me since I wasn’t technically here to serve beer. “Is he an asshole?”
She set the beer in front of two men and collected their money. “Never met him.”
“You’ve never met the boss?”
“Not the head honcho. All management issues are handled by Karen. You’ve never had a real job, have you? Do you think the president of a company has time for the little people?” She turned toward me and shook her head as if this was our last exchange. “His office is the red door near the exit. Good luck.”
Fucking hell. I don’t have time for this.
On my way to the back, I glimpsed my reflection in a mirror. That messy bun had turned into a waterfall of hair, so I shook it all out and turned on my heel. I nearly jumped out of my boots when I noticed two women engaged in oral sex. As I neared, I realized one of them was wearing a strap-on, and it was all simulated.
“Wanna play?” A butch, leather-clad guy puffed out his chest and gave me a lascivious smile. “I’m a Sensor, and I give it away for free. Third floor, room two.”
I flashed my tattoo like a badge.
A rolling chuckle settled deep in his throat, and he arched an eyebrow as if he still wanted an answer.
I shoved past him and kept going. When I reached the red door, I rapped my knuckles against it.
“Enter,” a muffled voice said.
I stepped into what looked more like a surveillance room than an office. Numerous screens covered the wall behind the desk, each with clear images of different areas of the building. I saw the activities going on upstairs in private rooms, bartenders serving customers, the front door, and even the employee break room, which made my cheeks heat.
The man had his chair turned facing the wall.
“That’s an invasion of privacy,” I pointed out. “The employee break room isn’t part of the show.”
“Yes, but I have to know what my people are up to.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. When the chair slowly turned, Houdini greeted me with an impish smile.
Once again, destiny screws me over.
He looked the same. Still wore the black ear studs, still whitened his hair and styled it into chunky spikes. The coat I’d just seen him in was hanging on a wall hook, and his light grey shirt with long sleeves fit him like a glove.
Houdini played with one of his studded earlobes as he dragged his eyes up and down the length of my underdressed body. I hadn’t felt self-conscious until that moment, and I folded my arms, only to lower them when the spikes on my bra pricked my skin.
“I almost didn’t recognize you with the mask around your eyes. Is that a brown contact lens?” He chuckled softly. “Have a seat, Raven. Would you like my jacket? I keep it a bit chilly in here.”
I strutted over to the leather chair, sat down, and crossed my legs. “You’re the owner?”
Houdini kept his hands on his lap. “I do love a good plot twist, don’t you?”
“I thought you were busy selling bloodslaves on the black market.”
“It was a lucrative business venture, but then Keystone came along, and we all know how that went. You’ve made a new man of me. I retired from that life and started anew.”
“Bullshit.”
He leaned forward and laced his fingers together. “You underestimate how persuasive you can be. Anyhow, I never could make another quite like you, so I decided to retire and give this city exactly what it needs.”
“Porn?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Do you see anyone having sex? What we do here transcends intercourse. Sensory exchange is allowed. Binding is allowed.” His hazel eyes sparkled. “I sometimes wonder what that might be like, but I’m not a Mage. Have you ever done it?”
“That’s none of your business.” Incensed by the personal questions, I decided to threaten him with the truth. “My boss knows who you are.”
“I doubt he knows anything about me. Nobody does.”
“Then I’ll tell him.”
“I think you’re smarter than that. Even if he knew, what could he do? I’m an upstanding businessman, and you have no physical evidence against me for any crime. I scrubbed every youngling I ever made so they wouldn’t remember me. And they wanted to be with me. They sought a new life and asked for my blood. Just like you did.”
“You tricked me. I’m sure you did the same with them, but I guess it doesn’t