The Vampire (THE VAMPIRE Book 1) (5 page)

“Still good.” Jason nodded.

“Personal life: single, with no dependents. No serious financial concerns. No past or current legal issues. Current driver’s license with clean driving record. Must have or be able to obtain a passport.”

Genier glanced up at him.

Jason nodded. “Still good.”
I didn’t realize I was so vanilla,
he mused.

“No extreme religious nor political views, especially any that could interfere with the job responsibilities. I realize this is a grey area,” Genier stated, “but it is reviewed on an individual basis. So if there were any concerns, better to be up front about them now, than to face dismissal later.”

Jason nodded. “I don’t have a personal agenda to push on anyone.”

“Shall I continue, then?” Genier asked, and received a nod.

Damn, they are thorough
.

“Sexuality is not an issue but we do prefer someone who is at least open minded; and homophobic is not acceptable.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Oh…is he…?”

“It’s just that living in the same house with another man, traveling together—some people could feel uncomfortable with that arrangement, or have concerns as to appearances.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I’m not—for what it’s worth. And other people’s orientation—not a problem for me.”

“All right, then.” Genier replied. Jason still wasn’t clear about Augere’s status. Not that it mattered though.

“Preferred candidates would have a university level education; intelligent and articulate; be of good character and possess integrity; honesty and loyalty are important; applicant should be organized, resourceful; a sense of humor is definitely a plus; having varied, well rounded interests—well, I think you get the general idea.”

“Yes.” Jason exhaled.

“Of course, we realize much of this screening is not politically correct, but this isn’t a public sector position we are discussing. This is a position with a private person. We reserve the right to be highly selective. And as you can see, the selection is not as random nor arbitrary as it may have appeared at first.

“Shall I continue?” Genier asked.

“There’s more?” Jason asked with surprise.

Genier nodded. “In addition to the health screen and drug testing, there would be a thorough background check to verify all of the information. There would be a personality profile and additional psychological testing as well. And there is the confidentiality agreement to be signed and strictly adhered to. Employment would be at will; no contract, per se.” Genier glanced up at Jason. “Is this understood?”

Jason nodded.

“Neither yourself, nor any family member can be currently or previously a member of any military, or government position, at any level, nor any member of the medical profession.”

“Uh, oh.”

“Yes?” Genier asked, meeting Jason’s gaze.

“My brother. He works as a psychiatric technician; so technically, he is a member of the medical profession.”

“Yes,” Genier nodded. “That could disqualify you.”

Jason nodded.

“Otherwise, if all else checks out, you do seem to meet the basic criteria, so far.”

“I’m very surprised to say—it seems I do. Not that it matters now. I believe I am already disqualified.”

“Some things are not automatically grounds for disqualification, depending on the situation. I would have to run this by Mr. Augere, regardless. He trusts my judgment and seeks my input but he has final say, no matter what. Even if someone were to pass everything, he could still change his mind and say no. I will tell him about this development and see what he thinks.”

Jason shrugged. Genier placed a phone call.

“Hi. Is everything going okay?…hmmm…yes, well I can’t say I’m surprised at that. Oh…you did. I see. Well…I am with Mr. Sterling at present; a problem has come up. No……no…yes. But he tells me his brother works as a”—he looked to Jason to supply the term again—“a psychiatric technician. In the medical field. Yes…hmmm…yes…I see…I’ll ask him.” He turned his attention to Jason.

Jason felt his pulse quicken but not because of the probable disqualification. That stranger was on the phone, discussing him.

“Do you consider yourself close to your brother? Do you share opinions; ever ask his advice on matters?”

It was a little embarrassing. Jason didn’t really want to admit he wasn’t all that close to his brother. But he felt compelled to tell the truth.

He shook his head. “Truthfully, I don’t think I have ever asked his opinion or advice on anything; I do like him, but we are very different people and we have never really been close.”

Genier relayed the message. “Yes…that is confirmed. I see. Okay. No, I don’t think so. I’ll call you tomorrow then.” He hung up.

