Page 32 of A Shade of Myself
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Giselle waseffusive in her thanks for taking her case but sighed when I asked if she had gotten bad news with that call. “It wasn’t anything about me personally. Just company politics. Alcohol affects my training,” she said, “so I don’t drink, but the level of bullshit that went down pushed me over the edge.”
I assured her we all had those days.
Over coffee and tiramisu, which I was too full for but ate anyway, she shared stories about life in a ballet company. Some were funny, others just grueling. She was only in her twenties but had already sustained stress fractures in her spine, along with hip and knee problems, not to mention the mangled feet.
I was grateful that Sadie had gone the theater route and wasn’t on a first-name basis with a sports physiotherapist by the time she was twelve.
Before she left, yawning incessantly from jet lag, Giselle reluctantly left the necklace in my safekeeping. I promised to get it back to her as soon as I could.
Tatiana picked up the bill for dinner, and then she and Emmett departed. I had to do a bathroom run first, after which I stopped by the bar to speak with Harry, the gargoyle bartender.
Harry acted as a go-between for supernatural parties. Since gargoyles were an endangered species, they occupied these roles in exchange for being left alone, and he’d helped me out on a regular basis arranging meetings with Zev.
“Oi, Miri.” He had a bar towel slung over one broad shoulder, his rock-hard (literally) biceps flexing as he grabbed different bottles, expertly mixing up concoctions in highball glasses. The colors of his full-sleeve tattoos winked in the lights.
He’d forgone the manbun tonight, his hair tucked behind his ears and falling to his shoulders, but he wore his trademark long silver chain over his unbuttoned shirt. “How’s it going, luv?”
“Still alive. That’s my basic metric these days. And you?”
“Cream crackered.” He laughed at my confusion. “Knackered. But I’m taking a few days off.”
“That’s good.” I pulled a small package in green tissue wrapping paper out of my purse and slid it toward him. “This is for you.”
He set down the blue gin bottle, throwing me a sweet smile. “Really?”
“Yes. Just a little something in appreciation for all your help.”
Harry wiped his broad gray hands on the towel and carefully eased the tape off, a look of wonder on his face at this simple action. Had anyone ever given him a gift before? When he saw the woven brown leather cuff inside with small brass rivets, his entire face lit up. He snapped it around his wrist, holding his arm out to admire it. “It’s bloody brilliant. Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Enjoy your time off.”
He nodded, already turning to show his gift off to one of the patrons at the bar.
Smiling, I headed for the foyer, stopping briefly to ask Vikram if anyone was taking over Harry’s go-between role while he was away. I required some assistance from the gargoyle with the next step in both Giselle’s case and investigating what job my parents were on, but I hadn’t wanted him to think the gift was a bribe, so I’d intended on asking him tomorrow.
Vikram told me I could speak with Giulia while Harry was away. I’d met her once before when she’d helped Laurent and me track down my date who’d become dybbuk-possessed. Since I knew where to find the cat gargoyle, I thanked him and headed into the parkade, only to find Laurent sitting on the hood of my sedan.
He leaned back onto his elbows.
My heels tapped against the pavement, my chin up. I was glad we were doing this now. It would save me thinking about it when I tried to fall asleep. I dug my keys out of my purse, refusing to admire the line of his body draped on my car.
“Did you have a nice time this evening?” I said, beeping my fob at the sedan, which unlocked with a soft click.
Two women rounded the corner of this level of the parking garage, laughing over some story. They glanced over at us, assessing the potential threat level, like I always did, but seeing none, continued to their car.
“I like that color on you,” Laurent said.
I looked down at my dress. It was a lovely shade of blue, especially with the light playing over the silk. No. He wasn’t going to distract me. I crossed my arms. “We’re both adults here. I would have appreciated some contact before running into you on the mountain, but—”
He poked the slippery fabric like it fascinated him, and I stepped back, my pulse fluttering. I required physical space to keep a cool head because like it or not, he and I were having this talk.
Dropping my keys back into my bag, I stood tall, shoulders back, but my determination to project a confident modern woman was undermined by my underwear making a break for it, and rolling down my belly, precariously hugging the curve of my ass.
Seriously? Now? The universe had a sick sense of humor. I pressed my thighs together to keep the slippery garment from getting up close and personal with my knees and cleared my throat.
“If you and Cam are together, then the polite thing to do would…” I trailed off, my mouth dry because he’d sat up straight, his eyes practically spitting fire.
