Blood-Lines

Part 2

Natalia De Lascanti sat back, rather annoyed by the not so subtle creak of complaint from the wooden chair beneath her.

As a vampire, she no longer really cared who might take note of her weight or figure, while as a woman she'd often found that any such sullen commentary was totally unnecessary - even when it was to have come as it had from such an inanimate object as the office chair in which she sat.

Absentmindedly, her narrow fingers moved through several long strands of her raven black hair as she studied the figures and double checked their totals.

The lycans who'd become their partners in the brothel had taken a few days off to unwind, which in turn had finally allowed her the opportunity to properly update their books without any chance of interruption.

When they returned in the morning, she would have everything cleaned up and ready for them – at least on paper, while whatever else remained that might otherwise have been found in need of clean-up as part of this business venture would be left for their housekeeping staff to deal with accordingly.

While she may have often proven herself quite capable as a bookkeeper, she most certainly was not a maid nor had she ever intended to be one.

Although relations between lycans and vampires had long been complicated and often strained, Nadia and Mikhail had proven more than willing to share the business under a mutual umbrella of protection and support.

The more people found that could be trusted to manage things while they were away, meant more time that they could otherwise relax and unwind while they enjoyed it.

With an ability to cover large areas once they'd changed into their more furry forms, to have become unwound was probably not a bad choice of words after all, she mused.

As she studied the thin line that separated profit from loss, she considered several options to suggest upon their return.

Perhaps a refurbished and repackaged mix of new girls on a more frequent basis might improve their profit margin as men who'd become familiar with the old and rather worn often found that their keener interests seemed to taper off while a touch or two of strange and new might arouse much more than just subtle interest and certainly bring with it some profit along the way.

Once she and her longtime companion Leviticus LaRouchette continued on their journey toward San Francisco, perhaps she would inquire along the way about women found there that could be sent east.

Shuffled as they would be, not unlike that of a deck of cards between brothels, they could appear new and refreshed to the locals once they had been presented properly.

Her dark green eyes looked up to find that a stranger wearing a bowler and dark suit now stood patiently in the doorway of the office.

Chiseled features beneath gray hair showed age while dark eyes and a tight smile revealed his true nature as she felt just the faintest tinge of energy as it flashed across her pale skin and left goose bumps in its wake.

A lycan alpha was standing in her doorway.

As she sat forward, her elbows settled upon the open books while she raised a brow as she studied her visitor.

"This is a ... private office, s'il vous plait. There is absolutely no pleasure to be found here."

The man casually looked around the room as if he'd missed the tone of her voice. "I was told that the owners would be here, but I can stop back if they're out."

With subtle ease, he raised a hand to politely tip the brim of his bowler.

"I represent the owners." Natalia informed him with cool distaste, as she wondered what business this lycan had where he clearly would otherwise not have been welcome.