The Brothers Everhart Ch. 22 Big Changes

Pepper slipped into Prince's office quietly and stood in front of his desk as he looked up from his screen.

"Sit down, Pep, you're gonna give me a crick in my neck," he smiled, "And relax, you look tense. That's not like you."

She sat down gingerly and when he looked at her with one eyebrow quirked she realized she was perched on the edge of the chair as though ready to take flight. Taking a deep breath she made herself sit all the way back.

"Good girl. Okay, here are some of the things I've been thinking about."

She had brought in her tablet and as she readied it he said,

"Oh, don't worry about making notes just yet. I simply want to explain a few things first," he said and she laid it down on the chair beside her.

"You have noticed, I'm sure, that the two offices next to ours have been vacant and up for sale for months with no takers," he went on and she nodded, "Well I've decided I want to buy those. So, I will need you to get in touch with Lassiter-Caswell Realty so we can make them an offer."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

"Don't you want to know why I'm buying them?"

"Why you wish to purchase them is none of my business, sir. Making sure it happens the way you want it to is my business."

"I wouldn't ask you if I didn't want your opinion," he said, his face not giving away a thing.

"Well, then, I'm a bit confused as to why you want to buy them--are you planning on renting them out?"

"No, they're for Everhart Financial Consulting. I want to get rid of the wall between them and make them into a large boardroom," he was back to smiling now as though well content.

"But...," Pepper floundered, "But, the company doesn't have a board of directors, sir."

"Well, I plan to remedy that. I'd like my brothers and my father to be on the board. We don't have to meet all the time, a board of director can even meet just annually, although I expect it will be more like bi-monthly or every three months."

"Yes, sir," she was fighting to keep the surprise off her face.

"It makes sense; my father is a trust fund baby and banker, but he also was successful at starting a a string of electronic stores before he retired a couple years ago; Perry quit his job as D.D.A. and went into private practice doing corporate law. As it turns out Prescott did not really leave the police force to become a grease-monkey like he told us, but was undercover and is now a police detective. Even my baby brother, Parker, is finally shaping up nicely, he just started working as an architect, although he is just at entry level. I think they could all have valuable input since I want the business to expand."

Pepper was amazed to hear him talk about his family; she knew his brother Perry was a lawyer, but what he said regarding Pres and Parker was news to her. And he never talked about his parents; she only wished he'd tell her more about them. But she hid all this, letting only the normal interest of an assistant show on her face.

"Now, I want this transaction to go through as quickly as possible," he told her, "And to expedite it, tell Lassiter & Caswell we can pay in cash. They're losing money with each month that goes by and they should jump on it. Besides I don't want them to decide to try renting the offices instead."

"I'll get right on it," she promised.

"As soon as we own it I want you to see about the wall doing down and making one room and then redecorating the room."

"Certainly."

"You know my taste by now so I'm confident you will do well," he'd been scanning some notes of his own. He wanted to make sure he didn't forget anything. Unfortunately, as usual, he'd pulled out a couple of crumpled paper balls and then attempted to un-crumple them. Pepper watched him try to make sense of them for a few seconds and then she leaned forward,

"May I, sir?" she asked and, looking sheepish, he let her scoop up the crunched notes,

"I did it again," he muttered, rolling his eyes and giving her that wicked grin of his.

Pepper permitted a small smile, then said,

"Okay, this one is in regard to a female friend, evidently. There is an address and a phone number...the name Bambi...and I believe these must be her...oh, no they can't be; that would mean...well, okay...yes they are a woman's measurements. I see it is not your handwriting, though. But if you will you be seeing her again I need to put her in the system. Do you want me to do that?"

Prince leaned over the desk and snatched it out of her fingers, his face grim,

"Um, no, that was just the other night and I...no."

Pepper had stumbled through that one but had not revealed anything by her expression. Someone had obviously written down what all they thought Prince wanted to know about some woman probably the curvaceous "Bambi". Bambi, indeed. Well by her measurements it should be "Barbie".

He noticed her still watching him and he crumpled up the note again and threw it in the wastebasket.

She perused the other wrinkled note,

"Okay, this one is your handwriting, but you wrote it so hurriedly I can't read all of it. You've got "caterer" and "bar" underlined, though, does that help?"

"Oh, yes, I just needed a reminder. As soon as all the decorating is done I want to throw a sort of "after hours" cocktail party for our clients. I want an open bar and catered appetizers. Don't buy a table and chairs for the boardroom until after the party, but furnish it with seating around the perimeter of the room."

