Chapter 9
Nine
The next two days were a flurry at work—constant phone calls, encouraging and petitioning for the foundation that meant so much to him and to hundreds of humans who had no chance at research and treatments without the work of the Josie Strong Foundation.
Meanwhile he kept up with the emails and phone calls to his committed donors, updating them on a recent bill for medical research funding and asking them to call their Senators.
Toward the end of work on Thursday, he joined his donors in using his voice and called one of the men he’d voted for.
“You’ve reached the local office of Senator Laurence Maddox. How may I direct your call?”
“Hi, Colleen, it’s Tai Kristiansen.”
“Oh, Mr. Kristiansen, hello! I believe the senator is currently in his office. Would you like me to forward you to his desk?”
“That would be great, thanks.”
“Not a problem. Please hold the line.”
The phone rang a few times, and then the booming voice of Ryker’s dad filled Tai’s office via Speaker mode. “Tai! Is that you, son?”
“Yes, sir. How are you?”
“Well, my staff tells me we’ve had more than the usual calls about that resolution of yours.
” The rumble of a laugh came with the sort of warm affection Tai could always find with Laurence and Senna Maddox.
They didn’t know it, but they’d become his parents in every way that mattered.
“So I assume you’re calling me for the same reason, unless it’s to invite yourself to a Sunday dinner with the family—which you don’t need to do. You’re always welcome to pop in.”
“I know, sir, and I appreciate it.” More than he could hope to express. He swallowed a sudden tightness in his throat. “I’ll take you up on it soon. Meanwhile, you got me. I’m calling about S.R. 678.”
“I’ve got every intention of supporting it, Tai. There’s a doctor of genetic disorders—you probably know her, Dr. Julia Miller?”
“I do, yeah. She does a lot of work with one of the disorders we’re focused on.”
“I figured as much. Anyway, she started at one of the town halls, and then she pushed on until she got a face-to-face with me. She had some really compelling data on this thing. I don’t see how we can afford not to pass it.”
“Well, it’ll cost some money.” And plenty of politicians looked only at dollar signs, especially when they could reward the investors who’d got them elected.
Laurence said, “We’ve got it to spend with very little adjusting of the budget, and it could make a huge difference to these folks dealing with the disease.”
“Well, I don’t know why I called you, Laurence.” Tai leaned back in his chair and grinned at the ceiling. “Here you are, pitching the resolution to me.”
Laurence’s booming laugh filled the office. That laugh always flooded Tai’s system with affection, gratitude, and so much love he could hardly contain the feelings that swamped his chest.
“Okay, that’s settled then,” Laurence said. “You’ve got a yes from this elder vampire. Now I want a commitment from you, Tai. You coming for dinner this Sunday or not?”
“If not this Sunday, then the next.”
“I’ll inform Senna. She won’t be happy with your hedging.”
“It’s not a hedge. My commitment is to one or the other.”
They talked a bit longer, and when Tai hung up, the clock had crept past five.
He locked up his office, reminded his salaried assistant to go home too, and set out for home.
He made quick work of getting dressed, and then he had to pace his penthouse waiting for the time to start driving toward Claire’s.
She lived slightly outside the downtown hub he loved so much—despite its noise and odors, which he’d never fully adjusted to.
The walkable sections, proximity to his office, the extensive parks, and the many restaurants within a mile of home were worth the occasional sensory overload.
To pass the time, he took a seat at his piano and began to play. He started with two movements of Beethoven’s Sonatina No. 37 and ended by improvising something that tried and failed to resemble Duke Ellington. By then he could start driving without arriving too early and looking too eager.
When Claire came to the door, he couldn’t help staring.
She wasn’t wearing a little black dress, after all.
Her full-length gown was sleeveless, a paler shade of the bluish-purple color of her eyes.
At one shoulder, a ruffle bunched up to resemble a flower.
At the opposite hip, a drape of pleated fabric accentuated her slim waist. From beneath the hem peeked the toes of her silver shoes.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
“You said black tie.”
“Yeah, this is perfect. You’re perfect.” He’d been to enough of these events to recognize underdressed and overdressed. Claire had hit the balance that said well-dressed, and she did it effortlessly.
She grinned. “I bought this dress to celebrate hitting my first sales goal with Slake It Off, and I’ve never had a function to wear it to.”
