Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
There were no family photographs, no framed pictures or knickknacks. No throw blankets tossed over the sofa or magazines lying around. Nothing personal at all.
Apparently her new boss was a minimalist.
Well, that was fine with Terra. She lived in the daily clutter of a house filled with two school-aged kids. No matter how often she picked up, there was always somebody’s shoes or books or toys laying around. It was nice to be someplace neat and tidy for a change.
The kitchen, when they came to it, was equally impressive, with dark cabinets, pale stone countertops and appliances that looked as though they belonged in a restaurant. There was an enormous refrigerator that Terra suspected cost more than her car and a dining table large enough for twelve people.
But again, everything looked unused. The penthouse was beautiful but strangely empty.
“You live here alone?” Terra asked before she could stop herself.
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“All the time? I mean, you don’t have a wife or a girlfriend or…”
She trailed off, blushing. She didn’t need to know those things about him to work for him!
“Sorry,” she muttered. “I didn’t mean to be nosey. That’s none of my business.”
Taurex shook his head.
“No, please–I don’t mind. And to answer your questions, I have no mate. There are no more females of my kind for me to mate with,” he answered.
“Oh, that’s sad,” Terra said, really meaning it. The poor guy must be lonely.
He shrugged, his broad shoulders tensing the fabric of his expensive linen shirt.
“It is the way it is for all the Monstrum. We lost our females when we lost our universe to the darklings.”
“Oh, of course.” Terra nodded. “I was just wondering why your, er, apartment seems so empty. It doesn’t look every, uh, lived in at all.”
“Probably because I prefer to stay aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship,” Taurex told her. “I only rented this residence because it is convenient for my Earth business. I stay here only one or two nights a week.”
So that explained it–the penthouse wasn’t his real home, it was just a place to sleep between meetings.
“Wow, so you rented one of the most expensive penthouses in the city just to do business once in a while?” Terra nodded at the vast marble fireplace that looked like it had never even had one fire in it and the luxury furniture that didn’t even look like anyone had sat in it.
He shrugged again.
“It was one of the few domiciles I saw that seemed big enough for me.”
“Oh, well that makes sense.” She nodded. “You are a, uh, really big guy.”
“As most Monstrum are,” he said, nodding back. “Come–let me show you my office.” As he spoke, he led her down a wide hallway toward a set of open double doors. “I have been using this suite as my place of business while I am on Earth.”
Terra stepped through the double doors and stopped, her mouth hanging open.
“Oh,” she breathed. That was all she could manage.
The office consisted of three connected rooms, and every available horizontal surface seemed to be covered in paper.
Stacks covered the enormous desk. More sat on a conference table and there were boxes on the floor. Folders were piled on two chairs and several stacks leaned precariously against a wall. One had apparently collapsed recently, which explained the trail of papers Terra had seen near the front door.
There were also several large computer screens mounted on the wall, each displaying different charts, shipping manifests, planetary maps and strings of numbers.
The contrast was bizarre–high-tech intergalactic commerce surrounded by enough paper to run a small government agency.
Terra slowly put her purse down on a nearby stack of paper.
“What happened in here?”
Taurex looked slightly sheepish–a strange expression on such a huge male.
“Nothing happened,” he protested. “This is how I keep my records.”
“What? All over the place?” she asked, looking around. “Never mind,” she added, when he started to talk again. “I can see you need some help–let’s see what we can do.”
She walked to the desk and picked up the first sheet she saw. It was an invoice to Cameron Corp. LLC for three cases of diamond-tipped drills from Berkeron Six and the amount made her eyes go wide. Looking at the date, Terra saw it was three months old. She held it up to Taurex.
“Did your customer pay this yet?”
Taurex came closer. He leaned over her shoulder, and Terra suddenly became acutely aware of his size and the heat radiating from his big, muscular body. Not to mention his scent–God, why did he smell so good?
She took one subtle step sideways, trying to get upwind of that maddening leather and male musk scent.
Taurex either didn't notice or politely pretended not to. He studied the invoice for a long moment.
“I believe so,” he said at last.
“You believe so?” Terra raised her eyebrows. “They owe you over three million dollars. You need to know for sure if they paid or not.”