Page 16 of Spies without a Face
“Ouch. Sounds umm… eventful?” She posed.
I arched my brows. “Indeed.”
She slanted her head. “Do you think you’ll go out with him again?”
“It was just a neighborly thing, remember?”
“Ah, right.” Cassandra nodded but didn’t appear convinced.
I turned my palm up. “Actually, he’s at the Network now, looking for a job.”
“Interesting.” A slight smile lingered on Cassandra’s face.
She was greatly intrigued by this dinner with Austin. Her mind might implode if she heard about the unsettling events that happened later that night when Marius made his return from the dead. I wanted to talk to someone about it, but the shock was too new, and I didn’t think I was ready. Besides, considering the kerfuffle that erupted when I mentioned going out to dinner with Austin, revealing that my ex-fiancé, who’d been presumed dead, was technically alive and back in Salem would cause more chaos than firecrackers in a cauldron.
No, I couldn’t have my staff pummeling me with questions about what happened and our past. Even if part of me suspected he could be involved in the chaotic spells, I had no proof. And I wasn’t ready to reveal that private, painful part of my life just yet.
A twinge at the back of my neck made me squirm.
Was I being truthful with myself? Or was I protecting Marius?
AUSTIN
After running into Pandora in the parking lot of the Network, it took all my restraint not to follow her. My bear turned jubilant inside. He’d been urging me all day yesterday to go over and see Pandora. But I was still reeling from ruining our night out and wrestling with my bear’s insistence that she was our mate—not to mention the turmoil of seeing her invite another man into her house.
I’d gone to bed after that. The agony of what could be going on next door had been too difficult to contemplate. When I’d gone to sleep, my dreams had been so weird and so vivid, and I hadn’t been in control of my life. In one, I’d been in bear form and forced to perform in a traveling circus.
Definitely strange.
As I forced myself to take one step after another toward the building where I had a meeting, my bear growled at my actions.
Our mate is here. Go to her.
I gritted my teeth.Not now.
Hell, this development was confusing. I didn’t need any more complications with this new start in Salem. Although I sensed her interest in the way she looked at me, it had to be my imagination. If Pandora wasn’t interested in me, I’d have the added difficulty of living next door to a woman my bear insisted was our mate, who might already have a lover.
I should walk away, but I couldn’t. Maybe it was crazy bear hormones. The problem was—what could I do about it?
I entered a more modern brick building from the Victorian house that Pandora had entered. Once inside, I met up with a woman named Lucie who had her dark blonde hair pulled back.
After our initial greetings, she went over my résumé, which had numerous gaps, especially during the time I lived with the bear shifters in the woods.
“It looks like you’ve moved around quite a bit.”
“I have.” With a grin, I added, “And now I’ve made it to this side of the country.”
“For the past several years, you haven’t worked in one place for more than…” she paused and counted, “six months. Is that for any particular reason?”
Because of my identity crisis and soul-searching. That was far too personal for this conversation, so I simply replied, “I’m looking for the right fit. I hope that won’t be a problem.”
She assessed me over the top of her laptop screen. “The reason I ask is whether we should look for a temporary position rather than a permanent job. If you’re only going to be around for six months, that’s probably a better option.”
She was probably right. I didn’t even have a full-year lease but a short-term sublet of a few months in the apartment. Who would take a chance on anything long-term with someone like me?
Like Pandora. What could I offer her? I was a transient. A drifter. And maybe I wouldn’t last more than six months in Salem—if that long.
“That might be a good idea,” I replied.
