“Watch your language, Miss Morrow,” she warned. Those pale gray eyes looked me up and down, appearing extremely disappointed by what they saw. “You do not look much like your father.”
I studied her in return-she was beautiful, in a Nordic ice-princess sort of way. After getting a better look at her light lashes and eyebrows I had to grudgingly admit that her platinum blonde hair was natural, and not bleached. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone naturally have hair that shade, and it made me hate her just a little bit more. What I wouldn’t have given in high school for hair that color, instead of the boring brown I’d been cursed with.
“You killed my servant. By our law, that makes you indebted to me.”
“Yeah? Well, you killed my mother. I say that makes us even,” I countered. Laura shifted in her seat, her thin lips pressed into a firm line. “Not even going to deny that one, are you? Did the council send his body back to you, sword and all?”
Laura growled low, and Faust cleared his throat. “Perhaps it’s best not to antagonize her, Miss Baker.”
“I doubt she’s gonna shed any tears for old Dorian. Laura’s gone through more men than a botoxed Hollywood cougar on a bender.”
Apparently Laura wasn’t used to being mocked, or she had a very short temper, because she lunged across the seats in a blur of motion and attempted to attack me. Her well-manicured claws bounced harmlessly off my shields, and I smiled sweetly. “Gee, blondes really are that dumb.”
“That’s enough, from both of you.” Faust tsked, sounding weary as Laura was thrown back into her seat by an invisible force.
“Sure, whatever you say,” I said.
“She was guaranteed safe passage,” he scolded the vampire.
“Zachary promised her that, not me. I will not be ordered around by him.”
“This brings dishonor to you both, councilwoman,” Faust said pointedly.
“That whelp killed my Dorian, I don’t care what she thinks.”
Her Dorian, huh? Nice.
Deciding I’d had enough excitement for now, I sat back in silence and watched the passing scenery through the tinted windows. The route was familiar enough despite the fact that I don’t drive when I travel downtown-I don’t own a car, and the train’s faster anyway. Plus there’s the fact that I don’t go downtown very often, which is really just a crime. Chicago’s got everything: museums, fine dining, great theater, sports, shopping, and so on. I just don’t take the time to fit any of it into my routine, and I made a mental note to rectify that mistake should I manage to live through this meeting.
The limo carefully navigated the rainy streets, and Faust interrupted the quiet. “Well, this is where I leave you. Lady Laura, I do suggest you try to keep your temper in check. Good evening to you both.”
The faerie vanished, leaving me alone with Lovely Laura. Heavy silence hung in the air until the limo finally pulled into the parking garage beneath the building. The Harrison building is one of the larger structures downtown, a brand-spanking-new high-rise office building. A gleaming, sleek structure, it was only one of the many Zachary Harrison was reported to own-it wasn’t on the scale of the Sears Tower or the Hancock, but still very impressive.
The parking garage was empty, and our footsteps echoed loudly as we walked toward the shiny silver doors of an elevator. As I glanced around I noticed that the place was pristine, clean like no other parking structure I’d ever seen, and the air was surprisingly fresh. When we reached the elevator Laura stepped inside with me, and I tried to stand as far away from her as I could. With the amazing speed of modern technology the elevator whooshed up, whizzing past floor after floor and making my ears pop.
The doors opened on the very top floor-the penthouse of course. Stepping through the doors, I entered a large, open room. Sparse decoration was scattered throughout the area, a Spartan black and chrome design that communicated the modern ideal of “I’m so wealthy I can afford to waste all this space in a city this crowded.” Everything around me shone with a high polish, and I felt very small and dirty as I tracked rain and mud on the black marble floor.
Zachary Harrison was seated at his desk, another boring, bland piece of furniture I wouldn’t have bought for my apartment no matter how cheaply it was on sale. Maybe I was showing my bourgeois roots, but if I had enough money to buy my own island I’d want some bling in my décor. Since I’d seen Harrison before I was somewhat prepared for the experience. The man really was gorgeous-if you ignored the fact that he was a walking corpse, but the non-magical world had no knowledge of that. The media loved him, the paparazzi followed him around everywhere he went, he’d been voted world’s sexiest bachelor or something like that by some magazine three or four times. Harrison was rich, handsome, famous, intelligent, always impeccably groomed and dressed, and he would be young and beautiful forever.
The vampire was too enthralled with his computer to bother to look up as I entered the room, and I was too irritated to wait for him to pay attention to me. Laura sauntered over to one of the enormous windows and stood looking out over the city, ignoring both me and Harrison. I headed over to his desk and plopped into a chair across from him.
“If this is the famed Harrison hospitality I’ve heard of, forgive me if I don’t pick one of your hotels for my next vacation.”
Harrison’s fingers paused above his keyboard as he glanced up at me. “Were you mistreated?”
“Your girlfriend tried to rip out my throat, but it’s okay, her claws bounced right off my shields. Oh, sorry about the floor.” I waved my good hand at the trail of wet footsteps behind me. “You can put it on Laura’s bill.”
Anger flashed across his face, quick and terrible, and the scent of new smoke rose around us like a stinging cloud. “Please accept my sincere apology for her behavior, Miss Morrow.”
“Don’t apologize to that brat,” Laura demanded.
“Don’t call me a brat, you skanky whore,” I countered.
Laura charged at me but, moving in a blur, Harrison zipped around the desk and intercepted her. Scooping her up, he flipped her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried her to the elevator. She kicked and screamed the entire way, shouting obscenities that even I would be hard-pressed to match. Harrison deposited her in the elevator, and her screeching was cut off once the doors closed, leaving the room in blessed silence.
It gave me a moment of pause-Harrison had just dealt with a member of the vampire council as though she were a cranky toddler on her way to a time-out. I tried to picture someone treating Cecelia of the Silver Crescent that way, and my brain almost bruised itself trying to conjure up that image.
“I didn’t send her, I knew she wouldn’t behave,” he explained as he returned to his desk. “I didn’t find out that she’d invited herself along for the ride until after the limo had left.” Pausing, he stood in front of me and leaned back against the front of the desk.
“Uh-huh. Where’s Mac?”
“He’s in good hands. You’ll see him shortly, after our discussion.”
My heart leapt at the idea that Mac was alive-at least I hoped he was alive. I was gonna be real annoyed if they’d made him a vampire. “What discussion? If you’re asking me to call off my cousins, lemme just say right now you’re wasting your time.”
“I would like the opportunity to speak with your family. However, I invited you here to discuss the possibility of a business arrangement between us.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “You need a waitress that badly? You know there’re plenty of good ones looking for work out there, especially in this economy.”
The vampire smiled politely. “No, no. This concerns your new position as Titania for our region. My congratulations on gaining the position, by the way. I understand your trials were particularly difficult. I supported Dorian as our candidate, of course, though ultimately I did think him unsuitable for the position.”