Pepper's head was buzzing, but she was determined to do a good job and live up to his expectations. She'd never designed a room before; the two offices they had now had already been seen to by an interior decorator before she was hired. She'd never organized a party before either, but surely it would be no problem.

"I'll have it all set up for you," she assured him confidently.

"I know you will," Prince nodded and then looked askance at her carefully neutral, brutally dull pantsuit and sensibly ugly shoes, "You'll need to get an appropriate cocktail dress, I think. I know you like to dress low-key, but your your usual suits won't be quite right for the party. Now, my sister-in-law, Lalique, could go with you if you're unsure about what to get, she's a real fashion plate and she loves to shop according to my brother."

"Me?" Pepper gasped, her eyes almost popping, "But why do I have to be there? I'm just your secretary. I can get it all ready and just stick around in my office where they always see me, just to make sure everything goes smoothly regarding the refreshments. But I don't think it's right for me to be at the party with you."

He looked at her, a frown puckering his forehead,

"Of course you have to be there with me. I--I need you," he insisted, "You know all the people on the guest list as well as I do. And you're more than a secretary and you know it; you're an executive assistant. I told you that I consider you a vital part of this company; I want the clients to know that and feel when they talk to you they are talking with someone in authority who represents Everhart Financial Consulting."

Pepper didn't know whether to cry happy tears over his opinion of her work, or cut her own throat at the thought of being center stage at this party. Whenever she'd attended any party in her entire life it had been an awkward and humiliating failure. When it came to business, conversation was easy and she was always in control of every aspect, but she was absolutely no good at small talk in her personal life.

Then it occurred to her; she'd been wishing she could spruce up a bit, hoping somehow that Prince might think of her as not just his employee. Yet she didn't feel she could contradict the impression she'd made initially when she'd been hired. She hadn't wanted Prince to notice her as a woman then. This could be her big chance to make a change. He actually had requested that she not dress as she usually did for this particular social event. It was a big step and taking a big chance--did she dare? Yes, she did.

"All right; I'll find an appropriate garment, sir," she told him, "No need to bother your sister-in-law."

He looked dubious but nodded,

"Good."

She retreated to her office but after an hour or two Prince came out to get coffee and hung around for a bit, gazing out the window, not revealing his thoughts. He was almost introspective and Pepper had never seen him when he didn't seem to be be simply living in the moment. This day seemed so topsy-turvy to her. Some wonderful things had occurred; like Prince getting a clean bill of health at last, and his complimentary comments about her work. But this party would be hanging over her head like the sword of Damocles for weeks.

****************************************

Six weeks later Prince strolled through Pepper's office for the after-hours party expecting to see her there already. She'd done an amazing job on the new boardroom, supervising everything while still taking care of the day to day office concerns.

Prince had gone home to shower and change at 3:30 p.m. and had told Pepper to close the office for the day as he left, only unlocking the door at 5. She lived in Bluewater Village, though, so she'd told him she would shower and change in the small washroom off the new boardroom. She'd made sure to install a shower so that when Prince came back from jogging at lunch he could use it. Walking through his own office, he heard her in the boardroom talking to someone. Were the guests arriving already?

He'd almost forgotten about the caterers who would set up two bars along with attending bartenders and a buffet of appetizers. He wondered who the very attractive guest was talking to one of the bartenders and he started over there to greet the woman, still not sure where Pepper was, but figuring she was still changing. Quiet jazz was playing over the speaker.

And then he realized the "attractive guest" was Pepper and she was giving the bartenders a few instructions.

She looked like another person entirely and he was totally blown away. She was wearing a black and white polka dot dress--but what a dress. Short and clingy, it bared her shoulders; he'd never imagined she had such lovely shoulders. Her usual owlish glasses were nowhere in sight and clearly he'd also not been aware that her eyes were so large and bottle-green in color. They slanted up a little on the outside corners and were surrounded by lashes a mile long.

Her hair was swept up, but it wasn't the severe style she usually wore, it was casual and almost playful. Made a man want to remove a few pins and let it fall down loose.

Then he noticed she was even wearing lipstick and if he'd thought her lips were fascinating before; they were a sensual invitation now. He knew some men didn't care for girls wearing lipstick, but Prince loved the look of a woman with glossy red lips.

