Page 11 of Jane's Story
I didn’t know how to react to Armond’s awkward comment. So I ignored it. “Did you know anything about her life outside of work?”
“I think she moved here from California or something. She was new to the city.” Kyle jumped into the conversation while adjusting his glasses. Those in combination with his elaborate mustache reminded me of one of those comical disguises from costume shops. “I chatted with her for a while when she was shooting the SaferLoc specs.”
“Right, I was there, too. She hoped to advance her career in New York,” Owen chimed in. “I guess none of us knew her well, though. She’d only been with us for a few weeks. Anyway, hopefully the police will figure out who did that to her brakes.”
Kyle turned to me and arched a brow. He twisted the end of his mustache between his fingers. “So, Jane. Tell us how you know Charles.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak because I was so stunned at their casual responses. I blinked a few times. “We met…”
A pair of servers returned with plates piled high with pasta, glazed salmon, and sautéed vegetables,giving me a moment to compose myself. But they were quickly gone again.
“You were saying?” Kyle asked again as he took a bite of ravioli.
“We met in Austen Heights. He stayed there for a while. It’s a small town, and my family is very social.” It was as ambiguous as I could be about the status of our relationship.
“Small-town girl, then? What do you think of New York?” Kyle studied me as if I were some kind of novelty.
“I’m familiar with the city. I’ve stayed here often with my aunt and uncle. It’s a lot louder than Austen Heights. But people are people wherever you go,” I said, twirling my fork in the fettuccine in front of me.
“I loved Austen Heights,” Charles said. “Best place in the world, if you ask me. I’d like to go back sometime.”
His comment was vague, but it made me smile to hear him praise my hometown. However, it would have helped if he’d included me in his reasons for wanting to return. It was impossible to know whether he was referring to his time with me, or just the town in general.
“Sounds wholesome,” Kyle said. “The world could use more of that.”
Catalina scrolled through her phone and grimaced. “I can’t believe this. The caterer is out of mushroom souffle and we’ll have to settle for spinach tomorrow.”
“I’m sure it’s fine, Catalina.” Charles didn’t smile at her distress, but his dimples emerged and his turquoise eyes gleamed. “I appreciate how hard you’ve worked to make this entire event amazing.”
“I’m impressed. Did you organize this whole conference?” I asked Catalina. She seemed to need a pick-me-up. Though I would have expected her mind to be on more important things, like Margery Blake.
She gave me an anemic smile. “Most of it, yes. Of course, there are other people who help. The entire goal is to unify the company and land a few more investors. But arranging it is a lot of work.”
“I can’t imagine what it takes,” I said. “I’ve been to art and photography conferences before, but they were never on this scale.”
“Look over there by the window,” Armond said out of the blue, and everyone obeyed. He cleared his throat. “Those are some of our potential investors. We’ll want to make a goodimpression on them.”
I recognized some of the businesspeople across the room. They were heavily engaged in conversation. “Oh, good. I got some photos of them at the launch.”
“Most of them are venture capitalists. They know security hardware, software, and technology are always hot. I mean, the need for security isn’t going anywhere.” Kyle shrugged. “You worry too much, Armond.”
“Some of the new things we’re rolling out will be game changers for the industry.” Owen glanced at the table of investors. “All we need is for Charles to do his magic and charm them into signing contracts.”
Charles’s magic. Owen’s comment had to be coincidental. Most of us with fae abilities tried to hide our status outside of Austen Heights, especially those like Charles because people might exploit his healing ability. I suspected Charles and I were the only fae in the hotel.
After finishing a third of the food on my plate, I couldn’t take another bite, and everyone else seemed to be done eating as well.
“Charles, Armond, I think I’ll head to my room and get settled.” I wasn’t sure I needed a hotel room since my photography assignment seemed close to wrapping up. But I wanted to give them some time to attend to businessand give myself time to look over the product launch photos to make sure I’d approached the subject properly. More importantly, I needed time alone. My fae intuition was trying to tell me something about this group of people—this entire situation, but my thoughts weren’t clear yet.
“Of course,” Charles answered. “Do you want to meet me back down here in a while? If you have your camera, there may be some photo ops.”
“Sure. That’s what I’m here for.” A twinge of hopeful energy rushed through me, reminding me of our time together in Austen Heights. At the time, we seemed to be heading toward a serious relationship. If only I could make sense of him now.
“Meet me back here in an hour?” he asked.
“An hour it is.”
I expected a standard hotel room. But my jaw dropped as I entered my door. Charles had reserved a two-story suite for me. I explored the wholething at once.
