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“Yes, all right. I’m going to be away for a while. I’ll be back when I can.”
Which, her heart was telling her, would be never. She’d done right by him and Miley. Mercy had done what Dante had told her. Taking off to the skies again, she only looked back at the house once. It was enough to tell her that she was doing the right thing, and no matter what he said, it hadn’t been a vacation fling. Joel was her mate.
Chapter 3
Joel was not only impressed with the large, well-appointed building, but with the way that Miss Warrior had some of her work displayed in different parts of the lobby. The large piece, a phoenix, sat atop a perch that looked like a turret of a castle. The colors were beautiful. Joel felt like he could put out his hand and it would land on it.
“Mr. Oliver?” He stood up, nervous for this interview. The woman smiled at him. “I’m Piper Warrior. We’re not very formal around here, you’ll see. Let me show you around a little bit, then I’ll take you to your office.”
He was right behind her when what she had said occurred to him. “My office? I don’t understand, I thought this was only an interview.”
“No, this is a job for you to take should you want it. And I certainly hope that you do. I’ve looked into your work, Joel, and you’re very good at what you did for your other company. May I ask why you quit?” He told her that he had a handicapped daughter. “Good for you, putting family first. As I was saying, you’re very good, and I’ve decided that I’d be a fool not to hire you. And I’m not a fool. Silly at times, but never a fool when it comes to what I do.”
“Your work, it’s beautiful. The phoenix out front, it looks so lifelike.” She smiled at him, her pride showing through. “If I’m to take the job, I have to tell you, I’m broke. I’m not usually so honest with a job interview, or whatever this is, but I can’t afford to travel back and forth from my home. It’s quite a commute.”
“Yes, I can see that it would be. But that’s been taken care of as well. I have a house for you and your daughter to live in. It’s part of your package. As I said, I’m not a fool, and I need you to come and work for me. There is a car, big enough to put a wheelchair in should you wish to use it after work. I have also arranged to have your daughter’s records transferred here. The local school is brilliant, and happy to have Miley as a student. Also, there is a cook for the house that—”
“Wait, wait. This is too fast. Not to mention, too much. I’m just a guy with a good engineering degree. How do you even know if I can work with you? I don’t even know what it is you want me to do.” Again, the smile. And he remembered the last time a woman smiled at him and Joel pushed it away. “I don’t want to get here, move my daughter and I nearly across the United States, only to find out that I can’t do whatever it is that you need.”
“I think we should see your office.”
Joel was getting frustrated and wanted to talk to someone. But he’d ruined that for himself by being a prick. And on top of pushing away a beautiful woman, he’d also made it so that his daughter would barely speak to him anymore. His life sucked right now.
The office was perfect. There was a huge window that he could look out over the river. A drawing board, and several large bulletin boards as well. The desk wasn’t one that he’d thought to have. This one was wood, old wood too, and as smooth as— His mind skittered away from that thought. He leaned against the large credenza that sat under the window, where he could see pictures of Miley and him together. Joel looked at Piper.
“Tell me what the catch is.” She leaned against the door jamb and asked him what he meant. It was then that he noticed his name was already printed on the door. “You may not believe this, but I’m not stupid. I know that there is something going on. Tell me.”
“All right. But I’d like you to know, regardless of what Mercy told me about you or what to do, I’d still have hired you.” He asked why Mercy was doing this. “I have no idea. I don’t know where she is, what she’s up to, nor do I have the ability to ask her. I guess I could, but she said to leave her alone, and we are.”
“You’re what she is, a bird.” She nodded, then shook her head. “You’re not a bird? Please, explain.”
“I’m a phoenix. Just like the one out in the lobby. It’s what I guess you’d call a self-portrait. When I started out, I only did smaller things—jewelry and such. But I wanted to do something more. Have fun with my heat and metals. And without you, I can’t do all the things that I wish to do. I need an engineer to show me how to make—engineer—the things I want without them falling down on my head. Would you like to see her?” He shook his head. “Suit yourself. You will eventually. It’s how I get the heat I need to make the pieces. For some reason I was granted the gift of fire. And I use it to make my art. If you come into my lab, you’ll see me at work as well.”
