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“You know, I’m glad I went with you guys,” the new client gushed. “We had a really good offer from another company, and it was cheaper, too, but it would have been so awkward.”
“Why?” Edmund asked.
“Well, it’s not public or anything like that, but there’s talk that the company put a bunch of shifters on their board. Imagine that. Shifters.” The last word was emphasized with a tone that put Edmund’s back up.
“What’s wrong with shifters?”
“Well, you know. They areshifters.Anything can go wrong if we so much as look at them the wrong way.”
“Well, that’s one way of putting it,” Edmund replied. “Anything can also go wrong if you so much as smell wrong to a vampire.”
Booming laughter punctured the stunned silence before Isaiah Wilder cleared his throat.
“My son is jesting, of course. Our kind has grown civilized over the years, and those ruthless bloodsuckers you hear about are a thing of myths and baseless rumors. And you are right, Mr. Milling. As much as shifters have come a long way, too, and we do our best to respect each other, it’s always best to steer clear of that kind of complication.”
The tension was eased, but Edmund didn’t feel good about how it was settled. Before he could correct it, the meeting had already ended, leaving behind the last person he wanted to talk to over the phone.
“I called the office and was told you didn’t come in the whole day. Where are you?”
“I took my paperwork with me and didn’t have any meetings except this one,” Edmund replied. He itched to hang up, but knew two scenarios would follow that: either the calls would be endless, or there would be a bitter fighting match all over again.
“You have been out of the office a lot. What is going on?” A pause, then, “Are you finally plotting how to get a date with—”
“No one. I don’t need a date.” He should end the call. Instead, he exhaled deeply. “I’m already dating.”
Stupefaction coated the line before Isaiah recovered.
“What?”
“And I prefer to keep it private for now, until she’s ready for more, and we can finally make the introductions.”
“Son, you can’t just drop that on me and not expect me to ask things,” Isaiah chastised.
“Ask away.”
“Is she from a good clan? Is this why you were so silent? Did you pull the wool over my eyes and find someone better for our family?”
Disappointment blazed, but it was nothing new.
“Yes, I found someone better.” Except his definition of better was different from his father’s. He didn’t get into that and bit his tongue at what he was itching to add: that this was better because there were feelings involved, and so much more. “You will meet her at the right time.”
“I—”
“I will talk to you soon, father.”
He hung up, risking the scenarios he had predicted earlier but not caring enough anymore to stay on the call. Minutes later, his phone rang repeatedly, so he switched it to vibration mode and looked up. Archie was no longer in the living room but standing in front of him, noting the phone and his face.
“Do you want to see a magic trick?”
“A magic trick?” he echoed.
“You seem sad, and my magic tricks always make my mom and uncle smile.”
Oh, this boy. “Sure. Give me your best shot.”
There was a card trick that was easy to predict, then a coin trick that led them to the living room where Archie needed more floor space. Edmund closed his eyes when the boy asked him to, pretending not to feel the fingers feathering over his body.
“Open your eyes, Uncle Edmund. Now, let me tell you the story of the shark and the cat who became friends and followed each other through the coins they left behind in secret places. The first one was in a tunnel that was closed years ago.” Archie reached behind Edmund’s foot, produced the coin, and placed it on the floor. “The second was on a hill where the cat first saw the shark swimming around in search of food.”
