Page 5 of The Curse

Chapter Two

The shower water never got good and hot. I never got a fire started in the fireplace. The blankets weren’t furry, and the pizza wasn’t all that great. But I did make it to work on my first day with a whole two minutes to spare. Amazing really, since I’d had disturbing dreams all night long. Someone kept calling to me, over and over. They were just ahead of me in a mist, walking toward me, I was sure. But just as they got closer, it seemed like a thick blanket of fog dropped down on top of me so I couldn’t find my way. It even muffled the sound. Suffice to say I didn’t get much sleep at all.

I was usually boringly punctual, always trying to be at least fifteen minutes early, and running late really fucked with my head. I could have very easily written this move off as a total loss, but then I met the lady I’d be working with at the museum, Anabella Buchanan or just Bella, as she told me to call her, and my day brightened immediately. She seemed incredibly nice, helpful, and very intelligent actually. Her love for history was as evident as her enthusiasm. Sure, I’d mostly accepted the job so I could research my family history in the very town where it had all started, but enjoying the new job in Salem while I was here would make the adjustment period a heck of a lot easier.

It wasn’t the famous Salem Witch museum, but I could tell this smaller museum was well funded and exhibited a love for Salem’s unique history while still focusing some on area history as well. From my brief research before accepting the job, I’d found that it was privately funded and had been in operation for nearly one hundred and fifty years. The same family, the Goodhearts, had maintained ownership all that time. While they dealt with the historical aspects of Salem and witchcraft, they also seemed to focus a great deal of time and energy on the newer, more modern tales of sorcery, witchcraft, and warlocks. From what I’d seen online, their library was extensive. I couldn’t wait to dig in and see what I could find regarding the Bailey name.

“We are so incredibly excited to have you on board, Mr. Bailey,” Annabella gushed with enthusiasm. “It isn’t often we receive many resumes with your credentials that are willing to work for our pay scale. The other museum is going to be green with envy when they hear that we’ve snagged someone with a Master’s Degree.

I wasn’t sure how to respond. Guilt over my lie regarding my education kept my lips firmly sealed shut. I was a firm believer that while education is important, experience is far more valuable. I didn’t suppose there was any need to mention that little fact, though. No need pointing out my shortcomings to my new boss. “I’m the lucky one. Working in Salem has been a lifelong dream of mine. Trust me when I say I’m more excited to be here than you are to have me.”

She rubbed her hands together with obvious excitement and said, “Let’s give you a tour of the museum first. After that, I’ll show you to your office, and then we’ll review Morgan’s plans for your first project. She wants to create a spell room where we display some of the more prominent casting spells, old and new, and, of course, include all the usual, unusual, and downright gross ingredients. The modern spells and items won’t be a problem. Your focus will be on what our witches and warlocks used hundreds of years ago.” She stood up and motioned for me to follow her. “Don’t worry about that now, though. I’ll give you all the information you need and point you in the right direction for research when the time comes. Right now, I want you to focus on the beauty of our museum. It is three stories of pure witchy heaven.”

I tried to smile at her passion for all things witchy, but I’m afraid my face said “what the fuck” instead. It sounded a lot like Bella was a one hundred percent believer in witchcraft, and I wasn’t sure where I stood on the whole witchcraft platform. If it weren’t for my family history and the brutal fact that it looked like someone had put a curse on us, I’d categorize all witchcraft as hogwash and hocus pocus.

I followed her down the hall and wondered what pure witchy heaven looked like. From the outside, I had to admit the building was above and beyond impressive. It fit nicely with the Colonial architecture of Salem but still managed to be larger and more majestic than the surrounding structures. It was newer than most of the buildings in the downtown area, but had been built to appear old. I actually found it shocking that they had managed to get a building permit in the historic area at all.

“The offices are all along this corridor and kept separate from the museum areas on the first and second floors. The third floor is where the owner, Morgan Goodheart, lives. That floor is, of course, strictly off limits. I won’t take you to see your office now, but it’s at the end of this hall. Morgan’s office is right next to yours. I’m sure she’ll be a huge asset as you learn the ins and outs of the museum’s workings.”

My office being located right next to the owner’s sounded like loads of fun.Not.