Joel tried to wrap his mind around all this and had to sit down. “Are there more of you? Bird shifters.” She told him that they weren’t shifters. “But you can shift. Correct?”
“Oh yes, and we can do it in any way that we wish. From your questions, I’m assuming that you saw Mercy shift?” He nodded. “Well, she’s good at it. Lots of practice, I guess, when we were working on it. Anyway, we’re not shifters. We were, all six of us, birds before we were made into warriors. Larger than a semi in order to save the kingdom.”
“Kingdom?” She told him about the castle and the queen. “You’re...I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m assuming that you’re very old.”
“Yes. Very. And again, Mercy is older than the rest of us. Not by much, but she was with the queen longer than us. So she was very beloved by Queen Dante. You will notice that we all took a last name that was a part of our lives before. Mercy is Dante, from our queen.” She moved into the office and closed the door. “What happened between the two of you? I’m assuming that she hurt you badly.”
“No, she didn’t do a thing to me. It was me that hurt her. Not physically—I don’t think it would have come to that. I know it wouldn’t have. But I tore into her after...the next morning, and she left me. Not that I wouldn’t have done the same should someone had spoken to me that way, but.... My daughter hates me for what I did. All she knows is that I was pissed off at Mercy—for no reason, I figured out later—and she left her. They clicked, you see. My daughter and Mercy.” Piper said nothing. “I’ve been reading up on shifters. I don’t actually know any, I don’t think, but I have a feeling that she’s something to me. Mercy, I mean.”
“Yes—your mate, I would guess. And yet she did all this for you.” Joel said that he didn’t understand it either. “I don’t think, now that I’ve said that, she did any of this for you, Joel. She did this for Miley.”
“I see. So I have this wonderful opportunity, after I hurt a woman that should mean the world to me, because of my little girl.” He looked out the window, turning his back to Piper. “I said terrible things to her. Things that any man should have been killed over. I would have done it myself had I heard another man say those things. Everything a man could ever want has fallen into my lap, and I haven’t any idea what to do about it.”
“Work for me, if for no other reason than to provide for Miley. I’ve not met her, but she must have made an impression on Mercy.” Piper stood up just as he turned back to look at her. “There is a secretary for you that starts after lunch. I’m having lunch brought in so that everyone can meet you. If you decide not to work for me, let me know as soon as possible. I won’t embarrass either of us by having to explain why—”
“I’m going to take the job. I’d be a bigger fool than I already think I am if I didn’t.” She thanked him. “No, you should be thanking Mercy. And if you see her, could you—?”
“No, I won’t relay messages for you. Besides, I wasn’t supposed to tell you. Mercy had a feeling that you’d run for the hills if I did.” He said that a month ago, he might have. “Good. You’ve had time to think. All right, I know that you’re at the hotel, but I can have your daughter moved to your home today. The car you are going to be using is in the parking lot if you’d rather pick her up. Here is the address. And before you ask, no, it’s not near Mercy. You’re on your own finding her. Your health insurance started this morning, and there is no clause for preexisting illnesses or injuries. Your house information is in there as well.” She handed him a piece of paper and a thick file.
“I still have the job? After everything I told you?” Piper said that he did. “Thank you. I’ll get Miley and take her there now, if that’s all right.”
“Yes, I’m not expecting you to work until Monday, and since it’s only Wednesday, I’d take in the sights and see what the area has to offer you.” She started away and came back. “As I said, there are six of us. All birds of prey. Fuck up and we’ll raise your daughter as our own. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, very much so.” She left him there, and he stood up then sat down again. This was much more than he had ever dreamed of having. When his new secretary came in, introducing herself as Maggie Sandalwood, he was handed two cell phones. “Two?”
