Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Read online

  Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set:

  £6.19 per Witching Hour (Book 1)

  Past the Witching Hour (Book 2)

  Half Past the Witching Hour (Book 3)

  by

  Joanna Mazurkiewicz

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  Copyright © 2013 by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Joanna Mazurkiewicz. The right of Joanna Mazurkiewicz to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are product of the author’s imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author/publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, journal or blog.

  £6.19 per Witching Hour

  Table of Contents

  Chapter one

  Chapter two

  Chapter three

  Chapter four

  Chapter five

  Chapter six

  Chapter seven

  Chapter eight

  Chapter nine

  Chapter ten

  Chapter eleven

  Chapter twelve

  Chapter thirteen

  Chapter fourteen

  Chapter fifteen

  Chapter sixteen

  Chapter seventeen

  Chapter eighteen

  Chapter nineteen

  Chapter twenty

  Chapter twenty-one

  Chapter twenty-two

  Chapter twenty-three

  Chapter twenty-four

  Chapter twenty-five

  Chapter twenty-six

  Chapter twenty-seven

  Chapter twenty-eight

  Chapter twenty-nine

  Chapter thirty

  Chapter thirty-one

  Chapter thirty-two

  Chapter thirty-three

  Chapter thirty-four

  Chapter thirty-five

  Chapter thirty-six

  Chapter thirty-seven

  Chapter thirty-eight

  Chapter thirty-nine

  Chapter forty

  Chapter forty-one

  Chapter forty-two

  Chapter forty-three

  Chapter forty-four

  Chapter forty-five

  Chapter forty-six

  Chapter forty-seven

  Chapter forty-eight

  Chapter forty-nine

  Chapter one

  Right, let’s get this show on the road before I get sick.

  ‘Paranormal Personnel, Julia speaking. How may I help you?’ I asked, staring down at my nails and at the same time regretting that I didn’t go to see Ella in her salon for a manicure yesterday. There was a long silence on the other side of the phone, and for a split second I heard heavy breathing before someone hung up abruptly.

  Jennifer glanced at me, raising her eyebrows.

  ‘Another false alarm.’ I shrugged, tossing my blonde hair behind me. For weeks we’d been getting strange calls with no one on the other end of the line. This happened far less when I was out of the office. My co-workers kept telling me to report this, but I was always way too busy to worry about some nuisance calls.

  Half a minute later, the phone started ringing again.

  ‘Paranormal Personnel, Julia speaking,’ I repeated more firmly.

  ‘Yeah, is that a recruitment agency?’ asked a rough voice, sending chills down my spine.

  ‘Yes, it is; how may I help you?’

  ‘I’m looking for a job. Do you think that… you might have something for a werewolf?’

  I cleared my throat. ‘Of course. Can you tell me what you are looking for exactly?’

  More silence, so I began clicking on my computer screen, wondering if I would be here all day long. Werewolves were that switched on and they didn’t like talking about themselves, especially to complete strangers.

  ‘I’ve been out of work for two months, so I’ll take anything,’ he said.

  ‘Email me your CV, and I’ll see if I can make you an appointment to come and register.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll do that,’ he said and then hung up abruptly. I stared at the phone for a few seconds, wondering whether I’d said something I shouldn’t have. ‘God, werewolves! They haven’t got any manners at all,’ I muttered to myself. ‘Jen, do you want coffee?’

  ‘Yes, hon. I need a refill,’ my colleague replied.

  I got up and dragged myself to our so-called kitchen, which smelled like someone stored a pile of dead bodies there. I switched the kettle on and glanced at my watch, feeling worse when I noticed that it was only half past twelve and I hadn’t had lunch yet. At least I had a business meeting to look forward to. I added two spoons of coffee to my favourite cup. Then I put one spoon of coffee in Jennifer’s cup and topped it up with six spoons of sugar. Jennifer was a purebred mermaid, and she couldn’t live without sugar.

  ‘What time did you say that meeting was with the vamps?’ I asked.

  ‘At five. I can’t freaking wait to get the hell out of here,’ she flapped, shuffling the papers on her desk.

  Tell me about it.

  ‘So we should start getting ready in an hour or so?’

  ‘We can’t leave it too late; we need to look awesome tonight. Apparently the managing director is super hot and rich,’ she said, smiling as if she’d just won the lottery.

  I rolled my eyes and waved my hand. ‘I don’t care as long as he signs the contract.’

  ‘You should care, because he might be your potential husband. You never know.’ She giggled, marching away to the bathroom to make herself look presentable. She didn’t even have to make that much of an effort because she had a body to die for. Her flawless pearl skin was radiant. Jennifer had short black hair and a great sense of style. She would look good even if she wore a trash bag.

  I sat back at my desk, drinking my coffee and searching through CVs that had come in for a tooth-fairy position. Most of the candidates weren’t good, but there was always one that would be suitable.

