“The who?”
“The Oracle,” he repeated without clarifying. “She sent me to you. Told me to do whatever it took?—"
She cut him off. “Is this a joke or something?” Because Colette wasn’t amused. She might be overworked and uptight, but she didn’t require a gigolo. One-night stands could be found in pretty much any upscale bar, and for the times when that seemed too bothersome, she had a battery-powered toy at home that could handle her needs.
“No jest. You and I will form a partnership the likes of which this world has never seen.” He flashed her a megawatt smile.
“I don’t think so,” she growled, not bothering to hide her annoyance. The nerve of someone hiring a sex worker to try to embarrass her. “You need to leave.”
“But we’ve yet to discuss the terms of our entanglement.”
“Not happening, and if you persist in pestering, I will have you forcibly removed.”
The guy’s head canted, and his eyes unfocussed, as if he were listening to someone else. She saw no earpiece, but, with today’s technology, that was no real surprise. When his gaze cleared, he pursed his lips. “It would seem there is a miscommunication. We shall resume this conversation when there is less commotion.” He no sooner said that than he turned and walked away. People moved out of his way, most not even looking in his direction, and yet somehow reacting as he got near and shifting aside. Those who did end up glancing stared, the women especially.
To Colette’s surprise, he didn’t head for the elevator, nor the refreshment table, but rather for the door labelled stairs. Surely he didn’t plan to descend the twenty flights on foot? People blocked her view, and she lost sight of the blue stranger, but a nagging sense of something amiss had her briskly following. What if he went up? She hadn’t locked down her computer and office, as she’d only planned to hit the party for a few minutes. Best she make sure the weirdo actually left.
Opening the door to the stairwell didn’t immediately reveal him. A glance up and down also gave no clue as to which direction he’d gone. Her lips pursed. No point in descending the twenty flights of steps to make sure he’d departed when she had a simpler solution. She went upwards to her office, exiting from the stairwell into the lobby that serviced upper management. The reception desk, usually manned by Mitchell, showed no one sitting behind. The club chairs meant for those who’d booked an appointment also sat empty. Colette’s heels clicked as she strutted for her office, flinging open the door hard enough it hit the wall with a thud. No one there either.
The weird stranger wasn’t in any of the penthouse offices, but more confusing, she couldn’t find him on the surveillance monitors either. Not in the stairwell. Not exiting the building. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t find any video of the guy arriving or leaving at all. Impossible. She appeared on the security footage from the cameras watching the staircase, but no amount of rewinding made the blue fellow appear. It was as if he’d vanished into thin air—if he even existed at all.
“He’s real,” she muttered. He’d been at the party. People had seen him. Tell that to the cameras taping the celebration—which might be needed if anyone made a legal claim looking for a payout. Like in the stairwell and main door video footage, she couldn’t find even a glimpse of the blue dude. Colette had no issue spotting herself, moving through the throng, at one point pausing to have a conversation with… No one.
No tall blue dude. Make that no dude at all.
Colette poured herself a stiff brandy, tossed it back, and poured another to down as well. It didn’t help. Given the time of year, she couldn’t stop thinking of Bill Murray and the movie Scrooged.
While Colette didn’t believe in ghosts, she had no explanation. If Blue Dude existed, then why the hell didn’t he appear on any of the security videos? Which led to her wondering, if he wasn’t a hired male prostitute, then exactly what had he meant when he spoke of them liaising?
Guess it didn’t matter because she doubted she’d see him again. After all, in Scrooged, each ghost visited only once.
3
As Cade beamed back aboard, he couldn’t help but grimace at how poorly his initial meeting went. As a matter of fact, he might have gravely erred. According to the ship’s computer, which had been monitoring the meeting, his presence had agitated the woman. Could have been his blue skin, which he’d known might make him stand out, but he’d had a ready excuse if confronted. A human condition called argyria, caused by extreme exposure to a metal alloy called silver. He never got to use that answer because the subject became annoyed as soon as he began talking. Given that went counter to his mission, he quickly removed himself, having Beta 690 teleport him from the human celebration back to the vessel, where he then submitted to decontamination.
As the lasers penetrated through his clothing, his thoughts kept straying to the female. Name of Colette Wilson. According to the sparse file compiled on her, she managed a human mating service. Kind of like what the Oracle did for the warriors, but on a much larger scale and without the use of ancestors. On the contrary, his target relied on computer programming to make the matches, which he had his doubts about. After all, the woman in charge remained unattached, which didn’t inspire confidence, although he had to wonder why. Her lack of bonding certainly wasn’t because she lacked character. Upon meeting her, he’d been struck by her commanding presence. People couldn’t help but stare in her direction, but it wasn’t just because of her position and personality. Colette Wilson was very attractive.
Tall for a female—at least one native to his home planet. Her dark hair pulled back from her face showed off her distinct cheekbones, her startling green eyes, and full lips. Body-wise, she possessed a pair of wide hips with a cinched waist perfect for holding on, full breasts for suckling, and lips that would have looked quite nice wrapped around his cock. Despite her washed-out color, Cade couldn’t deny the fact he found her appealing. But his mission wasn’t about claiming her as his mate, as Beta reminded.
Please refocus your thoughts, as your vital statistics are showing an increase in blood flow to your genital area. Now is not the time to be mentally impaired.
An embarrassing rebuke that was the catalyst for Cade swiftly ending his first meeting with the human. As he’d moved toward a discreet location for transport back to his ship, Beta offered a warning. The target is following you. Get to a discreet location and prepare for emergency evacuation.
Hardly an emergency, yet the moment he’d passed through a door marked EXIT, he found himself teleported to his ship.
“What is the status of the target?” he asked aloud as the decontamination procedure ended.
“The female is partaking of an alcoholic beverage.”
Lucky. The ship replicator didn’t have that option, as they were supposed to be sober when on missions. “She’s drinking alone?”
“Yes.”
He rubbed his chin. “Maybe I should have stayed.”
“I think not!” barked Jaspar, stalking into the decontamination chamber. “What were you thinking? We discussed studying the situation before acting.”
“You talked. I never said I agreed,” Cade defended.
