True Faces (3 page)

That was a first. Most attorneys preferred
their privacy and would yell at you if you came in without
knocking. I nodded my head and sat down in one of the guest chairs
that matched his desk. He opened a briefcase and took out two
phones and two leather calendars and set them on the desk. “I don’t
know how they operate upstairs, but in executive we must be
coordinated with our assistants. So, this phone and calendar are
for you. I have already programmed my numbers and events in them
for you.”

I took the phone and calendar and stared at
them in shock. “Thank you, Mr. Wolfe.” It was the nicest thing
anyone had ever done for me.

He looked at me seriously. “Call me, Eric. I
gave you my work numbers and personal numbers. If there is ever
anything you need you can call me anytime. No matter how small it
is or if its work related or not. I want us to be friends as well
as partners.”

I frowned. “Partners?”

He nodded his head and folded his hands
across the desk and stared into my eyes. I found that I could not
look away and was forced to stare into the deep depths of them.
What was it about them that made me feel like he could see into my
soul? “We have to be a team. It would never work if I just treated
you as my secretary. I don’t want you to think of me as your boss.
I don’t want you think that you can’t talk to me about anything. I
want you to be able to come to me about anything and me be able to
speak to you about everything.” He glanced down at his Rolex and
sighed. “I’ve got to go to the counselors meeting. They postponed
it just so I could attend.”

I smiled. “How thoughtful of them.”

He rolled his eyes. “Right. I don’t have
anything for you to do right now since I’m still reviewing my new
files so you could just play with your new phone and if there are
any days you would like off you can put them on the phone’s
calendar and they will automatically be added to mine.”

I frowned. “There aren’t any days I’ll need
off.”

He smiled. “There must be some days. Family
events or boyfriend’s birthdays?”

I shook my head. “No. My work is my family. I
have no…I’m not involved with anyone so it won’t be a problem.” I
said the last with a smile, trying to play good secretary even
though I felt the sadness stirring within me. It had been a long
time since I had said it out loud.

His face turned serious, but I could see a
sparkle in his eyes. “Oh. Well, if there are any days that come up
don’t be afraid to ask.”

“
Thank you, but I doubt
that.” I picked up the phone and calendar and walked to my office.
I sat down and turned on my computer and flicked the samurai bobble
head.

Eric walked into my office and straightened
his tie. “How do I look? Do I look brilliant and tough?”

I nodded my head. “Yes
Mister….I mean Eric. You look brilliant and tough.”
And sexy.

He nodded his head and walked out of my
office, closing the door behind him. I put a hand up to my face and
sighed. I was blushing. Dammit. So much for being professional on
the first day. I logged into my computer than played with the
settings on my new phone. I tried to pass the hours by with my new
gadget, but with no typing to do I was bored. Eric finally came
back four hours later and slumped against my door. “That was fun.”
He loosened his tie and walked into his office leaving the door
open. “Have you ever been to one of those meetings before?” He
asked from inside his office.

I stood up and walked to stand in his
doorway. “No. They don’t allow secretaries in.”

He frowned. “I think I’m going to have to
change that so that someone can intervene. Four hours of nothing.
Just old men complaining about old things. What a waste of time.
Did I get any calls?”

I shook my head. “None.”

He smiled. “Well you’re probably bored. How
about I take you out for lunch?”

I stared at him in shock. “Um, Eric I
don’t…”

He frowned and then smiled. “Of course. I
understand. It might not look right if the new attorney takes his
newly promoted secretary out to lunch. It’s alright. Rain check for
a later date?”

I nodded my head. “Sure.”

He stretched his arms up over his head and I
couldn’t help but wonder what his stomach looked like. Did he have
a flat stomach or was it a six pack? I shook my head and he smiled.
“How about you take the rest of the day off?”

I smiled back at him. “That’s very generous
of you, but…”

He shook his head. “Go on. There’s nothing
for you to do here yet. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at seven
thirty. I’ve got a deposition at ten and I’ll need you to start on
Substitutions of Attorney for the files I’m taking over. So we’ll
start the real work tomorrow.”

