4. Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Ethan
G od, I feel so guilty for yelling at Lily. I shouldn’t have done that. She shouldn’t have approached my fridge, though. There are things there that she should never come close to.
“How did everything go with the florist?” Alfred asks.
“She proved how smart she really is. I guess her first day here was not perfect like I wanted it to be.”
“Why’s that?” Alfred asks.
“I kind of yelled at her. She was too close to seeing what was inside my fridge. I keep crucial things there, remember?”
“Oh, good grief,” Alfred sighs.
“The look she gave me as she closed the car door behind her did not tell any good. But I am willing to wait for a call back from her. She said she would call,” I say to Alfred as I light a cigarette.
I keep my eyes on my phone waiting for something from Lily . Am I this desperate? Or do I just miss her?
“She didn’t see what was inside your fridge, right? I am sure she will be fine.”
“Yes, but I practically yelled at her, Alfred. I feel so guilty.”
“You just had a moment, Mr. Rothschild. Did you talk about anything after that?”
“I drove her to her place. We didn’t talk much in the car, though. She was busy reading the file.”
“What file?” Alfred asks.
“One of our top-secret ones.”
“Mr. Rothschild. Do you know what you are doing?”
I look at him, smirking. I instantly read what he had in mind. The look of worry consumes his facial features.
“Is it what I have in mind?” he asks again.
“No. I am not that foolish. Lily has a copy of our policies that we hand out to our human collaborators. I just want her to get familiar with our company. That will make her avoid asking too many questions.”
“What did she say about it?”
“She was astonished at the cover page. She also mentioned that she would look at everything.”
“You can't put the whole business at risk because of her.”
“I won't, if there is anything I am doing, it is saving the company. Having a human on our team is a good thing. Haven't you seen the way she talks to you? She is a natural.”
“Maybe the members of the Board will not like that, Mr. Rothschild. She is a contractor here.”
“They can't do anything. I am the Board, Alfred. There is one thing I am worried about, though.”
“Which is, Mr. Rothschild?”
“She can’t know anything else. Lily is so smart, but she should not know what products this company is producing. She can't know that the products we are developing are not to save humans, but our kind. She can't know about us. That will be so wrong.”
“I will keep an eye on her. There is no need to overthink it,” Alfred says.
“I know. It was just the way she kept staring at me on the ride to her place. I knew she had questions. A lot of them,” I say, looking at Alfred.
“Make sure the purpose of your company stays a mystery. She will not know about it. We can't trust her,” Alfred says, suddenly teleporting to the other part of the room.
“What have I said about using your powers inside the building? Not only do we have the FDA after us, but we don’t need our ancestors warning us in our slumber every night to keep our kind a secret.”
“You are right, Mr. Rothschild. I might need to work on that, at least to keep Ms. Snow safe.”
“I am working on earning her trust.”
“Is she coming back tomorrow?”
“She mentioned that she will be working in your office tomorrow. I need to keep an eye on her. I feel as if I over-burned her today.”
“How is that?”
“She feels as though she is forced to be involved in the company’s business now.”
“She doesn’t have to. You still need to remain private about many things.”
“I know she doesn’t have to. But I see that as my strategy to keep her with me. She can’t go anywhere, even when the project is over. I can’t leave her again.”
“She is quite challenging. I believe you can build trust in her quite easily though.”
“It is not about trust, but more about her safety. I left her exactly one day before my eighteenth birthday to keep her safe. Before fully turning into a vampire. Now, I can't stay away from her, when vampires are roaming the city.”
“Speaking of that-” Alfred begins talking again, but I predict what’s on his mind before he voices the words out. That is my special skill: mind-reading.
“Are they a lot? The bloodthirsty ones?” I ask as I light another cigarette. I am not supposed to smoke, but I have the right drugs that allows me to do it without having to worry about my health.
The past month has been hectic. A group of vampires that call themselves ‘the rebels’ is roaming the city and feeding on humans. Killing them even. That defeats the purpose of my company and puts it at risk.
“I heard they are about a dozen, but they have killed quite a few people now. Horrible deaths. The CBS might be involved soon if they are not stopped.”
“Perhaps they don’t know about Rothschild Pharmaceuticals. We have the right drugs to calm down their hungry souls.”
“They do know about our company, but I don’t think they want to be involved with us,” Alfred says, fixing his posture.
“I don’t see a reason for that. We have our ways to keep them from attacking innocent humans.”
“They do call themselves ‘the rebels’ for a reason, Mr. Rothschild.”
“Tell me about it,” I scoff.
