Page 42 of Of Mercury and Mist

“Are you... firing me?”

“Yes,” Josiah stated with finality. “From this day forward, you’ve never heard of Ipomoea. If you see us anywhere, you don’t know who we are. You’ve never worked for us and all your records will be permanently destroyed. You are not permitted to look at us. Nor we, you. Leave, now.”

Micha’s shoulders sagged but he didn’t spare my face a single glance as he unfastened the collar that’d kept me anchored to him. The device circled his wrist, and the chain of gemstones formed a puddle of rubies and silver on the soft seat before he slid out and stood to the side.

My vision blurred as I made my way from behind the table. “What about these clothes? They’re not mine.”

No one answered. I glanced back at the table and Kiam was on his phone and Josiah tucking into an extra bloody steak. Neither were looking at me, I may as well have been one of the black-uniformed waitresses.

They were seriously instantly dismissing me as if they’d never met me before. I should’ve been thrilled. Iwasthrilled, right? I should’ve been relieved but all I felt was a climbing sense of panic. I was unmoored, bereft, cast out.

When I looked up at Micha, he was eyeing the couple seated behind our table. No matter how hard I stared at him, he didn’t budge.

My legs felt like they’d collapse beneath me as I stood there, waiting. Waiting for what, I no longer knew. I’d become accustomed to following Micha’s directives, and living under his attention—wanted or not, and with those both removed, I was thrown wildly off kilter.

“Micha,” I called to him, trying to get his attention. He didn’t acknowledge his name.

He slipped past me, the edge of his suit jacket brushing me, and sat down. He lifted his fork and knife and began eating, joining his friends. Not once did he spare me a glance. I truly was invisible to him.

Before I left, I asked, “What about Della?” If Josiah and his henchmen thought for one minute they’d keep me away from her, they were mistaken. My question hung in the air as they ate, drank, and began talking business. I stood there for what felt like several minutes, but not once did anyone’s gaze flick my way. I’d been completely shunned.

“You need to exit the building, ma’am,” a man in a suit approached me and held his hand toward the doors.

Blinking, I started walking away. It was poetic justice, honestly, that I’d cost someone their job and found myself unemployed. I just hadn’t expected it, though perhaps I should’ve. But why did my heart feel so hollow?

FOURTEEN

Ashley

“So, what did you expect?” Andy asked me. “You can’t fuck around and expect to not find out. Not with these people” He leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms on his chest. “And I don’t understand this sick attraction you have to that man. You do realize he’s an abusive fuck, right?”

We were in the kitchen of our apartment, and I was at the stove making us egg and cheese omelets. “I don’t know. Everything is just so strange right now. Della’s still gone, and I can’t believe I’m not there anymore. It andhebecame a big part of my life I guess.”

Micha was abusive, Andy was right. I knew I was making excuses. I told myself I hated him, but at the same time, there was something else there that drew me in. It lurked in his gaze, hid in his gentle touch. I didn’t want to articulate it and it both fascinated and horrified me.

What I still couldn’t wrap my mind around was the realization they weren’t even human. Not a one of them denied being a vampire. But they didn’t deny anything I’d accused them of, and it wasn’t like I could do a thing about it.

“I’m not saying any of them are good... people,” I continued. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” I shook my head and carefully folded the egg mixture I had in the pan.

“Even though I’m a guy, I know he’s good looking. Maybe you’re just horny.”

My face flushed. Micha was far beyond just simply good looking. I was obsessed with him. “Ehh, could be. Like I said, I don’t know why I’m so upset.”

I liked him.

A lot, despite his fucked up ways. I was going to miss him always being around me. The more I thought about it, the more obvious it was he went completely out of his way to be near me before the so-called theft took place. It’d become a source of stability for me, and then over time, apparently something more if his absence was affecting me this badly.

Andy grabbed a couple plates from the cabinet as I flipped our breakfast over in the pan. “You shouldn’t even be talking to me about it, from what you’ve told me.”

I nodded, sliding the food onto the plates. “I know. I’m mostly just worried about finding a comparable job. I made good money.” I set the frying pan in the sink and turned on the water.

“And this,” I waved my hands in the air before I sat down. “How are we supposed to pay for this? I’m not filing for unemployment, not after what I went through. Plus, Josiah said they were permanently erasing all record of me having worked there.”

“You’ll find something. At least you’re away from those fuckers.”

It’d been nearly three weeks since I’d stepped foot inside Ipomoea. I’d sent out a ton of resumes but hadn’t gotten a single interview except for the McDonald’s in Times Square. Fast food was not my thing, and neither was it going to pay enough to stop me from being homeless. Andy would’ve never let that happen to me, but I wanted to pull my own weight. It was only right that I did, and I wanted to keep our nice apartment. It was the best one either of us ever had. There was no way I would move to Florida, where my parents had gone for a better life. I wouldn’t be able to deal with the hurricanes and humidity.

I hadn’t heard a word from Della, Micha, or Josiah since that night. Not that I expected the latter to contact me. Micha’s number, which I’d added to my contacts as “asshole” had mysteriously disappeared from my phone. When I noticed it gone, I couldn’t face the fact it filled me with dismay and immediately went back to filling out hundreds of job applications and emailing resumes.

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