The Keepers (The Alchemy Series) by Donna Augustine Page A

of me. The side I had developed out of desperation from being a young girl in a mean world and having no one else to depend on.
    Just then , a group of women walked past to the left which only highlighted the differences. They wore heels and had pretty hair and nails. They laughed over something that was probably light and frivolous. They were soft and feminine, everything I wasn’t. I could fake it all day long, but I’d never truly be one of them. That was what men wanted, not someone like me. I felt jaded and dirty compared to them.
    I didn’t care though. This man was my enemy. Why should I care what he thought of me?
    He walked up and stood next to me, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body. I could see him stare at me, out of the corner of my eye, but I busied myself looking down at my order pad instead of meeting his gaze.
    He leaned down close to my ear and said in the softest whisper, “Am I making you uncomfortable Jo?”
    His warm breath on my ear sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to instantly take a step away, but that would be almost as bad as admitting it, so I held my ground and forced myself to meet his eyes. “No, why would you?”
    “That’s good. I wouldn’t want to make you nervous.” He ran a finger along the length of my arm. “Are you cold?”
    “A little,” I lied, knowing he had noticed the goose bumps on my skin.
    He smiled down at me. He had a beautiful smile, dimples and all. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time together,” he said. “I really do want you to feel comfortable.” His hand came to rest on the small of my back.
    “ Maybe it’s better if we aren’t too comfortable, considering that you are my boss.”
    He laughed. “Why? Do you feel sexual ly harassed?”
    “No.”
    “Then I guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”
    My heart was beating out of my chest as he walked away.

Chapter Eleven
     
    Cormac, true to his word, had given me free rein. I always had a shadow, but my movements hadn’t been restricted in the least. He had also disappeared. I wasn’t sure where he went, but I hadn’t seen him in almost a week.
    I tried to go back to school, but when I did , I was called down to the Dean’s office. When I got there, I was told I was being given special permission to finish all my classes, including my finals, via email. It seemed Cormac’s influence extended pretty far. I told him it was unnecessary, but the Dean insisted.
    Other than my waitress shifts, I had nothing left to do but hang around the apartment while I researched alchemy. The first couple of days I stayed mostly in my room on my laptop, but then as no one seemed to be around , I started to venture out more and more. I was starting to wonder if he actually even lived there. Maybe it was a front? Maybe he didn’t want people to know where he really lived. I hadn’t even seen Ben, the door-guy-butler or whatever he was.
    I’d just finished showering. I hated getting dress ed right after showering. My clothes always stuck to my still damp skin. So, I lounged in my room wearing the nicest black lace push up bra and matching underwear I’d ever owned.
    A day or so after Cormac left me, one of the thugs by the door handed me a note. In it, he told me I had been provided with an account, and I could pick up anything I needed in Lacard’s mall since he knew I only had what I had jammed into a knapsack, and he asked that I not venture back to my trailer until he returned. I had tried to stay on the conservative side at first, and then remembered that the guy had ordered me shot. That’s when my shopping spree had turned ugly, or awesome, depending on your viewpoint. It’s why I was now strutting around in lingerie that would make a Victoria Secret model jealous.
    If I hadn’t gone shoppi ng, I would have been in grandma type underwear and a sports bra. If I hadn’t gone shopping, Cormac might not have been staring at me like he was now. I had the stereo so loud I