Vampire Bride

Chapter 6: Part One

Charlie

I tell myself encouraging and positive thoughts to help me get through my day. Nothing but relaxation and relief flow through me as I recline in my office chair with a coffee mug in hand. The silence of the empty office building adds to my comfort, although it doesn't last forever.

"Good morning, Charlie," Morgan sings as she pokes her head into my office.

"Must you every morning?" I say, annoyed.

"It is morning and your name is Charlie," Morgan retorts.

"It's how you say it, not why you say it, but anyways, good morning to you too, Morgan."

"Well, we have a big party on Saturday, so there's a lot to do. I'm going to get to work at the front desk." She ducks out of the open doorway.

"Not so fast," I yell, patiently waiting until she stands in the doorway again. "I need to talk to you about something. Sit down." My index finger points to the chair that sits across from me.

The discontent on her face as she solemnly drags her feet to the chair and restlessly plops herself down on the soft cushion causes the tension in the room to thicken. This is going to be an uncomfortable conversation for the both of us.

"Yes, Charlie," she mumbles, fiddling with her fingers, keeping her eyes locked on her lap.

"I came into the office Saturday afternoon, early evening and noticed that the office was...how can I word this...unkempt. I was wondering if you knew anything about that."

"Maybe. Most likely. I told him it was a bad idea." Her stalling lets me know she feels bad about what she did at least.

"Wait. What? You told who it was bad idea?"

"James. We've been seeing each other for a few weeks now after meeting at church. Anyways, we both have roommates and it was his designated night, but he refused for us to stay at his apartment, so..." She stops right in the middle of her sentence, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

I wait for her to continue in silence.

Her eyes roam all over the room, but never once land on me. "He said we should come here."

"What's so bad about him offering to come here?" Her refusal to continue leaves me no choice but to question her to pry the information out. I'm not mad at her for the poor choice she made, just disappointed.

"He kind of invited a few friends to tag along. I promise they didn't touch a thing. We all were in the conference room." Her palms smooth the fabric of the skirt. "The behavior that took place behind that closed door were irresponsible childish acts that shouldn't have happened," she blurts out as she sits stick straight in the chair.

Part of me is curious about what those acts were, but the bigger part of me doesn't want to go there. "Just make sure it never happens again and if it does, don't leave a mess behind. If he even says your place of employment, tell him I will personally have a talk with him. Don't make me take the spare key away. Now off to work. I need you to add calling the printer on your to-do list; we need more business cards and mailers." I watch her walk out and pray that the message got across.

What kind of boy wants to make out at his girlfriend's workplace and invite friends along? Not a typical church boy. Not to mention, that behavior from Morgan is completely unexpected. To take my mind off the group of partying adults, I start to work on my checklist.

First call is to the florists. After the third ring, a familiar voice answers the phone. "Bunches Floral, how can I help you?" a chipper male voice says.