The Vampire's Sweet Secret

Chapter 1: First Meeting

-Everly-

“Morning,” I said as I walked down the long hallway to my office. Everyone smiled at me and nodded while saying good morning. It was a good place to work, I thought, as I greeted my co-workers. My family might have tried to destroy me and make me into nothing, but I had come back.

I was stronger than ever, and I had started my own tech company. It had taken a few years to build it to what it was now, and it was certainly not as big as the other one, but it was mine, and I was proud of that.

Amber had understood I needed to get out there again and become my own boss, and also away from everything that had happened to me, but I still kept in close contact with my favorite people. She was busy now with her little family that I knew would be growing.

“Morning Jen!” I greeted as I walked by my assistant who was sadly quitting to move to another country. She had met her mate on her last vacation and was going to stay with him. I hated losing a good assistant, but I was happy for her.

“Oh boss, here are the resumes from the ones who have applied for the position,” Jen informed me and handed me the small stack of papers. “I have marked those I believe are qualified for the job and would also fit in here and those I believe you can just throw out.” Jen was very efficient and I loved that, but I was going to take a careful look at every resume anyway.

“Thank you, Jen,” I said and walked into my office, placing the papers and my coffee down on my desk before I sat in my chair and started to look through the resumes. Jen had marked those she believed were qualified with a pink little sticker and the rest with a yellow.

I started with the pink ones first, reading every one of them and placing those down I believed I wanted to have an interview with before I went to the yellow pile. I didn’t believe I would find anything interesting, but just to be safe, I looked through them.

I slowly threw one after the other back on the table, not finding anything exciting, until I looked at the last one. At first glance, I was ready to just skip this one because the resume was so small and she barely had any qualifications, but then I took a look at it one more time. I wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something compelling about it.

“Calliope Grey,” I mused. “Hmm...”

I found myself repeatedly examining her resume and the small picture she had attached, yet I couldn't quite identify what it was about her that made me want to keep looking at it. Sure, she was beautiful. Nothing overly exciting, but pretty.

I eventually put her file down on the big pile of those that I would make Jen contact and tell them they had not gone through to the second round. While Calliope definitely had something interesting about her, I couldn’t see her fitting in here.

So, when I was done with the resumes, I went back to work, checking what meetings I had and looking through some of the new updates some of my programmers had come up with. I was always open to new ideas, and I spent most of my day going through them before I finally decided to go eat a little.

I walked out of my office, only to hear Jen call out for me. I turned around, looking at her over my shoulder. I had only walked by her when she shouted my name.

“Yes?” I inquired.

“I have someone here who wishes to see you,” Jen informed me.

“Someone?” I asked.

“One of the people wanting the job,” she told me.

“Oh? Someone is showing ambition. I like that,” I commented.

“She is not from the pink pile.”

“Ah, sh*t,” I cursed.

“Yeah, so should I just send her away?” Jen questioned.

“No, I will see her. What is her name?”

“Calliope Grey,” she told me.

“Calliope?”

Jen saw the strange look on my face and tilted her head a little to the side. “Do you know her boss?”

“No,” I quickly replied.

“You just seem like you did,” she said.

“No, I have not met her before. I just... I don’t know,” I trailed off, shaking my head. “Will you just send her into my office?”

“Of course, boss. Right away!”

“What will I do once you are gone?” I teased.

“Probably drown in paperwork.”

I chuckled, and Jen winked at me as I walked back into my office.

“Oh, and order something from the restaurant I like,” I yelled as I walked inside.

“Will do!” Jen shouted back.

I loved that wolf. Too bad she wasn’t into women, but of course, I never mixed business with pleasure. Anymore. I had to have serious workers here, and I wasn’t going to risk anything being taken from me again. So, I had changed quite a lot.

However, it had been a while since I had been with anyone. I told myself it had nothing to do with what happened when I was taken by Maverick and his men. It had happened before them and I had bounced back. No, it was just because I had been so busy with work, and I wanted to seem like a serious woman who took her position seriously. I couldn’t be distracted by pretty women and neglect my job.

I walked over to my desk and sat down, turning a little in my chair until I faced the large floor-to-ceiling windows behind me. The entire wall was made out of glass, so I had a fantastic view of New York City. An amazing place. So many opportunities, but you also had to have a certain kind of personality. Being sweet and submissive did not work here if you wanted to get somewhere.

Knock. Knock.

“Enter!” I shouted, not turning my chair just yet.

I heard the door open and the sound of someone walking closer. It was very faint, almost like the person was trying to sneak up on me or because they were trying not to make too much noise. A submissive one then, I thought to myself. I smiled a little and then took in a deep breath.

Oh, sh*t! At first, I wasn’t sure what it was, but as I inhaled, my heart started to pound faster. When I did it again, it felt like I was drugged with the strongest and sweetest scent I had ever smelled. It was a mixture of rain and forest, something that reminded me of the old days when I used to be a knight and a fighter. It reminded me of the days I had traveled and all those nights under the open sky, surrounded by the vast forests that no longer existed. I couldn’t explain it, but I had never been affected like this by a scent alone. Her sweet fragrance almost overpowered her usual werewolf scent.

I turned in my chair, slowly bringing the person into view. I had said she was pretty, but now that she stood in front of me and I got a real look at her and smelled her, I suddenly saw the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on. Her beauty wasn’t the kind where you would look at her and think she was made to perfection.

No, she was hidden well, wearing a black dress that I could see she was uncomfortable in and a blazer too big for her. She had her hair up in a messy ponytail and no makeup on. It looked like she had truly tried to make herself look composed and important, but she seemed like a fish out of water. No wonder she was so unqualified. She definitely didn’t fit in here, and yet I didn’t tell her to go. No, I couldn’t. I felt almost enchanted by her.

She couldn’t really look at me, so nervous and insecure she was. I had no idea what she expected to happen by coming here, but I would listen to her anyway, just so I could keep looking at her some more.

“Well, Calliope, you have 10 minutes. Use them well,” I said, leaning back in my chair as I gestured for her to take a seat in front of me, and she quickly did.