“Then I’m honored to provide the venue.” He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”
He half-expected her to ignore his arm, but she took it. In her other hand, she had tucked a small silver clutch. “By the way, I’d like to say platonically that you do a tuxedo justice, Tai Kristiansen.”
He laughed. “Men have it easy. You’ll see dozens of this exact look tonight.”
“Sure, but just because it’s universal doesn’t mean it looks the same on every man. Believe me, it doesn’t.”
“So how then,” he said as he opened the passenger door for her to slide inside and tuck her dress in after her, “does one do justice to a tux?”
He shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side, easily able to hear her response from inside the car.
“Well, there’s confidence, which you’ve always had in spades,” she said.
He could have laughed. If she only knew.
“And then there’s…um…the fit. You know. Tailoring to one’s body type.”
“Well, I’m nothing special in that department,” he said as he got behind the wheel and shut his own door. “Just one more genetically lean vampire with a good tailor.”
“Hmm. There must be more to it then. Let me ponder platonically and get back to you.”
They made easy small talk on the brief drive to the event hall, and Tai tried not to read hope into everything she said. He’d spent the last three years resigned to their estrangement. Funny how resignation had evaporated with a single text.
As he parked his car, he said, “Can I ask you something?”
“You can always ask.”
He shot her a look. “But you might not answer?”
“Exactly.”
That was fair. He certainly hoarded plenty of answers he wouldn’t be ready to give her if she asked. “Why did you say yes to tonight? This isn’t going to be exciting.”
Claire laughed. “Now you tell me.”
He waited for a real answer as he got out and circled to open her door. This time she beat him to it, stepping out on her own. As she lifted the front hem of her gown, he got a full look at the silver shoes he’d glimpsed on her porch—classic stiletto pumps that gleamed.
“You could use those as weapons,” he said.
“That’s partly the idea.” She sounded serious, but then a smirk tugged her mouth.
She accepted his arm again as they headed for the double doors.
“When I decide to get to know somebody, I don’t want to stick to drinks and chatting after work.
I like to see people in the places they’re most skilled, most comfortable.
It’s why I keep showing up in Ember’s kitchen so she can ‘teach me to cook.’ I’m never going to excel there, but she never gets sick of trying to teach me, and she’s so good at reinventing recipes.
It’s hard to care that I suck while watching her in her element, because she gets so much joy out of it. ”
“And her joy matters because you love her.”
She shot him a surprised glance. “Exactly. That’s exactly it.” Then she rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to get sarcastic now and claim I must love you—”
“No, Claire, I’m not. Really. I knew almost as soon as I met you that your people mean everything to you, and I appreciate that quality. A lot.”
He’d never been so glad that vampires had difficulty lying to one another, thanks to their natural skill at people-reading. Claire could hear in the nuances of his voice, see in his expression, and even feel in the relaxed muscles of his arm that he was being honest.
“Well,” she said quietly as they neared the hall’s covered entrance, where a few limousines had parked on either side. “Thanks.”
“So I’m guessing Philippa’s your go-to stylist.”
She gave a short laugh, and the motion jogged his arm, which suddenly felt electrified. “That’s actually how we met, how the whole friend group got started. Then Pippa brought Mackey, who brought Ryker, who of course brought Leslie. I brought Nova, who brought Logan.”
“And how long did those connections take?”
“Other than Leslie, it took three years to build out the group.”
At the double doors, Tai gave both their names to the hostess, who led them to their assigned seats at one of the tables.
He knew a few of their table mates through work, and when he pulled out Claire’s chair for her, everyone’s interest homed in on her with obvious energy.
Claire situated her gown around her as she sat, with the ease of a princess who lived in crepe and taffeta.
Tai smiled down at her, and she returned it as if she really meant it.
They were seated with mostly humans, but the woman who most closely watched Claire sip from her water glass was a long-time acquaintance who never failed to seek him out at these events. Darlene was also the only other vampire at their table.
“Nice to see you, Tai,” she said with a look so pointed even a few of the humans noticed. “And Tai’s date, about whom I know absolutely nothing for some strange reason.”
Claire set her glass aside. “I’m Claire Vanderlaan, a friend of Tai’s. We’re not dating, so there’s not much to tell.”