Read Online Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series by Alexandrea Weis - Free Book Online Page A

She would need a car to run errands, and until she got
to know the neighborhood, she might feel more comfortable being
driven instead of walking the streets in the Warehouse
District.
    “ Thank you, Bob. I never
thought of that.”
    “ Mr. Cole thinks of
everything.” He nodded to the building entrance. “You can check in
at the security desk. They’ll have your apartment keys.”
    Inside, Melinda found a tastefully
decorated lobby with cozy furniture done in hues of deep forest
green and beige set against richly-paneled mahogany walls. A brass
chandelier hung from a plaster medallion in the center of a ceiling
supported by rough-hewn cypress beams. At the end of the lobby,
next to a single pair of silver elevator doors, was a Queen Anne
desk with a brass lamp and a rugged security guard sitting behind
it. As she took a few steps deeper into the lobby, a sudden rush of
cool air blew past her. She got a quick impression of a man in
chains, running for his life.
    “ Yep,” she muttered. “It’s
haunted.”
    While pondering the added complication
of ghosts, Melinda approached the security desk.
    “ I’m Melinda Harris. Mr.
Cole’s new … assistant,” Melinda told the guard, trying not to
sound as nervous as she felt.
    “ Welcome to The Shallows,
Miss Harris,” the thick guard said as he stood from the
desk.
    Melinda gawked as the man rose to his
full height. Towering above her, she guessed he must have been well
over six-foot-five. His swarthy complexion, beady black eyes, and
jet-black curly hair made him appear even more intimidating than
his bulging biceps and tree-trunk-sized neck.
    “ Mr. Cole told me to help
get you settled in, Miss Harris,” the security guard said in an
unusually deep voice. “He wanted to be here to greet you, but got
called away on business.” He removed an envelope from a side drawer
of the desk and handed it to her. “Here are two sets of keys. One
set opens the front door to the building, and the other opens your
apartment. We have a security guard on duty twenty-four hours a day
here at the front desk, so if you ever need us there is an intercom
system in your apartment to call for assistance. I’m Phil, and I
cover mornings and afternoons during the week. Les handles the
night shift. On the weekends, Mel and Harry cover the desk.” He
paused and waved a massive hand at the large window overlooking the
street. “Parking for tenants is contracted with a garage across the
street.”
    Melinda felt the weight of the
envelope in her hand. “Thanks, Phil, but I don’t have a
car.”
    Phil smiled and the darkness in his
black eyes lifted. “Mr. Cole told me, but in case you have friends
come over to visit, they can park in the garage instead of on the
street.” He winked. “The meter maids patrol this part of town like
hungry pit bulls.”
    Melinda grinned. “I’ll keep that in
mind.”
    “ The cable guy just left
your apartment, so you’re good to go with the Internet and
television. The building also has free Wi-Fi service for the
tenants. The phones for your apartment were hooked up yesterday.
The phone number is on a slip of paper in your
envelope.”
    “ Wow, Mr. Cole sure doesn’t
waste any time.”
    Phil came around the side of the desk.
“No, ma’am. He likes his tenants to feel at home as quickly as
possible. Plus, you’re an employee. He always goes all out for his
employees.”
    “ Do you like working for
Mr. Cole?” she asked as a vision of Phil holding doors for tenants
and answering complaints flashed across her mind.
    “ Yes, ma’am,” he firmly
replied. “You’ll like it here. Mr. Cole is a good man to work
for.”
    Oddly, that was not the impression
that suddenly filled her depths. Snapshots of Nathan Cole coming
and going at all hours floated across her mind’s eye. In some of
the flashes he was alone, in others he was with a variety of
attractive women.
    “ A good man to work for,
but is he a good man, Phil?” Melinda questioned, studying