Chapter 15

The bar talk.

I was glad I hadn't heard from Nathaniel after I left Elena’s house. The next day I was like a zombie, unable to concentrate on my work. I was asked to take care of the office in London while Rufus was absent. Nathaniel called just before I went to work, but I didn't answer—I didn't know what I was supposed to say to him. To take my mind off my problems with him, I called Ella. Her phone went straight to voicemail. Maybe it was too early to even consider trying to talk to her.
My mum asked me to come down for a dinner on Sunday, so I agreed just to keep her happy. In the afternoon, an email from Nathaniel popped into my inbox. He wanted to know if we were all right. I didn't reply; I was scared to listen to the voicemail messages he left me today; I needed to clear my head.
“What's up with you today?" Kate asked when Sara vanished to make us a cup of tea—her fourth attempt today. "You keep jumping in your chair like a dog with fleas."
I sighed. "I'm sorry; it’s Nathaniel—again."
Our short conversation was interrupted by the phone ringing; I gave Kate an apologetic smile and answered it.
“What's up, my dear friend? Fancy a drink tonight?" Kelsie asked before I had a chance to speak.
"No, thank you. I need to cut down on alcohol." I laughed. "By the way, how can you afford to go out all the time? I thought you were out of work?" I asked, whispering to Kate that Kel was on the phone.
"I'm not taking no for an answer. I thought that we could catch up. Besides, I never pay for my own drinks. Men are always there, right?"
"I guess so," I said, shaking my head. "I can go out but only for one drink."
"Great and could you bring your witchy friend? I like her."
"All right, text me where and we’ll be there after seven."
"Okay, bye, sweetie."
I knew that I really shouldn’t drink after what happened Saturday, but with the endless drama in my life I figured I might as well become an alcoholic.
"Kel wants us to go out with her for a drink today," I told Kate.
"Do you really want to get close to that shifter?" she asked, wrinkling her forehead.
"Well, she’s nice and she makes me laugh."
"She seemed a bit—"
"Crazy?"
Kate nodded.
"Yeah, I thought so, but hey, not everyone is normal. Besides, she asked for you. She said that she likes you."
"Really?" Kate asked, looking bewildered. "Shifters normally hang with packs. Don’t you think it’s a bit strange that she wants to hang out? You’ve only known her for what, about five minutes?"
"I don’t know. She seems genuine, despite her whacky character. I saved her butt in the alley so maybe she’s just grateful." I shrugged. Kate shuffled the bulk of papers on her desk.
"All right, why not? I'm working late shifts for the next week, so I won’t have the chance to go out then," she said. "Besides, that way I can keep an eye on the both of you."
I nodded, happy I could go out and forget about Nathaniel for at least a few hours. Lucinda called requesting a few more workers for a night shift as production was going full speed. Rufus, Nathaniel, and Ella were still important, but I didn't want to go crazy thinking about problems twenty-four seven.
By six o’clock I’d had enough of work and waited impatiently for Alexandra to arrive. Sara smashed our latest collection of mugs and was sulking in the corner. Kate and I were out of the office as soon as our other co-workers arrived. Kelsie had asked us to meet her outside the cinema. We spotted her straight away, wearing our killer heels. She wore a short denim skirt and a black top that revealed her impressive cleavage. The energy that surrounded her was enigmatic and I was curious to get to know her a little better.
We didn't go to our local pub; instead Kelsie took us to some shabby dark club in Hackney. She assured us that all the paranormals hung out in Ghotic. Kate looked reluctant, but after a few minutes of convincing, she agreed to enter. The club was dark, filled with many leery-looking paranormals. People were squeezed together on dark leather sofas, drinking; a few others danced. Kelsie greeted a group of werewolves who were chatting by the entrance. I was surprised to see that Ghotic was quite busy since it was still early. We found a small table in the back, so we could keep an eye on the entrance.
"I'm going to get us drinks," Kel announced, looking excited.
"Cosmopolitan for me, please," I said.
"Same for me," Kate said.
Kelsie didn't look overjoyed with our choices, but she went away to get what we requested. I put my phone on silent; I didn't want to be distracted by Nathaniel’s phone calls. Maybe I shouldn’t keep avoiding him, but I felt cheated and betrayed. Five minutes later, Kelsie looked like she’d already forgotten about us. She was chatting away with a tall, handsome shifter standing by the bar. He seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere.
"So, tell me what’s going on between you and Mr. La Caz," Kate said, scanning the crowd. We didn't have a chance to finish our conversation from earlier on.
"It’s a long story." I sighed.
“We'll be here for a while, so you might as well start."
Kate was right: Kelsie looked like she wasn't planning to come back any time soon. Kate would understand more than Ella. Nicky was too busy with her own problems, and I couldn't keep calling her and boring her with my stories about Nathaniel. Within ten minutes I filled Kate in with the latest news. I told her about my quick catch up with Elena and the unexpected revelation about McGregor and Nathaniel.
