Chapter 2
565 Words
Present day…
“Gabe, I need you in my office. Now, if you please.” I glanced up from where I was stacking bags of synthetic blood in the refrigerator to see the frown on my boss’s face.
Whenever Pierre frowned, there was trouble. He’d been alive for more than five hundred years, though he didn’t look a day over thirty. He had thick, wavy black hair without a hint of gray, and light brown skin. He reminded me of the gypsies of old. A broad chest, thick arms and thighs made him formidable, but the eyes, a clear, piercing green, could freeze you or burn you up, depending on his mood. And I knew them all, having studied everything about him since that fateful day we’d met.
“Yes, sir,” I replied and followed him. I closed the door behind me when I arrived at his office and awaited his pleasure.
He steepled his fingers and stared at me from where he now sat at his desk. “How long have you been working here?”
Pierre knew exactly how long, but I played along. “Ten years, sir.”
“And why is it that you’ve never taken anyone to bed?”
Vampires could be shockingly direct and had few boundaries. But this was a tad personal, even for him. “I beg your pardon?”
“I’ve never once smelled a man or woman on you. You work here from dusk ‘til dawn, and while I have no idea what you do with your free time, I know it’s not s*x. What are you waiting for? You’re in your mid-thirties, are you not?”
“Well yes, but…”
“Are you still a virgin?”
The blush I felt staining my cheeks answered his question readily enough.
His shock was tangible. “But in this day and age, and at this club, of all places…why haven’t you?”
I knew he could tell if I was lying, so I made sure to maintain eye contact and remain calm. “The person in whom I’m interested is off limits.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Man or woman?”
“Man.”
Pierre leaned back in his chair. “It hurts me to see you so alone in the world, Gabe. You’ve done well and have earned the respect of everyone here. You are loyal and that is highly valued among us and I would see you happy.”
I had to head him off this path. There was no way I would ever admit my feelings for him, a being who still mourned the loss of his beloved Andre, a vampire who’d been left to die in the sunlight in their home country of Romania.
I bowed slightly. “Thank you, sir. I am content. Is there something special you need me to do this evening?”
He shook his head. “You are more stubborn than I am. Fine, but I want more for you. You are young. You should be having fun and building a life with someone.”
“Acknowledged, sir.”
“I need you to keep an eye on Thierry this evening while you’re out on the floor. He’s looking a little blood-crazed and we don’t want him to scare the customers.” Biting was not permitted on the main floor of the club. Hence the private rooms.
I sighed internally. Thierry Skarsgaard, one of the vampire employees, was a handful most days. But if he was in need of blood…“You think he needs to feed?” Pierre kept a well-stocked supply of synthetic blood on hand to help avoid incidents at the club, beyond those paid for, of course.
“I’m not sure, but his fangs have been at half-mast all evening, and his eyes are bloodshot.”
Yup, a disaster waiting to happen. “Consider it done. Will that be all, sir?”
He stared at me for a minute, then nodded. “Yes, Gabe, that will be all.”
- Writer
