I felt a sense of anticipation and excitement as I hit the green button.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Durran, so good to hear from you. Can I assume you gave me your number because you’re curious about why you can see the ad and those around you can’t?” His voice was wicked-deep and sensuously amused.
“You can. Also, I’m looking for a secretarial job, and you seem to be looking for a secretary.” Although, whatkindof secretary he was looking for, I still wasn’t entirely sure of. Personal assistant to a vampire was just crazy talk.
His laughter was potent and heady, filling me with a combustible, effervescent feeling. I tapped a finger on my sensible cotton pants I used for job searching and tried to come up with a sane, polite way of asking my question.
“To answer your question, Ms. Durran, only a small percentage of people would have been able to see the ad.”
“But why?” I stood at the window, my breath and the chilled window colliding and creating steamy fog. It was early spring, but Manhattan was still locked in icy weather.
I heard a shuffling of papers, and theskritchof an expensive pen-nub on paper. “I’d like the opportunity to explain in person, and I’d like to interview you for the job. Can I send a courier with a plane ticket?”
A beat of silence. My first thought was,Yay, a job!My second was astonishment that he was still playing the game of looking for an assistant. And that he apparently was a vampire. Uh-huh.
“You mean the job for a vampire’s assistant?” I said, disbelief heavy in my wry tone.
His smile was almost audible. Theskritchof the pen stopped. “I can prove it over the phone if you’d like.”
I almost laughed aloud. He’d like to prove it. Over the phone. That he was a vampire.
Well, game on!
“Of course, Mr. Leto. By all means, please prove that you’re a vampire.”
I just knew that his smile had become wolfish. How…did I know that?
I shook my head to clear it.
“Where are you standing in your apartment, Mia?”
I frowned. “At my window.”
“All right. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Laughter again. Deep and sensuous. “So polite.”
Then his voice changed. The laughter was gone, and in its place was a thick, powerful presence that sent warm chills down my spine.Warm chills are different,I thought inanely. “Mia, go to your refrigerator door and open it.”
My spine snapped straight, my hands clenched the phone, and my feet marched to my fridge. And I knew it would sound crazy to others, but I wasn’t at all afraid. Even over the phone, I felt such a powerful surge of peace that it almost broke whatever hold Mr. Leto had over me. The peace, in fact, was so strong that tears pricked my eyes. I felt content for the first time in a long time. It was such an alien feeling that I had to blink away more tears. I reached the fridge and yanked on the handle. The light blinked on, somewhat stutteringly, and the cold air hit me with a soothing puff of breeze. “What’s in your fridge, Mia?”
I fought the response that sprang to my lips, embarrassment making me cringe. I didn’t want to tell a potential employer, and an obviously well-off man, that here was one water bottle in my fridge and nothing else. Not even an open box of baking soda.
His tone turned soft, but still had that zing of command. “Mia, what’s in your fridge?”
“Nothing,” I sighed. “A water bottle.”
He was quiet for a moment. “No food?” His tone had changed into one of concern, and I felt validated in my assessment of that tiny part of his personality, at least. Mr. Leto seemed to have a bit of a caretaker’s personality.
I shook my head and then rolled my eyes.He can’t see you, Mia!“No food. But I have some in the cupboards,” I said truthfully, but with the obvious intent that he wouldn’t feel sorry for me. Heck, I just might need to go grocery shopping, for all he knew!
As if on command, my stomach snarled loudly. I put a hand over it to soothe it, but Draven apparently had the ears of a fox.
“Was that your stomach?” His voice sounded half amused and half appalled. What, he’d never been hungry before?
