Chapter 323

Tessa’s POV

My body tensed as Penny approached; a chill ran up my spine. The last person I expected to see right now, in the city, was Penny. She wasn’t even supposed to be in town until next week. What did that mean? Was she going to hurt my father before then?

My heart hammered in my chest and suddenly felt unwell.

“Do you know this lady?” Jessie asked, eyeing Penny suspiciously.

“Just get to my car,” I said without taking my eyes off Penny as she approached. “I just need to speak with her for a minute.”

“Whatever,” Morgana muttered. “Let’s go girls.”

They turned and walked towards my car; I remained stagnant.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her once she was finally in front of my face.

“I just came by to do a little shopping before I head home. I just came from the airport a few blocks away from here,” she explained.

I thought you weren’t coming back until next week?” I said, I was unable to keep the displeased tone out of my voice and it didn’t go unnoticed.

She corked an eyebrow at me as she studied my face.

“Well, things changed. I came back early,” she said. “Is that okay with you?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” I asked.

I was aware that I sounded defensive, but I didn’t trust her.

“Tessa, is there a problem? You seem on edge,” she finally said, folding her arms across her chest. “Your father mentioned you’ve been saying some things.”

I stared at her, disbelieving. Did my father really tell her what I’ve been saying? So, she must know we are onto her and that’s why she decided to come home early. I was stupid to think he would keep it to himself, especially because he’s under some kind of spell.

A spell Lucias put him under.

I glanced at her neckline and noticed a gorgeous blue and purple pendant rimmed in gold. I’m not sure why I had never seen it around her neck before.

“Pretty necklace,” I said, ignoring her previous statement.

She instinctively wrapped her thin fingers around it and plastered a smile on her lips.

“Thanks, it was a gift,” she stated calmly.

“Did my father get it for you?”

She narrowed her eyes when she said, “No, he didn’t. A friend did.”

I nodded.

“I see.”

“We aren’t going to have a problem, are we?”

“Of course not,” I said, keeping my plastered smile on my lips. “It was nice to see you, but I’m on the clock and should get back now.”

I turned and started to walk towards my car.

“Tessa,” Penny called after me, making me pause for a moment. “Speak shit about me to your father again, and we really will have a problem.”

My skin crawled from her insult, but I didn’t turn around to show my displeasure on my face. I just continued to walk and slammed the car door shut before pulling away.

“Who was that?” Kylie asked, intrigued.

“My father’s wife,” I muttered.

“That explains the tension,” Jessie muttered. “Do you not get along?”

I shrugged, not wanting to talk about it.

“She’s okay,” I lied. “Not much to tell.”

“Mmhmm…” Jessie hummed. “Whatever you say.”

“Keep your secrets,” Kylie giggled.

I rolled my eyes and ignored them the rest of the way.

I was relieved to be back in my office where I finished editing my paper before sending it to Kyle for extra editing.

While I waited for her approval, I logged into my blog, something I hadn’t done in over a week and I checked the status of my recent blog post.

It blew up just like all my others had. It was easy making posts that go viral now. I’m now a pretty known blogger and I have a decent-sized fanbase. As soon as I press “Post” I already have 100 views.

I smiled at the growing number and glanced briefly at the comments.

Butterflyspirit91: Tessa is such a great writer! I’ve been following her journey from day 1 and she’s really improved. Keep up the good work girl!

Writersclub00: This story made me shed actual tears. Great work!

Campuslife!!: I went to school with the writer, she’s always been quiet but her writing is incredible!

I smiled as I read the many more comments; I didn’t often respond unless they asked me a direct question.

My mind kept returning to Penny; what was she doing back here so soon? And how dare she threaten me during broad daylight in the middle of my city. The city that I lived with my husband and coven who I consider to be my family.

I sighed and rubbed my belly.

I wasn’t going to let her threats intimidate me. I had to stay strong and fight because it wasn’t just my life anymore. I had a little one inside of me and I would do anything to protect my baby.

My computer dinged with an incoming email, and I smiled when I saw that it was Kylie. She finished editing my piece and sent it back to me to reread before sending it to Megan.

She didn’t change much, which I was pleased about. I quickly printed a copy of the article out and sent the digital copy to her email. She likes both hard copies and the digital copy.

I left the office and went down the hallway to Megan’s office. In the window, it looked as if she was stressed out. She was on the phone and yelling at somebody. She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers before sighing. She said something on the phone rather calmly before she hung up.

I took that as my opportunity to knock.

“Come in,” she murmured, still rubbing the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache.

I slowly opened the door and walked into the office.

“Hey,” I said lamely, trying to act like I wasn’t just watching her.

“Tell me you have good news,” she muttered. “I could use something to get me through the rest of this wretched day.”

I glanced at the paper and then back at her.

“I finished the article,” I told her, putting it on her desk.

She sighed.

“I’ll look at it later.”

I nodded.

Before I turned to leave, I found myself frozen in place. She glanced up at me, her dark blue eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“Was there something else I could help you with, Tessa?” She asked, looking more annoyed than ever.

“I was just wondering if you were okay. You looked stressed a few minutes ago,” I blurted.

She sighed and leaned back in her seat.

“I’m just stressing out about this banquet this weekend,” she muttered. “It’s supposed to be the biggest event of the year, but the live musician just called to cancel on me after I already gave them the deposit. Their policy is no money back, but I called bullshit. I spoke to their agent and chewed his ass off for robbing me of that money.”

My chest tightened.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmured, running my fingers through my hair. “Were you able to get the money back?”

“I’m Megan Huxley,” she said, her brows pinched together.

She stared at me like I should already know what that meant, but I didn’t.

“I always get my way,” she explained. “After I sent him a few threats and threatened to get him shut down for fraud, he was putty in my hands.”

I smirked at that.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she muttered. “Every other band is booked up; I went with these guys because they were available.”

I thought about it for a moment; Joseph had a way of getting things even if they were impossible. His connection with the Nightwalker police made anything possible.

“I might be able to help you,” I told her. “I’ll let you know what I can do.”

She gave me a very unlady-like snort.

“If I can’t do anything, I doubt you’ll be able to,” she said, giving me a once-over.

“It’s worth a try,” I told her.

I left her office without another word, and I returned to my office where I grabbed my phone. It was just past 2 pm, so I knew Joseph was most likely working right now. Instead of calling him and interrupting his day, I decided to just text him.

Me: I need a favor.

While I waited for a reply, I got some more writing done for another article that I was assigned. This one’s not due for another couple of days and it’s not as big as the Joseph one, but I’m giving it my best go.

My phone dinged a few minutes later.

Joseph: Anything for you.

I smiled at the text before typing my reply.

Me: My boss, Megan is holding a banquet on Sunday, and the live band she booked canceled on her. No other band is available to play on that day. I told her I might be able to help her out…”

I took a deep breath and pressed send. I really didn’t want to let Megan down after promising her I would try.

A minute later my phone dinged again.

Joseph: Let me see what I can do. Give me a couple of minutes.

I smiled happily as I pressed the phone to my heart. I loved this man; he always knew what to do to make things better. I’m not sure how he was going to get it done, but I knew in my heart that it would.

I continued to work, typing away on my computer and rereading the paper to do some minor edits. After about 30 minutes, my computer dings, and I see that I have an email.

The subject read: Performance Contract – Magenta’s Ink.

My mouth dropped open.

Magenta’s Ink was an insanely popular band. Why would their agent be contacting me?

My phone dinged moments later.

Chief Mulligan: You owe me one.