Page 47 of Shifters in the Night

“Well, good luck with that.” Without another word, Lia turned and wandered to the pie stand. She pondered the Dr. Bremmer problem and how that could affect her future plans in Mystic Bayou. If she trounced him and his petition, it could be very awkward running into Dr. Bremmer at the pie shop or the grocery. But it didn’t look great to have someone gathering support against her project, so she had to do something… Or she could just quit and let Victor deal with Dr. Bremmer and finish the project all on his own while she laughed from the sidelines. She sighed, again, knowing that her work ethic and pesky feelings of responsibility toward her coworkers would never let her do that.

She muttered to herself, “But it would serve him right.”

“I don’t care what people say, I think talking to yourself is the work of an organized mind,” Alex said, smiling at her sheepishly.

He continued, “Hello, workplace acquaintance. Jillian and Sonja told me that Jon couldn’t make it tonight. And while this is going to sound like I’m making an opportunistic play here, I didn’t like the idea of you spending the evening alone. Not after you spent so much time and energy setting it up. Want to hit a couple of the booths?”

“As friends?” she asked. “I don’t want to do anything that will confuse you, or Jon, or bystanders.”

“Whatever makes you comfortable,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “Are you hungry? What do you want to try?”

She bounced on her toes while grinning. “Everything.”

They systematically worked their way through the booths, stuffing their faces with all of the local delicacies until Lia thought she might have to go find a pair of pants with elastic in them. Alex did an admirable job of respecting her boundaries. He kept his distance, kept his hands behind his back. And while he kept up a steady stream of conversation, he also didn’t bring up Jon or any hopes he might have had for them to date. Anyone who looked at them would have assumed they were circulating around the festival “on duty” and she was fine with that.

She was sampling Clarissa Berend’s gumbo when a familiar voice sent a shiver down her spine. “Lia, good to see you out, rubbing elbows with the elite.”

Victor was standing behind her. For the first time since she’d met him, he looked … unkempt. His black hair was practically standing on end and he had whiskers shadowing his cheeks. His suit looked like he’d slept in it. She took a step back and Alex subtly edged his way in front of her.

Was Victor becoming desperate? Was his lack of progress on the Main Street project really bothering him this much, even while the apartment complex was right on schedule?

Lia worked to keep her voice steady. “I do try, Victor. You remember Alex Lancaster?”

“Of course, of course.” Victor reached for Alex’s hand and pumped it up and down with alarming vigor. “I hope that our Lia is keeping relations with the League friendly.”

Lia didn’t like the way that sounded. Or the way Victor’s eyes were almost wild as he seemed to be staring through Alex. He smiled, his teeth casting sharp shadows from the eerie rainbow lights of carnival rides. “But not too friendly, of course.”

“Lia has been a consummate professional,” Alex assured him. “We couldn’t have done all this without her help.”

“And my help,” Victor said, pointing at the sign above the gumbo booth. “That’s my company’s name on the sign there. My money feeding all of the mouths here. I would appreciate a little recognition for my efforts, particularly when you talk to your bosses at the League.”

“Of course,” Alex said, stepping in front of Lia a bit more obviously. Victor seemed to recognize the gesture and tried to transform his smile into something more friendly.

“That’s all I want,” Victor said, eying Lia. “What I deserve.”

“Everything OK here, Lia?” Bael was standing behind her, eyeing Victor with suspicion. Zed couldn’t speak. He could only glare.

Her boss had the bad sense to smirk at the sheriff and tell Lia. “I’ll see you at the office Monday, Lia. I suppose I can’t fault your work here tonight, particularly spending time with Mr. Lancaster here, but we’ll have to talk about other issues when we have more privacy.”

Lia shook her head as Victor sauntered off. She had no idea what “issues” Victor was talking about – but she thought it was time to discuss her boss’s secret agenda with her friends. Though there didn’t seem to be any danger of him realizing those goals, it appeared that Victor was unraveling.

“I still can’t believe that guy is your boss,” Bael said, shivering.

“What was that dig about spending time with Lancaster?” Zed asked, nodding at Alex.

Lia shrugged. “He thinks that I’m only spending time with Alex because it will make things easier on the company. But Zed and Alex have already been very cooperative, so it’s not like I have to try that hard.”

“He shouldn’t be pressuring you to spend time with Alex if you don’t want to,” Bael told her. “No offense, Lancaster.”

“None taken,” Alex said, holding up his hands. “One day, I will find a woman who values my boyish good looks and fashion sense. And on that day, I will pretty much propose to her on the spot before any of you can meet her.”

Zed snickered, but Bael’s expression was still very concerned. “Jon’s out of town right now?”

“Until Monday at least,” Lia said, nodding. “If you have time tomorrow, I think we need to talk. You three, and Jillian and Sonja. Hell, bring everybody. I’ll serve brunch.”

“Talk about what exactly?” Zed asked.

“Work issues,” she told him carefully, watching Victor’s back disappear into the crowd. “Nothing I can talk about here.”

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