Raf with caramel syrup

Chapter 12

   After a personal casting session with the showrunners, a plump yellow blonde lady and a grey-haired man in his forties, I drove my car, which I had finally decided to use to its full potential, from Star Grove to Twilight Cliff to Will's. I got the part.

The phone's started ringing. An unfamiliar number, I answered.

"Hello Alex." Rufus say.

Goosebumps ran down my skin. Anger filled my mind.

"What do you want, rufus?"

"You need to stop by my office and sign some papers about my mentorship."

That pissed me off even more. Probably an excuse to put me in the office. But my emotions decided for me. I would go and deal with him, put him in his place or destroy him. Without Will, I'll be one-on-one with him and I can win.

"Great. I'll stop by!" I said through gritted teeth.

Then I texted Gloria for backup. There's no need to scare Will now. My Will.

An hour and a half later, I was standing outside a skyscraper. The mirrored windows reflected the greyness of the day. Surprisingly, the sunscreen was working acceptably, and it seemed the witches were on the right track, making a really good product. Or maybe it was the companies that had finally decided not to save money and fool the vampires, or maybe it was some new ISO laws. Before, I heard, the creams only weakened the sun's rays, yes fatigue was lower, but vampires had to drink more blood than necessary.

I went in. Huge hall with tables, chairs, waiting room. Lots of passageways to the checkpoint. There's a lot of security. Rufus has a lot of money. I can't believe it. I guess I wanted him to be a mid-level vampire until the last minute. The girl at the counter, Patricia, gave me a pass and sent me through the barrier to the lift to the top floor. I went up and when I got off headed for an office with huge doors. I opened them.

The view was awesome. The whole city and the neighbouring ones could be seen clearly. The clouds seemed to caress the glass. The office consisted of black colours, ebony wood, black leather, a black decanter of blood. Overly spacious. A villain sat behind a desk looking at a computer. There were papers and folders laid out flat on the desk. Pens and other office supplies were on the desk in a picture-perfect pattern. I'd never seen such a thing in an office. It was always a light mess, but it didn't seem to be Rufus'. I hate that bastard.

"So?" I didn't bother.

"Would you like a drink?" He leaned back slightly in his chair and pointed to the decanter. He'd been sitting straight back before.

"No. Let's cut to the chase, Rufus."

He looked at me intently. Waiting and savouring.

"You see, Alex, the papers don't exist. Everything was annulled by the court."

"I figured it out." I was ready to fight, any glass I could break, use it as a weapon and cut his head off.

"I wondered for a long time why Will..." he looked at my reaction. I didn't reflect anything. Then Rufus stood up. "To me, his blood smells the same as it does to others."

I tensed up. Rufus paced around the office, gesticulating.

"Yes, I sent my vampires to check." muscles tightened harder, anger simmering at the edge of the cauldron. "He's not aromatic! Which means he's personal. He's personal to you, Alex."

He guessed. And I finally let that thought out like a bird. I didn't want to admit it.

"I don't know how you've been holding back for so long, you must have excellent self-control. But don't you think it's not fair to fool a poor young man?" A caring voice filled the room. "Maybe we should let him go."