His thoughts drifted to several interesting but explicit scenarios and when he realized it he immediately and regretfully shoved them out of his mind.

Guests would soon begin to arrive but it suddenly seemed unimportant to Prince as she turned and spotted him. For each of them it was as though everything had frozen in motion, the sounds of music and the voices of the bartenders drifted away and only Prince and Pepper were real. And conscious only of each other.

The moment passed and everything went back to normal, at least as normal as it could be under the circumstances. Pepper thought giddily, my goodness, I think he does like my dress, at least, I hope so.

Prince thought, she is magnificent, how the hell did I not know how magnificent she is? His next thought was that he was in big trouble; Pepper was a well brought up, convent schooled girl, moreover; she was his right hand man, er, woman. He needed to take a step back, but right now that seemed impossible.

When he got close he could see that, in spite of how beautiful and confident she appeared; inwardly she was terrified. He knew her well enough to recognize it.

"The place looks awesome, Pep. Now tell me what's scaring you?"

Her teeth were actually chattering,

"I--I'm not good at parties, I don't know what to say, I can't relax," she whispered, more afraid of the night ahead than showing weakness to Prince, "I think maybe I should just greet people from desk in my office."

"You're never afraid to talk to clients, and--"

"That's different," she cut him off which ordinarily she would never do.

He leaned near to her ear so she could hear and whispered back,

"That's the thing, Pep, it's not different. This isn't the senior prom; it's a business function. Just remember that and rely on it. You're here, in fact we're both here, to make clients comfortable and enjoy themselves."

He was so close that she could feel his warm breath against her ear. He smelled wonderful, as always, it wasn't just his cologne; he always smelled delicious. If she could bottle his scent she could make millions. Eau de Prince. And what he had just said made all her butterflies go away.

"Thanks, I guess I needed to be reminded. I'll be fine now."

"Good," his eyes unconsciously ran over her from top to bottom, "You look...wonderful, but I see you're not wearing your glasses. Remember when you broke them that time and couldn't even see across the room and I had to get your coffee and even guide you over to the ladies restroom? I drove you home, too. Will you be okay tonight?"

Pepper laughed, blushing a little,

"Oh, yes, I remember; that was so humiliating! No, I'm wearing contacts. I used to wear them all the time."

"Oh? Well, why don't you--"

She sighed and had to come up with a valid excuse,

"They bother my eyes sometimes, especially when I'm reading or using the computer and I thought glasses would look more professional anyway."

Prince nodded. Her figure was amazing; the dress hugged her waist and emphasized the breasts he, frankly, hadn't even been sure she possessed until this moment. Her usual suits bagged so badly in the derriere that he was amazed to see that she she actually had a cute little tush. Pepper had clearly been hiding a tiger under her hood. Reminding himself again that she was a "good girl" and his Girl Friday (okay his Person Friday) he mentally gave himself a kick.

"Pepper, you'd be professional no matter what you wear or do," Guests had just being to drift in and he added, "Guess we'd better start schmoozing."

It wasn't as large a gathering as Pepper had hoped for but those who came were enthusiastic and Prince seemed pleased and that was what mattered the most to her. And now that he'd pointed out that it was not a party but a business function she was fine.

Spending a little time talking to each guest, out of the corner of his eye Prince kept seeing Pepper, laughing and talking to various clients and she was more than holding her own. It was hard not to want to hover over her, inhaling her fragrance and fending off male clients who were obviously standing too close.

After the last guest had left and Prince helped her gather up the refuse from the party he turned to her,

"I can't thank you enough, Pep. You handled everything and you're the reason it was a success."

"It did seem to go well," she admitted, "But it's my job, you don't have to thank me. I'm glad you're pleased, though."

"I certainly am. And I'm thinking this might be a good idea to have an after-hours once a year, a little touch base with clients and they can network at the party as well as we can. Maybe we should invite not just clients but invite a few business people in town who could turn out to be prospective clients."

"Sounds like a plan," she smiled.

He surprised her by squeezing her with a quick hug, saying,

"I don't know if I've told you before but you have turned out to be a jewel of an assistant, Pep. I just don't know what I would do without you."

She was ecstatic; Prince had put his arms around her; even if it was only for a nano-second. He nodded at the bartenders who were on their way out finally.

"Well, I'll walk you to your car, it's late," he told her.

Miracles, Pepper thought, would never cease...

