ROMANCE: His Ebony Blood Jewel - A Novel (BWWM, Paranormal, Vampire, Billionaire New Adult Romance) (10 page)

“I’m afraid, Lola.” Harper said quietly.

“I am too. There’s something really strange about why those two billionaires want that record label. I’ve been thinking about it and it doesn’t add up. We’re not that profitable. We’re all a bunch of has-beens. Sure, we can sell a few units of digital downloads, but people aren’t buying like they used to.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Lola.” Harper said. “But I agree. There’s something so odd about it. It’s so unsettling.”

“You need to be more vigilant than ever. I think they have their sights set on this deal, for whatever reason. Promise me you’ll text me every hour. I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Harper couldn’t help but laugh. But she felt loved by her friend.

“My mom is here. I’m okay, girl. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“It better not,” Lola said slowly. “We’d be lost without you.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The
chauffeur held the door open for Harper as she sauntered out of the limousine and up the red carpeted steps to the entrance of the country club.

The maitre’d showed her to a back portion of the restaurant, hidden from the rest of the elite members who were dining.

Her heart started beating faster when she saw Bryce sitting there, pouring over financial documents. His brow was furrowed as he concentrated, his deep set eyes examining what was set in front of him. He was wearing a navy suit jacket but no tie. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned, showing the top of his gorgeous chest.

She couldn’t help but be intimidated by his masculine beauty.

“Harper.” He said, looking up with a slight smile. “Thanks for joining me.”

“I haven’t been here before,” she said, looking around. “They usually don’t like my type in places like this.” She said with a laugh.

He shook his head. “Things are different now.”

“They can say what they want, but I don’t see any people of color here except for me.”

“I’m working to change that.” He said softly. “As one of the Board of Directors, I’d like to extend a complimentary membership to you for the duration of your natural life.”

She gasped. A membership at a club like this probably cost a few hundred thousands dollars a year. Not to mention the application fee, which would probably run a half million.

But reality sunk in. She had to reject the gift.

“I’m representing the other side. You know I can’t accept something like that.”

“I’d extend it to you whether or not the deal got finalized. We try to recruit members from the elite parts of society. And from the research I’ve done on you, you’re certainly an up-and-comer.”

She grimaced at the word ‘research.’ It immediately brought back to her mind the ‘conversation’ she had with Roman last night. Whether it was a dream or not, it felt real.

“I try my best to represent my community. My people. And I’m certainly not going to accept any sort of gift that would bring my integrity into question.” She said sternly, not flustered by the gorgeous man’s slight smile.

He sat back and crossed his arms. His eyes were locked with hers - her dark amber and honey brown eyes were narrowed in consternation, while Caribbean blue eyes showed slight allure and amusement.

“If this happened to be a test of your principles, you certainly would have passed.”

She bolted upright in the chair. “Do you mean to tell me that you were…testing me?”

He shrugged noncommittally, but that was all the answer she needed.

“I’m going to pretend that didn’t happen.” She said coldly. “I’m incorruptible but don’t appreciate having some billionaire like yourself try to trick me like that.”

“I just needed to see who I was dealing with.”

“You’ve said that before. I trust that you’ve had bad experiences in the past.”

“You have no idea.”

The waiter interrupted them as he poured them some water.

“So tell me, Bryce,” she said, daring to use his first name in such a casual way. “Why are you so interested in this record company?”

“First of all, I grew up listening to a lot of the artists. Your friend Lola, for example. But while I want to protect the artists and see them succeed, I’m more interested in a little algorithm that Brian Washington, the founder, developed.”

“An algorithm? You mean to tell me that Brian is also a programmer?”

Bryce nodded. “I’m surprised you don’t know that.”

Harper took out her Louis Vuitton folio from her oversized Ostrich Birkin bag and began taking notes.

“How did you find this out?” She said, tilting her head as she asked the question.

“I have my sources.”

“And you’re assuming that any intellectual property that he developed would be included as part of the sale because he was an employee when he invented it?”

He nodded again.

She put the pen to her lips thoughtfully.

“And what’s so important about this technology?” She queried.

“To call it a mind control device would be disingenuous, but it has a way of providing choices to people in a way that’s extremely convincing.”

Harper scribbled down “Set up meeting with Brian Washington ASAP” on her note pad and closed the folio and put it back in her bag.

“And you intend to use it to get people to buy more of whatever you’re selling?” She asked.

“The opposite. I want to destroy it.”

Harper gasped as his harsh words.
Destroy
. It seemed so violent coming from a man like him.

“People need to be able to execute their own free will. Don’t you agree? Or do you want to be a mindless puppet, doing the bidding of whoever controls the technology to do it?”

“I’ll need to speak to Mr. Washington. I’m shocked he hasn’t revealed this information.”

Bryce said nothing but took a sip from his water.

“And your cousin, Roman…” Her voice trailed off.

“Yes, he wants it too.”

“He wants to destroy it as well?” She asked.

“Knowing him, he’ll want to do the opposite. He’ll want to be the one in control. In power. All these years, he’s been nipping at my heels. Wanting to take my place. In my family, I’m the first born man. With that comes special privileges.”

“I see.” Harper said. But she was dying to figure out if what happened last night was real or a dream. She had to ask. “Were you downtown last night?”

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.”