Over the next week, Grayson and I went out into the city as much as possible. I wanted to be positive, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could handle himself, otherwise I would have to talk him into postponing his return to the working community and that would mean delaying my return as well. I hadn’t talked to Ralph since before Grayson’s transition. Shawn had been the one to place the phone call telling Ralph that I was out “sick.”

With the sire bond on the fritz, it made persuading Grayson a little more difficult. It just meant I’d have to rely on my womanly talents. If that didn’t work, and after the other night I wasn’t sure if it would, I just hoped he’d realize I would be asking it of him for his safety and the safety of everyone around him. Newbies were not known for their rationalism. I just hoped that Grayson’s levelheadedness transferred over when he became a vampire.

Every morning when he awoke, Grayson would test his tolerance for the sun and every morning I heaved a sigh of relief when his skin remained unscorched by the rays.

I made him feed before every outing whether it was from me or a blood bag, even though he tended to choose me. I think he just liked the lust it would evoke in us both, since the bag was more hunger satisfying. The feeding of my blood wasn’t a perfect failsafe, but it would help with the hunger. He would still smell and crave blood even if he was full, although, I was stunned by his amazing control. First, we started by just walking the city. I noticed him people watching more than he ever had before, but never once did his eyes change to the vampiric honey green.

“Just take slow breaths. If it doesn’t help, then stop breathing. You don’t have to do it anymore. It’s no longer necessary,” I told him.

He shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s just…”

“What?”

“It’s different.”

I didn’t understand how. When my body transitioned, not much changed. I craved blood more than I had and I was able to influence people in a way that I hadn’t before; otherwise I was the same. I was born this way. It was the norm for me, so I asked, “Different how?”

He shrugged. “It’s like I see more.”

That wasn’t news to me, even though I hadn’t experienced it. I had heard it described as being blind when they were human and vampirism gave them sight for the first time.

After a few trips out on the city streets, I started taking him into public places. We went to lunch at one of the restaurants that Grayson owned. Out in the open, walking through the city was an entirely different than being in an enclosed in space where the smell of blood was so much more alluring. Being one of Grayson’s restaurants meant that if something did occur, finding a safe place for him to work through it would be a lot easier than somewhere else.

I noticed his expression shift as soon as we entered the building. His eyes widened in fear.

“If it’s too much, we can go and try again another time.”

Grayson shook his head no. “If I can’t work through this now then how will I be able to handle work? It won’t be safe for me to return.”

I exhaled a knowing sigh. I had been worried that he hadn’t really thought the whole situation through, that he was in such a rush to return to what had been normal for him, but I had been underestimating his thought process a lot lately. It was something I needed to remedy. With my hand resting on his elbow, I nodded as we continued into the restaurant.

“Mr. Alexander. Your regular table, I assume?” The hostess asked.

Grayson didn’t answer, so I chimed in. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.” She looked startled by my voice almost as if she hadn’t even realized I was standing there. I was becoming more and more use to the notion that when I was in Grayson’s presence I would be invisible to everyone else. I was okay with that because in a room full of people, I was the one to grab Grayson’s eye.

“Of course. Right this way.”

When we were seated the waiter immediately appeared. “What may I get you to drink?”

“We’re ready to order,” Grayson interjected, snapping out of his momentary coma.

“Of course, Mr. Alexander.”

Grayson looked at me and I could see a hint of remembrance lingering in his eyes. “I want a steak. Blue rare. And I mean rare-rare. No sides. Largest you have.” He ordered never pulling his gaze away.

“And you, Miss?”

I let a smile creep on my face. “I’ll take the same and two glasses of the house wine.” I handed him my menu. When the waiter left, I spoke. “It’ll help. I promise.”

“It just occurred to me why you ordered what you did the night of our second date.” I nodded remembering that night all too well. “I thought it was odd, but now I know. You were thirsty,” he whispered the last word.

“I was having blood lust,” I corrected. “Even the most experienced of us have it, if only every once in a while. You’re doing great though. The fact that you knew you couldn’t have what you really needed, so you ordered the second best thing.”

