TJ Michaels

Dee stormed down the hall, around a corner and into a blessedly empty reception area. The surprise in her assistant’s eyes was palpable. Well good, that made two of them.“Kare, what the hell is Faison Dow doing…?” Dee paused and mentally kicked herself as the pieces clicked into place. “Oh, duh. Dow, as in related to my client, Mr. Dow.”

“Say again, Miss Isaacs?”

“Cut the Miss Isaacs crap, Kare. There’s nobody out here but us.”

“Well, I just want to be careful. I just talked to Daisy at Daikuji Corp and she told me that the senior Mr. Dow is quite formal. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know Dow was a Japanese name and didn’t arrange for the more formal reception you prefer for visitors from Japan.”

“Don’t worry about it, Kare. It’s an easy mistake to make given his last name is actually Gaelic.”

“Gaelic? You mean Irish? How?”

“Our client’s been in the Pacific Northwest since World War II. It was common to change last names to something less Japanese in those days. His original family name was probably Tao, which is pronounced ‘dow’.”

“Oh, that makes sense. So what should I do?”

Dee didn’t answer. Instead, she asked a question of her own.

“But what is Faison doing here? Doesn’t he have a concert to practice for or something? And why wasn’t I told he’d be coming with his, with his…his what?”

“It’s his dad. And it was actually a surprise to me until a few minutes ago. He said he was here to act as interpreter for his father and apologized for not letting us know ahead of time.”

Sigh. Dee couldn’t even complain. It was an oversight on her part, after all. She was fluent in Japanese but hadn’t thought to instruct Kare to share that information with her counterpart in Mr. Dow’s company.

“What’s the problem? He’s so easy on the eyes. The younger Mr. Dow, I mean,” Kare said, words ending on a dreamy sigh.

“Yeah, that he is. But he’s a panty sniffing, arrogant, air-brained playboy underneath that tailored suit.” Complete with gorgeous face, hunky body and damn good natural-smelling scent that set her insides to wiggling. Whew!

“How do you know all that? I’ve never heard of him before and I consider myself pretty up on the latest music. You mentioned he does concerts?”

“He’s a vocalist. Hottest thing on the charts in Japan.”

“Are you sure?” Kare asked as she tilted her head a bit to the side. Dee could understand the skepticism given the fact that Faison Dow spoke perfect English with no accent whatsoever.

“I’m sure. He grew up here in Seattle. Went to Japan for college around the same time I did. Made it big like nobody’s business, and all on a dare. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.” And it was true. Anybody who listened to contemporary music in Japan under the age of fifty knew the story. Faison Dow entered a talent contest on a dare. A scout for Sony Japan happened to be at the show and snatched up the asshole quicker than you could say…well, asshole.

“That man sings R&B like he was born in my skin instead of his own. In fact, he’ll be performing at his stateside debut concert sometime soon.”

“Really? Where?” Kare asked.

“I have no idea.” And Dee was surprised at herself again. She loved the man’s music and typically had a clue of what his current projects were. He was a hell of an entertainer on stage. He just wasn’t that great of a person in real life from all the dirt she’d heard about him.

Dee frowned as she watched Kare’s pen move across a piece of paper. “What are you writing?”

“His name and genre. I’ve got to check out his music. Oooh, and maybe you can introduce me to him? Maybe he’ll give us some free tickets? He is seriously fine. Does he have a girlfriend?”

“Good grief, Kare, knowing good and well your horny self has a boyfriend!”

“Can’t blame a woman for trying, Dee.”

With a chuckle at Kare’s typical brash self, Dee rolled her eyes and stalked away. “Oh, and in ten minutes send in some tea. Jasmine and ginger, okay?”

“Anything you say, boss.”

On the way back to her office, Dee reached into herself and prayed there would be an answer from her lifelong companion.

“She? She, are you there?”

*I am.*

Good gods. Not only was the entity there, but she blazed inside Dee’s mind.

“Why have you been so quiet? This is a hell of a time to show up and show out.”

*Your destiny is near. I am not allowed to say any more than that. But I cannot control my reaction to the sister stone and…*

“Hold the door. Sister stone? In all the years you’ve camped out in my head you’ve never said anything about a sister stone being near before.”

*Because I have never sensed it before. But it is something of which you are already aware. A piece of the Heart is near. The piece that is matched with yours.*

“Wait a minute. All that zinging and craziness started when Mr. Dow and his loose-hipped son walked in.”Dee paused. Oh hell no!

She didn’t respond. Dee remained still for a few moments. Her hand rested on the knob to her office door but she just couldn’t bring herself to turn it. If Mr. Dow was her mate she would just die. Why in the world would the Ancestors pair her up with an old man? Surely a nice old man, but old none the less.

*There is more. The reason for the unrest you have been feeling for the past year is near.*

“Asmodeus?”

*Yes. I can discern his presence on this plane, but nothing more. I cannot locate him. I have expended great energy trying. It has been taxing.*

“Is that why you’ve been so quiet?”

*Yes. Yet the sudden nearness of the Piece of Eight is energizing me like nothing else could.*

Wow. Her mate was a sixty-seven year old man? Not fair.

*Fear not, De’alla. Your Ancestors had great insight. That includes your needs as a woman as well as a Chosen.*

“Yep. Sure they did.” Major snark. If they knew her so well why didn’t they just let her not be a Chosen? Dee shook her head, sucked it up, turned the knob and commanded her knees to stand firm as she walked back into her office to face her destiny.

So far, destiny sucked monkey balls.