Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series (7 page)

Melinda slapped her hand on the
kitchen counter. “I finally get a break, a chance to get out of
this tiny apartment, like you’ve always begged me to do, and all I
get is attacked for it.”

“
Not with him, Maddie. You
can’t do this with him. I warned you. I told you what I saw, and
you still have a chance to change your mind. Don’t do
this!”

“
I don’t want to change my
mind, Jack. Maybe I want to dine at fancy restaurants, drink
expensive champagne, and not spend my evenings worrying if I can
make the rent next month.”

“
Dine at fancy restaurants?
Drink champagne? Where is this coming from? This isn’t
you.”

“
It is me, Jack! It’s
always been me!” She paused and tried to collect herself. “I never
asked for this gift, but maybe I can use what I have to help get
some of the things I want. If I don’t take this chance, I might
never get another. Can’t you see that?”

Jack was silent as he ran his hand
through his mop of brown hair. “What happened? Last week you
weren’t talking about fancy restaurants or champagne. You were
happy.”

“
Was I? I’m not so sure
anymore.” Melinda went to her sofa and plopped down on the soft
fabric. “Mike came over and wanted to take me out to celebrate his
new contract with the Zephyrs. He knew how much I always wanted to
go to The Grill Room for dinner, so he took me. But he was also
very drunk, and at the restaurant he got loud and obnoxious, then
he was escorted out by security. Suddenly,” she waved her hand
through the air, “Nathan was there. He ordered a bottle of
champagne, we ate expensive desserts, and talked. We talked for
quite a while, and I discovered something that night, Jack. I like
the taste of champagne. I like being in a fancy restaurant, and I
like feeling spoiled.” She closed her eyes and rolled her head
back. “Does that make me a bad person because I want more than what
I’ve got?”

Jack slowly made his way to the sofa.
“No, it makes you human. I can understand why you want those
things, Maddie … hell, anyone can. But why are you going to let
Nathan Cole give them to you?”

She shrugged. “Because he
can.”

He took a seat next to her. “You have
to promise me that if things get to be too much, you’ll leave. Call
me and I’ll come right away and get you. Don’t stay if you’re not
happy. Promise me.”

“
I promise.” She patted his
thigh. “You’re a good friend.”

He abruptly stood from the sofa.
“Yeah, I’ll always be your friend, Maddie. That’s why I have to
tell you I think this is a big mistake.”

Melinda sagged against the cushions.
“Your reservations have been duly noted, but I’m not going to
change my mind.”

Jack hurried to the front door. “Just
tell me one thing.” He stopped and wheeled around to her. “Is it
just the fancy lifestyle, or is it him?”
Melinda shook her head. “Jack, I—”

He held up his hand. “Never mind. I
already know the answer.” Jack quietly slipped out her apartment
door.

There had been a sense of finality to
their conversation, and Melinda debated if he had just walked out
on her for good. Placing her face in her hands, she fought against
the urge to cry. Where was it written that to get what you wanted,
you had to give up those you loved?

Love?
The word lingered in her head and she wondered why she had
chosen it.

Melinda did love Jack, but in the way
she loved her brothers and father. Her emotions for him were
clear-cut and definitely unromantic. A long time ago she had chosen
not to go down that path with Jack, despite his intense desire to
do so. He would always be a better friend than lover, but Melinda
began to speculate if she could show the same resolve when it came
to Nathan Cole. Her common sense told her not to get involved with
her employer, but certain parts of her anatomy were beginning to
have other ideas.

“
Great,” Melinda grumbled
as she rose from the sofa. “I haven’t started working with the man,
and already I’m debating about whether or not I should sleep with
him.”

Melinda heard her
grandmother’s voice in her head.
Only give
yourself to a man who has the will to make you happy, and the heart
to love you back.

“
Yeah, right, Grandma,” she
whispered. “You’ve never met Nathan Cole.”

* * *

“
I heard,” Ellie said as
Melinda bellied up to her table next to the fence around Jackson
Square.

Wearing a long-sleeved, loose-fitting
white cotton dress, Ellie had teased her shocking pink hair to
maximum fullness. Melinda thought her hot pink lipstick and long
pink fingernails detracted from her delicate features and clear
blue eyes.

Melinda scanned the Square. “Where is
he?”

Ellie promptly snorted. “He came back
here after he left your place, screamed for ten minutes at everyone
who would listen about how you’re making the biggest mistake of
your life, and then went off to Harry’s Bar to get
drunk.”

Melinda plunked down in the chair in
front of Ellie’s table. “I only came down here to try and reason
with him.”

Ellie reached across the table and
patted her hand. “Honey, we’re talking about Jack, remember?
There’s no reasoning with that man.”

“
Do you think I’m making
the biggest mistake of my life, Ellie?”

Ellie sat back in her chair. “You
can’t knock a steady paycheck and a roof over your head, Melinda. I
was an accountant for twenty years with the same firm until they
laid me off. I know what that kind of security means.”

Disheartened, Melinda shook her head.
“Why doesn’t Jack see it like you do?”

“
You know why, Melinda. He
doesn’t see that man as an opportunity, he sees him as a threat.
Jack’s afraid of losing you.”

“
He’s never had me, Ellie.
You know that.”

“
But he always had the hope
of having you one day. After you go to work for that handsome,
wealthy patron of yours, Jack knows his chances of winning you are
slim to none. We both saw the way that man looked at you, Melinda.
It was pretty obvious what he wanted.”

Melinda rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t
want me, just my ability.”

Ellie watched her reaction with keen
interest. “Do you want him, Melinda?”

Melinda gazed nervously about the
Square. “He’s different from any other man I’ve known, but that
doesn’t mean I want to sleep with him. He’s going to be my
boss.”