“Well I could have what I really wanted, but that would mean both of us heading towards the back office, which might look a little suspicious to the other patrons,” he divulged with a wicked gleam. I grinned from ear to ear looking like the freaking Cheshire cat at his comment. His smile faltered. “It’s strange. I can hear everything, even though I’m trying to block it out. Every single person’s heartbeat, their breathing. It’s overwhelming.” I wanted to help him. Blood would help, but sneaking off wasn’t the answer here. This was about Grayson gaining control. I just felt powerless and I hated it. I did my best to educate him the way a sire should. 

I nodded. “It is. You have to focus on something. The ticks of the clock or one person’s heart. Single in on one thing,” I suggested then leaned across the table and grabbed his hand. I placed it on my wrist until his fingers fit over my pulse. “Listen to my heart. Feel it beating? Listen to the sound of blood pumping through me.” I could see some of the tension start to leave him. “Better?” He nodded. “Once you feed, it will ease and you won’t have to try so hard.”

“Promise?” He seemed nervous.

“I promise.” And it did. From the first bite of steak, I saw Grayson visibly relax.

“It’s not enough, but it does help.”

“I know, Grayson.” I closed my eyes letting the guilt overtake me. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

“We’ve been over this baby.” He reached across the table covering my hand with his. “I wanted this.” I kept my eyes down. “Gabriella,” he demanded. It was the authoritative voice that I knew meant business. I looked up at him hesitantly. “I wanted this. Do you understand me? I. Wanted. This.” I nodded. “Now, no more with the apologies, alright?”

“Okay. I’m sorry.” Grayson raised his eyebrow at me. I giggled and he chuckled in response.

 

The rest of the week went similar. Grayson had times he struggled, but nothing compared to what a newbie should be going through. His struggle was similar to my daily one. It was impressive.

I wished to wait longer before he returned to work, but with no other reason besides just wanting to, Grayson wasn’t hearing it.

So Monday came as an unwelcome occurrence. Every night since his transition we had lost ourselves in each other. After our brush with death, we both had feared we might lose the other, and we wished to cherish the other as much as possible. Since Grayson was now a vampire, we always concluded our love making with the exchange of blood.

Drinking from each other wasn’t enough to sustain us indefinitely. It was like water in a puddle; it’d eventually evaporate without having more supplied. Blood was the same. Our bodies would use the blood, absorbing what was there. So a diet rich in human blood was the only thing that could fully sustain us long term. With the help of my mother, the arrangements were made to have the blood bank drop off a weekly supply to our apartment every Sunday as well. It would be nothing nearly as extravagant as what the nest received just a small cooler that was delivered to our door was enough.

When Grayson left for work on Monday, I made sure to hand him a thermos filled with blood. He had a mini fridge and a microwave in his office so he would have no problem preparing it. I suggested pouring it into a cup with a lid and locking his door before he fed.

“Make sure you bring the thermos home with you. It wouldn’t be good to have the cleaning service find it.”

“Oh, I bet that would go over well. ‘Hey, look what I found in Mr. Alexander’s fridge, a thermos full of blood,’” he answered like a smart ass. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to bring it home.”

I furrowed my brows at him. “You, okay?”

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I’m just aggravated.”

“If you’re not ready to go back…”

“No, I am. I just…” He paused shaking away his frustration. When he turned to look at me he plastered a small smile on his face. “I love you Gaby. I’ll see you when I get home.”

“Grayson…” He silenced me with a kiss before he turned to leave the apartment. Well, that was weird.

 

 

When I arrived at work, there was a note on my desk letting me know Ralph wanted to see me. It wasn’t surprising. I had missed a lot of work because of the Grayson-Anton situation.

After depositing my bag at my desk, I made my way to his office.