Next update to blog: Harvey and Lori Ferguson Ch. 23 Saturday Morning News

Next chapter on the Brothers Everhart: Ch. 23 Perry and Lalique

The Brothers Everhart Ch. 21 It's a Beautiful Morning

Previous chapter: Fed up with his life as a reluctant vampire, Prince had purchased a magic potion to become a mortal again. He hurriedly swallowed it down and waited.

At first he felt nothing and wondered if it could be that he, Prince Everhart, once the ultimate con man, had just been fleeced by a gypsy fortune-teller. But then--after several agonizingly painful moments--it worked!
 

He felt like he'd been released from prison--not that he'd ever been there!--given a second chance at life and he could not quit smiling.

The first thing he did was remove the blackout curtains from all the windows even though it was the middle of the night. The heavy fabric had weighed him down emotionally, adding to the pain of not being out in the sunshine. He'd always taken daylight for granted and thought of himself as a night person but now he knew he'd never get enough of being out in the daytime hours, rain or shine, nor of being a part of humanity again.

He went upstairs and looked in his bathroom mirror. He was cheered to see his own familiar face minus the fangs and plus the natural golden glow of his skin and he cracked,

"It's me! I'm back!"

Prince had always used a tanning booth, but now he decided he'd try to get outside in the sun more often for that as well. There was plenty of room for sunbathing and exercise on the deck that surrounded his house and looked out on the pond.

It was early, early in the morning and he went to bed on the couch. He was throwing out that coffin tomorrow! Not surprisingly he didn't sleep much; he was too exhilarated as so many ideas for the future flooded his mind.

He was up with the sun and anxious to get to the office, but he thought he'd better give Pepper a heads up rather than just strolling in and, anyway, she'd told him that since he'd been gone she sometimes worked from her apartment. He tried her at home but she must have already left--she usually came to work early and left late. She answered her cell on the first ring though, her soft clear voice sounded calm and efficient as always.

"Hey, Beautiful!" he said, "The doc says I have a clean bill of health, so I'll be there in about ten minutes."

For a moment she said nothing, clearly struck speechless. Prince couldn't know but it was his manner as much as what he'd said that had shocked her.

"Boss?"

"Yes, it's me. Want me to bring in doughnuts?"

Usually it was Pepper who brought baked goodies of various kinds ever since she'd discovered Prince had a sweet tooth.

"Uh, yeah, sure...I mean, yes. that would be--um, sir, are you sure the doctor said you're completely well?"

He just laughed,

"Of course. What's the matter? Worried I might be losing my mind? Well, I have and I haven't. There are going to be some changes around our place of business, Pep, but they're going to be good ones."

She nodded dumbly before she remembered he could not see her.

"That'll be...nice," she said faintly, wondering if the changes included getting rid of her for a new sexy version or what. Because, in her opinion, Prince was acting very strangely, indeed. She managed to get her mind in gear again and said,

"I'm just pulling up to the building now."

"See ya soon," he still sounded like he was laughing at some secret joke.

In the meantime Pepper was over the moon at the prospect of seeing him again. He would never know how very much she'd missed him and worried about him.

When he walked through the doors into her office she was so excited and nervous she couldn't meet his eyes. When he looked away for a second, she quickly peeked at him and sighed mentally. He looked wonderful, as rakishly handsome as ever; like he'd never been sick. Admittedly she'd never been able to picture the very vital man in ill health anyway.

"Well, what's on the agenda today?" he stood in front of her desk expectantly and she couldn't stop herself from smiling even though she still would not look him in the face.

"Well, since I didn't know you would be back, there isn't much. Just the stuff I emailed you and it looks like you've already taken care of that," she said peering at his schedule up on her screen.

He looked around and out the windows,

"It's really a beautiful morning, isn't it?" he said almost rapturously.

He obviously expected an answer from her but she hadn't been this disconcerted by him since he first employed her. She really couldn't say why that was except she'd never before heard him make one remark in regard to the weather since she'd known him. In fact, he'd seemed oblivious to it. As for being cheerful early in the day, well most mornings he tended to frown, grunt and suck coffee down until at least noon, when he came awake and started to smile a little.

She still hadn't replied and he looked at her. To break the tension she jumped up from her desk,

"Oh, my goodness! I forgot to make the coffee! I haven't been doing it while you were gone and no clients were here."

