She swallowed her anger, and said, “I’ll be ready at midnight.”
He smiled broadly. “Excellent. I shall look forward to it, but now I must run.”
Natalie didn’t linger to watch him scurry down the hall like the rat he was. She raced across the hallway to Jaclyn’s office and opened the door to find Cibor sitting at his station, perfectly at ease. He glanced up when she entered. “Hey, Natalie,” he said. “You meeting with Jaclyn tonight?”
Every muscle in her body froze. Anthony had done something to Cibor, manipulated his mind to make him forget the last half hour or so of time. He didn’t remember that she’d already spoken to him, or that he’d been standing in the doorway, guarding her while she used the restroom. Anthony had stolen that from him. She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but then, she’d never thought of Anthony as anything but a fussy, self-important man. She’d never really considered the power he had at his fingertips, the power he could draw upon as a vampire lord. She’d been a fool, and now others were paying for her blindness.
“No,” she said faintly to Cibor. “I’m just working up here for a while. There’s too much going on in Anthony’s office, and I need the peace and quiet.”
“Good deal.”
“Is Jaclyn in, though?”
He nodded cheerfully. “She’s is her office. Go ahead. She’s always glad to see you.”
Maybe not for long, she thought woefully. Not once Jaclyn discovered Anthony had been screwing with her favorite bodyguard’s head, and it was all because of her.
“Thanks,” she said, trying to seem normal, and failing miserably from the puzzled look on Cibor’s face. She walked down the hall in a daze. This was all unreal. How had she gone from being the unnoticed forensic accountant, to becoming the center of a conflict between two powerful vampires? She wanted to go back to when Anthony was nothing but a family legend, to when her life was quiet and uneventful, instead of this whirlwind of emotions and fears.
She approached Jaclyn’s office, prepared to tell her just that. She was going to go home. Jabril and his twisty accounting could wait, so could Anthony and his stupid dinner date, and especially the territorial challenge, which she didn’t give two fucks about. Fuck Christian, too, and . . . Her thoughts trailed off, and she sighed. She didn’t want to fuck Christian. Well, she did, but not like that.
She knocked on Jaclyn’s door, then pushed it open. “Jaclyn, you in here?”
The female vamp looked up with a smile. “Natalie. Are you all set up in the conference room? Is there anything—” She broke off with a frown as she studied Natalie’s face. “What’s wrong?”
Natalie had to force her legs to keep moving, to walk over to a chair where she could sit down. She didn’t want to tell Jaclyn what had happened. She’d be furious. But Jaclyn had to know about Cibor and what Anthony had done. As for the rest of it? Like Anthony blackmailing Natalie into going out with him, because he had this delusional idea that they were going to run away together? That was her problem, and she’d deal with it. But Cibor was Jaclyn’s, and Jaclyn was Raphael’s. Natalie didn’t understand everything about vampire politics, but she understood that much. Anthony had crossed a line.
“Natalie,” Jaclyn said sternly. “You’re scaring me. What happened?”
“It’s my fault,” Natalie said faintly.
“What is?”
“I don’t know anything for sure, but—”
“Just spit it out,” Jaclyn demanded, clearly worried now.
“I think Anthony messed with Cibor’s head. I think he—” She looked away, not sure how to say it, but Jaclyn was already on her feet, storming around her desk.
“Tell me what the hell happened,” she snarled, getting closer.
Natalie stood in alarm, and explained quickly. “Cibor was standing in the doorway, watching while I went to the restroom. But when I came out, he was gone, and Anthony was waiting for me. He said—” She stopped. She didn’t want to tell Jaclyn about the supposed date, because she’d tell Christian and he’d go nuts. “Anthony wanted to talk to me, but when he finished, and I came back to your office . . . Cibor was there, and he was acting as if he was just seeing me for the first time tonight.”
Jaclyn’s expression, which had been getting darker with every word Natalie spoke, now turned positively terrifying. She spun for the door, fangs bared, eyes glittering, as she yanked it open. “I’ll kill him,” she hissed.
Natalie cringed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, but Jaclyn was already gone.
Natalie followed more slowly. She didn’t have a hope of keeping up with the vampire’s speed, even if she’d wanted to. Which she didn’t. It might be better if she simply avoided Jaclyn and Cibor for the time being. Neither one of them would be eager to see her. Not after she’d brought all of this down on their heads, even if it hadn’t been deliberate. It wasn’t her fault Anthony had suddenly become obsessed with her, but she shouldn’t have let Christian talk her into involving Jaclyn and Cibor.
She went directly to the conference room, determined to gather her things and go home. She should have stayed there anyway, should never have let Christian persuade her to come into the office. She didn’t need to be here. She could work anywhere. A part of her recognized she was trying to find a way to avoid seeing Christian, to avoid telling him about her “date” with Anthony. He wouldn’t even begin to listen to her argument for why she should just go out with him, and get it over with. It was just one evening. She would go along with Anthony as he made his pitch, and then let him know gently that she wasn’t interested. Maybe his pride would be pricked, but he’d be back in New Orleans soon, and there were plenty of women there who would welcome his attention.
Christian would insist she was in danger from Anthony, but she couldn’t really buy into that. He’d waited two years to make his play for her, and probably would have waited longer if he hadn’t seen her flirting with Christian in his office. She absolutely believed he’d hurt Christian, however. Anthony hated him for reasons that went way beyond her. She was attractive enough, but she was no Helen of Troy, for God’s sake.
On the other hand, Christian had messed up Anthony’s plan for the outcome of the challenge. That was what had really pissed him off. In fact, she thought his sudden interest in her might be motivated by a desire to win her away from Christian. That idea held merit. She wasn’t the great passion of his life, she was a thing. A thing that Christian wanted, and, therefore, Anthony was going to take her away from him. It would be even richer when Christian discovered she’d gone out with Anthony in order to protect him.
Natalie almost groaned out loud at the thought of telling Christian just that. She didn’t know him all that well yet, but she knew he’d be furious. Not only at Anthony, but at her for going along with such a scheme. But while she might be reluctant to tell him, she was more certain with every minute that she was doing the right thing. Which meant she had to get out of there before Christian returned. If Anthony was keeping an eye on her, she wanted him to see that she’d gone home, and that she hadn’t gone to Christian looking for help.
She walked down the hall to the conference room, where she’d left her things, and caught sight of Jaclyn and Cibor standing near his desk. Jaclyn had her arms around the much bigger vampire, and his head was lowered to touch hers. Cibor’s eyes were closed, and Jaclyn was murmuring something, her cheeks wet with pink tears. Natalie’s heart ached with guilt. This wouldn’t have happened if Anthony hadn’t come looking for her. She lowered her head and went over to gather her purse and laptop. Stepping back to the open doorway, she glanced over at the two vampires. But they were totally wrapped up in each other, and not paying her any attention.