“Nice of you to grace us with your presence this morning Gaby. Wasn’t sure if you’d be coming back. It’s not like you need to work after all, right?” Ralph declared snidely as he stared at his computer not bothering to look at me as I entered, which was unusual. Ralph was normally a pretty friendly guy. In all the time I’d worked for him I’d never seen him angry before, except when they pulled the one hundred calorie cookies from the vending machine and even then it was a “Well, heck,” and he moved on.

I took the seat in front of his desk ignoring his curt remarks. “I’m sorry, Ralph. I had some personal matters come up. I did have my friend Shawn call to inform you.” Shawn had placed the call when he wasn’t able to get a hold of me when I went after Grayson and Anton. He told me that he thought it was smart to have all our bases covered. He’d been right.

Ralph turned to me. His chin rested on his steepled fingers. He looked to be studying me. “Gaby, Shawn isn’t the employee here.”

I tried not to show my shock at his comment. “I couldn’t get to a phone to call, so he did it for me.”

“You’re saying that in this day and age you didn’t have access to a cell phone?”

I gawked at him, “I’m really not understanding the issue here. You were informed. If I could have called personally I would have.”

“There is no reason to get upset.” Just having him tell me not to be upset made me upset.

“Ralph, I’m getting upset because I just had a really emotionally exhausting week and you seem to be drilling me over it, like I’m lying to you.”

“Are you?”

Now I was truly pissed. “Are you freaking serious, right now!” I yelled.

“It’s a simple question, Gaby.”

“I’m not lying, Ralph and how dare you insinuate that.”

Ralph sighed shaking his head. “Gaby, we’ve had this problem in the past with employees. They get into new relationships, start calling in sick and work gets put on the backburner. I just didn’t think you were one of those employees.”

“What exactly are you saying to me right now Ralph?”

“I’m saying that isn’t it a coincidence that both you and Alexander were out at the same time.” Ralph knew I was dating Grayson. After Grayson had hired Gates and Summers for his opening it was hard to hide our relationship, but it seriously ticked me off that Ralph was using that knowledge to dig things up on me.

“Coincidence? No. And what are you doing? Spying on me?” I spat.

“How about you just tell me what business you had that required you both?”

Gripping the armrests, I shook my head. I didn’t know what to say. There was no way that I could tell him the truth. I could lie, but living around vampires my entire life made it difficult for me to even try and be convincing. Vampires could tell when you were lying by listening to your heartbeat so there was never any point in trying.

“I honestly don’t see how that is any of your business. After what happened with Rachel, you told me I could take time off. I did. Yes, it was a lot of baggage rolled into one overwhelming situation, but I don’t see how that’s an issue. Now if we are through here…” I stood heading towards the door without waiting to be dismissed.

With a huff, I plopped down in my chair before waking my computer with a wiggle of my mouse. After a few failed attempts at trying to work and still reeling from my conversation with Ralph, I decided to check in on Grayson.

Grayson’s secretary picked up on the third ring. “Alexander Holding Incorporated. This is Betty.”

I took a deep calming breath before I spoke. I didn’t want my earlier hostilities towards Ralph to show through the call. “Hey, Betty. It’s Gaby.”

“Oh, Miss Carmichael,” I had corrected her several times and begged her to call me Gaby, but now I was just tired of correcting her. “Shall I let Mr. Alexander know you’re on the line?”

“Yes, please.”

With a click, soft music took over the line. Within seconds, the line clicked again.

“Gaby?” Just the sound of his voice had me smiling.

“Hey baby,” I spoke through my grin.

“You okay?”

“Aren’t I suppose to be asking you that?”

“I’m fine,” his voice resounded with a deep chuckle that rolled through my body causing treacherous things to stir. “What about you?”

Frustrated, I sighed heavily. “Well, as soon as I got in, I was asked to go see my boss.”

“Uh oh. I guessing it didn’t go well?”

“Oh, just wait. It gets better. So apparently Ralph is aware that you and I both took time off last week. I don’t know how he came across that information.”

“Gaby, all he had to do was call my office and speak to either of my secretaries. They know that if I’m out, to inform my clients and ask them to call back or schedule something for them at a later time.”