She'd thought that would make him finally retreat to his office so she could gather her wits about her, but he merely watched her move to the coffee maker. Having never been a coffee drinker, Pepper had gradually learned to make it exactly the way Prince preferred it.

Now her hands were shaking as she prepared it.

Idly, he watched her make the coffee, humming some unknown tune to himself. Prince watching Pepper do something didn't usually throw her, but today...

The coffee maker made hissing noises and the coffee began to drip,

"It shouldn't be long," she assured him, watching it expectantly even though she knew it would be a few minutes. But she also knew he was directly behind her and she was avoiding the moment when she had to turn around. Finally she could stall no more and she spun on her heel. He was closer than she'd thought and she stopped in her tracks. Still he did not move, blocking the way and suddenly she felt cornered.

"You don't seem too enthusiastic this morning and that's not like you," he said.

Finally she had to meet his eyes,

"I'm so sorry if I'm coming across that way," she apologized. Looking directly into his face was almost like looking into the sun somehow, she thought. Scary and exciting...and dangerous. He seemed almost radiant this morning and she was suddenly mesmerized,

"I guess I'm just taken aback," she went on, "I didn't expect to see you. Well, not until you called just now. You look amazing, sir. Just as if you'd taken a vacation rather than been sick in bed."

"Thanks. I'm a fast healer," he grinned, "Okay, I'm going into my office now, but I'll be calling you in there in a few minutes. We have much to talk about concerning plans for this company."

Caught in his spell, Pepper forgot about worrying. She was much too happy at having his attention; much too undone by his close presence after such a long absence. He disappeared behind his door and she sat at her desk, gazing off at nothing.

It wasn't long before the in-house phone line lit up and Prince said he was ready for her to come in for their discussion. That he'd used the phone pleased her because it meant he was trying to follow her recent suggestion. Prince had developed the habit of leaving his door open when no clients were there and just bellowing, "Pep! I need you!" when he wanted her attention. It was none too professional and Pepper had finally apprised him of that.

"What if I have a client waiting in my office that you don't know is there?" she'd asked, "You don't want to be yelling for me; it's not dignified. I'm your employee, not your business partner or colleague, and you need to keep that in mind when dealing with me in front of clients. You shouldn't leave your door open anyway, Boss, even if no one is here. It's just not right for me to be privy to your phone conversations with clients. Not as a rule, anyway."

"You're right, you're right, I know you're right," he admitted. He usually took her advice to heart but he didn't like to stand on ceremony either. Besides she handled so many things for him, knew all his secrets, and all the company business that he did tend to think of her exactly that way; as his equal in all things. He just didn't realize that he did.

Furthermore, she was so earnest and worried when she lectured him that it rather amused him. He would have promised to take her advice no matter what.

"Okay, I'll keep my door shut from now on and I'll use the phone...unless I forget," he had grinned at her in that devil may care way he had and she'd gone all soft inside and had to smile back at him,

"Thanks, I know you'll try your best."

He'd been working on it; Pepper was proud of him. However at this moment she was more worried that today might be her last day on the job. There was no real reason to think that just because he'd said there would be changes. But unfortunately losing this job--and Prince--happened to be her worst fear.

She gathered up her courage, her knees knocking and her heart hammering, and opened his office door...

Next update: The Brothers Everhart Ch. 22 Big Plans

The Brothers Everhart Ch. 20 Undead and Unhappy Pt. 2

When at work Pepper's every thought was of her boss and his welfare; the thing was at home it was nearly the same. She was a somewhat sheltered girl from a small town, but even she knew that she had fallen hopelessly in love with Prince Everhart. She was not unaware of his faults, far from it, but she believed that he had more good traits than bad. Who would be for Prince if they realized the complete truth about him? Perhaps his family, but one thing for sure, she was in his corner completely. She also knew the kind of woman he preferred and she definitely was not his type.

She'd been working from home the last day or two, just going into the office to get the mail and checking on things.

Everything else she could do from her laptop at home. The packages of drapes that she'd placed in his office had disappeared by the very next day.

Prince had told her on the phone that he had them in his possession now and thanked her for everything. They communicated by email, and every night he called to see if there was anything she had questions on.

Afraid she would not keep things businesslike while working at home, Pepper had been wearing her austere suits, her wild hair tucked in the familiar demure chignon just as she did at the office. It did seem to help keep her on track.

"He just thinks of me as his capable but plain assistant," she complained out loud to nobody, "But that's my fault, I guess."

