Blood of the Son (Book #1 in the Skye Morrison Vampire Series) (Skye Morrison Series) (6 page)

Archer quickly continued with his questions. “There may be times where you might see or hear things from our PVIP clients that will require your utmost discretion.  The subject matter may be very sensitive.  Do you think you will be able to keep everything you see or hear to yourself?  Our clients pay us handsomely to look the other way sometimes.  Will that make you uncomfortable?”

I thought about it for a few quick moments.  “I believe I will be fine with that, Archer,” I said, secretly hoping I wouldn’t have to view any weird sex acts.  I wasn’t a prude, but I sure wasn’t comfortable watching others have sex with each other.  I thought of what else ‘sensitive subject matter’ could possibly mean and was drawing a blank.  It didn’t really matter, though. $85,000 was $85,000, and I would put up with just about anything to get and keep this job.

“Are you willing to travel?” he asked me.

“Sure, I don’t mind traveling.  But, I do have a dog at home, so I’ll need ample time to make arrangements for her to stay elsewhere while I’m away.”

“That won’t be a problem,” he said with a smile.  “Accommodating her will not be an issue.  Should you need to board her, I will pay for the stay.”

“That’s very generous of you,” I said, relieved that he would pick up the tab.

“Think nothing of it.  Now, Skye, tell me…what would it be like working with you?” he asked me as he leaned forward in his chair, and gazed intently at me with his piercing, ice blue eyes.  I momentarily got light headed and felt like I was falling into them.  I looked down at my lap and shook my head to clear the feeling.  I remembered that I hadn’t eaten anything all day, and figured it must be low blood sugar that caused me to feel dizzy.  I would have to make sure to eat something before my shift tonight.  I looked up to see if Archer had noticed, but he didn’t seem to, so I answered his question.

“Well, I think you would enjoy it.  I’m a straight forward girl, so I’ll tell you like it is.  I won’t be a “Yes Man”, so don’t expect that.  If you ask my opinion on something, I’ll give an honest answer.  I work hard and I’m always on time to work.  I like to joke around and laugh, but I also know when to be serious.  I like getting to know my co-workers and enjoy celebrating birthdays and big events in their lives.  And, I bake a mean birthday cake, just so you know.” I added with a little smile.

“I like that,” he said, smiling, settling back into his chair and interlocking his fingers on his stomach.  “What do you say we play a little game of word association?  I’ll say a word and you’ll quickly tell me the first word that comes to mind when you hear it.  Sound good?”

I licked my lips, sat up straighter in my chair, and re-crossed my legs uncomfortably. 
He’s psychoanalyzing me?  Great.
  I groaned inwardly.  I was a bit nervous.  I knew a little about psychology from a friend of mine who majored in it in back in college.  I knew that my answers would probably reveal a lot more about me than I would normally tell someone; revealing even things or emotions I wasn’t consciously aware of.  I took a deep breath and looked him square in the eyes. 
Fuck it.  Bring it on, mister. 
I smiled and silently quoted Popeye
.  “I yam what I yam.”  Take me or leave me.

“Okay.  Sounds good.”

Archer stared at me for a few seconds and then he began the test.  “Water.”

I smiled and thought of the last vacation that I took with my mom to Hawaii.  “Waves.”

“Work.”

“Determination.”

“Life.”

“Adventure.”

“Death.”

I had a sudden memory being eight years old and attending my grandfather’s funeral.  He was the only father figure that I’d ever had in my life.  He was so kind, patient, and extremely smart.  My Papaw always had an answer for every question that I asked him, and believe me, I asked a lot of them.  He took his time explaining things.  He never rushed and was never too busy.  One of the fondest memories that I have of him is when I asked him to teach me how to shoot a rifle.  I wanted to be just like one of the cowboys that he was always reading about in his Louis L’Amour books.  He got out my uncle’s old Red Ryder BB gun and took me out behind the house and into the vegetable garden for practice.  Papaw told me that, since I was just starting my “Cowboy Training”, I could only shoot at the ground or shoot at the moon.   I had wanted to complain about not being able to shoot at cans like I’d seen him do, but he quickly reminded me that a good cowboy was a patient cowboy.  He said that there would be plenty of time for that once I got used to the gun.  Papaw died shortly after that day.

