The Darkness Calls (The Transfigured Ones 1)

At two a.m, the doors finally closed. She counted her till, dropped it in the cash office, clocked out, and then rode the elevator up to the executive level. Technically she could have stayed clocked in for the meeting, but she somehow suspected this wasn’t going to be work-related.

The receptionist, Gillian, was seated at her desk. Lilly approached and said, “Lilly Ferguson. I’m here to see Mr. McKenna.”

Gillian smiled and said, “Hang on. Let me see if he’s available.”

She pressed the intercom and said, “Ms. Ferguson is here.”

“Send her back,” he replied. His words were curt. He sounded more than a little pissed off.

Wincing, Gillian whispered, “Ouch, honey. Good luck.”

Lilly gave a small laugh and said, “Thanks.”

As she walked through the semi-darkened hallway, she started to recall the reason for her own anger. By the time she knocked on his office door, she was pretty in touch with her pissed-off side again. Boy, was he about to get an earful.

Chapter Ten

“Come in,” Talan said at the tap on his door. He stood and ran a hand through his hair

in frustration. He hated the angry vulnerability he was feeling right now. This, he decided, would not stand.

Lilly walked through the door and closed it gently behind her before she asked, “Was there something you needed?”

“Yes,” he said, trying to keep his voice level and calm. “I need to know what the hell was going on in the bar. Less than one day since you’ve been in my bed and you’re letting some random man hold your hand?”

Mouth agape, she said, “It was a palm reading, Talan! The random man is one of my regular customers who owns a metaphysical shop. He read another one of my regular’s palm, and it looked interesting. You’d actually be kind of amazed what the lines on the palm can tell you about yourself.”

Talan raised an eyebrow and asked, “You believe in that garbage?”

“What he was able to tell the other guy about himself was pretty accurate,” Lilly said, shrugging. “I’m not sure if I believe in it, but it was interesting enough to try. Do you really think I’d try to pick someone up at work less than a day after I gave you my virginity?”

Well, when she phrased it like that, it seemed a little silly. Somewhat mollified, he cleared his throat and said, “I don’t believe so. No.”

“Then can I assume you’re done jumping to conclusions?”

He suspected that she had a bit of a temper, but her anger was a little unexpected. Wisely, he nodded.

“Good, because there’s something else I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Oh?”

“What’s this about a night manager position in the club?” she asked, her expression stony.

She was angry with him about that, too, he realized. Confused, he asked, “It’s something that’s more suited to your ability and skill set. I thought you’d be pleased.”

“I slept with you less than a day ago, then I get to work today and my boss is telling me I’m getting a promotion? Do you realize how it’s going to look?” she asked.

Before he could speak, she said, “Let me clue you in. It’s going to look like I fucked you for a better job.”

“Nobody would dare say that to you,” he argued, his voice elevated.

“Nobody would dare say that to you, Talan. You’re the boss. I’m just some girl who fucked you with the hope of getting a better job. They would have no reason at all to respect me,” Lilly all but yelled.

He raised his eyebrow and coolly said, “For someone who fucked me for a better job, you’d think you’d be a little more excited that it worked.”

Lilly gaped at him and yelled, “You know damn well that wasn’t what last night was about!”

“We both know that wasn’t what this was about! What the hell does it matter what anybody else thinks,” he fired back, his voice rising despite his attempts to keep calm.