Page 62 of Thicker than Water
“Yes!” she says, her hazel eyes brightening. “Serenity Park. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful! Like a forest in the city, with a pond, and a little zoo. And Xia says there’s a great hot dog stand…”
“Well, if that’s what you want to do, I’ll take you to the park.”
She beams at me, then takes a dollop of ice cream on her finger and licks it off. She gestures toward the generous spread on the table. “I’m sorry you can’t enjoy any of this. It’s rude of me, eating so much in front of you.”
“It would be rude if you cut your finger, and I could smell your blood,” I reply. “Food doesn’t entice me. When you consume blood to sustain yourself, nothing else can compare.”
She bites her lip, and I sense a shiver of trepidation pass through her. A flicker of something behind her eyes. Excitement? Fear? It heats the air between us.
“I don’t need to drink from you,” I say to her, firmly. “I wasn’t suggesting…”
“I know,” she replies, bringing her hands to her hair to let down her long braids. “I just…I don’t think I can do that.”
“I understand.”
And then Ifeel the familiar tug of the approaching dawn. It’s been long enough between us that she can tell by the expression on my face that it’s time. She pulls her feet away hesitantly, and I rise.
“Stay as long as you like,” I tell her.
She gives me a sheepish look. “Is it ok if I…sleep here for a while? My shift starts at 4pm.”
“But of course. Make yourself comfortable.”
With a satisfied expression, she pulls her legs up to sit cross-legged on the chair and she takes a large bite of her hamburger.
I go into my study, and enter my crypt. The steady pounding of Amara’s heartbeat comforts me as I prepare myself to retire for the night.
I listen to it as I drift off.
Every quarter, Renata manages to make fiscal reporting more boring. She added another sub-agenda item to the quarterly board meeting, to discuss opportunities for cost-cutting in the cleaning department.
“And as you can see,” she says, pressing the clicker with her pristinely-manicured finger to move to her 500th slide. “If we switch to all-silk blend sheets, we’ll be able to bleach them in bulk, which increases perceived value while actually keeping costslower…”
“That’s great, Renata,” I say curtly, flipping quickly through the associated binder that she’s prepared. “You’ve really thought this through. Motion to approve-”
“But I haven’t even gone over the promotional costs! There’s another three sections!”
I rub my temple. Is it possible for a vampire to have a headache? If it is, I’m getting one. “Ren, I trust you implicitly. You’ve clearly done your research. This plan looks excellent. Motion to approve?”
“Moved!” Lexi says. She sits with her bright orange platform heels crossed on the board table, gazing at her ridiculously long, matching nails, her binder untouched beside her.
I nod, willing to ignore her immature posture if it hurries this meeting along. “Seconded. All in favour?”
“Aye!” Lexi says.
Renata sighs, “Aye.”
“Aye. I have Tudor’s proxy, so the budget is approved. If there’s no new business, then we can-”
“Oh!” Lexi says, moving her feet off the table and raising her hand. “I have new business!”
Renata looks at her skeptically. “Lexi, this is abudgetmeeting…”
“But Celine said new business!”
“Well, did you add it to the agenda?” Renata looks at Lily, the executive assistant, who shakes her head anxiously.
“That’s not fair,” Lexi whines. “You guys talk about things that aren’t on the agenda all the time!”
