Page 61 of The Harbinger
I sashayed over to the floor-to-ceiling windows with blinds tucked between the panes of glass. Looking down, my head spun, and I clutched the black beam for support as tiny ant-like people scampered below, unaware they were being watched from above.
How far up did we go?
The doors slid open behind me, and I spun around. In walked a striking woman with waist-length auburn tresses that swayed gracefully behind her as she made her way toward Sacha’s desk. Her calves were carved from marble, and her heels clicked against the floor as she sat across from Sacha.
I stood frozen at the window, the bitter acid rising in my throat again, but he wasn’t there to tame the jealousy this time.
The jealousy I shouldn’t have.
The possessiveness towards him shouldn’t be there, but it held onto me like glue to paper, and every inch of me demanded to let her knowIwas there for him.
Their conversation flowed with words I didn’t know, and her occasional laugh had my teeth grinding to powder. I forced my feet away from the tall window and peeled my tense stare from her.
Sacha’s darkened gaze followed me as I walked across the room and stopped beside Dmitri, heat building in my belly.
“I need to use the restroom,” I lied while keeping my eye on Sacha, who now rubbed his lower lip with the length of his index finger, his attention wholly on me.
“You should do as you’re told.” Dmitri side-stepped, keeping his distance from me as though I were lava and one touch would burn him to the bone.
I glanced back at Ivan sitting on the couch. I should sit down as Sacha instructed, but Ivan’s oppressive presence hovering over the seating area like a stormy cloud made me hesitate. I’d rather stand for hours in high heels than willingly put myself within his reach.
Dmitri scowled as I walked away from the seating area in the opposite direction, towards the three glass-encased rectangular shelves across from Sacha’s desk.
The first long shelf held a human-like mask with red skin and six devilish horns lining the forehead and temples. Besides the grotesque mask sat an incense burner straight out of a horror movie.
I glanced at Sacha, his gaze acrid as he pressed his thumb into his cheek, his pointer finger resting over his lips, then back to the bronze burner.
Sacha’s massive goat’s head chest tattoo matched the statuette on top of the incense dish. Adorned along the top and bottom was a braid of flaming skulls, and between that, snakes entwined with one another.
What was his fascination with this horrific being?
I pressed my finger against the glass, then moved on to the next inset box equal in size.
A long sword with curved edges and a bulbous handle spanned the length of the shelf, and in the center was a black and red chalice. Again the same beast etched into the cup, its stem a twisted horn with a pentagram for the base.
A tingle in my chest skimmed up my throat and down my back, my skin crawling with heat as I glimpsed him out of the corner of my eye.
The muscle in his jaw bulged as his eyes followed me to the foggy glass doors and peeked inside, the woman talking as if she had his undivided attention.
A conference room sat beyond the doors with ten chairs surrounding the long marble table and two extras at the head on each side. The gray marble had a sheen to it from the unobstructed sun shining through the expansive windows. I stepped inside the room and ran my hand along the smooth surface.
“It’s bad enough that I have to babysit you,” Ivan said as he stepped behind me, making me jump. “The least you could do is actually listen.”
His gruff, thick, accented voice sent shivers down my spine, the bite in his tone tightening my muscles.
“You’re not my keeper.”
Ivan gripped my elbow, his fingers punishing and unyielding. “Unfortunately, I am.” He jerked me out of the room, softly shutting the doors behind us, then paraded me across the room and pushed me down onto the sofa.
The beautiful woman glanced towards the commotion, and her nose upturned with a look of disapproval stamped across her tight lips. She returned to her conversation with Sacha, and I cowered, avoiding his contempt.
Ivan took his seat beside me as I picked at my cuticle. The imposing itch urged me to rip it off. My shoulders hunched as I fell back over the seat, the boring conversation dragging on longer than I could handle, and just when I was about to stand again, their humming voices ceased, and they stood. Sacha reached over the desk, his eyes fixated on her, and shook her hand—her smooth smile flattening her plump lips.
Dmitri opened the door, and the woman left, taking the ache in my belly along with her. Sacha then pointed his finger at Ivan and Dmitri, silently ordering them out of the room.
Ivan glanced up at me as he rose from his chair, plopping a magazine on to the coffee table. “You should’ve listened.”
My stomach swirled and dropped when they exited his office, sealing Sacha and me inside, his steps firm as he came my way.