Chapter Three
Marcus Alliene was next on her schedule of interviews and Simone found herself looking forward to it with genuine curiosity…which was odd because after an entire evening of interviews after putting in a full day of work, she would think she would be tired of the interview process by now. She really was, for the most part, but she trudged on…until she got to Marcus.
She was holding the interviews in the informal setting of her living room, judging and contemplating each man or woman based on how they reacted to their environment and their queen; the way they moved, the way they spoke, the things they said.
So far none had struck that special chord within her that told her she could develop the bond necessary for them to work together in close quarters, to develop the trust necessary to the job.
She had high hopes for Marcus. Her cousin’s man. Leopold knew her, knew what she needed and liked. He was bound to have sent a biddable candidate.
She nodded her head to Rafe, indicating she was ready for the next interview. She rose to her feet, although by virtue of her position she shouldn’t have to show that deference to someone who was essentially beneath her. However, she had never been pompous or overly fixated on the regal state of self-importance that other queens and kings had had. She believed in respect. She didn’t deem herself to be so much better than others were. Yet she was aware of her skills, her importance and aware of her strengths and power. She would never forget how much strength she had to offer, and if she ever did forget she had Rafe and Danton to remind her.
No. Not Danton. Not any longer. He had not left yet, he would not leave until his replacement was installed, but the dynamic of their relationship had changed. It wasn't that she loved him any less…or that she didn’t trust him. He would always be the best man for the job as far as she was concerned.
But he had hurt her. He had wounded her by wanting to be somewhere else rather than in her presence. Maybe that was arrogance or conceit, but she felt it all the same. She would allow herself to sulk for a little while, to grieve her loss of his constant presence in her life, but then she would forgive him and move on. She wasn't the sort to hold a grudge.
The foyer door opened and in walked Marcus Alliene.
Immediately she was aware of the fact that his picture had not done him justice, nor had it prepared her for his height and resonant personal presence. He had to be at least six four, which was oddly comforting to a woman of five feet ten inches, give or take a couple of inches depending on the heels she wore. It was nice to have someone to look up to for some reason, she thought as she extended her hand to him. First, he bowed to her, a slow act of deference, then he took her hand in his and, in an unexpected and very old world gesture, he kissed the ring of her office that she wore on her right hand ring finger. All the while he seemed to look at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. They were a clear, beautiful green, like looking through glass, the striae within them just darker shades of green, rather than the gold or brown flecks on might expect in someone with his color.
He had jet black hair, except for a unique silver streak that ran through his forelock. He kept his hair just long enough that it was a pronounced wave that for some reason had her itching to run the anomaly through her fingers. It wasn't as though he aged. Why would he have silver hair? And he was considerably younger than she was and she showed no such signs of age. Perhaps he had human DNA in his history. Sometimes if that was the case offspring aged. Not the way a normal mortal did, the process taking considerably longer than the average mortal’s life even so, but still they aged unlike a normal vampire.
For some reason this distressed her. This meant he had the potential of aging to death. There were indeed aged vampires, although it was extremely rare because an offspring that showed normal human tendencies tended to not show any vampire traits. But after so many generations of potential interbreeding, there was no telling what could be produced.
She wished she had read more about his lineage. She had dismissed the information, deeming it unimportant. His lineage, in her opinion, had nothing to do with the job he was there to perform, so she had ignored it.
“A pleasure to meet you, your grace,” he greeted her then, his voice gravelly and erotically rough. He also had a sophisticated English accent. She didn’t know why it appealed to her, but it seemed to seek out her libido and she reacted very strongly to it. She frowned. This was a bad beginning. She couldn’t have someone that close to her if she was going to be attracted to him.
“Please. Call me Simone,” she offered.
“I think not,” he returned. “It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“I insist,” she said, taking in his insistent deference. “Did you call Leopold ‘your grace’?”
“I did…although like you he wanted me to use his first name.”
“Are you in the habit of ignoring your leader’s desires?”
He cocked his head. “I never looked at it like that before. I simply could not bring myself to be so disrespectful of his hard-earned title. Very well, Simone it is.”
“Thank you. Please, have a seat.” She indicated the couches near her. She sat on one facing him as he sat down on another. She opened his dossier in her lap. She did it more for comfort than anything. She already knew what was in it. But she seemed to need grounding and a place to look away from those riveting eyes.
“Tell me about yourself,” she said, going straight for what was important. She judged a lot from how someone answered that request. Some talked about the personal. Some the professional. She suspected which way he would go…considering how formal he was.
“I doubt there is anything I can tell you that you don’t already know from that file,” he said, amusement in his eyes.
