Maximilian stood on the street in front of Alicia’s building and stared up. He should be happy he got his way, at least for a couple of weeks, but he did feel for Alicia. She was about to be embroiled in more trouble than she would know what to do with.
But he knew he couldn’t do what needed to be done without her. Now he had to convince her he wasn’t crazy and the legend and the myth were as real as the Tears were. He never believed in the legend before he met Alicia. But now he had to. She was the woman described in it. So he had to convince himself and her at the same time.
He had his work cut out for him.
The first thing he’d have to do is feed her a little bit of the legend that wasn’t part of the stuff she found on websites. Just enough to whet her appetite. Too much could frighten her away.
He straightened his shoulders and headed toward the revolving door at the entrance of the building. Time to start.
When he reached her office he found the door open. Her secretary was missing as well. Checking his watch, he noted it was too early for them to be at lunch. Could they be in a meeting?
“Mr. Santos?”
He turned at the sound of Stacey’s voice. He gave her one of his best smiles.
“I’m sorry, sir, she’s out of the office for about an hour.” She took a step back from him. Stacey also wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“That’s fine. I’ll wait in her office.” She knew. He took a gentle sniff. She wasn’t from his pack, but she was like him. What did she know?
“Sir, she’d rather her clients wait out here.” Stacey gestured toward two overstuffed chairs opposite her desk.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” He walked into Alicia’s office with Stacey right behind him.
“Sir, she’s really a stickler about this.”
“I’m a stickler about what?” asked Alicia. She had walked in to find Santos in her office with her secretary hot on his heels.
“Alicia!” Stacey turned around in shock. “You’re early.”
“I finished my appointment early. What is going on here?”
“Oh.” Stacey looked over at Santos before a blush filled her cheeks. “Mr. Santos came to see you and when I recommended he wait in the outer office he thought your office would be a better place. I was just about to explain your preferences when you walked in.”
“I’m not surprised.” Alicia wondered what it was about Santos that made them all act so weird. Stacey never behaved this way around other clients or co-workers. “I’ll deal with Mr. Santos; you can go back to your desk.”
“Why?” Once again Alicia wanted to question why she accepted this job. She seemed to do this on an hourly basis.
“Why what?”
“Why do you push me?” She stepped into her office and closed the door. “Stacey told you I don’t want anyone in my office when I’m not here. I keep my research private.”
“Had problems before?” He sat in the chair in front of her desk.
She didn’t answer as she crossed to her desk. “If you want me to work for you longer than the two week period we agreed on you will respect my privacy and wishes.”
He nodded. “I desire my own privacy, which is why I didn’t want to wait out in the inner office.”
“Then I suggest you make sure I’m here before you come to my office.” Alicia sat in her oversized leather chair. “Or this arrangement will end before it begins.”
“I think we need to put down some base rules.”
“Oh, I agree.” She leaned forward.
He needed to know she wouldn’t follow him around like some puppy. Looking into his emerald green eyes, she noticed they looked lighter than they had the first time she met him. Alicia also noticed little flecks of amber, or was that gold? No. It was blue. Wait. Gray. Her heart rate and pulse slowed.
She never knew staring into someone’s eyes could be so soothing.
“You’re not to work on any other project while working on this.” His voice, deep and lyrical, washed over her. It relaxed her even more.
She blinked. Dragging her thoughts back from wondering why she never noticed how unique his eyes were. “Sorry. Those projects are just as important as yours. Some of my clients have been waiting months for their results. It wouldn’t be fair to them.”
***
Santos gripped the arms of the chair he sat in. She broke his gaze and the light trance he was trying to put her in. He had hoped to give her a gentle push to clear her schedule but he couldn’t force her. She needed to do this of her own free will. Time to change tactics.
“Your clients are very important and you shouldn’t spread yourself too thin. Most are just waiting for information, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Have Stacey give them the information when it comes in.”
Alicia sighed. “I can’t. How would you feel if I made promises about your most precious treasure then pushed it off to my secretary?”
