2. Juniper

Juniper

“You look so hot!” Casey exclaimed as I did a spin in front of the mirror.

I had to admit, I did look nice. I’d dipped into my funds a bit to splurge on this white, long sleeve, a-line dress. Sure it was rayon instead of real silk, but it clung to my body and looked the part, which was all I needed it to do.

I put my hair in a tight updo at the nape of my neck. A few curls hung loose in front, framing my face and highlighting my cheeks. I wore simple makeup, with a bit of winged eyeliner and a bold lip that matched my red hair.

“I do feel like I look pretty,” I said at last.

“And that gorgeous face is gonna get us millions,” she said, flopping down on my bed.

I laughed at her. Casey and I had been best friends since college. It was a classic freshman dorm roommate’s turned forever friends, and I loved her to death. And we’d been roommates ever since, deciding to move in together after college.

Though I was jealous she got to stay home and hang out in her sweats after this, while I had to go shmooze a bunch of richies and pray they would find our app interesting.

I had always been organized. Everything had a place, every project a timeline, every meeting had a time. It had always been my motto, despite growing up in a house full of people who could never adhere to a schedule, and were late to every event.

During college, I knew it would all be too much to manage, too many things to remember on my own, so I cast a spell that would add things to my calendar on their own. A professor would let us know about an upcoming test? Or a paper due, or a group meeting? It would instantly be uploaded.

Though I wasn’t ashamed of being a witch, it wasn’t something I talked about so openly. Most people were okay with it, but some held a prejudice. One I’d faced before and tried to avoid.

In reality, I mostly used it to make every day things just a little easier. And that was the start of it. Proving that exact point, I spoke the ancient words I’d learned to cast spells and hovered my phone over towards me.

“That will never not be cool,” Casey said. “If I could do that, I would never leave my room.”

“It’s probably for the best you can’t then,” I laughed.

Even though I tended to keep it quiet, Casey had found out quickly. We lived together, and like a muscle, magic needed to be used or stretched, or else it would build up, bogging me down and eventually making me ill. Or spilling out at random, which would be even worse.

When I told her about my magical calendar during our senior year, she had a brilliant idea. It was basically an app that, when infused with certain spells, would do the same thing. With some coding magic, we could do things like build entire project timelines and find times for meetings across many schedules.

We didn’t tell anyone it was magic, though, and luckily, AI was so up and coming, throwing that word around had people interested. It had broad applications as a term, and most people believed it was magic anyway. We called it PlanD, which we thought was cute and catchy.

Now we just needed the capital to get it up and running. Creating apps took a lot more money than people would think, and as two broke, just out of college women, we didn’t have it.

So, for the last few years Casey took side jobs in coding to help earn money, and I picked up extra shifts at the coffee shop whenever I could. Graduating with a communications major wasn’t her most financially smart move, but it did make her perfect for things like this.

“I still can’t believe your mom gave you her ticket,” I said to Casey.

The only reason we were able to attend this event was because Casey’s mom was a lawyer who got invited to these things all the time. Not that she would help pay for the app. She thought Casey’s time was better spent elsewhere, rubbing elbows with people like this, which was exactly what scored us this shot.

“She just wants me to get a regular job at some corporation, but I have no interest.” Casey was sort of like my family that way, very against The Man and all that. And while I could respect it, The Man was who currently had the money we needed.

“Well, it gave us this great opportunity.” My calendar dinged, reminding me it was time to go. “Wish me luck.”

“You’re going to get us all the money we could need and more.”

I stepped out to the chill of the fall and planned to get to work.

When I arrived, the valet took my car, looking at it like he was confused as to why I was here. It was valid. I drove a beat up Honda while the car directly in front of her seemed to be the newest BMW.

The place was gorgeous. Large steps led up the front of the venue, into a large ball room. It was all decked out in silver, white, and black. There were black and white roses on every table in large fluted glasses, and a large silver chandelier hanging over the black and white tiled dance floor. Though it was obvious a lot of money had gone into it, it was sort of tacky looking. Everyone wore some shade of white or black, since that was the theme. Looking around at all of these people, who were obviously pedigreed differently from me, made me lose a bit of my confidence.