“This file tells me about you in cold, informal ways. I should like to know you better than that if you are to spend a great deal of time in my company. Also, your opinions and perspectives are important to me and to the other members of the committee on which you will also be serving.
“Yes. Of course,” he said, looking somewhat chastised. “I’m sorry. I’m not comfortable talking about myself. Or I should say…I’m not used to it. It takes some time for me to trust someone with the intimacies of my life.”
“I am not asking for a personal exposé. Merely your perspective on who you are.”
“Well…in that case…I am a staunch purist. In spite of the fact that I have human lineage, I believe vampires should mate only with vampires and the human exposure should be kept to nil wherever possible. I realize that it will be part of my job to judge whether humans have what it takes to be brought into the fold, but I should warn you that it would be hard to convince me of it…although I will listen and take each individual case seriously and as being unique.”
“That is a very important detail for me to know that your file does not tell me,” she said, giving him a smile. He smiled back and she was immediately charmed. He had a disarming smile; an easy way of making her feel relaxed. She took a breath and released it slowly and inaudibly, steadying herself.
“I also very much believe in the sanctity of your position. You have been brought to your exalted position by the will of the people. You have been judged to be worthy of being above all others and should be treated as such. I will never do anything to disrespect that position.”
That pleased her. Settled her. It told her that, though she was attracted to him, he would never let it advance beyond that light attraction. Besides, it was very likely one sided. And if he could have that much self-control so could she.
“I would respect you as well,” she told him. “I respect anyone I come in contact with until they give me a reason not to.”
“I feel the same way. I should warn you…I would take a great deal of care with your person.”
“My person?”
“Your safety. I would see you were assigned the proper security forces. I was in control of that with Leopold. I insisted. That would be especially true for you. Not only because you are precious to the people, but because I have heard that recently there was an incursion onto this property that resulted in damage. A bomb. It could easily have been left somewhere that could have harmed you. That is unacceptable. Your security is clearly lax. And considering the power of your enemies, that simply will not do.”
“I do not like being curtailed,” she said with a frown. “I hunt alone. I live alone save for Darcy my assistant and housekeeper.”
“Does she have any defense training?”
“Well…no.”
“She should. She should be prepared to protect you at any given moment.”
Simone thought about this. She already expected too much from Darcy. She couldn’t possibly expect anything more of her.
“How can I ask that of her? She already does so much,” she said with a slight frown.
“It is for her benefit as well. Considering that someone close to you has recently been kidnapped and an attempt was made to turn that person, she should be trained in how to protect herself as well as you.”
He had a point. A very good point. One that she had not considered and one that made her feel a sudden sense of dread for Darcy’s sake. The idea of someone using her to get to her was almost unbearable. It had been different when it had been Halo. Halo could take care of himself and had. He had escaped relatively unscathed. But it had been a close call. A very close call.
“I cannot argue with that,” she said softly. “It is sound logic and something I had not considered.”
“You should not be required to think of these things. These things should be being anticipated by others close to you…mainly, me. I would keep very much on my toes for you when it comes to your safety and protection.”
He slid forward until he was perched on the very edge of his seat.
“That will be my mission in life,” he said. “Seeing to your protection and comfort. Seeing to it your laws are upheld and carried out. Seeing to it those who break those laws are punished so they can never darken the name of energy vampires everywhere. As I said, I believe in the purity of this race, and that includes the fact that I feel we should be held to a higher and harder standard than humans are. Even the smallest infraction could destroy the fabric of our society. It cannot be allowed.”
“You sound merciless…as though you will sentence a vampire to death without considering all of the circumstances.”
“Yes. In some cases there are no circumstance to consider. Murder is murder. Risking exposure is almost as bad, as it risks the potential of humans committing acts of genocide in their fear of what we are. We all know that humans are not likely to accept us. That they are more likely to fear us. Exposure and the risk of it is unacceptable.”
“Each case must be taken into account individually,” she insisted.
“And I will do that. I am not unreasonable. But I have a personal line and I will not allow myself or others to cross it.”
Simone didn’t know if that made him hardheaded or simply devoted to their species’ survival.
“The key to our survival in this age of dwindling privacy and increasing surveillance is in our anonymity. To risk that is to risk everything. It is even the one thing the sycophants agree with us on. That makes it even more important. If those lawless bastards know they must follow that one law, then it is our most important law and must be enforced at all instances.”
“I admire your strength of will and character. The way you see things in such black and white ways. It must be comforting.”
