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And it fucking works. I can’t leave. I have to know more.
I barely flinch when I prick myself. My bloody thumbprint marks the page.
“Welcome to the Sinful, Hellena.” The smile he gives me is genuine, if a little ominous. His perfect white teeth draw my eyes to his full lips.
“Thanks. So?”
“So. Follow me. I’ll show you around the office. Give you the tour and the orientation, if you have time?”
Like he doesn’t know that I have all the time in the world.
The space is deceiving, appearing to only be the foyer at the top of the stairs, his office, and one other room. I was too frazzled to see the other door tucked away between the offices. A lovely older woman ticks away at her keyboard at the front desk, only looking up long enough to give me a little wag of her eyebrows.
A hallway stretches behind the door, other entryways lining the walkway. “Here we have work space, training areas, archives. You’ll find anything you might need for the most part, or just ask me and I’m sure we can accommodate you.”
Along the right side, I note the small rooms that almost look like practice rooms from the music department. Some look more like study rooms from the library. On the left, one room opens into a huge space, and I can just make out mirrors stretching the length of one wall.
“Is that…?”
“A dance studio. Yes. I really meant it. We have the means for just about anything, but hosting, entertaining is my personal passion. It keeps a steady cash flow moving and keeps my specialists fed. Unfortunately, providing favors also requires paying performers, researchers, and private investigators. Unavoidable.”
We reach the end of the hallway and he swings open another door. “This will be your office. It adjoins mine, through there.”
“My office?” He flicks on the light, revealing a large room, a desk, worktable, shelves, a computer. It’s bigger than I thought it would be. At the back around behind the two rows of shelves, I can just make out a door cleverly concealed in the wall.
“Of course. This is a job. You’ll show up and work. Sounds mundane, I know. You’ll see that making dreams come true involves a lot of paperwork.” He leans casually in the doorway, allowing me to explore.
I circle the room once, imagining what I will possibly be doing here from now on, the vague and open-ended nature of my new job that I know so very little about. Pausing in front of the desk, I turn, sitting back against the edge and running my hands over the wood.
“You said you’d tell me once I signed.”
I lean forward just a little bit, giving him my best impression of the look he’s been giving me since the start. Bored. Put out. And pressing out my tits, just to mess with him.
I've never been one to use my sexuality as a weapon. I mean, the cleavage sticking out of my blouse doesn't hurt to flaunt a little bit, though. Not that I have too many expectations that someone as controlled as DeSante would be affected by such a blatant maneuver.
I catch him blink. Once. Twice. Like he's forcing himself to hold my eyes instead of looking down. Maybe he’s not as rigid and robotic as I thought. I sort of thought he might be gay to begin with.
His nostrils flare slightly as he tucks his hands into his pockets and clears his throat. “Right. I did, didn’t I? Typically, I use other names and entities when dealing with clients or vendors. You would have come across the common thread eventually. The Sinful… runs Sanctum Harbor. Always have. Most heads of family are members in some form, although they don’t always know us by that name, like I said. The local Lodge falls under us. Most social clubs. Even the business bureau reports to us. Municipal services all operate under our purview.” His tone is still condescending, like he’s teaching a lesson to schoolchildren. Ugh. He is going to drive me nuts.
“Why are you telling me the… behind the scenes version? Why not keep me in the dark, or sell me a different story?” I sit back a bit, crossing my arms.
“Honestly, you caught me in an error. I had planned to misguide you, only tell you what you needed to know.”
I strongly doubt that. It’s got to be another chess move, but I let him continue. He shrugs, waving the thought away as if it doesn’t matter. “Since you’ll be working directly with me, it would have been more trouble than it’s worth to misdirect you.” Closer to the truth.
“Good. I assumed you’d be a manipulative liar, so I appreciate your being candid.” I know I said I wouldn’t get riled, but come on!
He needs an ego check, anyway.
DeSante’s cheeks pull in as he purses his lips, taking a deep breath. “I won’t dignify that by defending myself. You’ll see me for who I am or you won’t.”
“Likewise.” I’m not sure I didn’t just imagine the smoldering flick of his gray eyes down my body as I say it.
Heat rises at the back of my neck, both from the idea of him stripping me down with his eyes and the fact that he talks down to me, that he thinks he's better than me.
His stare is reproachful, but there's a heat there that I can't deny.
I must be misreading the situation. He's clearly just getting off on manipulating me.
