She shrugged a shoulder. “I considered flipping houses for a while but the economy’s not so great anymore. Plus, my credit isn’t fantastic either. So that’s out.”
“Flipping houses. I can’t think of a career that has less permanence to it than buying a house, spending weeks making it better, and then selling it and moving onto something else. Is that really what you want?”
She tried not to glower at his appraisal of her career suggestion. “Maybe I’m not looking for any permanent responsibilities. I’m just like my mother that way.”
“Your mother was a bit flaky?”
“You have no idea.”
“You know what you need?”
That earned him a full-on wary glance. “What do I need?”
His lips curved. “Oh, you need a lot of things. But the first thing that comes to mind is passion.”
Her cheeks heated. “Yeah, and let me guess. You’re willing to provide it?”
His expression didn’t change. “I’m not just talking sex. I’m talking meaning in your life. You need to figure out what you’re passionate about and pursue that. You know, your dreams and hopes. Things that make life worth living.”
“Is this self-help advice from a demon?”
“Guilty as charged.”
“My life is fine just the way it is.”
His smile faded. “I don’t know that much about you, but I can tell by just looking in your eyes that you’ve been hurt in the past by people you’ve let into your life. You’re very guarded. You don’t let your hair down—”
“My hair’s down right now.”
“You know what I mean.”
Darrak’s gaze felt like it was burning a hole right though her. She didn’t like how perceptive he was. How it seemed like he knew her without her even offering up anything about herself. She didn’t want him to know her. Frankly, she didn’t want anyone to know her.
Great. She was even more screwed up than she even thought she was.
“So you’re saying I need some sort of permanent, passionate outlet. Like a job I’m really into?” She snapped another photo just so she felt like she was doing something constructive.
“I think you might be good at this investigation thing,” he said.
“That makes one of us.”
“Not just the nitty-gritty details of surveillance and writing stuff down. I’m talking about helping people. The ones that come to you desperate and in need. That seems to be something that might suit you.”
“I do tend to attract desperate, needy people. I’m like a magnet for losers. They recognize me as one of their own.”
“I meant more that you’re compassionate and seem to have a natural tendency to want to help people.” He shook his head. “Just my opinion. Take it or leave it.”
They went quiet again, but Eden’s brain was working, turning over what Darrak said. He was right. She did need something in her life to make everything worthwhile. To give her a reason to wake up in the morning. Was it working with Andy at a low-end detective agency? Had fate handed her this opportunity and she wasn’t taking advantage of it?
The universe did work in mysterious and somewhat annoying ways.
And if she applied the law of attraction to her life at the moment it would mean she’d attracted the job at Triple-A, as well as bringing Darrak into her life.
Maybe, down deep — way deep — there was something there she could learn and grow from and find a new path toward her bright, shiny future.
Or… not. Probably not.
Richard Morgan left the coffee shop and headed to work. Eden took a few more pictures, then followed at a fair distance until they got to his accounting office at the intersection of King and Bay. She parked and they waited.
For a long time.
Hours went by.
“This is boring,” Darrak said while he taste-tested the food Eden had grabbed on the corner for their lunch. “I take it back. Maybe there isn’t anything to be passionate about when it comes to investigation work. And this hot dog is disgusting. Do humans actually consider this food? It’s no peanut butter or chocolate donut, that’s for sure.”
“I suppose I could march right up to him and ask if he’s having an affair.”
“That would be the direct approach.”
“So you can’t do any demon thing and probe his mind? Force him to tell the truth? Grow horns and a tail and scare it out of him?”
“Horns and a tail?” Darrak said dryly.
She shrugged. “I’ve seen pictures of demons before.”
“Sounds more like a devil.”
She fished in her purse for more change for the parking meter. “The ones with the pointy genitalia.”
“See, I knew you were paying attention. There will be a pop quiz later.”
She studied Darrak for a moment. He looked a bit on edge. “You didn’t answer my question about the horns and a tail, though. You just diverted it.”
“Did I do that?”
“Yes.”
He gazed out of the window at the cement and glass sky-scrapers that surrounded them. “I can’t believe we’ve been sitting here for so long. Talk about hell on earth.”
His refusal to answer her question was starting to trouble her.
“You mentioned that Fay used some sort of a, what did you call it, a glamour? To hide her fairy appearance and look more human.”
“I did say that, didn’t I? Well, fairies don’t look much different than humans. Just a little bit scarier.”
“You never really answered me before.” She swallowed. “But, is that what you do, too? Is this what you normally look like or is this a glamour so you won’t scare me?”