I couldn’t let that get in the way though. We’d worked so hard, spent countless all nighters making sure the code and the magic fused seamlessly. The product was perfect, and one people would go crazy for, we just needed to sell it.

And I would sell the absolute shit out of it.

But maybe a drink first to calm my nerves I moved over to the bar sectioned across the room. The menu had themed drinks on it. As I read down, my nose scrunched.

The first one was ‘the dark abyss’ and had licorice liqueur in it. The ‘white sour’ had… milk? None of that sounded appetizing. It seemed like they were made more for the aesthetic of the party than the actual flavor. I ordered a vodka sour that came quickly.

I didn’t see anyone else holding one of the black and white drinks either, so at least I wasn’t the only one put off.

A man slid up next to me to place an order, and I decided this was my moment. I was going to make a connection. After downing the drink for confidence, I would make my move.

I moved myself in front of him, so he would notice me. “Another,” I said to the bar tender who dropped his drink off.

“Excuse me,” I said before the man could turn away.

He turned to look at me, and suddenly, every thought I had went out the window. “I like your tie.”

He looked down. “Thanks, my wife picked it.”

“She has excellent taste.”

Then he was gone. I took a deep breath. That was a warm up, I told myself. I wasn’t going to get it perfect on the first try.

So I tried again… then again… then again. Each time I said something stupid, or started a conversation I couldn’t find my way into. One woman dragged me into a thirty minute conversation about her opinion on the stock market, and before I could get a word in, she sauntered off back into the crowd.

This was feeling hopeless. I didn’t know what was going on. I was an excellent speaker. It was one of my best traits, and the one thing—besides my magic—that made me of value to our business. I couldn’t fail here.

I was on my third drink and rested my head against the bar, whispering a quick spell to help quell the effects of the alcohol. While the buzz was nice, I was here on business, and needed to be professional.

I decided I needed some food. I had watched trays walk by all night, but hadn’t grabbed anything for myself. I snagged something off of the next tray that came around and shoved it in my mouth.

My eyes widened in instant regret. I wasn’t sure what it was. It had looked to be some cured meat on bread, but there was a fruity flavor as well? Whatever it was, it didn’t work.

I tried to swallow, but it was so awful I retched. I reached across for a cocktail napkin and spit it out, dropping it into my empty glass. I didn’t want to be rude, but there was no way I was eating that. I could only hope no one saw.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t eat anything,” a voice said beside me.

I whipped my head, and my eyes widened. It was a man who looked to be around my age. He had perfectly styled, curled black hair that sat on the top of his head, and a neatly trimmed beard. He was tall, at least 6’2”, and his eyes were the most piercing blue I’d ever seen.

“The food has always sucked,” he continued.

I was struck by his words. Though I hadn’t spoken to many people here, everything was passing pleasantries and saccharine laced words. This was the first real opinion I’d heard all night, and it was like a breath of fresh air after a long day inside.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, not knowing what else I would say.

He waved to the bartender and ordered himself a drink. A deep amber liquid came that he drank slowly. I watched as he worked it in his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the movement.

His gaze was still stuck to me as well. It felt as if we were having some strange moment I didn’t really understand. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“What?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never seen you here before. And I’ve seen everyone.”

“I was obviously invited,” I said.

He continued to look at me as if I were a puzzle he was trying to solve. “Yes, but you don’t belong here.”

I sucked my teeth in irritation. “What does that mean?”

He didn’t seem to be phased by my snippy tone. “It’s obvious. You don’t have the hardened fake smile that comes with years of this bullshit.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, it felt more like an observation than anything. I continued to sip my drink, looking out at the crowd. I noticed all the trays stayed full, as no one took anything from them, and there were lots of smiles that went sour as soon as they turned their backs.

“And you don’t have one?” I asked.

“Of course I do,” he said. “Not like I use it when I should.” He turned to me fully then.

I had to admit, he was attractive. Not just the polish he upkept, but his strong nose and chiseled jaw that could have been made from stone. And his gaze was … intense, to say the least. Especially when it moved down and back up my body like a caress.

