WB (7 page)

Strong arms held me up, my bare feet dangling a foot above the floor and a muscled chest blocked my view.

His hands were large and calloused and he breathed in deep as his face got closer to mine.

I felt terror ratchet my heart rate up and I was trying to decide whether to scream or faint. He had a warm woodsy smell that I associated with the open, wild spaces surrounding Portland and his skin was burning hot where his hands held mine together pressed up against his hard chest.

“Ma'am, is there anything I can do for you?” A deep voice grumbled from above me.

I was speechless, trying to decipher his words. As my eyes adjusted I could see the man holding me up was gigantic. I don't mean fat, but huge. He would make Michael Jordan look short and Arnold Schwarzenegger scrawny by comparison. Even his head was large, with eyes, nose and mouth all in proportion to his mountainous body.

WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 28

“You could let go of me! What were you doing outside of my bedroom?” I demanded in a high pitched squeal while trying to wiggle away from him. But he was too big and strong and didn't seem to notice my attempts to move him aside.

I saw his hand reach up for his shoulder and he pressed a button and said, “She's out of her room. What should I do?”

His finger pressed against his ear and I barely heard a tinny voice saying something to him in response, but I couldn't make out what it was.

“Mr. Hawthorne will see you now,” he said in his slow way.

He pivoted quickly and gracefully hauled me up unto his shoulder like a sack of flour.

The walls sped past as he walked swiftly towards the center of the hallway. My arms were pinned to my sides and I was pressed so tightly against him breathing was a chore.

Before I had a chance to protest, he said, “broken glass on the floor,” and marched me down the hall and to the staircase before setting me onto my feet. He helpfully adjusted my nightgown and robe so that they covered my butt again and I whispered an embarrassed 'thanks'

to which he gave a quick nod.

His large hand was on my shoulder propelling me down the stairs. He walked so fast I had to practically run to keep up with him. I was out of breath and not a little pissed off by the time we reached the bottom. Gage walked out from between the double doors to the library with a concerned expression on his face. I saw him and the Mountain exchange looks that were full of male sympathy and I felt an urge to kick them both.

“What's wrong Anna? You should be asleep now.” I glanced between Gage and the

mountain sized man who had dragged me down the staircase and tossed me around like a football.

I crossed my arms my arms over my chest and I glared at Gage, “I need to use the phone.”

Gage nodded at the Mountain and said, “Thank you, I'll handle this.”

Handle this? Boy was I getting tired of being managed and as soon as I used the phone, had a chance to meet my family and arrange transportation back to Portland I would be sure to tell Gage what he could do with his 'handling.'

I saw the Mountain, bow, yes, actually bow to Gage, wink at me and walk away. What next? Did the housekeeper genuflect? Was I supposed to do that? I almost snorted out loud at the thought of bowing to Gage. Not in a million years!

I looked back at Gage with an annoyed grimace.

“Who do you want to call?” He returned with a mild look.

“Not that's it's any of your business, but I need to call my friend Patty to find out what I can do to smooth things over at the firm where I work. I've missed two days of work, I could lose my job over this.”

My voice rose a bit on the last as I thought about the beautiful new bedroom set I bought on credit at Steinhaus furniture (a needless extravagance now, considering I might be unemployed and homeless soon). I mentally calculated rent, utilities, car insurance, the myriad of monthly bills I had to pay to keep the lifestyle that I had become accustomed to. What was I going to do if I lost my job? I didn't have much in my savings account, definitely not enough to last through several weeks of job hunting.

“I can take care of that, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it right now. Why don't you go back upstairs and try to get some sleep,” he said with an encouraging smile as he walked WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 29

forward and reached for my elbow to direct me back upstairs. I pulled away from him with a frown.

“Wait a minute, what do you mean? How can you take care of it? Take care of what exactly? If I call Patty, my friend in Human Resources, she might be able to help me smooth things over with my boss, Lillian. I don't know what you think you can do!”

I was really getting annoyed now and I could feel my face heating up as I got more angry.

Really, the nerve of him! I was the only one who could salvage the situation I found myself in and I wasn't even sure there was anything that could be done now.

“Well, you must realize that your life will change now. Your family won't want you to live so far away. They live in France and will want to get to know you again. Portland is too far away from Paris for visiting.” He looked genuinely surprised now.

“Are you saying I should quit my job? Well, it probably isn't that big a deal for you.”

I swept my arm around the opulent entryway with it's inlaid marble floor, pillars as big around as tree trunks and a twenty foot high ceiling with a fresco of satyrs chasing half naked nymphs around a primordial forest. His entryway was bigger than my entire apartment.

“But I have bills to pay; electricity, car insurance, rent …. ” I ticked off my expenses on my fingers and took a deep breath to list more reasons for why I had to get back to Portland, pronto.

“Let's worry about this tomorrow, we can discuss this with Helene and Laurent when they get here. Don't worry. Things always seem worst before the dawn.”

I took a deep breath to contradict him and then, after a moments contemplation decided it was pretty good advice. I’d probably already been fired. One more day wasn't going to matter.

If my family was as well off as they seemed, perhaps I could get a small loan from them to tide me over while I looked for a new job.

I winced at the thought of borrowing money from strangers (even if they were family) but this was an extraordinary circumstance. If things got really tough, I could probably stay with Leah or Patty until I had a permanent job.

I thought about the employment agency whose office was on the twenty fifth floor of the building I worked, or rather, had worked in. I would sign up with them when I got back to Portland on Thursday.

Since I had been fired, my chances of getting a letter of recommendation from Lillian was slim to none, but Patty could write me a letter. My shoulders slumped and I felt a bone deep weariness wash over me at the thought of looking for a new job. Working for Lillian hadn't been ideal, but I wasn't always going to work there. I was counting on the experience I got with her translating into better jobs down the road. Now I was back to square one, career wise.