“I also respect the grey areas,” he told her. He stood up and crossed the distance between them, squatting down at her feet, a hand on her knee to steady himself and his green eyes now so near looking dead into her eyes. “But I can see how my clarity could be envied by you. As a politician you must walk a thin line between everyone and everything. You are constantly juggling and balancing, like a circus performer, constantly on display and an audience silently demanding you entertain them. You must please them. What’s worse is you must please the other performers as well. If you fail to do any of it, you will lose your place as star of the show.”
“I’ve never heard it described quite like that before,” she said, trying not to notice the electric sensation he had caused when he had put his hand on her knee. It was an innocent gesture really…perhaps a little presumptuous by crossing into her personal space without invitation, but still…innocent enough. It didn’t feel innocent. She felt hyper focused on the sensation, his warm smooth hand half on the hem of her skirt and half off and in direct contact with her skin. She wanted to get up and move away, she was so disconcerted, but that was ridiculous. The entire response was ridiculous. She should be focusing instead on what he was saying. And what he was saying was that he saw her. He understood. He saw her with a clarity that few people did. Leopold perhaps. Other princes, maybe, who felt equal weight on their shoulders. But none of them had to please both the people and other leaders. None of them had to feel covetous others breathing down their neck quite like she did.
“I don’t know why others jockey so hard for my job,” she said with a little sigh. “It isn’t the sunshine and roses they might think it is.”
“If they think it is then they are fools. Don’t let them bother you. Just remain focused on your goals and let the rest fall away.”
“I do exactly that…for the most part. Sometimes I admit—“ She broke off, realizing just how personal she was being with this total stranger. She flushed beneath her skin and realized it wasn't the first time she’d felt the sensation since he’d walked in the room. It was dangerous to let someone in so close and so fast. She knew very little about him. Except perhaps that he was completely disarming. There was something about him that made her want to relax and talk…even as he stirred her and made her uncomfortable.
It was exactly what she was looking for.
Oh, not the attraction. That was something she could ignore. However, the ability to trust someone, to open up to them…she could see herself doing that with him. She didn’t know why. She couldn’t explain it. But this was the connection she had been looking for in her applicants.
“When can you start?” she asked him, not wasting any time on prevaricating or thinking twice about the decision. She knew what she wanted when she wanted it. She knew her own mind. She didn’t need time to suss things out any more than she already had.
“Are you sure? You seemed uncomfortable just now.”
“I’m sure. And I am uncomfortable. Because you made me talk about things I don’t normally talk about with others. It tells me I can one day come to trust you…and that above all other things is important to me. It will take time of course, but the basic chemistry is there.”
“And my political views?”
“The rest of the committee will balance out your conservativeness and I believe you will be fair. Time will tell. Time will tell about everything. Nothing will be quick or automatic. But I’m willing to work on the transition. Of course, you do realize this is just temporary…until Danton wants to come back.”
“And when will that be?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t know. It could be weeks…but it will more likely be months or perhaps even years. Are you willing to disrupt your life for so little security?”
“I am. I knew this was an up in the air sort of job before I even walked in the door. It suits me to be somewhere temporarily for the moment. I am in need of shaking my life up a little.”
“Are you not devoted to my cousin? Are you not his left-hand man? Your job with him may not be there when you want to go back.”
“I think my time with Leopold is done for now. We are very good friends, we will always mean a great deal to each other. But he sent me to you for a reason…because he cares about you more than he cares about himself. Something he wants you to know and remember. If that helps you then I am glad to be his sacrifice.”
“I have a feeling I am going to owe him a great deal for this,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah, you are,” he said with and answering grin, “If I do say so myself.”
“When can you begin?”
“I need a week to arrange the movement of all of my belongings. I would prefer living on the floor just below you so I can get to you as quickly as I need to.”
“That can be arranged.”
Simone stood up, finally breaking off the disturbing connecting of his touch on her knee. He rose up to his full height.
“Whom can I call about living accommodations?” he asked.
“I will give you an employment sheet. On it will be everything you need to arrange movement into the building and into your new position. You will start Monday next week. I have a morning meeting with my senior staff every morning and a meeting with the committee right after. When you are not occupied with your committee duties I expect you to be available to me at a moment’s notice. Give me all of your contact information. I will send you innocuous texts…such as times to meet with me or when I need you, but I don’t have to tell you we are never to text about critical things. Anyone can find out what our texts to one another say in this day and age.”
“I’m not a moron,” he said with a sigh. “I know all of this.”
She stopped and looked at him, flushing warmly. “Of course you do. I’m sorry. You are already used to all of this after working for my cousin…and because it is law not to discuss vampire business via texts or refer to anything with the word vampire or e-vamp in electronic communiqués. You aren’t a moron, nor are you likely to break those laws. I suppose…I was just saying this out of rote. As a reaffirmation. I don’t discuss personal business in print. Not just vampire business. I guess that is what I’m trying to say. There is no law about discussing personal business…as long as we are circumspect as vampires, but I go beyond that. I don’t discuss or react personally where anyone might be able to read it and use the information against me. Perhaps that is taking vampire paranoia too far, but I am protecting myself from other vampires as well as human discovery.”
