Pausing in front of a hand-carved portal, Victoria slid a keycard into a slot near the handle, the red light changed to green and the door clicked open.
There had to be some kind of mistake. This place was big enough and extraordinary enough to be Oprah’s Denver corporate office. We wandered through a space that would make a great waiting room, then entered a large, multi-room suite.
‘Isn’t it incredible?’ Victoria beamed. ‘Devereux designed the renovation of the building himself and chose the interiors for every suite.’
‘So Devereux owns this building?’
‘Yes.’ She nodded. ‘This one and many others, including the gothic wonderland down the street. Have you ever been to The Crypt?’
‘I have. It’s really something. Does he live in this building?’
‘I’m sorry. Devereux gave me the impression that you two are close friends, so I just assumed you were aware of his personal details. Then again, he did tell me to answer all your questions, so yes, he keeps the penthouse as his residence.’ The charming expression returned to her face as she opened a set of double doors that led to a lovely full bathroom.
‘On the other side of the suite is a smaller bathroom, which would be perfect for your clients to use. Would you care to see it?’
He must have filled her in about my line of work. I nodded and she guided me across the expanse.
‘What other kinds of businesses have their offices here in the building?’ I asked.
‘All the businesses here belong to Devereux and his associates – they run several international corporations. Yours will be the only outside business in the building. Well, what do you think? Would you like to move in?’
‘You bet.’ I chuckled. ‘In a heartbeat. But affording the rent is another issue.’
‘Devereux told me you’d say that – he said to tell you he’ll discuss the details of the rental agreement with you personally, and I should assure you that you can easily afford the space. I’m going to leave you here for a few minutes by yourself so you can get a feel for the place.’ She took a couple of steps towards the door, spread her arms wide and spun in a circle, pointing around the empty space as she twirled. ‘Start imagining where your furniture will go. Enjoy the view of the mountains from your windows.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Oh, by the way, he also asked me to tell you that you can have the suite unfurnished or furnished. He has a huge warehouse full of couches, chairs, desks, tables, lamps, anything you might desire. Exceptional pieces. He said to let him know what you require and it will be delivered immediately.’
She stopped spinning, walked through the suite and closed the door behind her.
I laughed out loud at her joyful free-spiritedness and threw my arms out as she’d done, then let them return to my sides. If I’d ever managed to learn how to turn cartwheels in elementary school, I’d have been tempted to turn one now.
I strolled through the spacious rooms.
Of course, it was out of the question. There was no way in hell I could afford this place. The bathroom fixtures alone must have cost more than I paid for my townhouse.
But wouldn’t it be great if I could afford it? Furnished or unfurnished? I hadn’t even started to figure out how I was going to acquire new furniture to replace the broken stuff in my office. My insurance would probably reimburse me, but that could take months.
On the downside, if I moved into Devereux’s building and let him give me a rent break, I’d be obligated to him. I was sure that’s what he wanted. Where was the line between taking advantage of a good deal and losing my autonomy? What happened if I decided I didn’t want a vampire boyfriend? What if Luna was right and he dumped me? I’d have to move again.
Thinking about all that made my head hurt.
I glanced down at my feet, which had sunk deep into the rich pile of the carpet, and wondered if a rug this thick had to be vacuumed or mowed.
Then the view out the windows drew me like a magnet. From this suite’s row of windows I had a panoramic view of Colorado’s Front Range, the mountains that skirted the metro area all the way from south of Colorado Springs up to the Wyoming border. Wind clouds hovered along the tops of the peaks, signalling that the Denver area might be in for some of our famous one-hundred-miles-per-hour window-rattling, roof-lifting air blasts. If this building had been here as long as I suspected it had, it wasn’t likely to get blown away anytime soon.
Giving in to temporary insanity, I’d just dropped down onto the floor and was flailing my arms and legs and giggling, making a snow angel in the carpet, when Victoria reentered and clapped her hands.
‘I knew you’d love it!’
I was outrageously embarrassed. I was halfway to my feet when I realised she was lying on the floor with me, following my example. We laughed at ourselves and each other, spent a couple of minutes being five years old again and finally got off the floor. Then we grinned at each other. After all, our inner children had bonded.
She handed me the keycard and a business card with her information on it.
‘Devereux said I should give you the keycard so you could spend as much time in the suite as you wish before you decide one way or the other.’ She started towards the exit then turned, a wide grin on her friendly face. ‘I think he really likes you. I look forward to having you here. If you need anything just call me, any day, any time. Blessed be.’ She waved and left.
Blessed be? That was a Wiccan greeting and parting, wasn’t it? Of course Devereux had a witch as his office manager.
Did she know everything about Devereux? He must have told her something to justify the fact that he was never here during the daylight hours. He did tend to surround himself with people who were devoted to him. Maybe he secretly slept in a coffin in the basement?
I wandered around the suite for a few more minutes, stared out the window, then forced myself to head back out to the hallway. I’d apparently decided to take him up on his offer. Providing, of course, the true cost wasn’t higher than I was willing to pay.
Hallowe’en. The big news story in town was the yearly bash, which turned out to be called The Vampires’ Ball. How could I have lived here so long and never heard of it?
The event was the topic du jour on the radio. According to the legend, twenty years ago, in the foothills west of Denver, an eccentric billionaire had built a monstrously huge hotel that was designed to resemble the rich guy’s favourite Scottish castle. He’d even had a chunk of the Celtic original dismantled and shipped over for his masterpiece, in the hopes that a ghost or two might tag along for the ride.
There are lots of stories about those ghosts, which might have contributed to the failure of the hotel as a successful enterprise. Or maybe the hotel went belly-up because the billionaire lost interest in it and didn’t continue all the maintenance and upkeep required for a castle in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Whatever the reason, the castle languished – until ten years ago, when it was purchased by yet another eccentric billionaire and transformed from a hotel to an event site.
Specifically, the site for The Vampires’ Ball.
Gee. I wonder if I know any eccentric billionaires who might be attracted to a ghost-filled castle as the location for a celebration dedicated to vampires? Hmmm. Let me think.
It wasn’t enough that Devereux was a vampire who could move through thought, a wizard who travelled to other dimensions and a gorgeous hunk of godlike masculinity. Now I had to deal with the fact that he was rich and owned half the world.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream.
Devereux’s involvement aside, the gala sounded like it would draw every vampire, vampire wannabe and fan of the paranormal on this side of the Mississippi. It occurred to me that the ball would be a great place for the police to use me to capture Brother Luther.