  After a few minutes of no luck, I scanned my messy desk, wondering if I should call Mum to find out if Grandma was coming for dinner on Sunday. A picture of my mum and dad sat by the monitor. My mum had amber eyes and short, dirty-blonde hair. I inherited my appearance from my dad, who was pure elf. He had long, blond-white hair, large blue eyes, and a small nose. I hated my ears because they stuck out, and I always covered them with my hair. But hey, not everyone was perfect, so I wasn’t going to slash my wrists over that.

  By quarter to four, I changed into my best suit, styled my hair, and reapplied my makeup. Jennifer was already waiting for me by the door. Half an hour earlier, my two other colleagues came in so we could leave for our meeting.

  ‘Oh, look at you, girl. You look hot!’ said Jennifer, eyeing me from head to toe.

  ‘It’s just a suit, Jen, nothing special,’ I said and glanced at her. Jennifer looked really good and I noticed that she’d had a haircut. I wondered whether she swam in one of those lakes outside London just to make herself more irresistible for vamps. She had on slim-fit cream trousers and a zip-front dark blouse with a well-fitted cream blazer. ‘By the way, you don’t look so bad your
self.’

  ‘I told you, that vamp who owns La Caz Corporation is sizzling hot, and I want to make a good impression,’ she said. ‘We need to get going so we’re not late.”

  When we got to Jennifer’s car, I had butterflies in my stomach. I had no idea what was going on with me. Normally I could fly through any meeting, but today I was nervous.

  ‘Do you know where you’re going?’ I asked her once we were out in the main street. It was a busy day and the street was jammed with cars.

  ‘East London to Brunel Industrial Park.’

  I nodded without saying any more, as Jennifer had lived in London all her life. Soon she magically avoided the busiest streets, taking us away from the traffic.

  An hour later, we stopped in front of the large entrance to La Caz Corporation where a few werewolves checked whether our names were on the list. It was dark and rain was pouring from the smoky sky when we reached the underground car park belonging to La Caz. CCTV cameras were everywhere. I felt we were being watched the minute we drove through the entrance.

  ‘Wow, this place is huge. I didn’t expect all these cars here.’ Jennifer chuckled, switching off the engine. I frowned and followed her gaze. In the back, I saw a round of brand-new Audis. I didn’t know anything about cars, but I recognised the brand straightaway.

  ‘Excuse me, ladies. Is either of you Julia Taylor?’ asked the tall man approaching us.

  ‘That would be me,’ I replied, straightening my skirt.

  ‘If you please, follow me—you’re expected,’ the man said. I recognised that he was a werewolf.

  ‘This is so exciting,’ Jennifer whispered once we were out in the main entrance. Exciting? The place gave me the creeps.

  When we walked inside, I was taken aback by all the bare white walls and granite flooring. The La Caz Corporation lobby was clean and well-presented. A few more security guards were staring at computer screens. Vampires, elves, werewolves, shape-shifters, and a few wizards were walking in and out of the building. No one paid much attention to us. The werewolf with the nametag ‘Todd’ told us that our meeting would start in twenty minutes and showed us to the lift.

  ‘How many people currently are employed here?’ I asked him.

  ‘I think over two thousand, miss,’ he replied.

  Impressed, I exchanged a look with Jennifer and followed Todd to the spacious reception area when we reached our floor.

  ‘These ladies have a meeting with Mr. La Caz,’ Todd announced. He nodded to us and vanished in the lift.

  A pretty, well-groomed vampire jumped out of her seat and rushed towards us.

  ‘Welcome to La Caz Corporation. The meeting with Mr. La Caz will start shortly. May I offer you some refreshments?’

  Jennifer scanned her from top to bottom and raised her eyebrow. ‘Glass of water,’ she said.

  ‘None for me, thank you.

  We were asked to sit on the comfortable white leather sofas. The walls, the floors, and the furniture were all white. I thought that La Caz had to be some kind of stuck-up freak to like that colour so much.

  Typical vampire.

  The receptionist had a large desk with at least three computer screens. She glanced at us for a few seconds and smiled. On my right, I saw the large white doors leading probably to a conference room, and my stomach lurched again. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just wanted get this over with. I wished I had eaten something before I left; now I was not only nervous but also hungry. Jennifer was whispering about her swimming experience from the previous evening, when the large white doors opened and a very tall werewolf emerged.

  ‘Miss Julia Taylor and Jennifer Griffiths, Paranormal Personnel?’ he asked the secretary. She nodded and motioned for us to go ahead.

  He noticed us and said, ‘Mr. La Caz is ready to begin.’

  A cold chill spread across my shoulders and a ripple of anxiety rushed down my spine. I was ready to throw up.

  Jennifer and I looked at each other and walked through the white door.

  Right, let’s get this show on the road before I get sick.

  Chapter two

  Why does he have to look at me as if he wants to bite me?

  I straightened my posture and looked around the room. The werewolf who let us in pointed out two chairs in front of us. It was a decent sized room, still white, with large glass windows that overlooked the whole industrial park. We had to be near the top floor, but I wasn’t sure because I wasn’t paying much attention in the elevator. In the middle of the room two vampires sat at a large table. We sat opposite them.