“
You wouldn’t be the first
or the last woman to get involved with her boss. How do you think I
ended up with Bill? He was my superior when I started with the
accounting firm where I worked. One thing led to another, and when
his superiors found out, they gave him an ultimatum: dump me or
quit. So he quit, and six months later we got married.”

Melinda frowned at her friend. “Bill
isn’t Nathan. He sees me as an investment to further his
aspirations, not as a woman.”

Ellie took in a deep breath and her
face grew unusually somber. “Melinda, I’m not going to sit here and
lecture you about the right and wrong kind of guy to get involved
with. You’re a grown woman and you need to make your own choices,
but I can see you have feelings for this man. If you go to work for
him, are you going to be able to be the investment you think he
wants, or are you going to be the woman you think he
needs?”

Melinda squirmed in her chair. “What
are you talking about?”

“
My first impression of
your Nathan Cole was that he’s a calculating business man who uses
people to get ahead. Dominating and ruthless when it comes to his
desires. I still think that, but obviously you discovered something
else in him that changed your mind. What was it?”

Melinda briefly searched for an
explanation. “The other night, Mike came over and took me to The
Grill Room, wanting to celebrate his new contract.”

Ellie nodded. “Jack told me Sausage
Neck got hauled off by security, and your Mr. Cole came to the
rescue. Then what happened?”

“
Nathan and I got a chance
to sit down and talk, really talk, like normal people. Not like a
psychic and a client. It was the first time I could remember being
with a man where I wasn’t grilled about my gift. He asked me
questions about me, wanted to know about my life, my family, and he
made me feel … important.” She reviewed their evening together. “I
also got the impression he’s a very lonely man. The funny thing is
I don’t think he knows how lonely he really is. He talked of
closing deals and speculative ventures, but never mentioned family
or friends.”

“
Maybe he’s not interested
in them. Some individuals seem to do pretty well without a lot of
people in their lives. Perhaps Nathan Cole is one of
them.”

Melinda ran her fingers along the
edges of Ellie’s metal table. “I don’t think so. Or at least that’s
not what I feel. I’ve been trying to see more but I can’t, and it’s
frustrating the hell out of me.”

Ellie pressed her index finger against
the center of Melinda’s forehead. “Stop using this. Let whatever is
going to happen, happen. Stop trying to see the future, Melinda.
For once in your life, let the future surprise you.”

“
I’m not sure I’m going to
like that.”

Ellie let out a throaty chortle.
“Welcome to the real world, kiddo. A place where you take chances,
hope for the best, and live with whatever happens. It may not
always be easy, but it’s how life is meant to be.”

“
I guess if it’s meant to
be …”

Ellie winked at her. “Then just let it
happen and see where this new adventure takes you.”

Chapter 5

Tuesday morning, Atmosphere Movers
showed up on Melinda’s doorstep at precisely eight o’clock. Hired
by Nathan, the moving company was responsible for relocating
Melinda to her new apartment. It took the three men less than two
hours to load all of her possessions into the back of a large
truck.

Just as the truck was about to drive
away, a black Mercedes-Benz S550 pulled up in front of Melinda’s
apartment building. An older man in a black suit and tie exited the
car. He came up to Melinda and gave a welcoming smile, revealing a
row of perfect white teeth.

“
My name is Bob, and Mr.
Cole sent me to take you to your new apartment, Miss Harris,” he
said in a raspy voice.

Melinda looked from the driver to the
car. “I thought he was sending a cab.”

“
No, miss. He sent me. Mr.
Cole doesn’t use cabs.”

Melinda examined the shiny black car.
“I’ve never been in a limo before.”

Bob raised his hand to his mouth,
trying to hide his grin. “It’s a chauffeured car and not a
limousine, Miss Harris.”

Melinda glanced back at the man. “I’ve
never been in one of those, either.”

Bob stepped to the back door and
opened it for her. “Then this will be a new adventure for
you.”

With Ellie’s words from the previous
day repeating in her head, she felt like a timid deer as she slowly
made her way to the back door of the car.

“
Do you have any bags you
wish to load into the trunk, Miss Harris?”

Melinda pulled her brown backpack
closer to her body. “No, thank you, Bob. Everything is loaded on
the truck.”

“
Very good, miss.” He
motioned to the car and stood by as Melinda tentatively climbed
into the back seat.

Once she was settled, Melinda ran her
hands over the array of buttons on the door. She closed her eyes
and smelled the newly cleaned leather with a faint hint of
air-freshener mixed in.

“
Is there anywhere you wish
to go before heading to your apartment?”

Melinda opened her eyes to see the
older man sitting behind the wheel, watching her through the
rearview mirror.

She shook her head. “No, thank
you.”

He put the car into gear. “We’ll head
right over to your new place then, Miss Harris.”

Melinda leaned toward the front seat.
“You can call me Melinda, Bob.”

“
Yes, Miss Melinda,” he
replied in a mater-of-fact tone, and pulled into the
street.

“
Do you drive for Mr. Cole
all the time, Bob?”

“
He prefers to drive
himself around town. He usually just needs me for parties and
taking care of his clients.”

Melinda sat back in her seat and
became distracted by the passing French Quarter homes in her
window.

“
Mr. Cole told me you’re
taking a position as his new assistant. Congratulations, and
welcome to the family.”

“
The family?” Melinda
questioned as she eyed the back of Bob’s head.

“
All Mr. Cole’s employees
are like family to him. He’s very selective about his staff. He
won’t let just anyone live in The Shallows.”

Melinda scooted forward in her seat as
an eerie feeling crossed her depths. “What’s The
Shallows?”

“
His apartment building in
the Warehouse District, where you’ll be living. He only leases a
few floors to tenants. One floor he keeps for his employees. The
top floor is where Mr. Cole’s penthouse is located.”