I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker (Accidents Happen #3)

Chapter 1

Bathwater

“You said you’d drink my dirty bathwater.” I slid the glass cup full of foggy liquid over to him. “So do it.”

Deonta’s lip quivered, and the bead of sweat that had been clinging to his hairline rolled down his forehead as he looked at me like a lost child. “What?”

“Did you lie to me when you said you would? You said you would do anything for me.” A disinterested sigh left my lips as I found myself in the mirror's reflection behind him. It was time to get my hair touched up. Those pesky grays wouldn’t stop popping up—as if I needed another reminder that my forties were just around the corner.

“I would never lie to you, Jericha.” Deonta looked at the cup and swallowed hard, like he was trying to work up the nerve to do what I asked. His hesitation annoyed me even more.

“Good. Because there is nothing I hate more than a liar.” I nudged the cup again. “Drink it.”

The clock on the wall counted down the minutes until I would start a call that could change the trajectory of my business, and there he was, wasting my time with his incessant begging.

I liked my men submissive, but sometimes I pushed too hard and broke them.

They lost everything that made them attractive to begin with.

Deonta was a broken man, which meant I was done with him. He served no purpose other than filling up my inbox with unwanted requests for dates.

Five more seconds ticked by as I fluffed my afro and waited. He knew I meant what I said, and I wouldn’t repeat myself. With slumped shoulders, he picked up the cup and gulped down the murky water. When he lowered the glass, his top lip glistened, water dripping down his chin.

“How does it taste?” I leaned back in my seat, satisfied he’d done it but instantly disgusted by the sight of him.

He choked back a gag before responding. “Delicious.” Deonta lowered the glass to the table before looking at me with the most ridiculous puppy dog expression I’d ever seen. “Now, can we please keep seeing each other? I miss the taste of you, your skin, your lips.”

I chuckled at the thought. “You think I would ever kiss someone who drinks bathwater?”

“I—” He glanced at the cup. “But you told me, I mean—you wanted me to do it.”

“There has to be a limit, Deonta. You have a safe word. You could have used it.” I stood and pointed at the door. “Leave and don’t come back.”

“Jericha, please.” He continued his groveling as he stood.

He dropped his head, still speaking, but I couldn’t hear a word he said.

Thoughts of the balding spot on top of his head muffled every other sound.

It had gotten bigger since I met him. In that short amount of time, what started off as the size of a pea had become the size of a quarter.

It was as if the more he begged, the larger it got.

“I’m done here. You’re boring me, and I need to get back to work.” I walked around him, opening the door. “Leave out the back. I don’t want anyone to see you looking so pathetic.”

“Jericha—”

I lifted my finger to my lips to shush him. “You’re no longer allowed to use my name.”

Deonta said nothing else. He nodded, grabbed his jacket, and left as requested. It wouldn’t be the last time I heard from him. It never was. Typically, I had to ignore at least fifty messages and missed calls before the rejected party finally got the picture. Deonta would be no different.

Just as I made it back to my desk to sit, my phone buzzed against the glass top.

I picked it up to see a message flash across the screen.

Deonta: I’m here if you ever need me.

I opened the contact card, changed his name to Bathwater, and turned to my computer.

There were twenty minutes before the start of the call that would catapult my business.

With the development of the new film studio just outside of town, businesses were clamoring for a way in.

Yes my chances were slim, but I’d put my best business owner hat on and landed the opportunity to provide security for their upcoming productions.

Being one of the few women-owned firms in my field made this a landmark event, a true testament to my perseverance.

The initial contract would be a deal guaranteeing me the right to provide security for all productions for the next six months.

That contract would get me in the door, and my work would keep me there.

This would mean years of business to help fund my company’s expansion.

My dreams were big already, but they grew each day.

“He actually drank it?” A soft gag accompanied the question.

I looked up from the monitor to see Natalie’s head poking through the door. She pointed at the empty cup on the table, her braided bob swinging around her frowning face.

“Of course he did.” I waved at her to come in.

Natalie was my assistant. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to run my business as well as I had. It was a hard lesson to learn for a person who likes to do everything herself, but I realized I needed someone I could trust to hold the spare keys.

I’d gone through five assistants before I found her, and as far as I was concerned, I would never let her go.

“I’ve heard people talk about drinking bathwater, you know. It’s a popular saying, but never did I think someone would actually do that!” she gawked.

“You can get a man to do just about anything with the promise of pussy.” I tapped my chin.

“Hell, you don’t even need to promise it.

As long as he thinks there is a sliver of a chance you might one day spread those thighs, he will do anything.

Men not even worthy of licking the sole of your shoe will lay their lives down for you. ”

“You’re a badass!” She pointed at the cup. “But I have to know: was that really your bathwater?”