“Well, he thinks you and I were playing hooky.”

“What did you tell him?” Grayson was curious.

I shrugged even though he couldn’t see me. “Nothing,” I ran my finger around the phone cord. “What should I have said? ‘Sorry I wasn’t here because I was trying to get my boyfriend through a transition to vampirism?’”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that does sound a little far-fetched.”

“Ugh!” I groaned laying my head on my desk. “He made me feel like a criminal when I did nothing wrong.”

“You’re right, Gaby. You did nothing wrong and I don’t know if I’ve told you this yet, but I am so grateful for everything you did for me. Not just keeping me alive, but also being with me the past few days, making sure I was alright. I just really appreciate it.”

“Aw… Thanks baby.”

“Seriously, Gaby?” Startled, I jumped, sitting up straight at the sudden appearance of my boss. Instinctively, I covered the phone’s mouthpiece like I would if there was a client on the line. “You just spent over a week away with him and you can’t get over your honeymoon phase to do a couple hours of work?” Ralph spat before scurrying away.

“Did he really just say that to you?” Grayson demanded. I wasn’t used to his vampire hearing yet and was surprised that he heard Ralph’s intrusion.

“Yup,” I snipped, making the ‘P’ pop.

“Gaby, you don’t have to take that. After everything you’ve done for that company? Tell him to fuck off and walk out. You don’t have to work if you don’t want to and if you do then there are always other places that’ll treat you better or better yet you can start your own business.”

I was pleased with Grayson’s statement. I loved the fact that he was on my side and would support me in whatever choice I made and that he didn’t force his desires on me. I could work or not and he was fine either way.

“Thanks baby. I’m really glad to hear you say that, but I just don’t think that’s the right move right now.”

“Whatever you decide, Gaby, I’ll stand with you. Just know you don’t deserve to feel like a criminal.”

“Still not off the phone? This isn’t your personal time, Gaby. If you’re going to be here, then you need to get to work.” Ralph instructed as he walked by. I don’t know what crawled up his panties and died, but I wasn’t going to be his personal punching bag.

“Remember what I said, baby.” Grayson’s voice came through as a whisper across the line.

“Yeah, I will.”

We finished our goodbyes before hanging up the phone.

“Good. Glad to see you’re finally off the phone. In the future Gaby, the phone should be used for business purposes only,” Ralph stated.

“Ralph,” I spoke halting him in his tracks. He turned slowly to face me. “Might I ask what I could have possibly done to piss you off so badly? I mean this can’t all be because I had unexpected, personal business last week.”

“Not out here.” With a roll of my eyes, I followed Ralph into his office. I was spending way too much time in there today. I stood behind the chair I had occupied just moments earlier and watched Ralph make his way to his seat. “As a matter of fact it is. Look Gaby you are a strong employee, but we just don’t have time for the relationship drama that is your life.”

“I beg your pardon.” I was a bit stunned he implied that. My personal life had crossed over into work, but the company had been completely delighted with the prospect because it brought money into the place. It was only once that it had been an issue and it had only been an issue for me.

“Gaby, it has come to our attention that Alexander only gave us the account because of your relationship with him.”

Well, I could have told them that. Grayson and I had only just started dating when he discovered I was working for a company that was bidding on planning the grand opening of his first hotel. Grayson had joked about giving the account to me just so I’d be forced to see him again, not that he had needed to. I had seen him plenty. After I broke up with him, because of Anton’s threats on his life, Grayson had made it clear to the higher ups that he would only keep the deal with us if I was sitting head on the account. That way, I was forced to interact with him even though I had been trying to keep my distance.

“Ralph, Grayson and I started seeing each other before we ever made the bid on that account. I didn’t know who he was until after we started dating and you knew the situation surrounding him giving us the account.”

“Well, the higher-ups believe that you started you’re relationship with Alexander for the sole purpose of getting ahead.”