A nice attorney. Wow. And I thought those
were just fairy tales. “Thank you Mister….I mean Eric.”

His phone started ringing and he sighed. “Now
you better hurry before I get something for you to do. See you
tomorrow.” I turned to leave and his voice stopped me. “And
Ciara…stay safe.”

I frowned. “Uh, sure. See you tomorrow.” He
picked up the phone and started arguing with the caller. I hurried
out of his office, shutting his door quietly and grabbed my new
calendar and phone and put them in my backpack before hurrying out
of the office. A paid day out of the office again. I had better use
the time while I could. Unlike the previous day I walked slowly out
of the office and stood casually as I waited for the signal to
change. It was incredible not to see the scary faces of the
preternaturals and I felt an incredible weight gone from my
shoulders. I made my necessary stop at the grocery store and then
flagged down a taxi to my house.

After I was sure I had locked all of the
doors and all of the windows were still locked I started cooking
lunch and dinner for the day. Even though I had a raise I knew I
needed to keep my spending down so that I didn’t end up broke. I
really didn’t want to end up eating noodles for a month like I had
last year. The kitchen had all of the necessities I needed and
would need if I had a family of six. An hour later I had baked a
lasagna and the smell filled the kitchen. I spooned out my lunch
portion of the lasagna I had just finished cooking and then packed
the rest in plastic containers to eat later. I sat down on my
leather couch and turned the television on to the cartoon
channel.

No, there is nothing wrong with a twenty two
year old watching cartoons. I’m always referred to as a young adult
so acting young is perfectly okay. The hours passed by slowly and
dinner was just as boring. I cleaned the dishes then went to my
room to read until I fell asleep. I realized as I grabbed the book,
which I was currently reading, that I led a very boring life.
Without my training with Akio I didn’t have anything to do or
anyone to spend time with. I made a decision to start going out and
live life before I turned into the crazy cat lady. I needed a
boyfriend or at least someone I could go out with.

Eric’s face flashed in front of my eyes and I
shook my head. I couldn’t date my boss. Not only would that end
badly for my career it would kill my self esteem when he said no.
Plus it wasn’t likely that he didn’t have a wife or girlfriend
already.

After reading for a few hours my eyelids grew
heavy and I could finally sleep. I curled up under my blankets and
dreamed of a life without preternaturals.

The next few days went by slowly and
normally. Eric gave me letters to type and I assisted him at some
of his depositions all without seeing any preternatural faces
looking back at me. Eric was the nicest attorney I had met and one
day while we were on a lunch break from a deposition I asked him,
“Are you human?”

His smile faltered slightly and he asked,
“What do you mean am I human?”

I shrugged. “It’s just that I haven’t met an
attorney like you before. Usually all of the high powered attorneys
aren’t…”

Eric laughed. “Well I’m sure you’ll see me at
a trial and take back that comment. I believe that in order to be
an attorney you have to channel the beast within.”

I stared at my plate in shock for a second.
The phrase he had just used was part of the wereanimals mantra. I
closed my eyes and focused my attention on my third eye. I prayed
it would open so I could see if Eric was in fact human as I
thought. I opened my eyes and looked at him, but only saw his
handsome face smiling at me. I looked to the right and left and
still only saw human faces. Damn. Maybe I would have to go back to
Akio to have him train me. Maybe he was right. Was it in fact safer
for me to be able to open it and see if the people around me were
preternaturals and possibly dangerous for me?

Eric sipped his water and watched me. “Are
you feeling alright?”

I took a swig from my cup and nodded my head.
“I just realized that my teacher might have been right and I hate
it when I’m wrong.”

“
Your teacher? So you take
college classes?” He asked.

I shook my head. “No, he’s my sensei. I take
classes at a dojo.”

He leaned back. “See, this is what I want. I
want to know more about you. If we are going to make a great team
we have to know about each other.”

I shrugged. “There really isn’t much to know
about me. I occasionally take lessons at the dojo near my house,
read books and go to work.”

