Denying Bjorn (6 page)

Lydia closed her eyes. Of course, that was it. That was the reason why she felt compelled to remain with Dawn. As fucked in the head as she was, she was still family. How could she have forgotten?

Of course, she had to forget. Those were the dark years, times that, whenever recalled, made her gut twist in nausea. Then later on, after learning what she thought most men wanted, she had changed her opinions.

She’d become so accustomed to the good life. They had cars, a roof over their heads, designer shoes and clothes. The women had it all, on their own. They never needed or wanted anything from anyone else, including their mothers. They had taken care of each other over the years.

But it was time to move out now, for sure. She sighed as she slowly got up, tearing the clothes from her body. She’d shower in the morning. Quickly she set her alarm and slipped beneath the cool sheets of her bed.

* * * *

In the next room, a fuming Dawn made a phone call to an old acquaintance. She’d show Lydia she wasn’t playing around. Now it was time to haul out the heavy artillery.

“Come on, come on!” The phone rang several times as her gut clenched in anticipation. “Pick up, damn it. I know damned well your ass is awake at this hour!”

“Lars Ericksen.”

“Lars, sweetheart!” Dawn exclaimed. “It’s been a long time.”

“Who the hell is this?” the man said with a snarl.

“It’s Dawn Cordell, Lydia’s cousin. Remember Lydia Riley?”

“Oh.” His voice fell flat. “What the hell, Dawn? What do you want?”

“Lydia wants to see you,” she insisted as a smile erupted over her face. Satisfaction bloomed in the pit of her stomach. Lars was not known for a calm temper.

“It’s over between us.”

“Oh, give it a chance, hon. You both had some good times together.”

“She made it quite clear that she wanted nothing to do with me,” Lars said. He paused for a few minutes. “Where are you?”

“We’re in Diamond City. You know you could be here tonight, if you wanted to, since you’re a dhampir and all,” Dawn teased. She licked her lips. Lars was definitely yummy. She’d do him herself if she could, but the prick had bloodlust only for Lydia.

“Why doesn’t she call me herself? What are you up to, Dawn?”

“You know sometimes Lydia doesn’t speak her mind enough. But she talks about you a lot, and I think she misses you. Why not pop in and take her out to lunch tomorrow?”

“I can’t. I have engagements all week. What about next Friday?”

“Umm, that should work. I’ll let her know. Maybe she can work you into her schedule? You know you miss her! We both work at Draguun Incorporated.” Quickly, she gave him the address.

“Got it.” Lars sighed. “You know me too well. All right, I’ll be there.”

A glimmer of hope coiled in the man’s voice. Imagine that, a dhampir with hope. Dawn smiled devilishly.

“I guess I’ll see you next Friday, buddy boy.”

Lars sneered, “Don’t call me that. I detested that name when you lived out here, and I hate it even more so now.”

“Oh, you’re so testy. All right, no problem. I won’t call you that anymore. Oh, and just wait downstairs in the parking garage. It’s open to the public. Surprise her when she’s on her way to the car.”

“Will do.”

“Night, Lars.”

“Good night, Dawn.”

Chapter Seven

The next week was almost unbearable, the office busier than usual. There were a few managers who had scheduled meetings in the conference rooms, and a few others just showed up, unannounced, which posed a problem.

To make matters worse, a few of the secretaries called out, so there was no one to relieve Lydia of the front desk. Well, there was, but Dawn was being quite the bitch. Tempers flared as the managers discovered some of the conference rooms were taken.

With ease, Lydia managed to see one of the gentlemen and his two clients into Angus’s office. The man was, after all, a manager of Draguun Inc. and had been with the company for well over ten years. So that problem was solved.

Another rather pushy manager, Dan Mulligan, leaned on the ledge of her desk, trying his best to intimidate her. “I called you just yesterday to schedule a conference room. What seems to be the problem?” His arrogance was becoming most annoying. “I have ten clients I’m meeting with, and I’ll need lunch ordered.”

“Please hold for a moment,” Lydia said coolly while she took another call. When she hung up, she was met with Dan’s disapproving glare. She picked up her calendar and showed him there was absolutely no way he could have been on the schedule.

“Unacceptable!” Dan was beyond pissed now. “I spoke to you yesterday, Lydia. What the hell’s the matter with you?” He tried lowering his voice, but his gaze bore into her like a newly sharpened knife.