When Pepper had gone after this job everything she had told Prince was the truth. Mostly. When she got the name of the man she would hopefully work for from the employment agency--before she ever met him--she had gone sleuthing on the internet and found out what little she could about Prince Everhart. Along the way she found and downloaded pictures of him. She had immediately been so attracted to him that it frightened her. How could she get and keep this very enviable first job if she thought that way? And what if he actually flirted with her? She'd melt.

Deciding that she would take her appearance down a peg or two she abandoned her contacts and found glasses she considered perfect for a staid, but skilled administrative assistant. She bought unfashionable, but businesslike clothing that she felt would keep Prince from looking at her as a woman so she would not have to worry about how she responded to him.

It had worked quite well, in fact it had almost worked too well. She'd had to practically beg him for the position when it was obvious he thought she wasn't glamorous enough and was to naive to handle the job. Now that she had changed her mind and wanted him to see her as a woman, she could hardly just put on a tight short skirt and let down her hair and stroll in there without it causing a few questions. She could scarcely explain to him why she had misrepresented herself.

She still valued the job on its own merits, not to mention she didn't want to be separated from him even if it was only in the work arena. Being shown the door would put an end to that, not to mention her career.

There had to be a more subtle way to let Prince know that there was more to her than met his eye. Pepper wasn't married; she wasn't rich; she was not the kind of woman he liked to associate with, but maybe he could change his mind. Maybe he didn't really know his own mind...

Meanwhile, across town Prince was still struggling. Bags of blood stolen from the Bluewater Village Hospital or the local blood bank in Crystal River were not really adequate for Prince's needs, but he had been afraid to take too many bags, thereby calling more attention to the theft. He simply had to learn how to obtain blood "off the hoof".

With that in mind he headed to Club Dante; a local club that he'd frequented often when he was a mortal, but hadn't visited in at least six months. It wasn't as fancy as some of the places he preferred downtown, but it was not a dive either. To his surprise it had now become an upright, downright restaurant and karaoke bar.

He recognized the owner, Brian Ottomas, who was tending bar that night. He'd always got along well with Brian and liked him.

"So, Bri, a lot of changes here--the place looks great!"

"Yeah, the changes are pretty recent, but they've been a big success. Haven't seen you in a while--how've you been, my man? You're not sporting your usual suntan--you must not have been to Belle Isle or Twikkii lately," Brian teased.

"No, I haven't, guess I'm probably looking a little pale," Prince said and hurriedly changed the subject, "How is it you're not up at the front schmoozing people?"

"Yeah, well, I'm shorthanded tonight," Brian admitted, "My wife has been hostessing weekdays but she's home tonight with our youngest who has a slight fever and sore throat. So I've been playing host part of the time, but running in to tend bar as well. Especially when I see one of my favorite confirmed scotch drinkers come in," he grinned.

Realizing that Brian's attention would be divided due to these circumstances Prince was hopeful that any trolling for victims he did would pass unnoticed. He quickly finished his drink and told Brian he wanted to take a look around and might even stay for karaoke.

He preferred not to bite anyone he knew personally so when an anonymous yokel from Bluewater strolled in Prince knew he'd found his mark. This time he was careful to take time to chat him up and develop a rapport. And this time when he looked into the man's eyes Prince could feel a difference. He was easily in charge.

Finally he had learned the secret to getting someone to practically volunteer their warm red blood; they had to like him before he had power over them. He used his newly developed powers of mental persuasion to convince the donor that he'd had a fun summer night at Dante's, but went home early with a headache and on the way home had been bitten on the neck by black flies. Then Prince sent him home with these memories. He'd taken only as much blood as he needed. Unbridled greed, Prince had found, could bring about a downfall whether in the criminal world or the vampire.

No one seemed to have noticed him or his victim; Brian was busy dealing with customers up front. But Prince thought it best not to push his luck. He'd move on. The park in Pleasantview was on the way home and seemed a fairly good idea at that moment. But when he got there it was deserted.

"I don't believe this is my life," he grumbled, "I'm hanging out at night in the park like a damn pervert. Jeez, I could have been home watching 'Restaurant Stakeout'."

Prince had rarely watched TV for the last 10 years, except occasionally for sport games he had bet on. But since he'd been confined during the day he'd become addicted to HGTV and the Food Network. Trouble was he couldn't seem to figure out how the DVR worked, so he had to be home to watch his favorite shows.

