Bitten By The Bad Boy: A Bad Boy Vampire Romance (15 page)

***

After lunch, Chloe’s day seemed to drag on. She had a faint headache again, but it subsided after a half hour or so. She wished that she knew what was suddenly causing this. Maybe it was stress, or some kind of hormonal thing. Either way, if she kept having them, she promised herself to see a doctor soon. It might be nothing, but she’d like to know for certain that it wasn’t a precursor to something more serious.

She was sending out her last emails of the afternoon, clearing up loose ends for the day, and looking forward to what she might pick up for dinner when her phone rang. Not her work phone, bur her cell. Most of her friends knew better than to call during work hours, and a couple of them would text if they needed to let her know about something. She picked the phone up out of boredom and curiosity about who might be calling.

“May I speak to Miss Bishop?”

“This is she. May I ask who’s speaking?”

“Miss Bishop, my name is Lara Hanover. I am a reporter for The Sun. Would you have a few moments to talk?”

“If this is about Mr. Andreas, he has no comments about anything to the press at this time. And I would like to know how you got my personal number.”

“We can speak about that, but it would need to be in person. And this is not so much about Mr. Andreas as it is about your own safety. A few months ago, a woman who worked in your position disappeared.”

“I don’t see what that would have to do with me,” Chloe replied bluntly.

“You will see the connection if you give me a chance to explain,” the reporter said. “Can we meet somewhere public? It is very important that you not mention this to anyone at work.”

“There’s a diner over on Strauss Road. Do you know it?” Chloe asked.

“Betsy’s?” Lara asked. “Yes, I’m familiar with it.”

“Good. I’ll see you there in an hour and a half for dinner,” she said, and hung up.

Chloe took in a deep breath. She knew that she could be risking her job by talking to a member of the press. But there was something very strange going on in this place, and maybe she couldn’t afford to continue ignoring it.

CHAPTER 9

Adrian drove Chloe home as planned. She thanked him and slammed her door closed before he drove away.

She went to her room and changed into jeans and a light sweater. With evening coming on, it was getting chilly. She decided to put on an old leather jacket, and her favorite tennis shoes. She was going to walk to Betsy’s, and she didn’t need to dress up for this woman, whatever it was that she wanted to say. Instead of going the way she usually would to the diner, she took the long way around, through smaller streets. When she got there, she was about five minutes late.

Chloe shouldn’t have worried. Not only was the woman waiting for her in a booth at the back of the restaurant, she had asked the waitress to show her to the back as soon as she got there.

Lara Hanover had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She was tall and slender, the kind of reporter you’d expect to hang out with rock stars or football players with ease and maybe a little flirting. She wore a short black dress, a blazer, and a pair of ballerina flats. She shook Chloe’s hand. “I appreciate you coming,” she said. “I know you must have a lot of questions about why I’m reaching out to you, and I’ll do my best to answer them. For now I’d appreciate it if you hear me out first.”

Chloe sat back. She knew she wasn’t about to like what this woman was about to tell her, but she’d decided to give her a chance to speak her mind.

“First off. I can’t tell you how much of this is really about the company that you work for, but I will say this. The place is like Fort Knox. And they keep very close tabs on all their employees on and off the clock. I’m sure that they probably have someone that drives you to and from work. If you stay on long enough, they will offer you a company car to drive, which they will have outfitted with tracking in order to know where you are at all times. It’s likely that you’re under surveillance now, but I had to reach out to you. It’s a chance that I had to take.”

“Go—go on,” Chloe stuttered.

“There are policies in place that segregate different groups of employees from the other. You’ll see very little interaction among them, because it keeps rumors from spreading. There’s communal areas, supposedly, like the cafeteria. But have you ever been there? Since you have been working for the company, when was the last time you saw any of the other employees, other than seeing them rushing back and forth to their own offices? Have you had the chance to speak to anyone who isn’t your superior?”

“Now that you mention it, no.”

“I won’t say that they aren’t doing good work for the community, because they are. Whatever it is that they’re developing, they’re protecting it. That’s not what my real concern is, or why I’m here.”

“You said something about Michael’s last assistant?” Chloe urged.

“Her name was Jennifer,” Lara said with a sigh. “She was my sister.”

“You said she disappeared?”

