ROMANCE: His Ebony Blood Jewel - A Novel (BWWM, Paranormal, Vampire, Billionaire New Adult Romance) (9 page)

“Let’s just say that we have different goals.”

“And what goals would that be?”

“He thinks that the vampires and humans should love peacefully together. But through the ages, that’s never happened. I know that it’s only a matter of time before they find out about us again and try to destroy us. That’s why I think we should gain the upper hand now. We should rule over humans, for their own good. We have the longer lifespan. We have the intelligence. We have the insights. They think so short-term. It’s all about their precious needs and desires. But they’re destroying the planet. And they don’t care because they’ll only be here on earth 80 years at most.”

“How can you say that?” She said. “I’m not like that!”

“I know. But you’re different.” He said with a soft look in his eyes. “You’re not like the rest of your kind. Bryce and I both see that in you.”

“So you think enslaving humans is the solution? Have them serve at the whim of a vampire overlord?”

He chuckled to himself. “When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound so good. But just think about - we’re all ruled by someone or something. The police. Congress. The President. Do they always have our best interests in mind?”

Harper stopped and thought about it. “Well, not exactly. Some of them do. Not all.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if vampires were there at the top, guiding things along peacefully? Making sure everyone lived in harmony?”

“Using your mind control? But that’s not right. People need to have their own thoughts. You can’t control people’s minds
all
the time….can you?”

He smiled at her. She couldn’t help but be intoxicated by his good looks.

“I know this is a lot to take in. Think about it and decide.”

She braced herself against the wall. Dizziness suddenly overtook her and everything went dark.

When her eyes opened, she was laid out horizontally. She felt safe. The surroundings were…familiar. She was laying on something soft.

She sat up and suddenly realized she knew where she was.

She was at home. In bed. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to make everything make sense in her mind.

But it didn’t. And when she stood up to look in the mirror, she was just wearing her normal sleepwear: boxer shorts and a big t-shirt from her alma matter.

Just then, she heard a knock at her door and a familiar voice.

“Harper? Harper, are you there?”

She ran to the door and opened it quickly.

It was her mom.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Harper
was barely awake the next day at work. Her mind was on what had happened - or
hadn’t
happened - the night before, that she could barely concentrate on the business at hand - trying to manage the selling of the record label.

Her mom had come last night but they didn’t have time to talk about much. She was bone tired after the trip and demanded a cold beer, a sandwich, and a place to sleep.

Harper had tucked her mother in lovingly, looking at her still-youthful face nestled against the luxurious high-count cotton pillowcase.

Harper prayed that what she heard was just a dream. Not real. She couldn’t deal with the thought that her mother could possibly be sick.

Harper returned back to reality and realized that her boss was standing at the door trying to get her attention.

“You okay, future partner?” Her boss said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“I’m fine.” She said. She tried to look confident and composed, but she knew she looked a hot mess.

“I heard you were out late.”

“Well, not really.” She stammered. “I was planning on working from home, remember? But then my mom came into town suddenly and I decided that it was just best if I came into the office to work.”

“I see.” He said as he put down a file on her desk. “Here’s another potential buyer.”

“Let me guess. Roman Santos?” She said with a grimace.

He just nodded.

“Let’s just say he and I have already…met.”

“I like how you’re working the A-list angle. Hopefully you can bring in some of his friends as clients.”

“What I’m most worried about right now is making sure my friend doesn’t get dropped from her label.” She said. “I know next to nothing about these two guys - Roman
or
Bryce. I need to make sure they have good intentions.”

“I’ve heard rumors that you and Bryce are getting to know each other pretty well.” He said with a smirk. If it was anyone else, Harper would’ve brought out the bitch who lurked inside. But because it was her boss who she had a close connection to, she knew it was just playful teasing.

“Your mom should’ve warned girls like you to not listen to gossipers. Their facts are almost always wrong.” She said with a smile.

“Whether or not you two are really getting to know each other, I think you should seize the opportunity to see what he wants to do with the label.”

“That’s not a bad idea. But wouldn’t that kind of be…deceitful?” She said with a questioning look.

“You’re an attorney, Harper. If you haven’t realized it by now, being deceitful is part of the job.” He crossed his arms and looked at her seriously. “And being deceitful isn’t necessarily the same thing as lying. It’s an art. The ability to obfuscate, to be vague.”

“Should I be taking notes?” Harper said with a sarcastic tone. “Because you’re definitely schooling me on how to be a lying piece of shit attorney. The type I never wanted to be.”

“Honesty can only take you so far, Harper. Sometimes you have to bend the truth to find how things
really
are.”

“I’ll take your suggestions into consideration.” She said, turning back to her laptop. She hoped he’d take the hint and let her get back to work.

“I’m serious, Harper. Selling the label isn’t a big deal to me or the firm. But it’s your chance to prove yourself. It’s your chance to show that you’re one of the big boys.”

“And how can I do that?” She asked. “It’s a pretty simple transaction.”

“If you’re able to get…a lot for it, it will be attention to the firm. And any publicity is good publicity.”

“So you’re basically telling me in vague terms to start a bidding war?”

He just smiled at her as he left the office.

What type of woman did he think she was? A seductress? A woman who had the power to manipulate men and get them to spend more on something than it was really worth?

She wasn’t that type of girl. She’d always tried to make herself look good, yeah, be presentable and fashionable to the general public. But it was never just for the purpose of getting a man, let alone trying to coerce him to do something that wasn’t in his best interest.

