Chapter 13

It was a big surprise for Eli when he bought the house and stumbled across sirens living in the shallows of the lake. To his knowledge or anyone who was concerned, the sirens had left for the sea a really long time ago. He hadn't figured out yet how or why they were there as he couldn't speak their language and they weren't the type of creatures to communicate.

They preferred to lure you to your death by drowning. Their existence in the lake did not bother him as he had no plans to swim in the lake but it was bothersome when they attempted to drown any of his guests. He would just need to warn Helen not to step foot in the lake.

Usually, they wouldn't show themselves unless it was a full moon which was why he had no issues with Helen looking at the lake but it seems one of them wanted to play with his emotions tonight. If it continued to play with his emotions, it'd end up on a platter for some cats.

Figuring they were finished messing with him, he went to look for Helen. He entered his home again and sniffed out her scent. He had it imprinted from the time they met at the car park of the Valentine cafe. This was more of a werewolf trait but vampires used to imprint scents when they found the perfect human they wanted to keep track of for blood. Eli followed her scent into his gym where she was looking around.

He knocked on the door to alert her of his presence, making her look around startled.

"I was just looking at the equipment," She said, taking her hands off of it. It was clear she was touching his things. "This room has everything you need to work out."

"Do you like to work out?" He questioned approaching Helen who continued to look around.

"Only when I can see the rolls showing up on my body then I go into full workout mode. After I gain my body back I pretty much fall back into old habits," She admitted walking around to look at more equipment. "You must be a workout freak to have these many things."

"Not really. It's the same for me only that I work out when I'm bored or angry. It is a good way to relieve stress. I don't plan to have a super buff body so at a certain point I stop where I'm satisfied with my body. I don't eat too crazy to need to work out too much. I planned to get rid of some items but Noah likes to use it as his own gym so I left it," Eli said, picking up a weight and putting it back where it belonged.

"Although he seems stressed as hell and fidgety sometimes, you two seemed to be good friends. I wish I had a boss or friend who would let me use their gym," Helen replied looking at how high-tech his treadmill seemed. Don't you just need a fast and a slow mode, she thought. What was the reason for all the fancy buttons?

"Well, you could be that boss. You own a restaurant after all. What made you want to own a restaurant?" Eli questioned wanting to know who Helen Reed was.

"My adoptive parents own a restaurant and I've always loved eating so I decided my first business would be involved with food. I want to dip my feet in everything from clubs to owning apartments. The list is endless with what I plan to do. It's not how you start but how you finish and I want to end with an empire. Why slave away yourself working for some big corporations, no offense, when you can create your own business. It's hard but it'll be worth it in the end," She answered then bounced a question back to him.

"You're known to be a big investor. Why do that instead of running one big business? I mean you don't have a limit to what you can invest in but where you are at in life your future is pretty much set where you barely have to think about tomorrow. What's your endpoint? I want at least ten businesses."

Eli thought about it then spoke. "I could sit back and just let what I've invested in flourish but you can never have too many investments. Like what you plan to do, I've invested in a bit of everything and there's still a lot more to invest in. Many times, people don't realize their mistake was limiting themselves to a certain amount of jobs or dreams. If I desire it, I will achieve it. "

"It's like a king taking control by buying up all the land and investing in businesses so you'll have a say in what they do. If you help with the start-up they'll owe you favors I bet." After a long pause, Helen asked. "Are you in the mafia? It would explain the shovel you had in the car. I would prefer it if you don't plan to kill me. I still have a lot I want to see in my lifetime."

"I am not in the mafia," He responded and it was true but they did owe him some favors. Eli liked how quick she was to catch onto what he was doing with his investments. He was owed a lot of favors and had a bit of authority in the business he invested in. All the things he did were all calculated for the future. "I can't explain the shovel in my car right now but it isn't what you're thinking. I wouldn't kill you, I'd rather be with you."

"It's a bit suspicious how you took a sudden interest in me," She said side-eyeing him.

"It was the fire temper you have which pulled me in and you remind me of an old friend," He answered.

"So you couldn't get with that person so I'm the next best option to fulfill whatever desire you have. I hate to break it to you pretty boy but I'm no one's second choice. I'm too special for that," Helen answered, folding her arms. She didn't like when someone tried to befriend or take an interest in you because they resemble someone.

Eli replied, "Well technically you are still the first choice."

Helen was taken aback and a bit confused about how she could be the first and second choice. "Did we meet before but I've completely forgotten?"

Eli couldn't tell Helen he knew one of her past lives and just responded, "Something like that."