I swallowed the painful memory and answered, “Heartbreaking.”

Archer’s brow furrowed and he looked sympathetic for a moment before he continued.  “Black.”

“Favorite.”  Black happened to be my favorite color. 
…or is black considered a shade?

“Cold”

“Fuzzy socks.”  I smiled and briefly covered my mouth.  “Oops.  That’s technically two words.”

Archer chuckled and shook his head.  “That’s quite alright, Miss Morrison,” he said, then immediately resumed the test.  “Sun.”

“Bikini.”

“Oppression.”

“Courage.”

“Strong.”

I thought instantly of my single mother.  “Mother.”

“Father.”

“Overrated.” 

“Love.”

I stared at Archer for a few seconds and started to get anxious. 
Love… 
I repeated silently in my head.  This word was loaded question. No matter how I answered it, it would be revealing a lot about me.  The first word that instantly came to mind was pain.  I had thought that I was starting to fall in love with Jesse right before the incident in the bar two months ago.  Our subsequent breakup was pretty painful for me.  I didn’t know if I wanted Archer to pick up on that.  I try to be a strong person,…try not to let things get to me.  But, lately, love wasn’t a very positive emotion for me.

I thought about giving him a generic answer like puppies or marriage, but then it wouldn’t be honest.  I swallowed and took a deep breath before I answered.  “Pain.”

Archer’s brow furrowed slightly for the briefest moment before he resumed his usual relaxed face.  If I hadn’t have been watching him so closely for his reaction, I never would have caught it.

“Fight.”

“Defend.”

“Werewolf.”

“Hairy.”  I smiled.

“Vampire.”

“Mysterious.” 
Strong. Exciting. Sensual. 
The words silently poured out as I felt myself blush slightly.  I had just finished reading a really good vampire romance novel last week.  I had crushed a little on the male vampire love interest.

“Witches.”

“Broomstick.”

“Intimacy.”

 I looked down at my hands.  “Trust.”

“Trust.”

I looked back up at Archer.  “Earned.”

“Loyalty.”

“Important.”

“Secret.”

“Silence.”

Archer interlocked his fingers behind his head and relaxed even further into the chair.  “Very good, Miss Morrison.  Now, do you have any questions for me?”

I took a sip of my Cappuccino, glad that the psychoanalyzation portion of the interview was over.  “As a matter of fact, I do,” I said, with a curious grin.  “What made you want to open a club here in Austin?”

“Well, Austin is considered the live music capital of the world,” he replied swiveling in his chair a bit from side to side.  “What better place to open a club?  There are plenty of tourists and college students guaranteed to pass through here every year.  And, my brother wanted to come here and try his hand at making it big in the music industry.  So, I figured that I’d come along, too.  Besides, the other clubs I own back home are doing well and I wanted to branch out a little.”

“And, where is home, Archer?  Ireland?” I guessed, based on his accent.

“Aye!  Good ear, Skye,” he said, with a wide grin.  “Originally, I’m from a small town outside of Dublin.  But, I moved to Boston a number of years ago.”

“How exciting.  I hear Ireland is beautiful.  I’ve never been but it’s on my bucket list.” 

I thought about how the interview was going so far, and decided that it was going pretty well.  I wanted the job so badly.  My current salary didn’t stand a chance against my student loans.  I knew I’d like working here with Archer as my boss, long hours or not.  I wanted to ask him if he was going to hire me, but thought it was too forward. 
Screw it.  Forward is practically my middle name.
  “So, Archer…what do you think?  Am I Mausoleum material?” I asked, silently praying for good news.

His face lit up and he laughed as he leaned forward in his chair and slapped his hand down on the desk.  “I like you, Skye.  You aren’t afraid to go after what you want.  I think you’d fit in here great,” he said with a grin.  “When can you start?”

