Page 28 of The Monster and the Last Blood Match

She nodded her head minutely. After her encounter with Roland, she wasn’t looking forward to this meeting. She was about to enter a room full of very powerful vampires, and if nothing else, that alone had frightened her into silence.

She wished she knew what the hell she was doing here.

As Beckham entered the large conference room, Reyna tiptoed after him with her head down. The room was already full and buzzing with excitement. She prayed that she was invisible, even as she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Beckham took a seat near the back of the large rectangular table.

“Sit here,” he said, pointing to the seat next to him. The chair dwarfed her figure, but she was in no position to argue.

A few minutes later, the room quieted, and a man walked inside. He was hunched over and relying heavily on his cane. His hair was thin, his skin pasty, and he seemed even paler than the other vampires. If she hadn’t known he was one, she would have thought he was just a dying old man. But all of the men and women in the room were very clearly vampires with their perfect complexions, perfect outfits, and perfectly beautiful young bodies. And they all very clearly were deferential to this man.

He walked to the head of the table and then eased into his chair. With how frail and sickly he looked, someone should have rushed to his aide to help him sit, but no one moved. She also expected him to be completely not threatening, but when his eyes swept across the table and found her seated next to Beckham, she knew he was lethal.

A shiver ran up her spine, and she quickly averted her eyes. This was not a man to be trifled with. Not even in his condition.

“Welcome,” he said. His voice boomed despite the apparent illness. “For those of you who don’t know who I am, I am William Harrington, founder and CEO of Visage Incorporated, and today is a great day for the company.”

The room was silent, and she could feel the anticipation growing.

“You have all contributed immensely to what has happened on this day. I have been working toward this outcome for us for over twenty years, and today we have our victory.”

Reyna swallowed. This didn’t sound good.

“As you all well know, since the White House has made the announcement, the Blood Census was passed through Congress and signed into law by the president.”

Everyone seated at the table applauded, but she looked around in confusion. ABlood Census? What the hell was that?

The man held his hand up, and the room immediately fell silent. “Our version of the legislation went through, and the president has agreed to work directly with Visage to complete all the blood type testing included in the Census sample. Once the sample is complete, we will officially have a full list of all the blood types of the human population in this country.”

Reyna’s face paled. Why would they need a full list of blood types? Didn’t they already have a voluntary program with more people employed than any other company in the world? Why would they need or even want a full registry of humans’ blood types?

The room erupted into applause again, but Reyna leaned over to Beckham. “Do I have to enter the Blood Census?” she whispered.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Only people who haven’t been tested by Visage in the last ten years have to complete the blood test aspect of the Census.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” he growled low.

“Why only the last ten years?”

“New technology.”

Reyna wrinkled her nose. “What’s the difference if they’re just testing for your blood type? They’ve been able to do that for decades.”

“Leave it alone, Reyna. We’re in the middle of a meeting,” he snapped.

She sat back roughly into her chair. She hated the dismissal. Surely she wasn’t the only person who thought it was strange to include a blood test in a census.

She tuned out the next half hour as they discussed implementation and the business aspects of Visage’s involvement in the Census. They must have switched topics at some point, because Beckham nudged her chair to get her attention. Her eyes snapped to the front of the room, where the man was still speaking.

“As we have discussed in previous meetings, the Permanent Sponsor positions have officially gone into effect.”

Oh. That’s me.

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