I allowed Gage to lead me up the stairs again and to my bedroom. The Mountain was waiting just a few feet away from my door and I gave him a little nod that he returned with a stoic nod of his own.

Gage didn't try to kiss me this time as he directed me to my bedroom door and I had to admit I was the teeniest bit disappointed.

WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 30

Morning sunlight filtered in through sheer orange panels hanging at the long, narrow windows making the room glow with warmth. I pushed up from the bed on shaky arms. Today was the day I would meet my mother and brother I thought with an excited shiver.

I glanced at the ugly gray suit draped over the back of the orange club chair. Displayed against the rich tangerine velvet of the chair, the suit looked even worse than usual.

The cheap gray fabric was wrinkled. A long, Florida shaped stain was on the side of the skirt and I tried to remember how it happened. I felt a twinge on my upper thigh and remembered the coffee shop accident. I was leaving the shop with Lillian's decaf mocha when a man holding a drinks carrier bumped into me spilling hot coffee down the side of my leg. Ouch.

I was pretty sure the stain was permanent now and as soon as I got home I would throw it away. Leah was right, it was ugly. If I was going to be out looking for a new job I couldn't afford to walk around in dated, ill fitting suits. So I made myself a mental note to buy one nice suit for interviews. That was item three hundred and one on my to do list, I sighed, oh well, it couldn't be helped.

Clothes shopping was not my favorite pastime. I liked the shopping part but the trying on and looking for the right size part wasn't a real hit with me. But now I wished I had spent more time on my appearance. I wanted to make a good first impression on my family. I wished Gage had seen me in something nice too, something flattering and stylish instead of a faded old suit.

After today I probably wouldn't see him again so it didn't matter and as to my family, I was pretty sure they would be happy to see me in a potato sack and sandals if that's all I had.

I felt an urge to go for a jog, but the clock said it was eight o'clock and I had to shower, fix my hair and find an iron to try and put some semblance of respectability into my clearance rack suit.

I peeked out the window. My first sight of England was disappointing. Fog was

receding slowly allowing first trees to appear and then several outbuildings and a wall of stone.

Watery sunshine set the dew coated lawns to sparkling. Fancifully shaped hedges and flower beds gone fallow for the winter were framed in winding gravel paths.

I could see a small path snaking off behind the ornamental hedges and I thought it looked like a nice place to run. Too bad I wasn't going to be here long enough to give it a try. I started jogging every morning to try and relieve some of the stress of working for Lillian and found that, after the first few weeks of side pain and sore muscles, I liked it. The quiet of the early morning streets, the stoic nods to the other joggers, the feeling of satisfaction I got from pushing myself just a little bit farther each time until I could run an entire hour without feeling like I was going to vomit and/or collapse.

Maybe this evening I promised myself.

A knock on the door brought me away from the window. I panicked for a moment

thinking it might be my mother, I patted my wild hair and glanced wildly around the room for something to straighten up.

“Miss Vallois? I have your things.” A young female voice with a charming Yorkshire WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 31

accent said.

My things? I didn't have any. I was pretty sure my purse was on the floor of Celia's living room in Portland. Did someone pick it up for me? I hurried to the door, thinking what a lucky break that would be, my driver's license and credit cards were in my wallet. They wouldn't help me with my lack of a passport, but it was a start all the same.

I opened the door to a young woman waiting expectantly. She was wearing neat tan trousers and a matching button down shirt. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a large purple bow. She had freckles, lively hazel eyes and a friendly smile that made you want to smile back at her.

She looked about twenty years old, but there was a confidence in the way she held herself that made me think she was a little older than that. She was practically vibrating with excitement as she looked me over. I smiled and she smiled wider and pushed her way past me with several boxes and bags cradled in her arms. I stood back watching her with a bemused expression.

“Hi, I'm Taryn, Gage's assistant. I just got back from London with your stuff. Wow, the traffic was awful. Anyway, I got you some really great things, I think you're gonna like them,”

she darted a shy smile at me and said, “well, I hope you like them.”

She let out a deep breath and dumped all the boxes and bags on the bed and stepped away from them with an expectant look.

The bed was covered with glossy boxes and bags with expensive sounding shop names on the side, “I'm sorry, I don't know what all of this is, but I didn't order anything from London.”

For a moment Taryn looked surprised and then she laughed, “Your fiancé, Gage, must have asked for all of this for you as a gift. He asked me to make sure to get you something really nice to wear for lunch with your mother and brother. I think it was meant to be a surprise, sorry about that!”

I decided to let the fiancé, comment slide. There was no need to explain the engagement mistake to Taryn. I would be gone by Thursday, perhaps even today. Maybe my mother and brother would want to take me home with them for a little visit to France. I had always wanted to go to France, I just never imagined that I would be going there with my family.

“Aren't you going to open them?” She said with an anxious look as I just stood there trying to decide what to do. I could tell by the names on the bags that the clothes were extremely expensive, way beyond my meager budget. These were clothes that I wouldn't indulge in normally and certainly not in my newly unemployed state.

But my curiosity got the better of me, I pulled the nearest box towards me and opened it slowly, pushing away layers of tissue paper. An emerald evening gown with a smooth, silky sheen like oil on water spilled into my eager hands.

The dress had a sweetheart neckline and tiny cap sleeves. Small green beads decorated the sleeves and hem of the ankle length dress making it sparkle in the sunlight. The dress was fitted at the waist with tiny darts that followed the line of the torso before sweeping out into a bell shape on the bottom. I held the dress up to me, thinking that it would be too short, most dresses were, but it was perfect. With the right pair of shoes, this dress would look like it was made for me.