1 Dead Girl's Guide to Style (13 page)

“Would you like to come inside?” I asked.

A smile spread across his lips. He parted his lips to answer when his phone rang.

He groaned and pulled the phone from his pocket. “I’d better get that.”
Max stepped away. “Max,” he said as he put the phone to his ear.

I could still hear his side of the conversation
. His side consisted of yes and no answers. That didn’t help me much.

Finally he said, “I’ll be right there.”

That wasn’t what I’d wanted to hear. A frown covered his face as he turned to face me.

“Is it okay if we do this another time
? I have to go.”

I tried to hide my disappointment. “Yes, that’s fine.”

“I’m sorry, but they need me at the company.”

What could they possibly need at this time of night? But he did own the company and sometimes that meant working at odd hours.

“I understand,” I said. 

Max stepped closer and took my hands in his. “I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

I nodded and he leaned in and kissed me on the lips again. This time I didn’t allow myself to get caught in the moment. I couldn’t afford to get swept away. Finally, he pulled away and walked down the steps toward the limo. Once he stopped at the car door, he turned to me and threw his hand up in a wave. With that he climbed in.

I stepped into the house, but didn’t look back at him. I didn’t want him to know that it had bothered me that he’d left so soon.

After helping a couple of clients the next day, I had a new plan. The men had kicked me out of the Dupree Company once, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from going back again.

It was late when I made it to the big building that I was almost certain housed Max’s office. Now I just had to get past the men who had kicked me out.

For the second time I stepped into the lobby. So far the coast was clear. I was
ted little time making my way into the hallway and this time I noticed that names were on all the doors. I hadn’t noticed that the last time. I eased down the hallway, checking each door for Max’s name. I made it to the middle and began to panic thinking that I would get caught before finding his office.

Footsteps sounded from behind me so I knew I needed to escape. The name
Max was on the door so I rushed inside. After closing the door, I leaned against it, trying to be as quiet as possible. The footsteps drew near and I contemplated what story I would use as to why I was hiding in the office. After a few seconds, the sound faded down the hallway and I figured I was safe for a moment.

A large wooden desk took up the center of the room. I stepped over, hoping that I would find something interesting. There was a photo of a woman
—was that a relative? Why was I being jealous of a photo?

I looked down and saw the name tag on the desk. Max Matthews. This wasn’t even his office. I was feeling jealous over someone else’s picture. It was time for me to get a grip. I needed to get out of there before I was caught. What were the odds I’d walked into another Max’s office? Easing the door open, I looked to my left and then right. No one was there, so I stepped out into the hallway. I moved farther down the hall. When I reached the end and was ready to give up, I spotted the name on the door. I double
-checked this time to make sure I had the right Max.

Another knock on this door resulted in no one answering. Where was everyone?

Since Max hadn’t answered, I reached out and turned the knob. The door wasn’t locked, so I opened it a little wider.

“Hello?” I called out.

Still no one answered, so I inched into the room and closed the door behind me. It wouldn’t hurt if I took a quick look around. What I was looking for, I had no idea, but one thing was for sure, I wanted to know more about Max.

I felt kind of bad for being in there, but not bad enough not to stop. The drawers would be off limits, I decided. That would make my snooping all right. I’d just take a quick glance at the things that were sitting around. There was no harm in that.

I’d barely stepped across the room when I heard footsteps again. I froze, not sure what to do next. A large cabinet sat to my left. It provided little cover, but it would be better than nothing. Opening the doors, I tried to climb into the thing, but since it had shelves full of office supplies, I knew I wouldn’t fit. And I’d thought it had been such a good idea. Bummer.

I tucked my body between the wall and the cabinet and hoped that if someone opened the door they wouldn
’t see me and would just move on. Of course I knew this was a ridiculous plan, but I didn’t really have any other option at this point. Walking out there and facing the consequences was my best bet.

The squeak of the door opening sounded and I held my breath. There was no way to explain this situation. I figured I’d just tell the person that I was lost. Unless of course it was Max. Maybe I’d pretend like I didn’t know who I was—a tragic case of amnesia.

After a couple seconds, the door clicked shut. No movement came though, so I wasn’t sure if the person had left or was just waiting for me to come out of my hiding space. After another few seconds, I knew that I had to take the chance and peek out. I peeked out into the middle of the room. No one was there.

Since I was already in Max’s office, I wasn’t going to leave without at least looking at his desk. Yes, I was crazy.
With my luck, the person who had opened the door would come back. It was a chance I was willing to take. After all, I still had that amnesia story.

I tiptoed over to his large wooden desk. Just a few stacks of paper sat on the one side. There was a framed photo, but I couldn’t see who was in the picture until I got to the other side. I slipped around to the front and picked up the frame. It was of an older couple in old clothing. I figured it must be his parents. I eased the picture down on the desk. I felt a little bad about snooping, but not bad enough to stop.

I was just about to leave when I noticed a piece of paper on the edge of his desk. Normally that wouldn’t have been unusual, but this time was different. It was a little sketch of what looked like a coin. Underneath it was written, ‘How can it be reversed? The vampires are feeling the effects more and more every day.’ As I read the words it clicked about the sun—the effect of which increased every day. That had to be what this meant. But what did this drawing have to do with that? And why did Max have this? Was it his handwriting? I stuffed the paper into my pocket. Maybe I was remembering incorrectly, but I thought it was the same drawing I’d seen on the paper in Mona’s purse.

I’d just stepped away from the desk and made it across the room when the door opened. There was no way to hide this time. I knew I looked completely guilty. Max looked shocked to see me at first, but then a smile crossed his face.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

I paused for a moment as if my mouth was frozen, then finally I said, “I came to see you.”