“I’d be upset.” He had to admit she was right. He’d be pissed if she passed his assignment off after he paid for her work.
“Exactly.” Then she gave him a smile of pure pleasure. Something he hadn’t seen her do before and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“Mr. Duncan has made sure I won’t get any other assignments until we’re finished with you.”
At least he had that. He blinked and sat back. That smile of hers was deadly. He couldn’t help but smile back.
***
“All my clients deserve to be treated the same, Mr. Santos. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
He seemed very agreeable. Not what she expected at all. What was he up to?
“You made me realize I can’t be selfish,” he continued.
Was he reading her mind? “I’m glad you see it that way.”
“Of course.” He gave her another one of his bone melting smiles. “I know how time consuming my particular assignment is. Do you have any others like mine?”
She had to laugh. Nothing was like his. Her other clients didn’t drive her crazy just by looking at her. “No. Most of the ones I have left are just waiting for final bits of research.” Now why did she go and tell him that?
“Good.” He pulled a small packet from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
“What is this?”
“The little bit of research.”
She opened up the packet to find yellowed papers folded in fours. They crackled as she unfolded them. “How old are these?”
“Not sure.”
“Well, I’m going to make copies so I won’t destroy them.” She stood up.
“No.” He stood with her. “No copies.”
Was he out of his mind? She always made copies of client’s personal paperwork. “But these could be destroyed while I’m working with them.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ve already tried copying them. The ink is too faint for any machine to pick up properly. You have to work with the originals.” He paused for a moment then stood up. “I know you want to prove me wrong. Let’s go.”
Alicia found herself at a loss for words as Maximilian dragged her out of her office and down the hall to the copy machine.
“Go ahead.” He stood too close to her. She couldn’t think straight when all she could think about was the one small step she could take to brush her body up against his.
He took the aged paper out of her hand and placed it on the clear glass. When Alicia continued to stand there Santos closed the lid and pressed a button. A gray streaked piece of paper came out of it. He handed it to her without a word.
The feel of the crisp paper motivated her. Leaving the original on the glass she pressed the button to change the image copy to photo and increased the darkness three notches. The paper that came out of the printer didn’t look any different than the first one.
Alicia tried a couple of times, but each copy looked the same. Taking all the copies, she stacked them together, pulled the original from the glass and walked back to her office. Max followed her.
“I told you,” he said as he took his chair once again.
“Yes you did.” She sat the original on her desk and pulled open a drawer. Inside sat her scanner. “However I’ve never been one to give up that fast.”
The soft hum of the scanner filled the air while it warmed up.
“No.” Santos leapt from his chair. “There can’t be any copies.”
“I can wipe the system after I scan it.” Why was he acting this way?
“Not good enough.” His face was just inches from hers when he paused to watch her as if he was trying to think of a way to explain his odd behavior.
***
Max didn’t want to hypnotize her, but he couldn’t let her make copies. Staring deep in her eyes he focused his thoughts on lining her mind with his. Her eyes widened when their minds connected. He spoke softly, keeping her gaze locked with his. “The people who are after the gems won’t hesitate to try to steal any information we have to get to the gems first. I can’t take that chance.”
“Then why give this to me? You’re still running the risk.” She leaned back a little to give them some space.
He blinked and sat back. She just broke the link. No one had ever done that before. “You will only have access to this piece of paper when I am here because I don’t plan on letting it out of my sight.”
A line from the second stanza of the legend floated into his head.
She will be immune to the ways of the wolf, this seeker of the stone.
“What is so important about this paper?” She picked up the paper and laid it on her desk.
“It’s my family’s only copy of where the legend came from.” He sat on the edge of her desk. How did she do that? Could that line be literal?
***
“Yeah, I had a few questions about that. From what I found the legend originated in Ireland, but you have the last name of Santos. That’s Spanish.” Alicia wished he’d take his seat. His nearness blew her concentration.