Lydia scratched her head. “I’m sorry, but it wasn’t me you spoke to.”

Nervousness set in as she rose from her desk and switched the calls to voice mail. She’d have her hands full with the messages when she returned, but she’d work through it.

“Look, relax. I’ll find a place to set you up, I promise.” She honestly hadn’t spoken to Dan yesterday, and she knew it. He was probably just bullying her to get his way. Heat singed her face as his clients fidgeted and shot her annoyed glances. Thank God today was Friday. After this day, she promised herself a nice, relaxing bubble bath and at least a few glasses of wine. Tonight, she and Bjorn were meeting at his place for dinner.

“Bjorn will be hearing about this,” Dan promised her. “This is unacceptable, and you know it.”

Fighting the urge to cuss Dan out, she smiled and continued walking in hopes of finding an open conference room. Usually in situations like these, things had a way of working out. Another manager was scheduled an hour later, and she hoped and prayed he would be late or even cancel.

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “You can have the Chesapeake Room.”

“I’ll be needing lunch,” he demanded.

“There are menus in the cabinet drawers,” she assured him.

Dan glanced at his watch as his clients filtered into the room and gathered around the table. “I’ll need to catch up since we had to wait. I’ll need you to place the order. I guess we’ll have to go with pizza. I’ll need four large pizzas, one cheese, one with pepperoni, and the other two with everything. Two two-liters of soda, one diet, one regular.” He reached into his wallet, pulled out his Amex card, and handed it to her.

“Will that be all?” She was beyond embarrassed now because she never ran the office in this fashion. The entire time she was dealing with Dan, she struggled to remember how she could have overlooked such a task.

“Yeah, and tell them to hurry.”

Lydia hoped and prayed the pizza delivery place could hurry. She didn’t want to tell him it would be close to impossible to get the food delivered in the next twenty minutes or so. Dan was already flustered beyond reason.

“I will,” she assured him before turning on her heel and returning to her desk.

Heart palpitating, she dialed the Pizza Palace. When someone answered, she quickly put them on hold to take a call, and then she was able to order lunch.

After placing her order and directing a few more calls, she put her head in the palms of her hands. Today was totally an off day, just as yesterday had been. This morning she and Dawn had argued. And . . . She recalled the events of yesterday, and it occurred to her. Dan had to have called when she was making copies. One of the other secretaries had manned the desk, but only for a short period of time. The copy machine had temporarily jammed, so she was away longer than usual.

That damned Dawn! Everyone in the office said how the two sounded exactly alike. Lydia groaned. That conniving bitch. She’d knowingly made a fool out of her, hence the shit-eating grin she’d flashed at her earlier. No doubt she’d come all the way over just to make her jealous. She obviously had been in Bjorn’s office.

Not only had Lydia had two rough days in a row, but Dawn’s threat loomed over her like a dark cloud. If she wasn’t careful, her cousin would ruin what progress she and Bjorn had made. The other manager who had booked the room called and canceled. At least something was going right today. With a sigh, after hanging up the phone, she gave a silent thank-you. Now. If the rest of the day would flow like this, all would end well.

Forty-five minutes and a few harsh e-mails from Dan later, the pizza arrived. After signing Dan’s name, she guided the man through the cubicles, past Bjorn’s office, and into the conference room. She handed him his card and receipt and retreated from the room.

Bjorn was on the telephone, and he waved and winked at her as she passed by. He pointed to his watch, smiled, and mouthed the word “lunch.” Her heart leaped in her chest as anticipation sizzled through her body. Hell yeah, she needed to have some downtime with her man.

They’d been on a few dates after their stroll on the beach, and lunch only once. The past weekend, they’d become closer, kissing and petting over at Bjorn’s.

She nodded with a smile before returning to the front desk. Yesterday had been too busy for them to slip out for lunch, but today seemed to be a little more under control.

She needed this. Dan better had clean up his own mess in the conference room. She’d made it quite clear to anyone using the guest offices and conference rooms that they needed to leave the room as they’d found it—meaning they needed to clean up their own damned mess. She was the office manager and jill-of-all-trades, not a janitor. Cleaning up little spills in the coffee area was one thing, but major messes were another.

As she settled into her chair, an e-mail from Bjorn came through. She smiled as she replied. He told her she’d better take lunch and to just put the phones into voice mail. No stressing. Thank God, because that’s what she’d intended on doing.

