*****
‘Anything new?’ Austin snapped at the man dressed head to toe in black in front of him; a guard from his security team sent to give him an update. Austin had no idea who he was and didn’t really care. He was annoyed that Amber hadn’t deigned to come herself and this man seemed as good a person as any to take that out on.
‘We know who Marcus has asked to accompany him to the ball this evening,’ the man started. He spoke with care, taking time over every word in a way that Austin found patronising and therefore intensely irritating.
‘Oh?’ replied Austin, his interest piqued, though he didn’t show it, making a mental note to get Amber to sack this dithering imbecilic later.
‘Anita. The girl who won the Chase. By all accounts she’s an excellent dancer, so the first dance should be quite a spectacle,’ he prattled, when he really should have stopped the moment he’d uttered Anita’s name. Austin’s face was dark as night.
‘You mean to tell me that my son is bringing to a Crowning Ball some girl he has met only twice? Some low life, unorthodox girl that everyone thinks is peculiar?’ He said it in a chillingly quiet voice, but the imbecile continued confidently, seemingly oblivious to Austin’s alarming reaction to his words.
‘She seems exceptionally skilled sir,’ he said, in an enthusiastic tone.
‘I know that you simpleton, that’s why I have a security detail on her. Why else do you think you currently find yourself in my employment?’ Austin’s voice was louder now, as he snarled out his wolfish response.
The man tried to stutter a reply, but a cool, enticing female voice put him out of his misery before he could dig himself into any further danger. ‘Thank you, Thompson, you can go.’ The woman was around 5 foot 7, lithe, with heavy auburn hair that she wore cut short in a bob. Her skin was porcelain white and flawless, her eyes cat-like and treacherous. Thompson didn’t need to be told twice and made his way swiftly past the stiff, heavy, leather, drawing room furniture, past where Amber was standing seductively by the colossal, crackling fire, towards the ancient oak door. She waited for him to leave before meandering her way bewitchingly towards Austin, his face still alive with his fury. She pouted provocatively as she approached him. ‘Austin,’ she said sulkily, putting one hand on each lapel of his dinner jacket and kissing him lightly on the lips, ‘aren’t you going to tell me how enchanting I look?’ She spoke slowly, lingering over the word enchanting, stepping back and completing a slow turn as she said the words.
‘Amber, you look captivating, as you always do. But your feminine charms are not going to get you out of this one,’ he growled, perhaps not quite as aggressively as he could have done. ‘Why didn’t you know that Marcus was bringing our number one suspect to the ball?’
‘I had my suspicions,’ she started, stepping forward and playing with his bow tie as though their conversation was trivial to her, ‘but didn’t want to tell you until I was sure. And now I’m sure, so here we are. It would appear that they may have met more than twice, as we previously thought, but they have only ever met briefly. It makes perfect sense. She’s powerful, and Marcus has always been attracted to powerful people. You can hardly blame the boy; I can only imagine how dull it is to have to spend time with all the vacuous girls he normally hangs around with, and at least Anita seems to have a bit of fight in her. I would quite like her,’ she paused, pretending to consider what she’d just said, before looking up through her lashes at Austin, ‘if of course, she wasn’t number one on my hit list,’ she smiled, a vindictive, dangerous smile.
Amber was head of Austin’s private security and research team. They had been on constant look out for powerful girls of about Anita’s age, especially powerful people from the Body Temple, ever since Christiana had told Austin they were going to Empire to look for the girl.
‘Speaking of your hit list, have you made any progress?’ Austin inquired, seeming to have taken Amber’s bait, his thunderous mood abating a little, now absently caressing her lower back. Amber took this to be a good sign, so she arched her back to press her body forwards against his. He did always love to discuss the hit list.
‘We have one or two more to add to the list, both from the Institution, but Anita still outstrips everyone else we have,’ she said, matter of factly. ‘Let’s face it; Marcus might be doing us a favour. It may mean we have the perfect opportunity to study her more closely.’
‘Which is great, until he falls in love with her, and she does turn out to be the one,’ he sneered.
She smiled a slow, ruthless smile. ‘Marcus is far too much like you to do something as stupid as fall in love. It’s lust and infatuation, nothing more,’ she said, pulling back from him.
Austin smirked and used the hand at the base of her spine to pull her roughly back against him, their noses almost touching, ‘is that what it is?’ he mocked. She bit his lip so it was almost painful, Austin forcefully pushing her away in retaliation. ‘My adoring public awaits,’ he announced, as he made his way to the door. Amber had placated him for now, but she couldn’t help wondering for how long.