“Believe me, she’s dead,” Lara told her flatly. “No one who has ever worked for that company who disappeared has ever been found, and she won’t be any different.” Her hands shook. She reached into her purse for a pack of cigarettes and lit up without asking if Chloe minded. The waitress shot her a dirty look. “That ain’t the smoking section, just so you know,” she said, and handed Lara an ashtray.

“I’m sorry about your sister,” Chloe said once they were alone again. “What exactly happened?”

Lara shook her head. “She went to work and she was never seen again. The company claims that had security footage showing her leave, which was probably doctored. Jen told me about how incredibly paranoid the atmosphere is in that place. That woman, Sharla. Watch out for that bitch. She’s Michael’s lawyer, and she’s the head of security too, and she knows where all the bodies are. Literally. She runs that place more than he does. Whatever is going on there, they have secrets that they don’t mind killing to protect.”

“I can vouch for the fact that they’re paranoid,” Chloe said. “I’m surprised that they would hire someone related to a reporter.”

Lara shook her head. “My name wouldn’t have come up on any database. Jen was my baby sister from my mom’s second marriage, so we have different last names. Which, to be honest, I don’t use my real last name for my byline anyway. And she didn’t mention having any siblings when she filled out the forms they gave her when she applied. They look for people that don’t have a whole lot of connections. It means for less fuss for them when something happens to you. I’m guessing you don’t have much family in the city.

You probably have friends here, but no one that you see on a daily basis. Which means no one will look for you right away, until you miss a weekly lunch or a phone call, something that you would be expected to do on a regular basis. If you’re not familiar with neighbors, that’s another plus. It’s likely a landlord wouldn’t come around looking for you until your rent comes due and no one pays it.”

Chloe felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck rise.

“I’m not really looking for a story. Jen thought that she would be fine nosing around that place, even though I told her not to, and she got herself killed. You can do what you want with the information, but at least you’ve been warned.”

“Why did you risk telling me if you believe they are dangerous?”

“I just don’t want to see this happen to another woman. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise,” Lara said.

Chloe took her time walking back home after the meeting with Lara. She was beginning to feel that she had made a big mistake. She wasn’t sure if she believed the reporter either, but things were just odd enough at Dreas that she was a little more likely to believe something was going on than not. She’d had a prickly suspicion that something wasn’t right for a while. Maybe Michael’s old assistant ran off somewhere, maybe she wasn’t dead. Maybe her own intuition was working overtime.

It really could just be that Michael Andreas was an eccentric and didn’t run his business like a normal person would. From everything she read, some of the most innovative and creative business minds were often left of center. Couldn’t she just give Michael the benefit of the doubt? Or was she only willing to do that because she was attracted to him?

Lara might just be an overwrought sister looking for answers, in pain and seeing conspiracies where there were none. Worse, maybe she was just an unhinged news hound looking for a way to somehow exploit her. Though it was hard to believe that because the woman didn’t ask her a single question. She would have to create a completely fictitious a story from Chloe out of their brief conversation, which she didn’t think would be likely.

As she turned the corner towards her apartment, she saw a figure standing at the bottom of the stairway.

“Michael,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to speak with you, off the clock,” he said. “Will you take a ride with me?”

*

Chloe didn’t realize how cold she was until she slipped into Michael’s car. It was pleasantly warm. Sinking into the leather seat and heated air reminded her of slipping into a warm bath. Only, she could allow herself to relax. Michael was beside her, and he was still her boss. She couldn’t imagine what he would need to see her about this time of evening that couldn’t have waited until the next morning. It made her think about Lara’s claim that Dreas had their employees followed.

“I’m surprised to see you,” Chloe said. “I’m assuming nothing is wrong?”

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Something is, just not the way that you think.” Not knowing what to think, she squeezed his hand back. They drove in silence for a time, the sedan cutting soundlessly through traffic. Chloe took in a breath as she realized that they were approaching the marina. He found a parking space near the pier, overlooking the water. They both watched as a dingy with lights strung across its masts glided over the dark water. The moon was high and nearly full. In the distance, to their left, was a fish food restaurant, and a bakery.

“I’m waiting,” Chloe said.

“I have wanted to talk to you for a while, and not about work. I hope you know…”

“Know…?” she prompted. She had all kinds of things going through her head. She thought about what Lara said, about the feeling she’d had lately of being watched, the car taking her to and from work, the odd way that Michael kept her close to him.