Just as Bjorn strolled up to her desk, damned if Dawn didn’t walk in. Lydia groaned as she reached down to take her purse out of the small desk drawer.

“So, babe, you ready to go?”

“Yes, I’m ready.” She couldn’t get out of there fast enough, but of course, Dawn had to prop herself on the ledge of the desk, shooting Bjorn goo-goo eyes and all.

“Oh, ready to go where?” Dawn asked in her most sarcastic tone while eyeing Bjorn up and down.

“We’re going out to lunch,” Bjorn announced as he strode past her cousin and toward Lydia.

Dawn smiled. “Really, now? What, are you two, like, an item or something now?” She stifled a laugh.

Bjorn arched a brow. “Is there a problem, Dawn?”

“No, she’s just being Dawn,” Lydia said as she stood beside him. “She’s just fooling around. You know how she is.”

“Yes,” Bjorn said in a deep voice. “I do know how she is.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Dan sent me an e-mail, alerting me to the strange mix-up with the conference rooms.”

“Oh, your girl must have put him down for the wrong date or something,” Dawn mused.

“Seriously, Lydia’s got the hots for you. She just can’t seem to think straight when it comes to the dick.”

Lydia gasped as embarrassment gripped her tight. A few office workers walked past and snickered. “Dawn, now’s not the time.”

“I’ll need to speak with you, later, regarding your attitude,” Bjorn interjected. “You obviously have a problem.” He moved in close to her. “I’m warning you. One more slipup like that, and you’re fired.”

“Look,” Dawn said with a smile, “I’m not sure why you’re going to lunch. I mean, after all, Lydia, Lars is in town. You’re supposed to meet up with him.”

Shocked, Bjorn looked down at her. “Who’s Lars?”

“An old flame, baby. But, I’m sure Lydia has told you all about him.” She looked at Lydia. “I spoke to him just last night. He’s flying in from L.A. to see you. Don’t be surprised if you bump into him out in the parking lot. I told him you normally take a lunch around this time.” She smiled evilly. “Now, if you excuse me, I’ve got some work to do.”

Lydia was at a loss for words as Bjorn stared at her.

“So . . . you have a lunch date with someone?” He motioned for them to walk.

“No, I . . . I didn’t know he was flying into town, and . . . no, we weren’t having lunch today.”

“Well,” Bjorn said quietly, “she doesn’t seem like she’s making things up.” As they entered the elevator, he turned to face her. “Where do you know him from?”

A look of concern was etched into Bjorn’s handsome face, as was disappointment. Did he really think she would be seeing someone else while she was seeing him?

“He’s from L.A.” She gulped as perspiration erupted on her forehead. Suddenly, the elevator became way too small, and she feared she’d pass out. Her heart beat erratically as Bjorn searched her eyes for truth.

“What is he to you?”

“He’s an old client.”

Bjorn glared at her.

“He’s an ex-boyfriend. I made it clear to him that it was over before we moved here.”

Bjorn frowned. “But . . . why would he travel all the way to Diamond City?”

“That’s the thing. Dawn’s at it again.” Lydia was suddenly finding it difficult to breathe as she rubbed his arm in reassurance. Did he really need reassurance? She glanced up at him.

“Oh.” Bjorn sighed in an agitated manner. “Why is she doing this? What’s going on between the two of you?” He looked down at her. “Why is she so hell-bent on making your life miserable?”

“It’s a long story, one that I’m not ready to get into now.”

“Well, it would be appreciated if you were to tell me. After all, this affects us both. I hate to say this, but if her behavior continues, she’ll leave me no choice but to fire her.”

Lydia cringed as the elevator doors opened up. That’s the last thing she needed, but perhaps her life would be easier without the dark presence of her cousin in the office. “I understand, honey.”

She clutched his arm as they walked over to his Jaguar. Her eyes darted about the parking garage, and she prayed Lars wasn’t around as Dawn had said he was. Maybe she was just trying to light a fire under her ass.

* * * *

Bjorn’s senses were sharp. He didn’t need the naked eye to tell him an ominous presence was lurking in the parking garage. Dhampir. He had had a few run-ins with the legendary creatures a few centuries ago. Some had become formidable allies, while some . . . some had had to be annihilated due to their never-ending bloodlust. There had been no reasoning with them, and they had posed a threat to humans.