A Highly Valued Employee

Chapter 7

At 10 PM, the Executive Office Lobby was quiet. Harmony sat behind the Reception Desk. She'd made a few calls, asking people to call back, if they had any word about the whereabouts of Dawn Summers.

Before they left Sunnydale, Harmony had remembered to put a copy of the Vampire's Handbook, in the dead girl's hand. She hoped that Dawn had taken it with her.

The door to Wesley's office opened, and Fred stepped out into the Lobby, shutting the door behind herself. She came over to the desk.

"Harmony." She said, "You're going to have to cancel all of Mr. Wyndham-Price's appointments, for the rest of tonight. Tomorrow night, things will be back to normal.

"No. As a matter of fact, everything's going to be better than ever around here."

Fred licked her lips. She looked at the engagement ring that remained on her finger, smiled pleasantly, and softly burped.

Harmony asked, "So tell me Fred, how you like being a vampire so far?"

"So far, I've never felt stronger or healthier than I am now. I've never felt more alive, than I have since I've been dead. On the other hand, I'll never have children; and today I'm back at work, doing the same job I did before I got vamped."

Harmony shrugged, "Aren't we all?"

"Harmony?" Fred asked, "Do you ever feel bad, knowing that you'll never have a child?"

"Yeah. Sometimes, but I don't dwell on it. Then all I need is to hear one of those brats screaming and squalling, and I feel good about it."

An elevator opened, and Xander stepped out into the Lobby. He came over to Harmony.

"Good evening Xander." She said, "You can tell Anya, that every Potential Slayer on Buffy's list is dead, and full colored glossy pictures of their naked corpses, will be featured in the next issue of 'Undead Living" Magazine', which she can purchase over the internet. They're also going to appear in our next Dead Nudies Calendar; one of them a month, for eight months. That can also be purchased over the internet; just in case you're interested."

Xander asked, “In case I’m interested, in looking at pictures of naked dead women?”

“Of course you are Xander.” Harmony told him, “Necrophilia is part of being a vampire.”

Then Fred asked Harmony, "Only eight dead nudie vampire victims, when it's a twelve month calendar?"

Harmony told her, "We can add the photos I took of you and Dawn, on our first night in Sunnydale. Then we'll only have to look for two more."

"But I wasn't a Potential Slayer. Dawn might have been, but I was on our side."

"You we're a dead nudie. For the calendar, that's all that matters."

Then the receptionist told Xander, "Tell Anya that Wolfram and Hart is already paying 10,000 a piece for each photo, but nothing more."

Now Xander spoke. "I got a call from Anya on my cell phone. She says that Dawn has run away from Sunnydale."

"We got a call from her too." Fred said, "I'm not surprised."

He told them, "Before we left Sunnydale, Anya told me, that she'd make sure, that Dawn would get to school on time."

"Get to school on time?" Harmony said, "Yeah-right. Since when do they have night classes at Sunnydale High, for vampires?"

Fred told her, "She can always get her G.E.D. diploma through the mail. A lot of our people here did. You did."