“He says because of those circumstances, he would allow it, if you were to accept the position, provided that all of the other criteria are met and no future problems arise from that situation. What are your thoughts?” Genier asked.

Jason shrugged. Genier took a sip of his wine. He waited, patiently.

“I think it’s a lot of money to pay someone just to be an assistant. He must be a monster to work for…sorry—I didn’t mean to be so blunt. It’s just that—I don’t know anything about him. I have no idea what I am getting into.” He paused. “Maybe it would be the worst possible decision.” Jason lowered his gaze as Genier studied him for several moments. Then Genier spoke in a solemn voice:

“I guess it all depends on how you perceive him. He can be difficult and definitely quite a challenge at times. But there are many rewards too…”

Jason was lost in his own thoughts. Genier thought he appeared ambivalent, undecided.

“How long will you be in New Orleans?”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Jason answered.

“If you wished to stay a little longer, I might be able to arrange to do the background checks and the psychological testing tomorrow. Possibly the health screen as well, though I’m not sure.”

Jason met his gaze then. Was he really considering taking this position? It was a job; and a very good paying one. Good benefits. It was in Boston, a place he could see himself living. But—living with a total stranger. A disquietingly strange person. Then again, he had always been drawn to the strange and unusual. Something else was very compelling here as well; something that intrigued him and he couldn’t define it.
But—no, I can’t do it,
he thought. He glanced away and then back at Genier, who was still waiting patiently for his reply. It wasn’t like he was being pressured to do this.

“You don’t have to decide right now, of course,” Genier said, sensing Jason’s continued reluctance. “Take a week, a month even, to think it over if you need to. I would rather that you—that anyone—thought this through very carefully, rather than make a hasty decision—either way. You can always call with any questions or concerns. You have my number.”

Jason nodded.
I probably should go back to my room for a while. I could get some vacillating done
. He smiled to himself.

“Thank you for lunch. I really did enjoy that.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Jason. I wish you well in your endeavors.”

“A pleasure meeting you too, Mr. Genier,” Jason said with sincerity. They parted with a handshake.

Once back in his room, Jason lay on his bed, thinking over the events of the past twenty-four hours.

He really liked Genier. There was a sincere warmth and kindness about him. He felt that man could be trusted. He was still very curious about this Augere. There was something about him he couldn’t quite pin down. If only he could have seen him again. He shook his head.
I can’t just go off and share living space and work for someone I know nothing about. It’s crazy. No. I am absolutely not doing this
.

He freshened up and then went out to enjoy his last hours in New Orleans, with a plan to round out the evening exploring the weird and raucous nightlife around Bourbon Street again. But first a quick stop at the Casino to throw some of his money away—once the allotted $20 was gone, so was he—and then a walk through the French Market once more, a stop to get a muffaletta from Central Grocery for later and then a quick stop for a drink and a browse of the gift shop at Margaritaville.

The next day was Tuesday and Jason’s original USAirways 1508 flight left New Orleans for Minnesota promptly at 12:15.

At 12:20, Jason was sitting at the Café du Monde finishing an order of café au lait and beignets. He glanced at the watch of a stranger sitting at the next table.
Well—my plane has just left
, he said to himself.
That’s that
.

He had returned to his hotel late the night before and called the airlines to change his flight to Tuesday evening. Then early this morning he had called Genier and was able to set up several of the screening procedures. “Well, I’m right here, now,” he told himself. “So why not? Just do it. Just in case. What if there are no decent job offers when you get home. What’s wrong with going along with this, for now? What’s the damage? You can always change your mind.”

He had spent the morning being poked, examined, sampled and analyzed. It was all of the things he hated, all at once, all in one morning. And now that part of it was over.

He was taking a short break, before he went back to his hotel to meet with Matthew Genier, a relative of James, who would be doing the psychological profile and more personality testing. All this, and Jason still had no real intention yet of taking the job. He still thought of himself as just going through the motions. Kind of his backup plan. In case nothing better came along. He was almost, but not completely, trusting of the whole situation, which was why the testing would be done at a conference room at his hotel: a safe, public place. Having impulsively made the decision to do this, he now passively went along, swept up in the process once things had been put into motion.

