Heart of Vengeance (Alice Worth #6) - Lisa Edmonds Page 0,15

“Mmm. Hello, beautiful. You smell good.”

I smacked his hand where it rested on my hip, but I smiled. “Not professional,” I reminded him.

He kissed my shoulder. “If I could make looking at you my full-time job, I’d do it.”

Despite his teasing, when I turned, I could tell by his expression something was wrong. He let me know with his eyes that we’d talk about it in private later. “Cass told me you brought coffee,” he said instead.

I gestured at the cup on my desk. “It’s that new ultra-bold blend Carly’s trying at her shop. It’s a little too strong for me, but I thought you might want to try it.”

“I do.” He sniffed. “And do I smell scones?”

I went to my messenger bag and produced the scones in a little paper sack with the Brew a Cup logo. “Fresh baked this morning. I didn’t even eat them on the way here.”

“You are my favorite mage.” Sean took a drink of the coffee and nodded appreciatively. “Excellent. I’m a fan of Carly’s new blend.” He smiled as Ben finished hanging my MPI license and raised his coffee cup in a toast. “Name on the door and credentials on the wall. Looking Glass Investigations officially has a new home.”

“Thank you for the door.” I touched his hand. “I love it.”

“Do you?” Sean’s tone was light, but his eyes searched my face.

“I do,” I assured him. “It’s a lovely and very thoughtful gift.”

“I’m having your company name and logo put on the front window as well. They’re doing that this weekend. That way your clients will know they’re in the right place when they park out front.”

I squashed the panicky fight-or-flight reaction in my tummy and smiled back. He wasn’t trying to tie me down; he was making a home for me. “That’s really sweet. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He glanced at Ben. “Can you give us a minute?”

“Sure.” Ben spun the hammer in his hand. He enjoyed making things, even if it was just putting something on the wall. “Give me a call when you’re done so we can go over next week’s scheduling. See you later, Alice.”

“Thanks again for your help. It looks great.” The license was nice and level and centered. Much better than I probably would have done. If I’d hung it crooked or off-center, Ben would have probably taken it down and re-hung it anyway, so it was easier to just let him do it right to start with.

The moment he was gone, I turned to Sean. “What’s going on?”

He gestured at my fancy chair. “Want to sit?”

“Sure.” I went behind my desk and sat. He settled into one of my client chairs and Malcolm hovered to my right.

Sean rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Ron and I had a meeting to talk about some changes we’ve seen regarding our clients. There’s always some turnover, but suddenly we’ve lost several large business accounts and haven’t gotten some new ones we were fairly certain we’d get. I didn’t think much of it, other than to be frustrated, but this morning we lost another account—one we’ve had almost since the day we opened. I called the CEO personally, and after some bullshit, he implied he’d gotten pressure to switch security providers. I called one of the other companies who dropped us and was told the same thing.”

“Pressure from who?” I asked, frowning.

Sean said nothing.

Realization dawned. “Son of a bitch.” Magic sparked on my hands, and a cold breeze blew through my office. “That bastard.”

“Moses?” Malcolm asked.

Sean nodded. “No one we talked to wanted to say very much, but someone made sure Ron heard it was because of you.”

I got up and paced. “Because of me? That doesn’t make any sense.” No one but Sean and Malcolm were aware I was Moses’s granddaughter, and the fact I was the powerful mage nicknamed “Storm Girl” was known only by a handful of people.

“It does if Ron thinks it’s because the Were Ruling Council doesn’t approve of our relationship, which is what he was told. I can’t tell him differently, for obvious reasons.” Sean flexed his hands.

“So, from Ron’s perspective, the company you’ve spent the last fifteen years building is losing clients and money because of me.” I wanted to smash something. “I knew Moses would find a way to drive a wedge between us. I didn’t expect him to go after your business. I guess I should have.”

“There’s no wedge between us,” Sean stated. “And Ron knows it’s not your fault. He doesn’t