“You found me,” he said, closing the distance between us with two steps. Max stood in front of me and I caught a whiff of his masculine scent.

“I was just leaving because I
didn’t find you here,” I said, trying to sound casual.

He stared at me for a moment and then said
, “Did you think I was hiding under the desk?”

He chuckled, but didn’t take his eyes off me. Was he suspicious? Did he know that I’d taken the paper from his desk? I should have just handed it back to him right then. Why had I taken something that wasn’t mine? But in my defense, he was being secretive and I needed answers. It looked as if the only way that would happen was if I did a little snooping around. Some
one had to find out what was going on around there.

“Since you’re here I should show you my ideas,” he said with a smile.

“I’d like that,” I said.

He motioned for me to follow him to his desk. Would he notice the paper missing? Just then he paused and looked at the spot where it had been. He didn’t say anything though. I knew he wouldn’t accuse me of taking it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking it. Max pulled papers from the top drawer of his desk. There were sketches of underwear. Different colors and designs.

“What do you think?” he asked.

I smiled. What could I say? They were underwear. Of course, maybe it would have helped if I had him to model them for a visual.

“Looks great,” I finally managed.

He shoved the sketched back into the drawer. “It’s not interesting, I know. Come on, let’s take a look around. I want to show you a few things.”

If he was wondering if I had taken the paper, he was hiding it well.

I smiled. “Sure, I’d like that, but I think your sketches are good too.”

Max and I stepped out into the hallway and walked past a few doors. I noticed a couple people in their offices this time. There must have been a meeting earlier. I’d gotten lucky and showed up at just the right time.

“Max?” someone called out from behind us.

We spun around to find the man who had previously kicked me out behind us. He frowned and eyed me up and down.

“Is everything okay here?” the man asked. His gaze shifted from me to Max.

“Things are fine,” Max said with a frown.

Max probably wondered what this guy was talking about. I hadn’t told Max that I’d already been in the building. The man watched us for a moment and then nodded. Without saying another word, he turned on his heel and walked away.

“He’s a strange man,” Max said as we continued down the hall.

“I’ve met a lot
of strange men lately,” I said.

Did Max think that comment was directed at him? Now I was just being completely neurotic.

Max led me out to the lobby and showed me a few of the photos on the walls. Mostly the pictures were of the company in various stages over the years. Some things had changed since Max had been gone, but a lot remained the same.

“The building over there was where all this started,” he said, pointing out the window.

After a few more minutes, I said, “I guess I’d better go. I know you have to get back to work. Plus, that man will be looking for you again.” I chuckled.

Max held the door open for me. “Yes, he needs to mind his own business.”

Max didn’t seem happy with the man at all. Was there more to that story that he wasn’t sharing? We walked across the parking lot to my car, but it became evident soon that the sun was too much for us. When we reached the car, I opened the door and turned to face him.

“Thank you for the tour. It was nice.” I held my hand over my eyes to shield the sun.

Why had I taken the sunglasses off? I knew I couldn’t leave without them now. I was just asking for a third-degree burn.

“Sorry again that I surprised you.”

He was apologizing to me? Maybe I was paranoid, but I felt as if he was waiting for me to admit I had the paper. Sweat broke out on my forehead and my skin felt as if it was on fire.

He looked down at his shoes for a couple seconds and then finally looked up at me. “Is it okay if I call you later?”

My smile couldn’t be stopped. “Yes, I’d like that.”

I wavered back and forth on whether or not he was suspicious of my visit. I decided to push those thoughts to the back of my mind though. I was just going to enjoy the moment of looking at his dazzling smile.

“Great,” he said with a smile. “So I’ll call you later.” Max reached out and grabbed my hand and then brought it to his lips.

With a soft kiss Max released my hand and then looked around. For a moment, he seemed distracted. Finally he looked at me again.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He rubbed his arms. “It’s just a bit warm.”

A bit? It was more like an inferno. I couldn’t stand the heat much longer.

The sun had emerged from behind the clouds and that wasn’t going to be good for us. There was something else other than the heat suddenly bothering Max though. I looked around to see if I could spot what had distracted Max. Something else had definitely captured his attention. Maybe he was worried about work.

I gestured toward the car. “I should go.”

He didn’t answer, but instead took my hands in his. When he smiled, his tension seemed to ease. He pulled me close, leaned his head in close to mine and then his lips grazed mine ever so lightly. He moved his mouth passionately across mine. Next he pressed his lips harder against mine and moved his tongue along my lips. He drew me in closer with my chest pressed against his hard body. H
is kiss was more urgent now and sent me into a lust-induced trance… again. It wouldn’t matter even if the other employees saw us.

I’d been lost in the kiss, but there was no way of ignoring that the sun had fully emerged from behind the clouds. It was no longer a cloudy rainy day. The sun beat down on us and the burning feeling was more than I could handle any longer. We broke free. I shielded my eyes and looked up toward the sky, but it burned too much.

“Get in the car,” Max said as he held the door open for me.

I didn’t argue as I jumped behind the wheel. He ran over to the other side and climbed in the car.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

He looked at me, but shook his head. “I don’t know. This isn’t normal. At least not what I am used to. You need to get out of the sun immediately,” he said.

“What are you going to do?” I asked. “You can’t stay outside.”

“I’ll run inside. You just drive away, okay? Stay out of the sun.”

Other vampires ran across the parking lot and into the building away from the harmful rays of the sun. I wasn’t sure what was going on and I wondered if this was going to get worse for us.

“Drive away
, okay?” he asked.

When he jumped out of the car, I didn’t drive away immediately. Not until I saw that he had safely gotten inside the building.