“Well,” Chloe hedged. “He’s a wolf.”
“Tasha already told me that,” she replied, referring to their werewolf colleague.
“How did she know?” she demanded.
Her friend shrugged. “You know the wolves. Absolutely nothing is secret. But she said he wasn’t from her pack so she didn’t know much.”
“No, he’s from the Clearwater pack.”
Jessica’s brows shot up. “No wonder Vivian’s been whistling around the office. A link to a pack that powerful must be like Christmas coming early for her. Is that why you kept things quiet? So she wouldn’t badger you to make him sign up all his kin?”
“Partially,” she lied.
“Do I get a name?”
“No judging.”
Jessica tossed her chocolate-colored hair over one shoulder. “I make no promises.”
“Kieran,” Chloe said, fighting the urge to hold her breath. “I’m dating Kieran.”
The succubus blinked. Silence stretched.
“Jessica?”
“You—sunny, loyal, monogamous Chloe Donovan—are dating one of the top playboys in the state?”
“Playboy until he met me,” she stressed.
“You are the least materialistic person I know. What could you possibly have in common with someone like Kieran?”
“He’s more than his pocket book,” she snapped.
“What do you talk about?” Jessica asked. “Or is he not a fan of conversation?” A knowing brow arched in a question.
“You see,” Chloe said, pointing at her, “this is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
She held up her hands in peace. “I’m sorry, he just doesn’t seem like your type. The two of you are from different worlds.”
A stab of pain she had no business feeling shot through her. “You mean different leagues. As in, he’s out of mine.”
“No.” The word was said softly. Serious blue eyes met hers. “Any man would be blessed to have you. And in terms of morality you’re probably way out of his league.”
“You don’t even know him,” she said, unsure why she felt such a need to defend Kieran.
It’s part of the game, she reasoned. If he were really my boyfriend, I’d fight tooth and nail for him. This is just keeping in character.
“Hey, I read those articles in the Magical Times and Witch Weekly just like anyone else. He’s never been one to fly under the radar has he?”
“Look, just reserve your judgment until you meet him.” The words were out before she could think better of them. Had Kieran been her real lover, she would have wanted her friends to meet him as soon as possible. As it stood, the less he had to do with them the easier it would be when the time came to separate.
“Fine,” Jessica said before she could call the offer back. “I can do dinner any time this week.”
“This week,” she repeated, mentally kicking herself.
“I’ll start trying to think up neutral topics of conversation,” the succubus said. “Not that an evening talking about playboy antics or brilliant investments doesn’t sound like fun.”
“Investments?”
Jessica arched a brow. “It’s what he does, right? I read he was the go-to investment guru for the supernatural elite. Word on the street says he’s able to predict the next big cash cows with uncanny accuracy.” She shook her head. “I wonder if he has some oracle in his bloodline. How else would you explain investing in both Apple and Google? Devil’s own luck.” She leaned forward with a grin. “Think he’ll give me some stock tips?”
“I’m sure you can ask,” she replied. She’d known Kieran was some sort of whiz with numbers, but it was starting to sound like what she didn’t know about her would-be lover could fill a book.
“How about I talk to Kieran and get back to you with a date?” Chloe offered. “Right now I really need to find a suitable match for a Minotaur on my client list, and you know how picky they can be.”
“Bullheaded men.” Jessica sighed. “I’ll leave you to it, then. Just give me a call when you have a time, and I’ll clear my schedule.”
Chloe watched her friend leave the office before waving a hand at the door. It shut and locked with a shimmer of blue magic.
Alone, she quickly pulled up a supernatural search page on her computer and plugged in Kieran’s name.
The list of sites it brought up was endless.
“Hell,” she breathed as she skimmed through the articles that alternated between financial journals and tabloid pictures. Just as Jessica had said, it seemed Kieran had made his money through strategic investments. He now ran a highly sought after investment agency, which only took clients with multimillion dollar accounts to play with.