper waited, but there was just silence on the other end of the line.
She smiled to herself as she cradled the phone against her ear. She knew she had the upper hand now.
“You have feelings for him, don’t you, Victoria?” Harper asked.
“I’m his assistant. He’s a great boss. That’s all. And you shouldn’t even be asking me these questions. That’s very unprofessional of you.”
“I’m going to ask you one other question. And you’re going to answer me. Have I made myself clear?”
“Just spit it out, Harper.” She responded haughtily. “What do you want to know so badly?”
“Just how long have you known Bryce is a vampire?”
She heard Victoria gasp and then start breathing shallowly.
“How do you — how the hell did you figure that out?”
“I didn’t figure a damn thing out, Vicky girl.” Harper said, her eyes narrowing. “Roman told me.”
“Roman?! When did you see Roman?”
“Someone attacked me one night when I was walking to a cab. And then it just so happens that he took to me to some location where he told me everything.”
“Everything?”
“As far as I know, yes. Now I want to know about this algorithm. What does it do?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said flatly.
“Yes, you do. Now you’re going to answer me or you’re going to have hell to pay, you lying bitch.”
Harper screamed out and dropped the phone as she felt a presence enter the room. She turned around, her eyes as wide as could be and her mouth opened, about to let out a scream of horror.
It was Victoria. Just appearing out of thin air.
For a second, it just looked like an outline. And then it shimmered as it filled in, all the way until Victoria was standing right in front of her, as plain as could be.
“Oh my fucking God!” Harper shrieked. “How the hell did you do that? Lord have mercy!”
Victoria put her hand on her hip and posed.
“It’s as easy as pie. You’ll be able to do it, too. Once you convert.”
Harper backed away from Victoria, still scared out of her mind. She’d never seen anything as crazy as that in real life. Maybe in the movies, but she wasn’t a fan of sci-fi.
“Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.” Victoria smiled at her, a glint of mischief in her eyes. “Even though you called me a bitch.”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay?” Harper said emphatically. She put her hands up in deference to Victoria.
“Now you’re going to tell me a good place to eat around here. Because honey, I’m starving.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Victoria and Harper sat across from each other in a cozy booth at Kierra’s restaurant, Soul Food. Harper was finished with her chicken and greens and Victoria was just taking the last bite out of her sirloin hamburger.
“That was good. Damn good.” Victoria said with a shake of her head. “Tell your friend that she can cook. She can definitely cook.”
“You can tell her yourself.” Harper said with a grin. “Here she comes.”
“You enjoying yourself, ladies?” Kierra said with a pleasant demeanor. “Anything else I can get you?”
“You got any of that delicious apple pie left?” Harper asked.
“Sure, I do. Two slices coming up.”
“Don’t forget the scoop of ice cream, Kierra!” Harper said with a giggle.
“You know I never forget the ice cream.” Kierra chuckled as she sauntered away back to her place in the kitchen.
Victoria and Harper were silent for a moment. They both reflected on the past few hours. How they had gone from somewhat disliking each other to feeling a closer bond.
“You’re lucky to have friends like that, Harper.” Victoria said softly.
“I am.” Harper said as she took a sip of her Diet Coke. “I’m blessed. I am truly blessed.”
“And you call yourself the Realest Divas?” She said with a smile. “That’s so cool how you have your own little name for your group.”
“First of all, it’s not a ‘little name.’” Harper said with a swish of her head. “And although we’re all buddy buddy now, and I sincerely appreciate that, I think we’ve been dancing around the topic at hand.”
“And what topic would that be?” Victoria said with a tone in her voice.
“That topic would be what’s going on with Bryce. Where is he and why can’t I get in touch with him?”
“He’s at the Elder Islands. It’s off the coast of Romania. In the Black Sea. He had to go. The blood thirst was growing too strong.”
“The blood thirst?” Harper asked with trepidation. That sounded scary to her. It shocked her that someone so handsome and dignified could suffer from something with such an ugly name.
“Bryce is very strong. One of the strongest. He only needs to feed once or twice a year. He’s not so dependent on the blood as others. That’s why he’s been so successful. He’s not as preoccupied with finding the perfect feeder to give him that blood that he needs.”
“I’m sorry. It’s going to take me a minute to digest all of this.” Harper said, leaning back into the booth.
“Get over it, Harper.” Victoria said scornfully. “The faster you accept how things are, the better it will all be.”
“Fine. Then keep going. And don’t talk to me in that tone. This is your first and only warning.” Harper said with a joking voice. But she was serious. Dead serious.
“I’m beginning to believe that Bryce ‘marked’ you. When a vampiric male finds his soul mate, he sends a bit of his aura to surround her. A form of protection from other vampires, but also a way to mark his territory.”
“He did that? I don’t feel different at all.”
Victoria shrugged. “I don’t have the ability to detect it as I’m a female. Only another male could tell.”
“That must be why Roman is so interested in me all of a sudden. He knows I’ve been marked.”
Victoria nodded. “He’s always been painfully jealous of Bryce. He’s the third in line to the throne. That’s always irked him.”
“To the throne? You mean Bryce is some kind of royal?”
“Yep. He’s a prince. His father is still ruling.”
“Wow, a prince.” Harper said dreamily. “That’s pretty out there.”
“Don’t get any big ideas, Missy. You may be marked, but that doesn’t mean that you’re to become a princess any time soon. You have to go through the blood rite to allow our spirit guides to either allow or disallow the mating pair.”
“Mating pair. That makes it sound so…animalistic.” But the very thought started to turn Harper on. The thought of getting down and dirty with a vampire prince, one as sexy as Bryce, was something that she couldn’t help but visualize in her mind.
“It’s hardly animalistic. It’s one of our most elevated spirit
ual practices. We actually connect to the spirit dimension and allow our ancestors to come through the fold in the time-dimensional space, to allow us to honor them and their choices.”
“Apple pie for you ladies.” Kierra said as she sat the two plates down in front of them. She raised her eyebrows at Harper. “You okay, girl? You look kinda…wigged out.”
ROMANCE: His Ebony Blood Jewel - A Novel (BWWM, Paranormal, Vampire, Billionaire New Adult Romance) Page 9