His eyes were sparkling with interest. “Do
you own or rent?”

I found myself mesmerized by his voice and
face and instantly answered his question. “Own.”

“
Do you have any
animals?”

I shook my head. “My circumstances don’t
permit animals.”

He frowned. “What circumstances?”

I closed my eyes and the trance was gone. Was
he using some type of power on me? I felt the warmth in my stomach
and sighed. Hormones. Damn. “What about you, Eric? There must be a
Mrs. Wolfe or a future Mrs. Wolfe.”

He frowned deeper for a second then shook his
head and smiled. “No, I haven’t found a woman that I’ve felt is
right for me.”

I stared at him in shock for a second. He was
single. I cleared my throat. “So, do you live in town?”

He shook his head. “I live about ten minutes
down the highway off of the old post trail.”

I nodded my head, knowing where he was
talking about. “Out in the forest, right? My house is on the other
side of the forest.”

He smiled. “So, we’re neighbors then? Who
would have known?”

I asked the one question I had been dying to
know, “How old are you?”

He asked, “How old do you think I am?” with a
sexy smile.

I rolled my eyes. “You can’t answer a
question with a question.”

He laughed. “Twenty six. And you?”

I smiled. “Twenty two.” I looked down at my
PDA and sighed. “Time to get back.”

Eric groaned. “Are you sure you couldn’t fake
a seizure or something so we could get out of this? I have a
feeling this deposition is going to take multiple days to
finish.”

I smiled. “Better to get it done now then
save it for later. You do have a trial coming up in a few weeks. It
would be murder for you to have to work on a deposition while
preparing for trial.”

Eric nodded his head and stood up. “You’re
right. See, I knew we’d make a great team.”

I smiled and followed him out of the
restaurant and to the building where the deposition was taking
place. The deponent was a short, angry man who reminded me of a
mountain dwarf. In fact, I was positive that if I could See him
that that was what he was. We sat down around the large table and
Eric began questioning the man again. Another two hours into the
questioning and the man started getting angry. He was fidgeting and
his face was blushed. I tried to signal Eric, but he was too
engrossed in the questions. The man looked right at me and asked,
“Can you See me?”

My eyes widened and I looked at Eric who
shook his head. Eric spoke quiet but firm. “Mr. Wallace, I would
ask that you refrain from speaking to my assistant. In this
deposition I will ask the questions and you will answer. Do you
understand?”

Mr. Wallace ignored Eric and bared his teeth
at me. “You know. You’re a Seer!” He jumped across the table and
grabbed me by the throat and pulled me out of my chair. For such a
little man he was very strong.

Eric rose from his chair slowly and I could
see the worry and anger in his face. “Mr. Wallace, release my
assistant.”

Mr. Wallace shook his head and took a step
back, pulling me with him. “I won’t go back to the weres. I won’t
work for them again.”

I tensed. Weres? He had to mean wereanimals.
If he was afraid of going to wereanimals then he would do anything
he had to, including kill me. I looked up at Eric and noticed his
hands were balled in to fists at his side. “Release her or the
weres or whatever you are talking about will be the least of your
worries.”

Mr. Wallace moved his lower hand and then a
knife appeared at my throat. Shit. I really hated magic some days.
I grabbed the arm with the knife, squatted down and tossed Mr.
Wallace over my head. When I looked up Eric was already pinning him
to the floor and securing his hands with zip ties. A guard came in
to the room and carried the unconscious dwarf out of the room. Eric
rushed over to me and ran his hand along my throat. “Are you
alright?”

His hand was extremely warm and soothing to
the scratch I had gotten from the knife. I looked up into his
concerned eyes and nodded my head. “I’m fine. The knife scratched
my skin when I threw him, but didn’t draw blood.”

Eric helped me stand up, but put his arm
around my waist as though he thought I would faint. “That was very
brave of you to do that, but I would ask that you never do
something like that again.”

I realized I was leaning against him and it
wasn’t because I needed the support. I pulled away from his arms
and smiled. “I guess the depo is over?”