“I’m a good person.” Harper told herself as she thoughtfully chewed on the end of the Montblanc pen that one of her professors had given to her as a graduation present from law school. “Sure, these guys have money to blow, but I’m not going to lie to them.”

The fact is, the label wasn’t doing too well. The fact that there were any parties interested in buying it was a surprise in itself.

The few artists on the label roster were quickly aging out of the music-buying demographic. And as much as Harper didn’t want to admit it, Lola was in that category. Sure, her songs were still charting. But when doing research on the company, Harper realized that the singles had sold less and less as the years went by.

“Harper, there’s a call for you on line 2.” Her secretary said.

“This is Harper.” She said cordially as she picked up the phone.

“Good morning. This is Bryce’s assistant. Please hold for Bryce.”

Harper rolled her eyes. She forgot that people like  Bryce still had people place their outgoing phone calls. How elitist. Like, how hard was it to pick up a phone and dial a number?

“Hey Harper.”

She felt herself melt as she heard his dark, husky voice on the other side of the phone. Suddenly, all her misgivings about his phone etiquette flew out the window.

But then she suddenly remembered last night. What had happened to her. The attack.

Had that been real? Or was it just the product of her imagination? She’d been working so hard that day. And then drinking. Did that have some sort of impact on her mind?

She bit her lip, wondering if he’d say anything about it.

The ball was in his court.

“Good morning.” She said. She was trying to keep cool. Stay collected and confident. Not freak out like a middle school girl with a crush on a member of a boy band.

“I was wondering if you’d have time to meet for lunch today. At the Country Club. Just to go over a few business things. Maybe get to know each other a little more. I find it easier to do business when I know a little bit about who I’m dealing with.”

“Who you’re dealing with?” She said with a smirk. “That sounds…interesting.”

“You know what I mean. I’ve gotten as far as I have through my personal relationships with people. A lot of people in my position treat others like robots. Automatons. Whose only purpose in life is to serve the rich. That’s not who I am.”

She sighed, cradling the phone up to her ear.

“Sure. What time?”

“How about 1:30? I’ll send a car for you.”

“That won’t be necessary.” She said quickly.

“Please, I insist. I want to make sure you get there safely.”

Was that his way of acknowledging what had happened? But his words were so vague, it could mean absolutely anything.

“Fine. I’ll be ready.”

“I look forward to seeing you, Harper.” He said. His voice was comforting but still so sexy and seductive to her. She felt flustered and didn’t know how to respond to that. She wasn’t used to men being that…nice to her.

“I’ll be there.” She said curtly and hung up.

She swiveled around in her chair and looked out the window. Her friends were probably just getting up and here she was at work, confused as hell about what was going on in her life.

Roman’s words repeated in her mind: the talk about vampires. Her mother’s illness, which she still hadn’t heard about from the source. How she had an ancestor from Africa who was imbued with supernatural powers…that was supposedly passed down to her.

She stood up and crossed the room and started pacing. That’s what she did when she was anxious or upset. That and organize.

But she looked around, seeing that everything was in its proper place. Yeah, she could be a little OCD at times when it came to cleaning and organizing, but that’s just how her mind worked.

She attributed it to being brought up in a slightly…disorganized household. But that was putting it mildly.

She shook her head and tried to think through the events of the previous night.

Suddenly, the thought occurred to her to call one of her friends.

She sat down and took out her phone and quickly dialed Lola.

“Girl, why you calling so early.” Lola croaked groggily when she picked up the phone.

“You obviously had fun last night.” Harper said with a laugh.

“I had to celebrate my single’s success. Now let me know what’s up with you so I can go back to bed and get some shut-eye.’

“When I left last night, did you happen to see me from the rooftop?”

“Yeah, we all were watching you to make sure you got there safely. I knew the security on the ground were watching you, too, because I asked DeJuan to have his boys keep an eye on you.”

“That’s so strange.” Harper said. She took a deep breath.

Had she really dreamed that whole thing? Had she had too much to drink? Did someone, God forbid, give her a date rape drug that made her black out? Have that horrible dream about being attacked?

“What’s wrong? You got home safely last night, didn’t you?” Lola’s voice was full of concern. She knew Harper well enough to know that she was one of the most pragmatic, rational people she had ever met. For Harper to even ask about something as inconsequential about how she got home meant that there was a problem.

“I just have these weird memories from last night. I can’t tell if they were a dream or not.’

“Okay, you got me worried.” Lola said. Her voice sounded alert now.

“I remember getting attacked. And then being taken by Roman Santos to this bizarre, scary place where he told me about being a…” Harper swallowed hard, shaking her head, not believing what she was about to say one of her most trusted friends.

“Told you what?” Lola said seriously. “What did Roman tell you?”

“He told me that he was a vampire, believe it or not.” Harper admitted.

“Oh my God, are you serious?” Lola shrieked. “Girl, that’s serious. I’m not playing with you. I’m in the music industry and I know all about the Illuminati and it’s no joke.”

“So you’re saying you believe me?” Harper asked incredulously, thankful that she had friends that were willing to listen and not blast her for being overly-dramatic or a liar.

“I believe that you think you saw what you saw and heard what you heard.” Lola said matter-of-factly. “I’ve heard of stranger things, too.”

“Thank God.” Harper said. She wiped a tear away from her eye. “I thought I was crazy.”

“That’s what they try to do. Make
you
feel like you’re going insane. That you’ve lost your grip on reality.” Lola explained earnestly. “That’s when you’re at your most vulnerable.”