“I can appreciate that. Leo was the same way. Perhaps not as stringent. But he was very careful to be circumspect, as you called it.”
“I imagine he is. We are cut from the same paranoid cloth he and I.”
Marcus chuckled. “You have every right to be paranoid. People really are out to get you. To get your job. To take your life in the case of Draz. That would make me paranoid as well.”
“Draz…” She shuddered slightly before she could resist the reaction. There was something about the very name of that psycho sycophant that made her feel threatened.
“Don’t worry,” Marcus said, reaching out to cup her shoulder in his hand and squeeze her warmly. “Dealing with Draz will be at the top of my list once I have begun my time with you.”
“Draz is best left to the hunters,” she told him, once again feeling the warmth of his touch bleeding through her. The sensation started at the point where he was in contact with her through her blouse, then radiated outward, down her chest, up her neck, down her back. Eventually it radiated over her breast, her nipple contracting under the very stimulating sensation. It became difficult for her to concentrate, but the topic was too important for her to lose focus.
“And yet so far they have come up with nothing. I think it best we coordinate our efforts. That we focus all of our resources on finding him and yanking him out by the roots. Perhaps even dismantling his entire upper echelon in the process…so no one can step into his shoes. Like rotten teeth, all of them have to go if you want relief from the pain.”
She walked away from him, heading for her office, trying not to feel bereft at the loss of contact with him. My oh my this was a strangely powerful connection. She couldn’t recall the last time someone’s mere casual touch had thrilled her so much.
She entered her office and headed for her desk where she knew the introductory letter was with all its listed information…including her private number and the numbers of all of the senior staff. This was of course only meant for senior hires. Those in lesser positions received a very different letter of instruction and information. She found it and handed it to him.
“We can discuss Draz further once all of the senior staff assembles your first time on Monday. I will have Danton there to help guide you and transition you into taking up the reins of his position.”
“Thank you.” He paused. “I hope you are not expecting me to be a carbon copy of Danton. I am my own man.”
“I would expect nothing less,” she assured him. “But I will need time to adjust to your style just as you will need time to adjust to mine.”
“I look forward to it,” he said with a half smile crookedly sweeping over his mouth. “And yet I dread it. I just know we are going to clash on some things and I don’t like the idea of arguing with you all that much.”
“Easily solved. Don’t argue with me. Let me have my way in everything,” she said with sparkling humor in her eyes and smile.
“Impossible,” he said with a chuckle. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Leo its that you leader types never know what’s good for you.”
“And authoritarians like to lord it over everyone,” she lobbed back. “But in spite of that I feel we’ll work pretty well together.”
“I have the highest of hopes,” he said. He folded up he letter and tucked it into his jacket pocket. For the first time she noticed what he was wearing. She had spent so much time absorbed by the man that she hadn’t even noticed his mode of dress, which was surprising for her. She believed the way a person dressed told a lot about them. Especially the way someone dressed for an interview.
He was wearing jeans and a blazer. Very nice jeans, nothing torn, ripped, or overly faded. The blazer was of a fine velveteen material and had a sheen to it in the lighting of her apartment. Beneath that he wore a dress shirt left open and tieless at the throat.
The perfect cross between casual and dress. No doubt a direct reflection of his personality. He came across to her like that. Like the perfect cross between business and casual.
“I look forward to working with you,” she said to him, meaning it very much.
“Ditto,” he said. “For now, I’m going to get going. I have a flight to catch home.”
“You just flew in. Won’t you even stay a while?”
“No. Too much packing to do.”
She cocked her head. “So you came just for the interview, no intentions of stopping anywhere else?”
“None whatsoever.”
She took that in a moment.
“Did you expect to walk out of here with the job?” she asked.
He smiled a little. “Expect is perhaps the wrong word. Hoped is better. Maybe even intended.”
She laughed. “Well, you’re confident, I’ll give you that.”
“You wouldn’t want me otherwise. Good night, your grace.”
“Simone,” she insisted.
“Simone,” he echoed with a slight bow. Then he turned and left her there in her office.
She waited until she heard the front foyer door close, then she collapsed against her desk. Her butt rested on the top corner and her hand gripped at the edge.
This, she thought, was going to be quite an interesting relationship. She was very much in the mood for interesting. She hadn’t had interesting in a long while.
She reached for the intercom on her desk and paged Darcy.