I gripped the back of the chair suddenly feeling light headed. I felt my stomach flip and bile rise up in my throat. “You can’t be serious? They think I’m sleeping my way to the top?”

Ralph shrugged and for the first time I recognized sympathy behind his eyes. “It doesn’t get much higher than Grayson Alexander, Gaby.”

I took a deep breath before I spoke. “What exactly are you telling me, Ralph?”

He sighed heavily letting his head drop between his shoulders, looking a bit ashamed. “I’m telling you that the company feels that it is unfair to show favoritism to someone just because who they are dating. Look, I’m going to be honest with you.” I nodded giving him the go head to continue. “I don’t think that’s what’s happened here, but it doesn’t matter what I think. The company is going to low ball you at every opportunity they get.”

“But why? I don’t understand. They didn’t have a problem when Grayson requested me for his account even though he and I were broken up and it would be humiliating for me.”

“They received an anonymous letter from an employee stating everything I’ve mentioned. They don’t care what a great job you did for the opening, and you did do a terrific job. They think behind one letter there are several disgruntled employees. They want you out and they want me to make it happen.”

It was all starting to make sense. “So that’s why you’re being an ass.” I risked a glance at Ralph’s face. He didn’t look upset, he simply nodded. “So a letter?” He nodded again. “What did it say?”

Ralph groaned. “You don’t want to know. It was pretty hateful.”

“So, I can either stay and have everyone treat me like horse shit or I can quit,” I conveyed to myself.

“Look I’m not going to ruin your career and neither is the company. If you chose employment elsewhere I’ll give you a raving reference. They just want you out to appease the other employees and they have nothing to fire you over. So making work unbearable is the only option for them.”

I nodded slowly. “I get it. It just pisses me off. I’m being punished because some tight ass nobody is upset because of who I’m sleeping with.”

“It sucks and it’s unfair. I’m sorry, Gaby, but you do have another choice.”

“I do?”

“You can take an undetermined leave of absence. It would be unpaid of course. This way, maybe the situation might blow over.”

I thought about what he was offering. Part of me wanted to tell the company where to stick it, but I didn’t want to lose the option of working somewhere else. I had put a lot of time into Gates and Summers. “What would you do?” I needed a different perspective.

Ralph leaned back, he’s chair letting out a groan. He seemed to really ponder over my question. “I’ve worked for this company for a long time. I’d hate to start over and have to work my way up. I’d take the leave while looking for something else. That way I’m not caught with my pants down. But, you’re young, starting over wouldn’t be that hard.”

I nodded again. “I really don’t want to give them the satisfaction of letting them win. How do I put in my leave request?”

Ralph seemed genuinely stupefied by my question. I think he thought I would have put up more of a fight and a week ago, I might have. Everything was different now. I knew what was important and it wasn’t a job. It was the people in my life. Ralph opened his desk drawer and handed me a stack of papers “If anyone asks, you didn’t hear this from me.” I agreed and filled in the necessary blanks.

“I’ll go clear out my desk.”

“It’s still your desk, Gaby.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know when or if I’ll be back.”

 

 

Since I was out of work early, and for the foreseeable future, I decided to call Shawn. We met up at the Bethesda Fountain. It wasn’t quiet, but I found a sort of comfort watching the people go by.

“Gaby, they can’t fire you over that!” Shawn seemed genuinely more upset than me, but my priorities were lined up differently than they had been.

“They didn’t fire me Shawn. That was the point. I’m on leave.”

“A permanent leave,” he mumbled under his breath then looked guilty when he remembered I wasn’t hard of hearing. “Gabs, they didn’t have any right to do that.”

“Shawn...”

“I know.” He threw up his hands. He and I would just continue to go round and round until one of us conceded. “What’s Grayson think?”

I beamed. “He told me to do whatever made me happy. Given, leaving my job doesn’t give me a thrill, but not letting those bastards have what they wanted, does.”

“Must be nice dating a billionaire that can support you.”

I groaned. “Shawn, he isn’t going to support me. I just...you know what never mind. I gotta get going. I haven’t told Grayson about it yet.”

