Sexiest Vampire Alive(12)
“The Coven Masters voted for me to represent Vamps. I intend to do my job, Whelan.”
Sean gave him a skeptical look. “From what I hear, you spend all your time schmoozing with vampire celebrities—”
“And it was great training for this gig. I know how to get what I want.”
Sean narrowed his eyes. “Your hair’s too long.”
Gregori grinned. Was that the worst he could come up with? Yeah, his hair was a little long for a businessman. The ends brushed his shoulders, but it was a good five inches shorter than the ponytails on the warrior Vamps.
He collected his tie, coat, and cuff links. “I’ll see you here at nine.”
“No. I want you here at a quarter till. We teleport precisely at nine.”
“Chillax, Whelan. It only takes a second to teleport.”
“A quarter till. I’m in charge of this—”
Before Sean could finish, Gregori teleported to his condo on the Upper West Side. Fifteen minutes later, he’d showered, shaved, and packed a suitcase. For the meeting, he decided to wear a gray Armani suit, crisp white shirt, and his favorite red power tie.
He paused in the middle of buttoning his shirt. Roman had been right when he said it all boiled down to presenting the right image. He was supposed to be the safe, harmless Vamp who picked flowers instead of victims. Instead of biting young women, he helped little old ladies across the street.
With a groan, he yanked his shirt over his head, then tossed it onto his bed.
“Safe and harmless,” he muttered as he selected a pale blue shirt. It would be a lot more fun to wear a tuxedo and vampire cape. And have a Hungarian accent like Zoltan. Instead, Gregori fastened his cuff links and put on a gray tie with thin blue stripes.
He removed his page of strategy plans from the pants pocket of his dirty clothes and studied the list, committing it to memory. He also had Angus’s security plans to follow.
At thirteen minutes till nine, he teleported with his suitcase to the side entrance at Romatech, since arriving inside the building would set off an alarm. He swiped his ID badge and entered. Halfway down the hall, he passed by the security office.
The door opened and half a dozen MacKay employees spilled out into the hallway.
“Ye understand the plan, lad?” Angus asked.
“Yes.”
“Yo, undercover brother.” Phineas gave him a knuckle pound. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Sean’s a little upset,” Emma warned him. “He claims you’re running late.”
Gregori’s mouth twitched. “By two minutes. Just to annoy him.”
“Aye, doona let the bastard get to you.” Robby patted him on the back. “We’ll be waiting for yer call.”
After a round of well wishes, Gregori excused himself and wheeled his suitcase down to his office. His heart swelled when he realized how much trust his fellow Vamps were placing in him. In spite of all the teasing, they really did respect him. He grinned to himself.
“It’s about time!” Sean yelled as he entered the room.
His smile faded. “Chillax, Whelan.” He grabbed his phone charger off the desk and stuffed it into an outside pocket on his suitcase. He noticed Sean was still glowering at him, so he slipped a few stress balls into the suitcase.
“How much longer are you going to take?” Sean growled. “It’s ten minutes till.”
“I’m ready.” Gregori picked up his Droid. “What’s the number for the safe house?”
“I’ll make the call.” Sean whipped out his cell phone. “I’m the one in charge. You’re just going along to show how safe and harmless you are.”
Gregori gritted his teeth as he pocketed his Droid.
Sean punched a number on his phone. “Garrett, we’re ready. Keep talking till we get there.” He sidled up close to Gregori. “Grab on to me.”
“You don’t know how to—”
“Shh.” Sean covered his phone with his hand. “I’ve been a . . . you-know-what for only a few nights, and we’ve been busy with one meeting after another. I haven’t had time to learn any of your damned tricks.”
Gregori nodded. And it looked like Sean had neglected to tell his fellow team members about his transformation. “Give me the phone.” He held out his hand.
Sean hesitated.
“I have to hear the guy’s voice to know where to go.” Gregori accepted the phone, then motioned toward Sean’s suitcase by the door. “Don’t you need to take that?”
“Oh, right.” Sean hurried to the door.
With a grin, Gregori grabbed his suitcase and teleported. He arrived in a living room that was sparsely furnished with what looked like rejects from a thrift store.