Chapter Five

Work seemed like a blur to Erin the next day because she spent the entire day looking forward to the moment when Devon would present her with the so-called dream stone with its supposed time travel powers.

Any normal person would have brushed off Devon’s wild tales about a powerful stone with supernatural powers, but being the curious person that she was, Erin couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore a new adventure, even an unbelievable one. Plus, there was the issue of Devon claiming to be her mate even though he was a complete stranger and they had never met before. Was that how it’s supposed to be? Shouldn’t her mate be someone she already knew? Weren’t they supposed to automatically fall in love or something?

At that last thought, Erin cringed a little. She had always found the whole falling in love thing a bit creepy because she was an independent woman, and the thought of having someone in her life whom she couldn’t live without made her nervous. That was why she’d been content with her relationship with Mike had been perfect – they had both liked each other deeply but when it was finally time to part ways, she didn’t feel emotionally crushed or heartbroken. Being single again after a long-term relationship had felt odd at first, but now she had grown used to her new status eventually. Imagine how hard it would have been to carry on with her life if she had been in love with her ex. She would have been miserable for months before finally recovering enough to face reality. She would have pined for Mike and wept while looking at old photos of them together. She would have struggled to move on with her life after months of mourning the loss of her lover. Who wanted to live that? Certainly not her.

But then again, she wasn’t completely averse to the possibility of falling in love with the right guy. She just didn’t want to have to fight battles first to get that love, like her cousin, Ryan, did before he finally ‘won’ his beautiful African wife, Farrah. Nor did she want to go through the torture of navigating real-life obstacle courses before getting rewarded with love, as it happened between her brother, Eric, and his wife, Aubrey. Erin wanted a simple, straightforward love, not the one that came with loads of pain and emotional baggage. She wanted a love that was mutual from the get-go; no games, no drama, no gut-wrenching tests to prove its authenticity – just simple, easy love. Was that too much to ask?

“Hey, you! It’s time to clock out,” Farida said cheerfully as she came into the back office where Erin was cataloging new pieces of artwork that got delivered to the gallery earlier in the day.

“Is it 5 p.m. already?” Erin asked and glanced at her wristwatch.

“Ten minutes past 5 p.m, actually,” replied Farida. “I think you should leave the rest of the cataloging for tomorrow.”

“Sure,” said Erin and she rose to her feet. “Do you know if Devon is still in his office?”

“Yeah. He’s always the last to leave. Do you want to see him?”

Erin didn’t know what Farida would think if she were to reveal that she had an interest in the mysterious dream stone and that Devon was even going to give her a rundown of the terms and conditions of using the stone. How laughable!

“Uh, yeah. I wanted to ask him some questions about that outstanding painting of his,” Erin lied.

“The Werewolf Fantasy?”

“Yes, that one.”

“I’m not sure you’ll get anything useful out of him about it though,” said Farida pessimistically. “For some reason, he is never forthcoming with information when it comes to that particular painting. I literally had to squeeze out the little bits of details that I got about it. He is unusually tight-lipped about the painting and I can’t figure out why. I know artists tend to be attached to their works, but there’s something curious about how protective Devon is about this one.”

Curious indeed, Erin thought. “Why didn’t he just take it home, then?”

Farida shrugged. “I have no clue, my dear. Well, I’m outta here. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” Erin bade her supervisor, and then she packed her laptop and notepads into her bag, ready to call it a day. She opened the desk drawer and retrieved the small pouch containing the dream stone. It didn’t weigh much, but it felt heavy at the same time. It was difficult to explain, but she could tell right now that there was more to this stone than meets the eye.

She stepped out of the tiny back office and turned off the lights before making the trip upstairs to the second floor of the gallery. The top gallery had a certain eerie vibe with an assortment of sculptures, metal works with their complex designs of intertwining limbs, abstract creations of wood, and acrylic busts. The place looked like a hub of unbridled creativity.

Devon’s office was at the end of the hall with glass walls and its door left wide open. From where she was standing, Erin could see him sitting at the huge desk, working on his computer. His hard face was grimly set in concentration as he tapped away on the keyboard, probably sending an email. For the first time since she met him yesterday, she finally got the chance to have a good look at him. His honey-colored hair with natural blond streaks stood out in beautiful disarray of short curls on his shapely head, his wide forehead was slightly furrowed at the center with his thick eyebrows slanting upward, making him look fierce. He had a straight aristocratic nose, sharp cheekbones, thin lips, and a square jaw. She wouldn’t call him handsome, but she couldn’t deny that he was an attractive man nonetheless.