“When would you like me to start, Archer?” I inquired, ecstatic that I got the job, but trying to play it cool.

“Well, I could use some help with staffing and paperwork,” he said, thinking hard and running his hand through his hair.  “How about you start this week, on a part time basis, until we fully open.  I know you are still working at the other bar, so I’ll work around their schedule for now.  But, once we open, I’m going to need you to be open, okay?”

This wasn’t the ideal situation, but it would have to work. 
Dan will understand me having to quit Drop Kick’s, won’t he?
  This was not a conversation I was ready to have with him tonight, but I guess I had to get it over with.  “That sounds great to me, Archer,” I said happily.  I didn’t feel the need to clue him in on my inner turmoil.  “I work the late shift tonight, then the day shift, 11am-7pm, for the rest of this week.”

“Come on over when you get off work tonight.  I’ll give you a proper tour and you can help me with a couple of things,” he said, standing up and walking around the desk.

“Of course,” I said, standing and grabbing my bag.  “I’ll be here at about 2:00am.  Are you sure that’s not too late for you?”

He clapped, rubbed his hands together, and smiled a heart stopping smile.  “Late is never late around here.  I’m glad you came today, Miss Morrison.  It was a pleasure, as always.  Now, go on down back the way you came and Gunnar will see you out.”

“Thank you, Archer,” I said, walking over to the door and opening it.  “I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you tonight, Skye,” Archer said as he closed the door behind me.

I slowly descended the stairs and stopped when I reached the second floor door.  I was too excited to take a step further.  I had to jump up and down and do a little dance.  I just got hired as an Executive Assistant at an awesome Goth/Industrial night club and I was being paid an insane amount of money to be at the beck and call of a gorgeous man.  Did it get ANY cooler than this?!  I righted my shirt, tucked what little of it came out of my pants back in, and fixed my hair.  I opened the door and was met by a familiar husky figure.

“This way, Miss Morrison,” Gunnar said, quickly turning and walking toward the stairs leading to the main floor.

I hurried to follow him, wondering why he was suddenly using my name. I would have bet anyone $20.00 that he wouldn’t have remembered it.  I followed Gunnar down the grand metal staircase to the first floor and across the room to the entrance.  I could definitely tell that Gunnar wasn’t one for small talk.

When we reached the door I thanked Gunnar and left.  I walked out to the back parking lot and got into my car.  As soon as I shut the door, I leaned my head back onto the headrest, closed my eyes, and sighed.

I did it,
I thought. 
I found a job!  And, I did it in record time.  I am so lucky to have come across Archer like I did.
 
Maybe it’s fate, perhaps. 
I smiled at the thought, put my messenger bag on the front passenger’s seat, and headed over the few blocks to Drop Kick Dan’s.  I didn’t know how I was going to tell Dan that I already found another job, but I had tonight’s entire shift to figure it out.  At least Nikki would be there.  She’d help me break the news to him.

I pulled into the employee parking lot at Dan’s and got out of my car.  I checked my hair in my car’s side mirror, and then walked the few steps to the back door.  I hurried over to the employee restrooms and quickly changed into a short black skirt and a red lace, deep V-neck cap sleeved shirt.  I threw on some perfume and freshened up my makeup.  After a final check in the mirror, I grabbed my interview clothes and messenger bag and walked out the door towards Dan’s office. 

I was busy stuffing the clothes in my bag when I suddenly ran into something. 

“Jesus, Skye!  Scare a girl much?!”  Nikki said as she turned around, clutching her chest. She had dropped the armful of packaged napkins that she had just taken out of storage.

“My bad, Nikki.  I wasn’t paying any attention.  Here, let me help you,” I said, bending down to pick up the napkins, feeling bad for scaring her.

“Thanks, Cupcake,” she said, accepting the packages from me.  “Hey, by the way, how did your interview go with Mr. Rich and Gorgeous?”