The Blood Heiress

Black Tie II

Adella

Mr. Fable wore a refreshingly open smile as he reached us. He eyes flitted between Evander and myself.

"Evander," He held out his hand and pulled Evander into a quick hug. "It has been too long. And who is this?" He turned his smiling face towards me and waited expectantly.

"I am Adella. Mr. Santos's protegé." I chimed in before Evander could open his mouth. I looked back at Evander as I gave my out the latest of his labels for me. He seemed unbothered. I held out my hand and Mr. Fable took it. "This is a beautiful house. Thank you for hosting the party."

"You are most welcome. Happy to do so. I am Timothy. Pleasure to meet you. Mr. Sourpuss here usually shows up by himself to these things or just brings..." He looked around himself in an exaggerated way. "Jessica" he made a disgusted face and laughed at Evander's arched eyebrows. "You seem very much the anti-Jessica."

"I just met her. But you may be on to something." I shared a laugh with him before she returned with out drinks. He eyebrows scrunched together when she saw who had joined us. I took my 'Sprite' and eyed it suspiciously it looked nothing like the clear effervescent soft drink that I had grown accustomed to. Instead it was the same crimson drink everyone else had been getting all night. Was this some kind of practical joke for the night? I held up the glass and looked at Jessica in question.

She smirked. "They were all out of Sprite. If you don't want what all the other adults have then by all means waste it."

"Jessica, so nice to see you again." Timothy's sarcasm was dripping off his words.

"Mr. Fable," Her response was dismissive and she didn't rise to his challenge.

Curiousity go the better of me and I decided to take a small drink of what she had brought back. It was pleasant and refreshing. I took two more, finding it to ultimately be no different than the drink that Cass had served me that first visit to his bar. Fearing that I may experience another reaction, here especially, I placed it on the table behind me. When I returned my attention to Evander and Timothy were casually chatting about some items that Santos Industries was in need of. More business talk. I pushed myself to listen and absorb but without context most went over my head. All the while Jessica took notes. A large man approached after a while and leaned into whisper in her ear. I watched curiously. She nodded and sent the man away and then moved to Evander's side.

"He is here." She whispered but not low enough for me not to catch. He?

I watched Evander put his laser focus on the entrance. A small smile flitted about his face. Something interesting was about to happen. I kept my eyes on the entryway to the ballroom and held my breath in anticipation.

"Timothy. please excuse us. We will have to catch up a little later." Evander turned towards the man who simply nodded and headed back the direction he has come.

'He' entered not a millisecond after we turned our collective attention on the entrance. His short stature was almost swallowed by the other guests as he entered. I had almost forgotten his face, almost but not quite. So, Evander had finally found him. Was that true reason for our attendance at this rather ambiguous 'black tie' event? Why had Evander asked me to join him tonight? For not the first time, or even the second I looked towards Evander in confusion. An ominous smile had taken root. His icy eyes glittered in anticipation. Evander looked every bit a predator ready to ambush his prey.

"René?" I asked rhetorically.

He turned his face to me, and a chill went down my spine. Predator indeed. "Yes, I think it is high time he paid us a visit."

Nodding my head in agreement, I was grateful to not be out of his good graces. He gestured to walk with him, and we turned to walk in the opposite direction. He sensed my questions before I had time to form them.

"No need for a public spectacle." He held a door that opened up into what appeared to be a study. We walked in and he motioned for me to take up the seat behind the desk. I did as I was told without question, watching him lean up against the bookcase lined wall. Sharp eyes focused on the door.

"And then, I told her watch out missy or you are going to be out of a job!" I heard René's loud arrogant voice approach. My breath caught as the knob turned. I did not what to expect once he entered. His eyes settled on me first and an arrogant sneer took up residence on his face. I pasted a smile on my face and watched Jessica follow him in, followed herself by the two large men. Jessica looked over to Evander and nodded. The men took up their place on either side of the door. René had continued towards me quite unaware of the lion's den he had just willingly walked into. The electricity thrumming through air.

"You sly shrew. I had wondered who had the audacity to beckon me here. Where have you been? You disappeared on me this past week. To think you have been running around with this lot. How do you rate? Poor Greta and Silvia had to call me to let me know that they needed keys for the gallery, they had been stuck outside for an hour. Tsk tsk Doesn't matter what your position is, you aren't the boss you don't get to decide your schedule."

My eyes flickered up to Evander's face to gauge his reaction. I didn't want him to think ill of my work habits. René leaned forward across the desk missing my quick sideways glance, wholly focused on the target ahead of him.

