Page 39 of Love Spell

“Socialising with his stable of insiders, I assume.But I didn’t have meetings on the schedule for him this evening.”Spencer shrugged.“Need anything?”

“It’s okay.I can ask Ranveer.Thanks.”

Spencer went on down the hall and Noah slipped into the office to see the displayed website that was clearly unrelated to work, wondering if this was what had called Timo away.But no, it was, of all things, a site for a local astrologer.Bewildered, Noah couldn’t help reading through the page for a minute, leaning past Timo’s luxurious desk chair.

Timo had no interest in astrology.Could it be that he was looking for other ways to treat Noah?Gifting him a reading?That wasn’t Timo’s style.But his behaviour all week hadn’t been Timo’s style, ever since Noah had come to stay at his place he’d been weird.

Or, rather, normal Timo was weird and suddenly he’d not been weird.It actually seemed that he was the one avoiding Noah lately, and when their paths crossed Timo was skin-crawlingly pleasant.It was creeping Noah out more than the obnoxious Timo had.

He couldn’t know that Noah’s birthday was coming up, could he?Some of his memories from the Welsh spa were a bit hazy, but he did remember telling Timo he was into astrology and Timo showing not the slightest interest.

He should leave it alone.Still, as As long as the page was here, inviting him, why not get in touch and see if he could set up a meeting on his own?He’d had such a thing on his mind since meeting the Capricorn massage therapist in Wales.If Timo surprised him with a gift reading, all the better; Noah wouldn’t have to pay.

Noah dialled the number and turned away to the window.Like his penthouse, Timo’s office had a million-pound view.Noah gazed across the City of London while he listened to the rings, then left a voicemail, asking about getting in for a chart within the next week or two.

Leaving the office as he found it, Noah shut the door, returned to his own desk, and had just remembered he had a question for Ranveer when his phone, still in his hand, buzzed and he answered without thinking.

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Julian.I thought that was a junk call from a US number.”

“Oh, thanks for calling back.I’m only staying over here for a while.”

“You’re in London?”

“Yes, wondering if you have any openings to do a chart sometime soon?”

“How about now?”

“Uh…”

“I had a cancellation at five.If you can tell me or text me your birth details, exact time and place, I can see you then, otherwise it’ll probably be a couple weeks.”

“I have a photo of my birth certificate on my phone thanks to student visa paperwork.But I’m at work.Not sure if I can get to you that fast.Where are you?”

Noah took notes on scratch paper, said he’d text the image right over, then that he’d also text right back once he figured out if he could get there, and scrambled to do both as soon as he hung up.Could he just leave?

He’d lost money trading today and he didn’t usually do that, which was why he’d been going to Timo before Timo saw and pointed it out to him.Timo loved pointing out to people when they were losing his money on bad trades.Noah had thought he could turn it around, maybe with some advice from Ranveer, not let the day close with him in the red, even if it was a minor amount, and even if his record was usually sound.Noah wasn’t a massive earner like Chandler, who would take any risks and had the luck of a leprechaun, but a solid, steady earner who was quickly learning his way.Ending the day in the red was not okay.Then again, his positions were closed, Timo himself had left early, and he would do better to wait for advice and tackle this on a new day.

Considering how weird his life was lately, he really wanted this reading, craving all the help he could get.Besides, what was the worst that could happen?Timo would fire him?As if.

Noah wrote back that he’d be there by five pm.

14

Julian, a sharp-featured, black-haired man in his late twenties or early thirties, faced Noah across a table, tapping with a gel pen and making notes on the chart printout and a second sheet with a symbol key and more notes that he kept adding to.They were in his office, a dimly lit, stone-walled space of candles and astrology-related prints in an old church in Bromhurst.

“Well, at least Saturn will move on from your natal Venus pretty soon, that should generally mean a more relaxed vibe when it comes to connecting with others, also romance, of course.Saturn restricts and puts up limits, so it can feel claustrophobic, and Venus prefers a more flowy existence.Once he’s moved on, your love life and general pleasure level are going to get a boost or at the very least return to normal.Couple months, maybe?The pressure should already be easing.And there’s a lot going on in your ninth house at the moment — great for higher education and long-distance travel.You might also question and update your belief system and overall philosophy of life.”

Noah grimaced.“I wish I was travelling a bit less.I don’t want to leave London but I have to with my visa running out in a month.I could do with less travel and more stability right now.”

“Ah, yeah, with Uranus in the fourth, where you live and overall family life has been somewhat turbulent and subject to abrupt changes.The bad news is Uranus stays seven years in every sign, but the good news is you’re five years into this transit.The best way to deal with Uranus is to stay open-minded and flexible and put some trust in the universe.It can feel like Uranus is just flipping tables, but the goal is to upgrade that area of your life and liberate you from restrictions.The bad news is, as the saying goes, resistance is futile.He also brings plenty of new experiences.It’s a perfect time to meet new people or try new things.”

“That’s been happening.Honestly, I’ve been experiencing too many new things lately.Graduation, new job, lost my flat, and now my boss is hitting on me and driving me crazy.”Noah sighed.

Very slowly, Julian looked up from his notes.“Your boss wouldn’t happen to be a Russian named Timofei?”

Noah wasn’t stunned that Julian might know who Timo was since he’d possibly just been in touch with Julian to arrange a reading for Noah.But he was stunned because “boss” and “hitting on me” shouldn’t have been part of Julian’s toolkit of information if that was how he knew Timo.

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