“Never heard of the black Irish? Spaniards went to Ireland and married.” His eyes mesmerized her. “I have Spanish in me and I thought it would make more sense to use Santos than an Irish name.”
“So Santos isn’t your real last name.”
“No.” He frowned. It was fleeting but she saw it. “Santos is a family name, but my surname is Donnelly.”
“Yep, that’s pretty Irish.” At his curious look she elaborated. “Got a touch of Irish blood in me too. “O’Connell.”
“Really?” He smiled. “There were some O’Connell’s from my home town.”
“Small world.” She didn’t like his intent look. Time to get this back on track. “So, why did you give these papers to me?”
“Some of the legend is on there and they’re lines you won’t find on the web. Read the first stanza.” He tapped the document.
Alicia looked down at the faded letters and read the first stanza.
In the days of old the first ones ruled Joy, sorrow, anger, fear, true emotions felt Battles fought for the glory of the Pack some won, some lost. but always for the Pack “The first ones? The Anastasi?” She reread the words, trying to understand it. The four lines made no sense.
“Much older than that. That’s the first thing I’d recommend, by the way. Find the true origin of the first ones. Find out who people talked about when it first came into use.” He folded the paper up and put it in a pocket.
“My God. That could take months.”
“That’s why I hired you. We don’t have months.”
He expected her to do all this research? If he already knew all this stuff why wouldn’t he just tell her? He sat there with one hip on her desk looking very smug. She wanted to hit him.
Alicia cocked her head to the side when he stood up again, giving her some distance. Now what?
***
Max stepped back from Alicia’s desk. He could smell her anger and knew he didn’t want to be too close if she decided to take a swipe at him. If she knew how easy she was to read, at least for him, she’d be angrier. His heightened senses gave him such an advantage that he might as well be able to read her mind.
He could tell by her posture and her over bright eyes she needed to burn off a little of her frustration. Alicia was going to try to get rid of him as fast as she could so she could work out.
Should he just leave or give her a hard time?
***
She needed to get to the dojang. An hour of sparring would help her control her anger. Maybe some weapon drills would work as well. It didn’t matter as long as she could lose herself in class. But first she had to get rid of Maximilian Santos.
“I’ll get started on the web search right now then.” Without looking at him, she sat down at her desk and booted up her computer. Maybe he would take the hint and leave. Then again this man never took the hint. If he had he would have left her alone from the beginning.
She wasn’t sure why she added that last thought. Shaking her head, she tapped a few keys and pulled up the internet. One quick glance let her know he had taken the chair in front of her desk. Great. Now he was going to sit there and stare at her.
A sigh escaped as she looked up at him. He was too difficult to ignore. “You staring at me won’t make this go any faster. Why don’t you go home and I’ll call you when I’m done?”
“Oh, I don’t mind waiting.” He gave her a sultry smile. “You’re interesting to watch when you focus on a goal.”
His last statement bothered her. What was so fascinating about her getting lost in her work?
“I work better when I’m alone.”
“You won’t even know I’m here.” He smiled as he settled into the chair.
“And what if I don’t want you here?” Alicia stood up and placed her palms on her desk. Nothing seemed to work so she was going to be honest.
“Why? Trying to hide something?”
“No.” Another sigh escaped her. He sure knew how to piss her off. “I had hoped to have some time to myself.”
“Ah. And you don’t think you’ll get it as long as I’m around?”
“Well, yes. I mean no.” Her third sigh in a few seconds. She was heading for a record. “I get self-conscious when I know someone is watching me.”
“That, I don’t believe.”
“It’s true. I get very clumsy and it can be quite embarrassing.” She found herself looking at her hands instead of him. Just talking about it made her feel awkward. If she weren’t careful she’d knock over something on her desk and prove her point. It was one of the reasons she kept it so clean. Less to destroy that way.
“You’ll have to get over it sooner or later.”
“Fine!” Alicia slapped her hands against the desk. “I’m heading out for a few hours. Do whatever you want.”