I went red in embarrassment. I really needed to get some more sleep! “Of course not!”
Draven studied me, probably trying to see if I’d bolt if he showed me, then, when I showed no fear, he lifted one corner of his top lip with his index finger. The incisor there lengthened as I watched it. I wanted to get closer and observe it in fascination. By sheer force of will, I forced myself to remain seated.
I canted my head to the side as he released his lip. My fingers tapped on my bottom lip as I stared at him. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling at the moment. Definitely calm and ease, but also… curiosity. I was no dummy. Fictional vampires tended to be stabby with their teeth, and sort of murdery. But I was curious because that was not at all what Draven Leto projected. And not at all what I felt around him.
My instincts dismissed his top of the line suit, and his thousand dollar watch, reminding me that pretty packages sometimes held killers. My feelings quietly whispered that he was a genuinely good person, and for the moment, he looked totally at ease and not at all murderyorstabby.
Would it be rude of me to assume that he’d already eaten for the evening?
Probably.
After a long silence, I finally answered him. “I’m not afraid, but keep in mind my head is full of cotton at the moment. I reserve the right to be afraid or change my mind in the future. This is not exactly a typical interview for me, no matter how typical it is for you or the people of this town.”
He nodded.
I’d missed the town I’d come into, being asleep and all, but I knew from a conversation with Draven that it was a hidden town of supernaturals that mortals couldn’t find, and couldn’t enter.
I refocused and handed him my resume that I dug out of my handbag. “Here’s my updated resume with my degree listed. I have a generalized degree in business, but I can handle any secretarial or administrative assistant job. I don’t have experience, but I graduated at the top of my class.”
Draven poured some of my tea into another floral tea cup, and sat back with it, sipping it. He looked at the cup a little in surprise, and I could tell he was trying to figure out if he liked it or not.
I could tell that he was picking up on my puzzlement over him making such a fuss over bringing me in for an interview. Not that I was complaining. It would be lovely to work here, but I still didn’t understand what made me a a good candidate.
“Have you been able to figure out what kind of supernatural you are yet?”
“No, I haven’t.” And it hadn’t been for lack of trying. I looked fully human when I looked in the mirror. No gray skin or tipped ears. I didn’t seem to have any extra strength, and I for sure didn’t have wings. I would have noticed those bad boys long before now.
“You’re an empath, Miss Durran, and my guess is that you’re a strong one.” He eyed me over the steam of his cup. “When I took control of your motor functions, you could still think clearly and move some of your body, yes?”
His question didn’t sound like a question at all. It felt like he already knew the answer. “Yes. I could think clearly. I could also move small things on my body.” There was no need to mention that the sense of peace I’d felt speaking with him had been so abnormal for me, and so strong that it’d almost snapped me out of his control.
He nodded, as if what I was saying was something he had expected. “Empaths get strength from a sense of equanimity inside of them. Everything in our lives is designed to test our inner balance, and for an empath, it can be a sometimes unsurmountable task. One that many empaths never find. I don’t know if it’s common for you to have that sense of harmony every day, but on the day of the test, I felt, through my control of your body, that you had an incredibly strong sense of inner balance. As a matter of fact, I felt my control over you slide off for a few brief moments, as though you’d blinked out of existence. There’s really only one type of supernatural that can combat a vampire’s control, and that’s an empath. Empaths of significant strength are a rarity.
“I run a multi-billion dollar company. A strong empath would be helpful to me in the day-to-day running of my corporation. You can give me insights that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to have into the companies and the people I deal with on an everyday basis. From those who work for me at my firm, to the CEOs and staff of other companies that I’m interested in doing business with. That insight would help me know if the company and people are honorable and truthful. Or if they’re a den of vipers intent on taking my money without intending to keep their end of the contract. I have my own senses, too, of course, but I would trust yours over my own in most cases. You would also help me with personnel issues at DL Industries. We work from home, but I’m often on video conference with my CFO and COO from our home office, and the hard truth is that in this large of a company, personalities, priorities, and experiences clash, creating a disharmonious work place. I want to avoid that as much as possible. Part of your job duties will be to take video calls from the various department heads and help them manage our large team.”
I blinked, my mind churning with the blast of too much information. An empath? I was an empath? A sudden and intense sense of peace distilled upon me. It was so strong that I could only sit there in stillness and let it run its course through my body. An empath. That made…sense. It felt right. It actually explained so much! I wondered if the fact that I’d been raised around non supernaturals, and lived among them had been the reason I’d felt so chaotic. Maybe mortalsalwaysfelt that chaotic? Because, thus far, I was feeling pretty serene, even considering that he’d just basically told me I’d be a babysitter for adults.
Some of what I was feeling, the awe over my being an empath, and the cringiness of having to mediate grown adults, must have shown on my face, because Mr. Leto laughed.
“So, if I’m hearing you correctly, I would need to sit in on your board meetings, and your meetings with other businesses that you’re auditioning to see if what they want and what you’re offering is a good fit. I’d also need to help with whatever personnel problems the heads of departments are having at your main office.”
He nodded. “As well as general secretarial things here. This is where we will work from.” He indicated his desk. I assumed I would get a desk too, and I was excited about that. I remembered being a little kid, and getting excited when school would start again in the fall, because each kid in the group homes got a new binder, pencils, pens, paper, etc. The thought of new erasers had made my 9-year-old self heady with delight. I felt the same delight over having a desk all to myself, and being able to stock it with a pin board, knick knacks, pens, etc.
I almost chortled. I eyed the space on the opposite end of Mr. Leto’s desk and thought my desk would go there very nicely. When I glanced back to Draven, I could tell he’d noted my mental wanderings, and by the look on his face, had guessed at them.
Right. Vampire older than dinosaurs.
Draven set his teacup down. “Your face is very expressive. At least to me,” he said. His lips twitched, and I grimaced. I usually kept my thoughts under better wraps than that.
“So, back to me being an empath. That actually makes sense as I think back on my life. But what else does that make me? Does that make me a witch? A wizard?”
He shook his head. “For now, it just makes you a very strong empath. Empaths sometimes get secondary gifts of magic as well, especially if you had magic on both sides of your bloodline. But you don’t know your biological parents, am I right?”
I nodded. He and I had that conversation the second time we’d talked. He’d been curious about my parents and I’d had to tell him that they were no longer living.
“Well, that just means you’re a wildcard right now,” Draven continued. “One of your parents might have been an empath, and the other could have been human or another type of paranormal.” He scrutinized me. “Any other things in your past that seem out of place or different?”
I mean, where did I start? But all joking aside, I tried to remember anythingextraodd about my past, and came up with nothing.
