Chapter 5 #2
Calliope had patrons from all walks of life, but in the time she’d been attending and working at the university, she’d never taken a student as a patron.
For starters, the idea felt icky to her.
Calliope did not prefer to be in positions of power over her patrons.
Her job was simply to give, to support. Not to command.
And she certainly didn’t feel right getting involved with a student in her wheelhouse.
But the truth was unavoidable at that moment.
She hadn’t known who Theo was, and he hadn’t known who she truly was, either. But now that she knew, it was not something she could forget.
She did not want to take advantage of her student, her employee. It was a line she had never crossed, and she wasn’t certain she wanted to now, of all times. No matter how perfect Theodore’s kiss was, or how he’d made her feel.
I knew this was a mistake...
Gods, I have really done it this time.
“Well, when we got to the gallery, the doors were unlocked, and they were wide open,” Spike said carefully.
“Did you forget to lock them?” Calliope challenged.
Izzy sipped her coffee, shaking her head, the motion making her golden hair sway back and forth. “Nope, Spike said he and Lora triple checked it last night. Those doors were definitely locked,” Izzy said.
“So obviously we checked the displays and everything to make sure everything was accounted for, and that’s when—” Spike wrung his hands nervously.
Calliope felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she looked between Spike and Isabelle.
“Everything was... accounted for... right?” Calliope asked, her voice shaking.
Spike shook his head. “No, Callie, I’m afraid something was missing.”
Calliope closed her eyes, sucking in a breath as she tried to focus. “What was missing, Spike?”
But it was Isabelle who answered. “The diviner was missing.”
Calliope felt her knees buckle from the weight of the words. But before she could fall to the ground, she felt warm, steady hands at her hips, holding her still. Even with her eyes closed, she knew she would recognize that touch anywhere.
It would be impossible to forget.
She opened her eyes to see Theo, his eyebrows furrowed, those deep green pools imploring her gaze.
The desire to get lost and fall into them was prevalent, but she did not have time for such things.
Not when the gallery had been burglarized, not when the object of such desires was her newest employee.
So she pushed Theo’s hands off of her and backed away, toward Spike.
“You are sure?” she turned to him, giving Theo her back.
Spike nodded, meeting her gaze. “Positive.”
Calliope took a deep breath, turning to Isabelle. “And you are certain that only the diviner is missing?”
Isabelle nodded. “Yeah. We checked, believe me.”
“All right, did you alert Brian?” Calliope tried her best to remain calm, though it felt as if she was on the edge of a breakdown for sure.
There were plenty of things more valuable in the gallery than the diviner—the crystal that was quite famous for showing one their divined mate—such as the ancient tablets and statues carved from much more precious stones, not to mention the gold and silver jewelry Professor Leehan—Brian, the current owner’s father who was in his retirement process—had salvaged on his last excursion before his heart attack.
“No. We... uh, wanted to come to you first. Thought maybe you could help?” Spike pursed his lips. “I said we should tell him, but Izzy said—”
“No, no, you did the right thing,” Calliope said, letting out a breath. “It’s best not to alarm Brian yet until we know more about the situation. Have you checked the camera footage?”
Spike shook his head. “No. We came straight here. I mean... we locked up and came straight here.”
“Okay,” Calliope moved toward the kitchen table and she could feel Theo’s gaze on her. Moving with her.
“I, uh... need to get dressed, and then we can head over to the gallery and—” She stopped, looking up at Theo. “You should probably go home.”
There was a tense silence as Theo’s eyebrows furrowed, his expression faltering. He had the audacity to look hurt.
Calliope hated it, but perhaps it was better this way.
She needed to put some distance between them.
Least of all now. She knew one night of pure passion was not any sort of grounds for a relationship, and she didn’t expect Theodore to be open to such things.
She knew how these sorts of scenarios went, she’d been in them many times.
She needed to rip the band-aid off. She needed to get to the gallery, figure out what happened to the diviner, and find a way to get it back before Brian found out.
Quite a task for her, but she’d been in much more precarious situations before.
Such as when Mars had found himself losing his powers and turning into a mortal, with only days to find an answer and a mate, or when Izzy had bitten Spike, in which her venom had poisoned him and nearly killed him.
And she’d found her way out of those situations, she could certainly figure out how to crack the case of the missing diviner. She just needed to think, and with Theodore Lange in her presence, she could not think.
She could barely even breathe.
“Yeah, I, uh... my friend’s probably worried about me, I’ll just... uh, call an Uber and—”
“I can give you a ride,” Spike said, pulling all their attentions.
“I beg your pardon—” Calliope started.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that, I—” Theo started, but Spike held his hand up.
“It’s fine, really.”
Calliope shook her head, the heat of the moment getting to her. She needed to move, to get out of her kitchen. She needed to breathe, a moment to process this... insanity.
“I need to go... change,” she said matter of factly, not bothering to look at Theo, for she did not want to see the hurt expression on his perfect face, knowing his frown would be her fault.
I’m such a fool! Damn you, Hattie! Damn you, DeLux Cafe! Damn Pina Coladas!
She did not look back at her guests, and instead, barreled forth out of the room and into her bedroom, all but slamming the door.
The moment she was behind it, she fell to the floor, her eyes nearly filling with tears as she pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arms.
How had things become so complicated so quickly?
How had one perfect night turned into such an awful nightmare?
Not only was Theodore her employee and student, but the prized diviner had gone missing and the gallery had a thief on their hands.
The odds were stacking against Calliope, and she wasn’t certain she wasn’t truly cursed.
First David and now this... have I angered the gods or something? Why me? Why now?
She heard the door shut, and the moment it did, she felt an ache in her chest, an emptiness that hadn’t been there a moment ago.
She knew it was because he had left. Theo.
She looked up, her gaze falling on the crumpled, paint-stained mask sitting in the center of the floor.
It stared at her, vibrant and noticeable across the shiny black plastic.
He was gone, her Zorro. Her perfect stranger.
All yours, he said.
Calliope sighed, pushing the thought, the memory aside.
She did not wish to think of their perfect moment, the moment where she felt truly worshipped.
It could not happen again. She could not let it.
She needed to remain professional. Distant.
Inspiration or not, Calliope could not give in so easily.
She needed to be better. She needed to protect herself. She needed to do her job.
And so she stood up, wiping her tears as she headed toward her dresser, picking out a skirt and blouse, and found herself a pair of low heels. She dressed quickly, running a brush through her hair and glazing some gloss over her lips before she opened the door.
Part of her hoped it had been an illusion, a mistaken sound, hoped that somehow, someway, Theodore would still be there. But when she opened the door, he wasn’t there, and neither was Spike. There was only Izzy, sipping her coffee, her gaze fixed on Calliope as she raised her eyebrow at her.
Calliope sauntered toward Isabelle, not meeting her gaze.
She headed for the key bowl by her door, not wishing to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
And as they both piled into Calliope’s Lincoln, there was a shared understanding.
Izzy did not press her, and for that Calliope was grateful.
But there was a part of her that wished her friend would press her.
Ask her about what had happened, because Calliope wanted to talk about how perfect Theo was.
How he’d driven her into orgasmic bliss and worshipped her with his mouth, his words, his devotion.
But Calliope vowed it would do no good truly, to discuss such things.
It would only hurt her more. So she promised herself as she drove herself and Isabelle to the gallery, that she would do everything in her power to forget Theodore.
Surely, it wouldn’t be that difficult, right?