Chapter 11: Snake Skin
1058 Words
Vincent burst out of the elevator like a bullet from a barrel. He scanned the lobby for any unfamiliar faces.
None.
Jennifer was still watching Carlos play.
He didn’t know he had been holding his breath, until he heaved with relief.
How dare he! He swore under his breath. Voss was bold enough to come into his home. Someone in his circle led him here. But who?
Vincent hated to admit it, but his mother was right, he couldn’t do this one alone. The thought made him hiss.
Frustration crept into his head, messing up his thoughts. She wasn’t safe here. Voss would only be unable to reach her if he took her somewhere else, Rolling Hills, the estate was a fortress. The thought of putting her in harm’s way had overcome the dread of sharing a roof with his mother.
He stood there watching Jennifer. She was unaware of the fact that danger could find her under his watch.
She sat hugging her belly with both arms. That was someone enjoying her evening worrying about an impending danger.
She reached out and pushed her hair across her right ear, briefly exposing a snake tattoo on her neck, just below her jaw. He saw it.
She turned then and their eyes met.
Vincent saw her whisper something to Carlos before walking toward him.
“Did I ruin the fun?” he asked.
“I didn’t realize I said that out loud.”
He laughed. His eyes still scanned the lobby.
“You were very loud.”
“I saw your mother leave.” She spoke. “She didn’t look happy.”
“She already has you pitying her.” Vincent chuckled.
She didn’t miss the edge in his voice. “And is that bad?”
It's one of her many weapons. How she uses them is why I despise her.
“She misses you.” Jennifer said.
“How can you possibly know that?” He raised a brow.
“Her eyes said what her lips failed to express properly. She’s been carrying guilt for far too long.”
“You don’t know my mother,” Vincent said calmly.
Jennifer didn’t speak of her anymore. She recalled his knuckles and looked at them again.
“Are you going to tell me the someone you hit?”
“So you can be their witness when they sue me,” he waited for her reaction.
Jennifer smiled. It was her first genuine smile since she entered the penthouse.
“I don’t know why I am trying.” She looked away, half irritated. His words made her smile and half terrified that she was blushing.
“My office desk”
She looked at him. “What?”
“The someone I hit. My office desk.”
“I’m afraid to ask why” She knew he was going to say something silly, and it would make her smile, and she shouldn’t be smiling, not when her mind kept expecting another call or text from Voss.
She kept looking over at the poker table. One of the guys had won a set against Carlos and they kept high-fiving each other.
“What’s the meaning of your tattoo?” he asked abruptly.
“I’ll tell you when you tell me the meaning of yours.” She turned to him.
He nodded with a small smile.
“My artist called it the triplet roads,” he said.
“But it’s two spirals around your arm.”
He folded his sleeves a little further. “It’s three. And they interlock.
When he had torn his clothes off last night, she swore she had seen two stripes.
“What does it mean?”
“Love. Death. Darkness,” he said, “In his words, I was the only man he had met that was capable of all three.”
“Are you?” she asked.
“What do you think?”
The way he sounded calm and said it with a small smile, it sent shivers across her skin.
Jennifer pushed her hair to one side and fully revealed the tattoo. It was a king cobra with its dead skin.
She let her hair fall into place. “Rebirth and transformation.” She looked at him.
“Snakes are in a sense reborn when they shed their skin,” she added.
“And you got that in your first month in LA.” It wasn’t a question but a conclusion he came to.
Jennifer nodded.
“But,” she said, “I don’t feel reborn or transformed. Just empty and terrified.”
Vincent watched as Carlos shook hands with the guys and saw them off, their little game had ended.
He cleared his throat. That drew her attention gently.
“What would you say if I gave you your job right now?”
She searched his face.
“I’d say, why the change of heart?” She held his gaze. Neither looked away.
“You proved why you were a fit. I won’t say how, so you don’t put up an act.”
She smiled and nodded.
“I thought you had given it out.” She was still smiling.
“There was no fit, except that half-drunk girl.” He stepped before her.
Carlos came back shortly and joined them.
“Carlos” Vincent called.
“Sir”
“How do we celebrate a new employee?” Vincent asked.
Her eyes lit up, and her heart raced.
“I want you to meet my new HR assistant” Vincent turned to her.
“HR assistant?” Jennifer asked, her eyes nearly popping from their sockets. “I applied for junior HR.”
Carlos gave a small applause and said, “I’d say some Chardonnay would suit this small occasion, sir,” He walked to the elevator first.
Vincent waited for her to move, and he joined them in the elevator.
Jennifer was still smiling when the doors closed.
She had come to Los Angeles for a job.
Six months of failure.
Six months of regret.
Six months of wondering if leaving New York had been the biggest mistake of her life.
And now she finally had one.
For the first time in months, she felt like things might actually get better.
Vincent looked at her reflection in the elevator mirror.
He hoped she was right.
- Writer