And then, he leaned forward and kissed her.

It was a long, deep kiss, and she put her arms around him. He held on and after a moment she felt his lips stray to her neck. He lingered there. She felt the touch of his tongue, and a gentle kiss there, but then he moved away abruptly.

“Oh,” she said. “That’s what you wanted me to know,” she said.

He laughed, and when he touched her face, she kissed his palm.

“Since when do you have trouble saying anything?” she asked.

He put his head close to hers. “It’s much easier showing you than telling you,” he replied softly. “We haven’t known each other long, but I know what I’m feeling for you. I didn’t want to come on too strong, make you worry about your job or what might happen. I know it’s not appropriate. But,” he took a breath in, “I know that I want you.”

He was gripping the steering wheel. Chloe watched his knuckles turn white.

“I want you too,” she admitted. “And you’re right, it’s not appropriate. Maybe I haven’t always been the standard of doing the right thing. Mostly, I just have a lot of questions, about you and your life. And about your company too.”

“I understand. There are a lot of things I haven’t told you about myself yet, things that you deserve to know. Everything has been crazy busy. For now, we have the next few days to get through. The ball is Saturday, and that’s going to be a huge press event. I have scheduled to take some days off after that. We can get a chance to really talk things over. Does that sound reasonable?”

“It does.”

They talked for a while more, kissed some more. At times she could tell he was fighting the urge not to push things further, but he kept drawing back. “We should go,” he finally said. “It’s been a long day and we both have to go in tomorrow.”

Chloe didn’t ask the questions that were on her mind. She still didn’t know what to think about the reporter and her claims, but she decided that she would wait for a couple of days before approaching him about his former assistant and her disappearance. There had to be a reasonable explanation. She certainly couldn’t afford to look like she was accusing him of anything.

At least the question of their mutual attraction had been answered.

**

Michael had to be sure that Chloe was all right after having talked with her that afternoon. So many things were going on that worried him. Quinn was an unexpected problem and so was the vampire that controlled him. At this point, he wasn’t so sure if this predator had something to do with his past or hers. Either way, he was fiercely aware of his need to protect her.

When he saw her walking toward him on the street, he felt a clenching in his chest. It had been a long time since he felt this way about a woman, but he recognized the emotion—the pull of caring for someone. She looked up at him and smiled. She was not in pain. She wasn’t scared or angry, or hurt. It didn’t sound like much, but that was enough to give him some hope. With so much going on he was concerned for her safety, and for more than one reason.

The marina was Michael’s favorite place to go when he wanted to be alone and think. It was also a good place to go because they could be alone, but still a public place where he wouldn’t let himself go. He didn’t entirely trust himself to be alone with her yet. He was glad that she agreed to come. He didn’t want to work a compulsion on her if at all possible. It didn’t occur to him until they were sitting together looking out at the water that she wanted to know what he had to say. He hadn’t been exactly careful about showing her that he liked her, but she had been careful in her responses.

When they kissed, it was almost more than he could handle. He’d draw back from her and then kiss her again. The taste of her skin was sweet. Feeling that pulse at the base of her neck, he promised himself not to drink from her. He would, but not before she knew what was happening. She needed to be willing, to have knowledge of what she was giving and what she was accepting from him in return.

Michael was sorry that their time together was coming to an end. When he pulled up to the curb of her place, he stole one more kiss. After saying goodnight, he waited in his car until she was safe inside. He listened for the latch of her door snapping into place, and smiled as he watched her moving behind her windows, shutting curtains and turning on the lights. There were only two days left until the ball, and then he could tell her everything.

***

The ball was planned on Saturday night, beginning at nine that evening and going on late into the evening. There were a few different bands playing, raffles, and prizes, and everything of course went to Heartbeats for Women. The charity usually filled most of its coffers on the money they gathered from the yearly ball. It cost a thousand dollars per plate. If you wanted to bring guests, it was five thousand extra for a table, on top of the other charges, including the door fee.

When Chloe did the math, one party of five would pay out in one night very close to what she made the entire year. And that didn’t include the really fun goodies, like the auction for a couple of rock stars who were being offered up for a date with the highest bidder. Celebrities always loved these benefit events, because it was an opportunity to be seen doing something positive.