  Once I controlled my breathing, I took a closer look at the creatures in front of me. All of them were watching me—not Jennifer, but me.

  One offered a lazy smile and introduced himself. ‘My name is Carter. I work with Mr. La Caz here, and this is Mr. Porter.’ Carter was bald and tanned. My eyes moved to Mr. Porter; he was short and chubby, not like any vampire would look. He had to be in his fifties. I figured I could deal with him; he looked like my grandfather.

  When I finally glanced at La Caz, it felt like someone gave me a giant smack on my chest. His hazel eyes found me quickly and my heart started pounding fast, pumping way too much blood through my body. Several seconds passed and, mesmerised by his intense stare, I couldn’t look away. His eyes were like a shade of moss in autumn mixed with brown and green colours. I couldn’t break our eye contact even if I tried because he wasn’t just staring; I felt like he was eye-fucking me.

  Apart from his unbelievable eyes, La Caz had sandy hair, a long face, and he wasn’t pale at all. He looked young and unlike any vampire I had ever seen. I guessed that he was in his mid-twenties, dressed in a black well-fitted suit, white shirt, and black tie. He hadn’t moved once and I found myself blushing.

  What is wrong with you? Slap yourself if you have to!

  ‘My name is Jennifer, and this is Julia, our most experienced consultant.’ Jennifer’s voice brought me back to reality. I exhaled and looked at the other creatures in the room, trying to ignore those intense hazel eyes.

  ‘Yes, as my colleague mentioned, I’ll be the person who will be your point of contact if La Caz Corporation decides to work with Paranormal Personnel,’ I explained, sounding like I had a sore throat. My heart was beating way too fast. He was still staring at me, as if he was purposely trying to make me feel uncomfortable.

  ‘That sounds good. So far, our HR department has been taking care of the recruitment, but in the past few months this has become overwhelming, so we decided that it’s time for us to outsource,’ said Mr. Porter, smiling. ‘The business has been growing. We are the largest producers of paranormal medication, and only recently we decided to start manufacturing something more useful.’

  ‘I know you employ a lot of people, Mr. Porter, so your demand for staff must be high. We can take the weight off your shoulders, interview candidates, do inductions, and still make it profitable for everyone involved,’ I said quickly, getting back to my steady, confident voice. Jennifer took notes next to me, and I was glad she wasn’t interrupting me.

  ‘We are currently working on a Magic Shot, an injection that would allow vampires to avoid drinking from humans,’ Mr. Porter continued. ‘We need at least fifty night workers to go ahead with production. If we decide to work with you, then we have to make sure everything will go smoothly.’

  Not drinking from humans, huh? That’s news to me.

  ‘We are good, Mr. Porter. We can find you people. There are a lot of jobless paranormal creatures around London and we work fast,’ I assured him. When I wasn’t looking at Mr. La Caz, I was confident and ready to turn any objection. I was on fire. ‘We have been working with Colourful Lane for a few years now, and we have supplied a lot of vampires to them. We can find fifty workers in no time at all.’

  Mr. Porter looked impressed. Mr. Carter was nodding. And I didn’t dare look at La Caz.

  ‘Let’s say that we need fifty vampires by next week?’ Mr. Porter said

  I smiled and s
hifted in the chair. ‘Of course, Mr. Porter. As I said, if we promise something, we will deliver.’

  ‘Our HR director is precise in what she wants,’ Mr. Porter added.

  ‘At least sixty percent of our clients are vampires. We have a lot of creatures from Eastern Europe.’

  ‘We don’t like dropouts, Miss Taylor. We don’t want our business to be affected by people who can’t be bothered to come to work.’

  ‘Mr. Porter, I have been in this business for more than two years, so I have learned what kind of clients would let us down. As I said before, if we promise something, then we will deliver it,’ I said, feeling that my arguments were good. Now, I just need to close them and the deal is done.

  ‘What about your margin, Miss Taylor? Can we discuss that now?’ asked La Caz, throwing me away from what I was planning to say next. I wasn’t expecting him to say anything. The sound of his low and melodic voice sent a long cold shiver down my spine, and my breathing became erratic. Every tiny hair on the back of my neck shot up straight. When I looked at him, I felt like there was no one else in this room—just us—and I somehow felt protected. I tucked my hair behind my ear, my hand shaking.

  A long silence swept through the room as I struggled to find my voice. No one had ever in my entire life made me forget what I was going to say next. I swallowed hard and lifted my eyes to answer him.

  Why does he have to look at me as if he wants to bite me?

  Everyone was waiting for my response, but I couldn’t break the eye contact. La Caz’s eyes were incredible and I was drawn to him, as if some magnetic current were pulling me close to his body. My skin buzzed with magic and I knew that trouble was coming. Oh God, this will be the most embarrassing moment in my life if I blow this meeting.

  Finally, Jennifer rescued me. ‘From temporary workers, we take twenty-five percent of the hourly rate. With regards to any permanent staff, we would take a percentage of the year’s salary. It’s difficult to say right now how much would be required, but the margin from any salary may start from thirty percent.’ She finished by flashing them one of her alluring smiles.