He had already balked at one thing in the process: he did not want to be fingerprinted. He had nothing to hide; just the idea of being in Big Brother’s system set his teeth on edge.

He had met Matthew Genier, and his son Sean, in the lobby of his hotel. Jason could see the resemblance to each other, and to James. All were classically handsome; father and son were tall; dressed in business attire; had the same professional demeanor. But it was clear to Jason almost immediately that Matthew lacked the grace and warmth he had witnessed in James. There was something—he couldn’t say what—that he did not like about him. Sean came across as an average college student; Jason felt neutral toward him.

Sean was handling the background checks. He had explained to Jason that Mr. Augere had valuables—should anything go missing, the fingerprints could exonerate Jason; he didn’t buy it. He still refused. What if they planted his fingerprints on some murder weapon or stolen goods? Something that could implicate him, months, or even years from now. He wasn’t going to be
that
trusting.

Matthew explained his profession was psychologist and he would be doing routine psychological testing. Jason was familiar with these tests, similar to those done as part of the curriculum during his college studies.

He performed an IQ test. Matthew informed him he had an above average IQ.

“117.” Jason nodded.

“122, actually,” Matthew told him.

Jason inclined his head slightly. He had picked up an extra five points somehow? For his interview with Matthew, Jason had decided to dress all in black; he wore some of his gothic jewelry and had left on the black nail polish he sometimes wore when he went out to clubs. He had spiked up his hair slightly and added a small streak of purple. He still looked rather toned down as far as his usual goth attire often went, but he was way over the line for a job screening. He would never have gone to a “real” job interview with that appearance. He would have tried to appear as normal as possible. But all of this didn’t seem quite real to him. And he wanted to dress as himself; not to draw attention or to shock, but not to misrepresent himself either. It seemed important just then to be accepted for who he was. But on a deeper level, Jason acknowledged this also reflected his ambivalence about the job. He recognized he might just be sabotaging his chances.

But when he had met the two Geniers in the lobby, neither of them had seemed at all concerned or even surprised at his appearance. Jason was amused he felt almost a little disappointed at that. Sean gathered some information and then left to do the background checks. Matthew began the testing.

After more than three hours of testing, Jason was asked to write approximately a page or so describing himself and his interests. Jason knew this wasn’t just about what he wrote. They would analyze his handwriting as well as the content. He was already starting to feel weary and a little bored with the process. It had been an intensive, busy morning; they had managed to cram nearly two days’ worth of screening into one day. Was this an attempt to determine his endurance and stamina also?

But then, he had volunteered to do it.

He chewed at the end of his pen for a moment and then he began to write.

“I collect spores, molds and fungus. I enjoy origami, especially creating life size whales; I like to participate in the team sport of skipping along the beach. If I could have one wish it would be for Middle Earth peace and for everyone on the planet to drink root beer every day.”

He started laughing to himself and looked up to see Matthew’s grimly serious expression. Much too serious.

“Uhm…can I have another piece of paper? I kind of got off track here.”

“It’s fine. Whatever you’ve written. Don’t be too concerned—spontaneous is best.”

Bullshit
. Jason looked around the room. There was more paper but Matthew wasn’t going to give it to him, was he? Matthew continued to watch him with that all too dour expression. Jason guessed him to be in his forties; maybe around the same age as James Genier. He lacked James Genier’s appeal and appeared to be humorless. Jason didn’t trust anyone who had no sense of humor.

Fine. Fine then. So what if I screw this up
.

He continued to write, keeping the rest of the content general, paying attention to his handwriting; nothing extreme. He tried to offset his frivolous remarks and make himself appear as ordinary as possible and a little boring. He did actually mention some of his real interests: his love of reading different genres; art; travel; popular culture and media studies; his love of movies; an interest in French language and culture; going to paranormal conferences and participating in ghost investigations. He provided one page only.