"What am I going to do with you? You are just itching for a good punishment. I trusted you, elevated you, a lowly intern...I just don't think firing is enough. But I am sure we can come to an agreement on something more fitting."

He licked his lips and eyed me thirstily. The plastered smile dropped; I was no longer willing to keep up the ploy. I sat back and narrowed my eyes raking them over him with my disdain. His words found the fire within me, his breath fanned the flames. A part of myself broke apart in that moment and I felt an unfamiliar confidence bubble up. Who does he think he is?! The longer I eyed him the more nervous I saw him become. Did he really think that he could talk to someone that way? To me that way? To treat me as some sort of disposable workhorse? How has he been able to keep his position at my gallery? How hasn't anyone fired him by now? He isn't fit to be employed under my name. I looked up at Evander, the fire burning in me clearly reflected back in his eyes.

"I think the question is what to do with you." The change in René's countenance was comical when a third voice entered the scene. He immediately shrunk back to a proper distance at the other end of the desk. His eyes bugged out at Evander's cool, threatening tone.

"Me?" René brought his shoulders up to his ears and turned slowly to acknowledge Evander from where he was standing along the wall. "M..m..Mr. Santos. It has been too long."

Evander pushed off and went to stand behind me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and my lips readily formed into a smirk.

"I officially tender my resignation."

René looked between the two of us. "You work for him now? You can't be serious...She was just my intern. I thought you were just teasing her at the gala. Dangling the carrot..."

Evander held up a hand. "None of your business, I do believe. You and I however, do have some unfinished business." The ominous grin returned.

Rene began to back up in refusal. At the flick of Evander's hand however, the two large men flanked a quaking René, prodding him forward once more. Evander removed his hand from my shoulder and moved to sit on the front of the desk. Arms crossed, head c****d to one side.

"No more excuses. No more hiding. And certainly no more empty promises. I warned you when I agreed to your terms that this would be the final chance I gave you to fulfill an agreement. I know I have been more than fair on my end." He nodded at each of the two men and they each grabbed a shoulder and pushed him down into a chair that Jessica had brought over. Evander approached him and René looked away, too cowardly to face the looming threat in front of him. One of the men pulled his jaw to have him face Evander though.

"P...p...please Mr. Santos. I can get the artif.." Evander slapped him across the cheek and straightened up. I gasped at the physicality.

"There will not be any bargaining either. You will sit here in this room, silently. Thinking over exactly how you can pay ME back for the money I spent on your scheme. Then, when we have finished our business here, you will accompany me back to my offices where you will share your solution with me and deliver on it. Understood?"

René audibly gulped and nodded his head. His jaw was released and Evander moved towards the door, I got up and took my cue to follow him out. Passing by René I tried my best to ignore his pleading eyes but he grabbed at my dress.

"Miss Smith you will pa..." One of the men gave him a punch to the gut that had him grabbing his stomach and releasing me. I quickly went to Evander and Jessica as they waited by the door and we exited together.

Neither of them paid much attention to me as we headed to our table. I was grateful for the time to steady my breathing and slow my heart rate. Dinner was ready to begin as we took our seats. Jessica and Evander were quietly going over her notes and bullet points. The other seats joined in their conversation here and there. While also keeping their own company.

In the meantime, I spent the next part of the evening quitely in thought and picking at my food. What had just occured in the study kept playing over and over in my head. A small part of me had always understood why René was hiding from Evander. What might happen to him when he were caught. I was not naive to the nature of humanity. It had been mildly upsetting to bear witness to him being given his due, to be threatened with a worse fate. But what was troubling me was something different entirely. It wasn't what had transpired between the two men but what had occcured inside myself. My words, tone, attitude and actions so complete foreign and yet so comfortably easy to slip into. Even now I knew that the door that had burst open remained that way. I had access to a part of myself that had been locked away for some unknown reason.

"Miss Smith?" I brought my head up from my plate of masaccred food and was greeted with Evander's handsome face, eyebrows arched in impaitience. I guess he had been trying to get my attention for a while.

His eyes darted to the gloved hand waiting to take my plate. I quickly sat back and allowed my plate to be taken. "I have a few more people to meet with before we are free to leave. I will be returning in about an hour. Please meet me back at this table by then." Without any time for me to join him, he and Jessica were out mingling. I let out a long sigh. I really didn't feel up to more introductions, more people, more mingling. I suppose I would just wait at the table. My eyes followed his tall imposing figure as he went from group to group. He was an enigma to me now more than ever. Could I really work with him and learn from him? He must have felt my thoughtful gaze because he turned and immediately I pretended to be watching the band. I looked back in his direction and found him to have moved on.

