In the Stars

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The Divine Comedy

"This is not good."

James looked at Charlotte with concern. His brow became a jagged line, etching that worry into the creases of his scars.

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't realize it made a difference who my boss was."

Owen sat to her left. He shifted in his seat and clasped his hands on top of the table in the Zodiac meeting room.

It was the Saturday morning after the board meeting. Owen had insisted on telling the Foxes everything- how she had lied and met with the whole board of Orion without any back-up. When he found out who her direct superior was, he almost had a coronary.

"Damian Waincroft?" Owen's incredulous face had frozen over his omelet.

"Yes. Why does that matter?" she asked, her coffee cup in mid-air.

"Because he's the one to really worry about. The rest of them are all talk. They let their hired hands take care of the dirty business. Waincroft...he handles his own laundry."

She had felt the terror rip through her body. The apprehension on his face let her know this was real. The vibes she got from Damian were not only accurate; they meant he was probably a psychopath.

"We need to proceed with extreme caution. We may have to rethink you're employment as well," James replied, jarring Charlotte back to the present.

Violet sat at her right, ever the calming force. She had developed an affinity with the woman. It was probably instinctual- Violet had cared for her from birth, even if from afar.

"I would be amenable to that."

Actually, she would be ecstatic. The sooner she could get away from Orion, the better. Though she really enjoyed her work at Cavendish, it wasn't worth the risk to her life.

James nodded. Then he leaned his temple against his fist, his face pensive. Owen looked over at Charlotte, indiscernible thoughts drifting over his expression. She really wished she knew how to decipher them.

Things were weird between them. Weirder than normal. Though they'd only known each other- truly known each other- for only a few weeks, her connection with him had started and remained strong.

Now there was distance. It was tense in a way she couldn't understand. She felt like he didn't like it any more than she did; his body language was overwrought, twitchy. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was fighting something.

"Another employee of Cavendish House is missing."

Why she had blurted that out, she wasn't sure.

"Missing?" James asked.

Both he and Owen perked up their heads, like meerkats on the savanna.

"Ye, yes. My predecessor, actually. Bernard Sanderson left one day and never came back. No one has been able to contact him."

Violet's eyes were grave, her mouth tense with pent-up worry. She began to tap her fingers on the wooden surface of the table. "I don't like this. Not one bit," the older woman said finally.