“You're kidding me, right?" she asked, looking at me with an incredulous expression.
"Nope, according to Elena, Nathaniel and McGregor used to be best buddies," I said, dejected. "When I brought up the subject, Nathaniel didn't want to talk about it."
"No wonder McGregor is pissed off. I would be if my friend had stolen the guy I loved."
"Yeah, this is messed up," I admitted. "So, Elena is convinced that Rufus was blackmailed. She thinks that he didn't want to cooperate, so they decided to teach him a lesson.”
“Maybe she’s right. Rufus loved his job; he wasn't a snitch," Kate said.
"Ladies, we need to head to the bar. I met a cute paranormal and he has a few friends with him," Kelsie said, unexpectedly appearing in front of us. She placed our drinks on the table.
"You dragged us here, so we could talk. I'm not going to hang at the bar, so we can get laid. There is time a and place for that," Kate said, sipping her cocktail.
I nodded. "I'm with her."
Kelsie smoothed her long shiny hair and sat down, pulling a face. She turned and waved to the shifter who was watching her. "But he’s so cute," she insisted.
"The one who was flirting with you is married. I saw him take his wedding ring off right before he headed to the bar," Kate said, frowning.
"See, Kel, you need to chill out. There are plenty more guys that would be interested in you," I said. "We want to get to know you a little better."
"All right, fine. I guess I didn't like him that much anyway."
“That's a good girl," Kate muttered, smiling. We changed the direction of our conversation and focused on Kelsie. It turned out that our Scottish friend had cheated on her boyfriend. Craig was the leader of the pack, so it wasn't long before she was kicked out. She’d had a job in Glasgow, but her boyfriend made sure she got fired. Her parents were dead, and she didn't have any other family, so she packed her bags and moved to London. Her boyfriend made sure that her reputation followed her; he wanted revenge on her for fooling around with one of his mates.
"He had money—he sent his people after me to make sure that I couldn’t get a job," she explained. "Paranormals talk and Craig is smart."
"What did do before?" I asked.
"I worked as a PR rep in his father’s company."
"Hmm, PR," Kate said, raising her eyebrow. "How long have you been looking for a job here in London?"
"A few months. I had a few interviews, but so far, no one has offered me a job. Craig found out that I worked in a bar a few weeks ago. I took the job just so I could get by. He threatened the owner, so they fired me," she said. “I've done many stupid things, but I wasn't happy with Craig, so I got drunk one night and slept with his mate. He nearly killed me when he found out, and, within a day I lost everything: my apartment, a great job, and an arsehole boyfriend."
"Hey, don’t worry—everyone makes mistakes," I said, hoping to cheer her up.
"Yeah, but I never learn. I always get myself into trouble. My mother used to say that it was a curse to be pretty, and I guess she was right."
"Stick with us and you’ll stay out of trouble."
"Yes, don’t worry about a job; after all, we’re in the recruitment business," I said, patting her hand.
"Thanks, Julia, but Craig seems to know everyone in the city. I don’t know anyone who’d be willing to hire me."
“We'll get you a job. Don’t worry about that," I assured her.
"That would be great! I'm bored staying at home and I'm not going back to Scotland."
I was willing to help Kelsie. She had been out of work for a while, but as long as she was keen and ready, we could find her something pretty quickly. We finished our drinks and had another round. So far, the alcohol was doing its job because I wasn't thinking about Nathaniel. He didn't call me again, but I had a gut feeling that he might just turn up on my doorstep if I kept avoiding him. Soon, he’d probably put the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out that Elena revealed his big secret.
A few hours later the club was getting busy. After sunset a group of vampires approached our table, offering to buy us drinks. We politely refused, and Kel wasn't happy to lose out on another free drink. Kate invited me and Kelsie to a family barbecue, this time without a Sabbath surprise.
Just before eleven, Kelsie needed a cigarette, so we went out with her to get some fresh air. It was still warm outside. We were in a part of London where humans didn't hang around. I wasn't surprised when Kelsie started chatting away with another shifter. It looked like she’d been coming here often. She even said "hi" to a hot vampire who looked at me like I was his next snack. I looked away, wondering how much it would piss Nathaniel off if he saw me right now.
I was just about to go back inside with Kate when I saw a familiar face on the other side of the road. He was on the phone, talking quite franticly. I ignored Kate, who was talking to me, and moved forward to take a closer look at the giant I was sure I’d seen before.
"Oh, my God," I whispered, grabbing Kate’s shoulder. The guy couldn’t possibly remember me, but I recognised him. The colour drained from my face and blood rushed to my ears. It was the giant who’d tried to kidnap me a few months ago. Dad had to let him go due to lack of evidence, and someone had wiped his memories, but now he was standing a few meters away from me.