Soon after a body sat down in the seat next to me and startled me out of my thoughts. My hair stood on end as a hand grazed my lower back lightly and a voice whispered into my ear.

"You look like you could use some company." I felt someone kiss my neck.

I angled myself away from the offending party and turned to glare at them. Yardley's face was inches from my own. Another lecherous grin firmly in place. He gazed longingly down at my lips and started to lean in. I slapped him with all my might and sent him reeling back. He placed a hand over the mark that was quickly forming. I stood to put further distance between us.

"Get away from me." I spat at him, the flames inside flaring.

The people around us turned enthralled in what was beginning to play out. Yardley stood up and straightened his tie. An angry red mark brightly contrasting against his pale skin. He was livid, and barely keeping a lid on it. He reached for my elbow and I moved again out of reach.

"Playing hard to get only prolongs this." He said in a low threatening tone. He was smiling again. His eyes were focused on my face. Undeterred I pulled myself up to my full height.

"I am not interested in playing with you at all." I returned in an equally threatening tone and locked eyes with him again and refused be cowed. Why wasn't anyone doing anything to help me? By now a sizeable group was forming around us. I took a step back to hopefull align myself more with the edge of the circle and bumped into a firm body. A familiar hand was placed on my shoulder, calm radiated from it.

"Finnegan, was I not clear about Miss Smith's position?" I felt Evanders voice rumble up from his chest. Knowing it was him behind me I let down my guard a little.

Yardley shrugged. Clearly contemplating his next action carefully. "You can't keep them all to yourself Santos."

I took a step closer to Yardley and tried to shrug off Evander's hand, his calming influence quickly replaced with irritation at this horrible man. Evander's grip was firm and he held me still.

"I am not to blame for your inadequacy and failings Finnegan." Evander's words riled Yardley up further.

The very same large men from the study came up on either side of him and paused waiting for the next move. Yardley looked to either side and judged his options. He put up his hands in surrender and deferred to being herded away by the men. I sagged a little into Evander as I watched them take him out of the ballroom.

"Come now Miss Smith it is time to leave." I brushed off the edge to his words, assuming that it was simply residual.

Jessica was nowhere to be seen and Evander moved to offer his arm. I took it, not knowing how to politely decline, and at the same time not sure that I wanted to decline. We retrieved both my coat and the car. Sliding into the seat less clumsily, I even managed to buckle myself this time without incident. Soon, we had set out on a course back into the city.

I chaffed under the oppresive silence that closed in all sides during the drive. I seemed to be the only one uncomfortable with it.

"Thank you for dealing with Mr. Yardley." I ventured. I heard him exhale loudly through his nose, his eyes fixated on the road. The silence stretched out again, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. I felt the car speed up.

"Why didn't you defend yourself?" He finally threw back at me, the anger dripping off every word.

I starred at him increduously. What did he just say?

"You can stare daggers at me the rest of the ride home and I will not alter the question." He kept his eyes firmly fixed ahead. "Why didn't you defend yourself?"

I tore my glare off of him, my blood boiling in indignation and moved it on the streets zooming by outside the car window. A familiar stretch was coming up ahead. "Drop me off here, please."

The car slowed, he turned to me then, a challenge in his eyes. Impossible. His challenge began whipping the flames inside back to life.

"Let me out, now." I growled, surprising both him and myself. The car slowed to a stop against the curb. I took my purse and unbuckled myself as gracefully as I could and exited without his help. He sped off without a backwards glance.

With some relief, I adjusted my dress and congratulated myself. I had been right, even in the dark. Across from where I stood was The Marksman. It was just coming up on midnight now. The crowd should have started thinning and Cass might have some time to spare soon. At the very least I could be around him and have some space to calm down. What is with me tonight?

I quickly walked across the street and opened the door. The loud band music and bright lights seemed a little brighter and louder than I remembered but still gave me a sense of security. The man behind the bar however, put me completely at ease. It didn't take long for him to notice who had just walked in and my bright smile was mirrored on his face.

I motioned to an empty booth. He countered by gesturing at an empty seat at the bar. I shook my head and pointed at the booth. He shrugged and held up a finger to indicate that I would have to wait then. Perfect A moment to collect myself was just what I needed. I made quick work of the distance and sat gratefully in the plush seats. What the hell just happened?