After another 30 minutes with no one venturing into the park, Prince was ready to call it a night. He could supplement with the couple of bags of blood he had left.

"That tears it," he said to himself, "Count Floyd said something about a witch reversing this...wait, it was a gypsy fortuneteller. I'm ready to pay her anything. I want my life back. I need my life back. All the things he told me about how great being a vampire is added up to a pile of slimy cowplop."

Once home he had things to do online--business that Pepper had sent for him to make decisions on as soon as possible. She kept worrying that he needed to see a doctor. He couldn't keep lying to her; actually for some reason he hated lying to her. As dawn approached he went upstairs to his bedroom. The coffin there was just one more reason he wanted out. He hated it. He wanted his bed back; he wanted his satin sheets back.

He climbed in and as he started to lie back he made a vow that somehow this would be the last night he'd be a vampire sleeping in a stinking coffin.

The next evening Prince did something he'd been avoiding; he invited someone over to his place just so he could bite them. She was a girl who'd been coming on to him earlier at the Crypt O' Nightclub. A vampire wannabe, she said her name was Vi, short for Elvira, and she hinted that if he was a vampire she sure wished he'd turn her. After a while she more than hinted; she nagged. He pretended he didn't know what she was talking about but before he left she wrote her cell number down saying,

"You're not fooling me, gorgeous. If you change your mind call me at this number."

Once he got home and thought about it, well, why not? She wanted to be a vampire and he needed blood, so it could be a win-win situation for both of them, right?

Earlier, before he went out, Prince had found a gypsy fortune-teller in the yellow pages and called her. She said she couldn't see him until almost midnight. When he'd asked her where she lived she told him she would be happy to come directly to his house--for a small additional fee. 

So if he was going to do this tonight he needed to get Vi in and out quickly, he still needed her blood just in case the gypsy never showed up. So he called the number and she answered before it could ring twice. She said she'd be there in ten minutes.

"I left you downtown, how can you possibly be here that quickly?" he asked.

"Oh, I knew I'd hear from you and you said you lived in Pleasantview so I drove to the roller rink to wait for your call, I'm in the parking lot."

True to her word ten minutes later she was banging impatiently on his door. When he let her in he went to the kitchen to make her a drink--he didn't want to just lunge at her. But Vi grabbed him and pulled his lips to hers. Okay, she was in a hurry evidently.

With that Prince looked into her eyes--she had very sexy eyes, he realized--and then he bit her as she sighed in ecstasy.

Maybe he should have waited, he reflected, she was a hot little number. And once he was mortal again he had no intention of hooking up with a little she-vamp. Then he remembered he didn't do unmarried women. Single women were far too dangerous as they had nothing to lose and were always working the monogamous angle with an eye on eventual marriage. And Prince didn't want to be married.

 

He took some time to give Vi some tips, hints and advice, certainly more than Count Floyd had given him. He'd planned to do that while she had her drink; in case she wanted to pull out, but she'd not given him time.

He walked her to the door and just before she left she turned a lusty, lurid smile on him and he was glad he was not yet human; she was spooky.

Prince went out to his porch to wait for the gypsy who was due any time. She arrived so quietly he almost jumped when he spied her there at the end of his walk. He quickly walked out to her. She had a crystal ball that she looked into for a bit while he peered over at it but he couldn't see a thing. Then she muttered some incantation and handed him a flask of clear iridescent purple fluid.

"Drink it, but only when you are alone and inside your home."

Prince looked at it a moment, wondering if this was the smartest thing he'd ever done or the dumbest.

"Go inside and drink it!" she hissed, "It's your only hope! As a man you are a great success, not to mention extremely virile and very pleasing to the eye, but as a vampire you are an unmitigated disaster. Drink it!"

"Okay, okay," he handed her a large wad of cash and her eyes lit up.

"See ya!" she saluted him and walked quickly down the street and into the woods.

Once in his living room with all the heavy drapes closed Prince drank all of the elixir; counting himself fortunate that it tasted like diluted grape juice. He shrugged and waited a few moments but nothing seemed to be happening,

"Hmm, I hope I didn't just get shafted by that snaggle-toothed old bag."

Suddenly he felt as thought he were on fire, like every atom in his body was getting ready to explode. He ground his teeth in agony and thought he might pass out...at least he hoped he would.

Next Update: The Brothers Everhart Ch. 21 It's A Beautiful Morning