I could feel my cheeks heat something harsh, and a flame was lit in my core, all from a single glance. This man was dangerous.

“So, like I said,” he stepped even closer. “What are you doing here?”

“An app,” I said without thinking.

“App?” he questioned, his brow raised.

I cleared my throat. “Yes. My friend and I are app developers. Good ones. I’m trying to gauge interest.” At least I didn’t say ‘get as much money as possible.’

“What kind of app?”

I couldn’t tell if he was asking in genuine interest or not.

“It’s an organizational app called PlanD. It allows users to schedule meetings, project deadlines, manage appointments, all using AI.”

“Sounds like something I could do with my google calendar,” he commented. Not rudely, but just factually.

“But it can do so much more,” I said, getting excited to finally discuss it. I grabbed my phone and pulled up the screen grabs I had. “Not only does it have a sleek interface, but it connects with your email, messaging services, and even your phone, and will add things quickly. And, once it gets to know you, it can lay out entire project plans based off of a due date.” That was something we were particularly proud of and took a lot of time to get just right.

He listened as I spoke, looking at the images carefully. When I was done, I realized his shoulder grazed mine to get a close enough look at the screen. Though his suit sat between us, I could feel the warmth of his body, and it sent a strong current through my entire body.

“This is interesting, if it works,” he said.

“It does,” I insisted, putting my phone back in my pocket.

“I hate to tell you, no one here is going to invest in that.”

I could feel myself deflating. “I didn’t say I was looking for investors.” Even though I for sure was. “But why not?”

He threw back the rest of his drink and set the glass down, but instead of leaving it, he spun it absentmindedly on the table. “Do you see anyone under the age of sixty five besides me and the pretty young people hanging off their arms?”

I took account of the room once more, and realized he was correct. There were some younger people, but none of them were alone, all of them connected to the arm of someone much older.

“What’s your point?”

“Let me clue you in, since you’re not used to any of this.” He leaned in closer, so close his breath whispered across my face. “The Bakers, who put this on, are one of the best private equity firms in the area. That’s why you see all these people here, because they want just what you want. To stay in good graces the next time they need a loan. They host the most tragic parties of the year, if the food didn’t tell you anything. But they only invest in sure fire things, or in people they like. Plus they can barely turn on a computer, much less have any idea what AI is, that’s something they let their interns deal with. So, since I’m assuming you don’t have a friend of a friend, you’re not going to get very far.”

Every word felt like a blow to my confidence. And I realized every word was the truth. Fuck. This was supposed to be good for us, a way to make the connections we needed, but now we were back to square one.

I let out a sigh, realizing what a waste of time this all was.

“We are going to start announcing the winners of the silent auction,” a voice from the front said. People began filing that way. I hadn’t placed a bid, so there was no reason for me to stay.

“I should probably go.” I set my glass down and turned. “Thanks.”

I needed to go home and burn some sage. Get rid of the bad energy covering me after being around these people.

Before I could get far, he grabbed my arm. “Wait,” I turned back and he had that heated gaze once more. “Maybe the whole night doesn’t have to be a bust.”

I raised my brow, waiting for him to explain.

Then he was on me, his hands on my waist and his face pressed in my ear. “I got a room upstairs. Why don’t we go have some fun?”

I was stunned. Never had a man been that forward with me. “Fun?” I repeated.

He hummed his confirmation. “I can be a lot of fun.”

His hands on me made my head spin. They caressed me so gently, yet so seductively I could hardly think straight. I didn’t want this night to be all for naught, and some good sex could hardly be considered a waste. And he seemed like he could be a good ride.

“Just tonight?” I asked.

“Just tonight,” he confirmed.

Which was good. I didn’t have the time to date. Between my job and the app development, I had no time to see anyone regularly. I didn’t think I was his normal type anyway.

I wrapped my hand around his tie, pulling him ever so slightly closer. “I’d like to know your name first.”

His smirk alone had me wetter than I’d ever admit. “Ellery. Ellery Scott.”

“I’m Juniper Thistlerose,” I said.

“Juniper,” my name sounded harder on his tongue than it ever had. “What do you say?”

In a moment that felt like insanity, I said, “Lead the way.”