I laughed. “No, it wasn’t. It was dishwater from the kitchen. As if my bath water would ever be that murky! I’m pretty sure there were food bits floating around in there!”

“I dream of being like you one day.” Natalie beamed as she crossed the room, bringing papers and her trusty tablet with her.

“Stick around, and I’ll teach you all my ways.” I eyed the documents in her hand. “What do you have there?”

“The finalized contracts came in this morning.” She handed the papers to me. “I took the liberty of printing them out. I know how you like to review important documents in physical form first.”

“This is why I love you. You just get me!” I flipped through the pages and smiled as I recognized the well-placed tabs. She’d marked every point I’d highlighted in the previous copy.

“They made the amendments you requested and legal reviewed it. They said it’s good to sign as soon as you’re ready.” Natalie tapped the screen of her tablet.

“Thanks. I’ll look it over after the call.” One thing I wasn’t doing was signing any contract without reading it through.

“I can’t believe you’re going to be working on such an extensive project.

” A wide smile spread across Natalie's round face. She had the kind of smile that made you stop and appreciate the moment. “I remember when you opened this place. I wasn’t old enough to work, but I hoped to be able to work for you one day, and now I get to be here to celebrate such a huge accomplishment!”

“There’s a solid six months of hard work ahead of us.” I smiled. “And if we do well, it’s going to open so many more contracts just like this. The rep already mentioned two other productions. There may be possible overlap at the end of this round.”

“We can do it with you as our leader!” She saluted me. “The new recruits are coming in, and we are right on track to have them complete their training just in time for the contract to kick off.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence.” I took a deep breath.

“As soon as this is done, we’ll have to get on top of ordering supplies and making sure our vendors can keep up with the demand.

I also want to triple our on-hand supplies.

New recruits always mean lost items. We don’t want to get caught with our asses out.

Look into secondary suppliers just in case.

Those transmitters we got last time all burned out within three months. I don’t want that headache again.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She tapped the screen then looked at me again. “It’s time for your call. I’ll step out and give you some privacy.”

The call with the production team lasted exactly one hour as we reviewed the schedule and projected time consumption.

This was the main reason I had to increase hiring.

I couldn’t have my staff tied up on one contract.

We also discussed the dates for the five special team meetings that would happen throughout the six-month contract.

This would require increased security as the bigwigs came in for the meetings.

They would each need coverage while in town.

It seemed like overkill to me, but I wasn’t going to question the added income.

Just before the call ended, Von, the head of the production team, mentioned a launch party deal. Even though I felt like I could do a cartwheel, I kept it cool.

“That sounds like a wonderful opportunity. I look forward to this collaboration. Natalie will send over the start-up procedures once the contracts are executed by both parties.”

“Great, I look forward to it. We’ll get the contracts executed, and we’ll see you soon!” Von clapped, and the others on the call followed suit.

I kept a cool smile on my face until after the call ended and I fully closed the video chat app. As soon as I was sure it was closed, I clapped and stomped my feet under the desk in a quick praise dance.

After my solo celebration, I leaned back in my chair and reached out to the vines hanging from the planter above my head. I twisted the vine gently around my finger and smiled as the leaves perked up along the stretch of it.

An hour later, I finished reviewing the contract, opened the digital signature portal, and shot off my approval. Two minutes after that, someone knocked on my door.

“Come in,” I called out cheerfully.

Natalie entered with a cup in her hand that spelled disaster.

It was black with a red rose vine on the side.

Anytime there was a problem ready to blow up in my face, Natalie would appear with that cup filled with lavender and passionflower tea.

The fragrance filled my office, and my breath caught in my throat.

She lowered the cup to the desk, locked eyes with me, and laid it on me. “Mitch just turned in his letter of resignation.”

“What?” I clutched the armrest of my chair.

“And he’s taking his original recruits with him.”

Natalie had ripped the Band-Aid off the same way she always did. I hated long drawn-out reveals. If it was bad news, just tell me! And she did—she dumped it on my lap in a blaze.

“Son of a bitch! I knew he was going to screw me over!”

“You did?”

“The asshole was trying to get the contract behind my back. Von told me about it.” I picked up my phone and scrolled through the contacts. “I’m just glad she didn’t hold his disloyalty against me. Could have cost me everything.”

“So what now?” She looked at the papers in her arms. “That’s a quarter of our people gone overnight and no one to train the new recruits. What are we going to do?”

“There is someone I can reach out to. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but it looks like we don’t have a choice.” As a punctuation to my statement, a chime sounded from my computer, alerting me that all parties had signed the contract. “Damn, that was fast.”

“What was?” Natalie asked as I stood, grabbed my jacket and purse, and headed for the door. “Where are you going?”

“The contract is finalized. I need to get this locked down before we’re forced out.”