Chapter 03: Beauty and Grace

“Natalie, Darling come in and have a seat,” Arthur smiled seeing his daughter walking through the hallway outside of his study. Quietly she entered the room and dropped into the seat in front of his desk and listened as he finished up his phone call.

“Right, have them on my desk and I’ll have a look at them first thing in the morning. Thank you again Heather. Goodnight.” He dropped the receiver to its base and folded his hands in front of him again taking in his daughter’s appearance. “Have a good jog?”

She’d just come in from a run and her long, dark hair was messy and a thin sheen of sweat gave her honey toned skin a moist look. Her hands quickly went to her hair and she played around with her ponytail hoping to straighten her look a bit for her father and he smiled at her nervous motions waving it off. Curiosity and worry settled in her stomach as her father pursed his lips in deep contemplation.

Brody knocked on the door and Arthur motioned him forward. After doing a quick check of the room, he secured the door in place and positioned himself out front. Arthur circled around to the front of his desk and leaned against it. “How are you doing Natalie?” He watched her reaction to the question and she met his gaze as if trying to determine how best to answer.

“I’m…fine Dad, why?”

“I got a call from George. He said that Riley was having a hard time reaching you and wanted to be sure that you were well. Is everything ok between you two?” her father gave her a knowing look and Natalie shook it off and stood from her seat.

“Yes Dad, everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” he stepped closer, keeping his hands by his side until he reached her. He tentatively rubbed his hand over her shoulders and drew her gaze up to his as he spoke. “You know you can talk to me about anything Natalie. We used to have our little chats when you were younger, remember? Nothing has changed; my door is always opened to you.”

“I know Dad. But really everything is fine; it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Of course, you’re a Silverman after all. I want you to come to work with me tomorrow. We’ve just purchased I-Tech Industries and I’d love for you to see firsthand how these matters are handled. It’ll be a great opportunity for you to get your feet wet. I’ll get your schedule cleared so we can spend a little father-daughter time together.”

“I’d like that Dad.” Natalie nodded and Arthur planted a single kiss on her forehead.

“I won’t keep you any longer. Thank you,” she smiled and stepped from his office towards the foyer stairwell. Brody left his position and followed her up. And after checking her room for any signs of intrusion, he said his goodnights and took up his new post outside her door for the evening. 

Brody opened the car door for her and followed closely behind as Arthur led them towards the building. The door pushed open and her eyes scanned the room. The main floor was filled with Silvercorp employees. Many seemed excited and pleased and were conversing with one another while others continued their hustle and bustle. The office was abuzz as workers went about various tasks within the large space. Natalie followed her father through the narrow hallway towards the corner office on the right. He held the door opened for her and she stepped inside.

“Excuse me Mr. Silverman, may I have a word Sir?” a man stepped up behind them. Natalie had never encountered him before and stood for a moment to study him. The man was about the same height as her father, though obviously younger. He was dark haired and dressed in a dark pin-striped suit. His face held worry wrinkles as a look of concern crossed his brow and he gestured energetically with his hands to make his point. He glanced towards Natalie for a moment and her father followed the look before they redirected their attention and continued speaking.

Arthur gave the man a light pat on his back and walked him to the door. Natalie shot him another glance before smiling warmly and waiting on her father to conclude his business. “Thank you for bringing that to me attention. I’ll look into it myself but let me know if you find anything else.” He shut the door to his office and stared blankly at it for a moment before turning to find his daughter standing behind him.

“Is everything ok? Who was that?” Natalie asked as Brody excused himself from the office and took up a spot near the door.

“Bryan Goodwin. He works in the accounting department. He was just coming to inform me of a small discrepancy in the books from last quarter. I’m looking into it now but yes, I’m sure it’s just a computing error.”

Satisfied with his answer Natalie turned back towards the couch and noticed the small exhibit of black and white photographs lined against the wall. “These are new,” she expressed and began analyzing them. “Wow, these are magnificent! The still life speaks volumes about their creator, where did you get them?”  

“I purchased them from the private collection of one of my colleagues. I saw a spread the artist did in Grace and instantly fell in love. It was a shame to learn that he’d disappeared and is believed to be dead. Although fortunately for me Phillip showed me his collection and I was able to purchase a few from him. I think the photographer did exquisite work myself. The magazine is there on the table if you’re interested.” He responded. She dropped onto a couch on the wall beside his minibar as Arthur took a seat behind his desk going about his business. 

He was sure she would learn much from seeing his daily activities but the only thing she was getting from it was this was very tedious work and not something she wanted to do. She grabbed the old copy of Grace magazine from the table in front of her and immersed herself in the pages as the phone in his office rang.

And as he began a conversation with the person on the other line, she read over the incredibly out of date publication with a sigh. Several photographs jumped out at her as she perused the pages. Many of them were shot so elegantly the models appeared almost angelic in looks and style. She could tell that whoever made up the sets and ideas was very talented at what they did. Reading further she found Nick DeLong’s name beneath many of the photographs with additional credit to someone she believed to be his assistant, Blake Foster. His work graced the cover as well as several celebrity spreads within the periodical and it appeared he was quickly becoming a name in the business himself.

Blake awoke with a start. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and he was breathing harder than normal. Rubbing a hand over his face, he tried settling the feral rumblings of his anger and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Since that night his dreams had always been the same. He could see himself running through the woods towards an abandoned cabin. He felt as if he had been chasing something and it was important he get inside; something or someone was waiting for him. He couldn’t quite figure it out but the dreams always felt so real. 

There were times the dreams became a little violent and he felt as if he was in danger. That same person he believed waiting for him in the cabin had been after him and he was desperate to get away. He could never understand what it meant but every time he awoke from one, his wolf was on the verge of bursting through his skin and it became a chore to settle his feral aching. 

Blake glanced up towards the other side of the room and sighed, she was watching him from his wall of photos. The moment his eyes met her face he felt a sense of calm. He stood from the bed and moved towards the small candle on his trunk to light it. The room filled with a faint orange glow and he leaned forward a little to analyze her face. His infatuation was growing worse every day. It was definitely time to nip it in the bud.

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