For Love or Magic by Lucy March

Author:Lucy March
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466885103
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Chapter 10

Desmond dropped me off at my father’s office, then drove off with my suitcase and Seamus, heading back to my place to check up on Tobias. I felt weird without Seamus by my side; unprotected. Even though there wasn’t much that a big, dumb, deaf dog was going to do for me, there was something about being able to clutch his leash that made me feel anchored. Possibly it was just because he outweighed me by a good twenty pounds.

I pushed into the reception area to find my father standing by Amber’s desk, leaning over and squinting at her computer over the reading glasses perched on his nose. It took them both a moment to notice me; when they did, Emerson straightened up and smiled. Amber straightened up and didn’t.

“Punkin.” Emerson walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. He gave my hair a sniff and pulled back. “That’s an interesting perfume.”

“Thanks. It’s called Big Dumb Dog.” I went silent, and looked meaningfully at Amber. “Maybe we can talk in your private office?”

Amber shot up out of her seat. “No, that’s okay. I need to run these things to the post office.” She picked up an armful of document-sized envelopes and started toward the door. She’d almost made it when my father cleared his throat.

“Amber?” he said, and her shoulders visibly stiffened. She paused for a moment, her back to me, and then turned. She pulled on a crackling rictus of a smile, and looked straight at me, as though she had been practicing.

“I’m sorry I attacked you,” she said through her teeth. “It was a momentary lapse into old behaviors which I realize now are beneath me.”

I looked at Emerson, who was watching her with a smile on his lips, but something colder in his eyes, and a chill went down my spine. I looked back at Amber and said, “Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

Something passed between Amber and Emerson, and then she quietly turned and left. I waited until the door had shut behind her before saying, “She’s afraid of you.”

“She should be,” Emerson said. “When I heard what happened, I read her the riot act for two days straight. That’s no way for a person in my employ to behave in public no matter what, but attacking you…” His eyes blazed with protectiveness, but then he sighed and shook his head. “I damn near fired her, sent her back to work in the dirty roadside mechanic shop where I found her.” He looked at me, his expression softening. “You all right?”

“I’m fine,” I said, wishing that I had Seamus’s leash to hang onto, to keep me anchored and stop me from falling into this display of fatherly protection. “Really. No big deal. She didn’t even hit me that hard. It was the booth table that knocked me out.”

“It is a big deal,” Emerson said, his voice booming. “When she’s out there, she represents me and this office, and it is not okay for her to behave like a goddamn wildcat.

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