“I thought you just said...”

“He told me to do whichever, I just haven’t told him that I have yet,” I yelled over my shoulder as I walked away; ready to be done with the conversation.

I couldn’t fathom why Shawn didn’t understand. Even if I wasn’t dating Grayson, a job was something I wanted, not a necessity. It had nothing to do with his billions and I had no intention of staying out of work to become one of those women that were simply arm candy for the rich enthusiast they were with. I enjoyed working. I had enjoyed my job, but I wasn’t about to have them manipulate me or treat me horribly. I could always find something else or maybe Ralph was right and it would blow over. But as with everything, it always came down to Grayson’s money. I’m sure everyone thought it. My coworkers, my boss, the higher ups at Gates and Summers, although I had never thought Shawn was one of them.

 

 

When Grayson arrived home later that night, I was sitting at the bar with dinner spread out while swirling a glass of wine. I figured he wouldn’t want to spend his time cooking after his first day back at the office and lord knows I couldn’t cook to save my life, not unless Grayson was walking me through every step, which would be even more exhausting for him then just cooking himself, so I opted for takeout. I had everything set out. Plates, silverware, glasses, wine and even blood heating for an after dinner nightcap. He grinned devilishly at me when he entered.

“Look who was the busy bee,” he declared leaning down to kiss me.

I lingered on his lips for a moment then gave him one brief kiss before breaking away. “It’s what I do now,” I shrugged.

He pulled back. His brow knitted in confusion. “Your job?” I looked down shaking my head. “I’m sorry, baby.”

I shrugged. “It’s okay. I opted to take a leave of absence. It holds my job so they can’t replace me permanently. They will be using temps until I quit.”

Grayson chuckled. “That’s my girl, sticking it to the man.” I giggled. “You know you can always plan our parties at work and not just because I love you,” he rushed through the last part when he saw I was getting ready to protest. “All my people thought you did a wonderful job.”

I grinned at him. “I’ll keep that in mind, but tomorrow I’m going to start looking for something else. We both know being a housewife isn’t my forte.”

Grayson tilted his head to the side studying me. “You know you don’t have to. I mean, if you like, you can take a break. Enjoy a breather. Just relax. When you’re feeling refreshed, start job hunting or don’t. I make...”

“Don’t even go there.” He frowned when I cut him off. “I appreciate the offer.”

“Just think about it,” he suggested and I agreed.

After dinner and our nightcap, which Grayson looked at in disgust, we headed to bed. I figured it would take a while for him to wrap his mind around the idea of blood. When he was feeding from me it was instinct mixed with lust. He didn’t have the time to over think it.

“I’m exhausted and I know this is such a woman thing to say, but can we just cuddle,” Grayson beseeched as I crawled into bed.

I giggled as I moved into the crevice his arm was making for me. “We don’t have to have sex every night, Grayson.”

He sighed. “I know, but we’re just so amazing at it. It seems like a waste when we don’t.”

I poked him in the chest and he chuckled. “Was today hard for you?” I inquired. Grayson had an empire to run, but his cravings wouldn’t care about that. They were in charge, especially for a newbie. I hoped the blood I sent him with was enough.

“It wasn’t easy.” He adjusted to look at me. “Do you know how wonderful people smell and how different?” I nodded, biting my lip to keep from smiling. “I never noticed before,” he added.

“It gets easier. Soon you’ll be around them and be able to see them as people instead of walking lunchables. Did the blood help?”

“It did,” he noted looking away mortified. I wasn’t sure why. “I took a little sip before anyone walked into my office. And you were right. It even got a little easier throughout the day.”

“Other than the blood, anything else bother you? Silver? The sun?”

Pressing out his bottom lip, like he was thinking, he shook his head. “No, everything else was good.” I heard his heart speed up a little, but I ignored it.

“Well that’s good.” I leaned up to kiss him and was careful to not push it further. “I love you, Grayson.”

“I love you more, Gaby.”