Chapter 1
Cassidy’s hands were clammy and shaking. She had just retyped the same thing three times. At this rate, she would have to work even later than normal to get her work done. She sighed heavily.
Pull yourself together.
With shaking hands, she grabbed her purse from the floor next to her, she reached inside and pulled out the folded up newspaper article.
Have you ever wanted to date a vampire?
Human women required. Must be enthusiastic about interactions with vampires. Must be willing to undergo a stringent medical exam. Must be prepared to sign a contractual agreement which would include a non-disclosure clause. This will be a temporary position. Limited spaces available within the program. Successful candidates can earn up to $45,000 per day, over a three day period.
All she needed was three days leave.
Cassidy wasn’t sure whether her hands were shaking because she had to ask for the leave and her boss was a total douche bag or because the thought of vampires drinking her blood wasn’t exactly a welcome one.
More than likely a combination of both.
This was a major opportunity for her though. She had already been accepted into the trial phase of the program that the vampires were running. What was three days in her life? So there was a little risk involved. Okay, a lot of risk, but it would all be worth it in the end. She was drowning in debt. Stuck in a dead-end job. Stuck in this godforsaken town. This was her chance, her golden opportunity, and she planned on seizing it with both hands.
To remind herself what she was working towards, or at least running away from, she let her eyes roam around her cluttered desk. There were several piles of documents needing to be filed. A stack of orders lay next to her cranky old laptop. Hopefully it wouldn’t freeze on her this time while she was uploading them into the system. It had been months since Sarah had left. There used to be two of them performing her job, and since her colleague was never replaced it was just her. She found more and more that she had to get to work way earlier and stay later and later just to get the job done.
To add insult to injury, there were many days that her a-hole boss still had the audacity to come down on her for not meeting a deadline. He refused to listen to reason and would not accept being understaffed as an excuse. She’d never been one to shy away from hard work but the expectations were ridiculous. Her only saving grace was that she didn’t have much of a life.
There had to be something more out there for her and a hundred and thirty five thousand big ones would not only pay off her debts but would also give her enough cash to go out and find one. A life that is and a damned good life it would be.
Cassidy took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. If she asked really nicely, hopefully Mark would give her a couple of days off. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken leave. Then it dawned on her, she’d taken three days after Sean had died a year ago. Her boss couldn’t say no though. If he did, she wasn’t beyond begging.
Rising to her feet, she made for the closed door at the other end of her office. After knocking twice, she entered.
The lazy ass was spread out on the corner sofa with his hands crossed behind his head. He didn’t look in the least bit embarrassed about her finding him like that either.
“Cassidy.” He put on a big cheesy smile as he rose to a sitting position. The button on his jacket pulled tight around his midsection which was paunchy. He didn’t move much and ate big greasy lunches so it wasn’t surprising. “Come on in. Take a seat,” he gestured to a spot next to him on the sofa.
That would be the day. Her boss could get a bit touchy feely. Thankfully it had never gone beyond a pat on the butt, a hand on her shoulder or just a general invasion of her personal space. It put her on edge though because it was becoming worse and worse as of late. The sexual innuendos were also becoming highly irritating. She pretended that they went over her head, but he was becoming more and more forward as time went by.
By the way his eyes moved down her body, she could tell that he was most definitely mentally undressing her. Oh god. That meant that he was in one of his grabby moods. Damn. She preferred it when he was acting like a total jerk. Easier to deal with.
“No, that’s fine. Thank you.” She worked hard to plaster a smile on her face. “I don’t want to take up much of your time and I have to get back to work myself.”
His eyes narrowed for a second before dropping to her breasts. “You could do with a little break every now and then…so could I for that matter.” Even though she knew he couldn’t see anything because of her baggy jacket, his eyes stayed glued to her boobs anyway. Why did she get the distinct impression that he was no longer talking about work? Argh!