About that time, a tall woman exploded from one of the doorways and started in our direction. She was on her cell phone, laughing with whoever was on the other end of the line. Since all her attention was focused on the phone call, I grabbed a good look at her sexy curves without her noticing.

She was fucking gorgeous—as in model material. Long legs, a trim waist, drool-worthy boobs, and inky black hair that hung in cascading waves of silk—all formed a package of perfection. Her pale skin was flawless, and she had the sexiest slanted eyes I’d ever seen in my life. Except that there was something…off about her. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew it was there, teasing my subconscious.

I loved women…suspected I might love men, even more, but I’d never reacted to one quite this way. My body was buzzing with an electric current that was probably a mixture of lust and arousal, but it was so strong, so overwhelming, that it felt almost painful. The tips of my fingers started throbbing and burning, and I couldn’t help but be thankful that it was my fingertips instead of my cock. Explaining a raging hard on to my new boss might be difficult or, at the very least, uncomfortable. Feeling strange, I crammed my hands into the pockets of my khaki’s.

About the same time that I made a move to hide my hands, her head snapped up and purple-blue eyes locked onto me. She was holding a handful of files, her cell, and a steaming cup of coffee, all of which hit the floor of the hallway when her eyes locked with mine. For a split second, I wondered if I should be impressed with her reaction to seeing me for the first time. Thanks to good genes, I’m not hard on the eyes, but I’ve never managed a reaction quite like hers before. My good mood evaporated, though, when she opened her mouth.

“Nico!” She hissed in a sexy voice that, unfortunately, sounded like a mixture of shock and disgust, heavy on the disgust.

Bella had immediately dropped to her knees and began retrieving all the items Morgan had dropped, soaking up the spilled coffee with the hem of her skirt as she repeatedly mumbled one apology after another—like she’d done something to cause Morgan to lose control of her grip.

Unsure of how she knew my nickname or how I should react to her, I decided to try a professional, polite technique I used when I pretended to be an adult. Closing the distance between us, I held out my hand and said, “Nicholas Bailey. It’s very nice to meet you.” My hand hung in the air between us as she glared down at it, and I could practically feel the fury bubblinginside her veins. The eyes that had appeared a pretty violet just a few seconds ago suddenly looked to be an icy gray. When she made no attempt to shake my hand, I finally tucked it back into my pocket and weakly added, “It’s great to be on board. I’m excited about joining your team.”

She glared harder.

Bella’s nervous whimper reminded me that she was still on the ground between us.

“Here, let me help, Bella,” I said as I started to kneel to help clean up Morgan’s mess.

“Don’t. You. Move.”

The words were spoken with such a cold authority that I froze in a half crouch position. “Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you actually came here. Can you not take a hint? I did everything in my power to send you the messagenotto come here, but you came anyway. Why are you here, Nico? Did you come to Salem to make my job easier, or did you actually think you could somehow avoid your fate? At least you’ve saved me the trouble of having to hunt you down and take care of our usual business.”

And soooo she was crazy. The pretty ones always were.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I answered softly, backing away slowly. It was my feeble attempt to not startle or scare the crazy person. When you see a wild animal in its habitat, you should try to slowly remove yourself in a non-threatening way. Wild animals and crazy people—it was all the same, right?

“This…this gentleman is our new employee, Miss Goodheart,” Bella stammered nervously from her submissive spot on the floor. “You told me it was okay to hire someone, preferably someone with a history degree, to help us with the numerous projects we have on the agenda for this year. Mr. Bailey sent in his resume, and when I saw his credentials, I took the liberty of making him an offer for the open position. He’s…he has a master’s in history…so I went ahead and hired him. I thought you would be impressed.”

“Did you now?” Morgan said in a voice that sounded eerily threatening. “Well…you and I shall discuss that later. Run along, Annabella. Nico and I have some things to discuss.”

Bella scampered away like a scolded puppy, never once even looking in my direction. I turned back to Morgan and noticed that her eyes were changing colors again. They’d started purple, turned icy gray, and were now a dark, ugly color…headed in the direction of black. She must wear special contacts that would change colors, like mood contacts. It was probably something she wore to add some mystical magic while she gave tours of the museum. I wasn’t sure how the tourists felt about it, but they gave me the creeps.

“I’ll ask you one more time, Nico,” she said. “Why did you come here anyway after all the hints I sent you to stay away?”

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