“They believe vampires should feast on humans. Their leader is a descendant of an ancient vampire dynasty. I don't think a couple of drugs and a vegan lifestyle would placate him.”
“I am aware of that, Alfred. It is crazy how we got involved in this so fast. Maybe this is but a plot to destroy us, the Rothschild company. Or maybe it is a plan to force us to turn back into the dark side and start feasting on humans.”
“Or both.”
“We have to be careful.”
“We are doing the best we can, boss. It would be best if you dealt with the FDA first. Do you agree?”
“It is all so clear now, Alfred. The FDA wouldn't be after us if it weren't for the false accusations concerning our products.”
“Do you think the rebels are behind that?”
“We will look into it.”
“It does not make any sense. Why not attack us directly instead of getting us involved with federal agencies?”
“Where is the fun in that, Alfred? If they want our downfall, they need to start from within. They want us to be under the government’s scrutiny to use the Rothschild power to their advantage.”
“It is best that you deal with the FDA first. Those lousy freaks will eventually have their time.”
“I tell you what, Alfred. Have our data manager review the profiles of our latest clients. If there is anything suspicious, and I know there will be, report back to me as soon as possible.”
“What are we looking for?”
“For a client with a name that is similar to an ancient vampire dynasty, or any suspicious purchases. I am sure you got the eyes for that, Alfred.”
“I'm on it. What about Ms. Snow.?”
“Lily. What about her?”
“She won't be involved in this, will she?”
“She will be eventually. But with minimum details.”
“But- but Mr. Rothschild- you can't.”
“Don't worry, Alfred. I can protect her. I will protect her. She won't even know the risks she is going to face. She won't know of the company’s secrets, just the challenges it takes to do a project in it.”
“If you say so.”
“Have you informed the lawyer about our meeting? It must be tonight,” I ask.
“Yes, Mr. Rothschild. Anything else?”
“Make sure our regular products are being sold till we create new formulas. We still need to accumulate wealth while dealing with this mess.”
“We are doing the best we can, Mr. Rothschild. Our products are working on our loyal customers.”
“I am afraid they won't work for too long, Alfred. Vampires need blood. We need blood. We can't sedate our desires and call it a day for humans. Sooner or later, the effects will go away, and we will begin craving human blood all over again.”
“Some of us don't feed on humans.”
“Oh yes, the vegetarians. Animal blood is not sufficient, Alfred. It never is.”
“What are we supposed to do? We have an alternative.”
“We need to produce a new formula. Something that will be a better alternative for human blood,” I say as I look at Lily's picture on my laptop. She has a beautiful neck, or I am just hallucinating.
I feel thirsty and I need some energy. I haven't had fresh blood in a couple of days, so it is getting to me.
I walk towards the mini bar in my office and pull out a blood pack. It's the latest invention by my team. It is not fresh, but it does the job. I drink half of the bottle in one shot. It tastes awful. But it's better than nothing.
“As you wish, Mr. Rothschild,” he says.
“Thank you, Alfred. I got this. Don’t forget to hinder any investigations coming our way. I have things under control.”
“This time, they are not taking it easy on us. We might need to come up with another strategy.”
“What we need are witnesses. Witnesses from our kind can testify that the products are not harmful to them. We need to convince the authorities that the products are not addictive or toxic.”
“Should we manipulate random people and convince them to be our witnesses?”
“We did that before. It doesn't last for too long, remember? I don’t want to get my hands dirty and deal with the source of this.”
“The rebels, you mean?"
“Exactly. I want to do things professionally,” I say, then chuckle at myself. I definitely did not do things professionally with Lily today.
“I am sure Perry will look into this matter tonight and tell us what to do.”
“I will see you again tonight, Alfred. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need some air. And more blood,” I say as I grab my laptop and head to my car.
My driver, Johnathan, is already there waiting for me. But tonight, I feel like driving myself home.
I grab my phone. Silly of me to expect an email from Lily so soon. She said she would either call me or email me her thoughts and work plan for tomorrow.
It is selfish of me, but I need her now in my life. I don't care what anyone thinks. I don't even care that she is a human surrounded by bloodsuckers, including myself. I need her, and I am willing to do everything I can to protect her.
“Good gracious,” I rub my eyes and grab my laptop. I click on the notification bar and open an email that has been in my inbox since earlier this morning. It is a response from the admin of a famous dating website. Apparently, I got their attention.
“ Get over yourself.” the reply says.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. A hundred bucks for a couple of words? Seriously?” I mutter to myself and scan the page.
Last night I got too involved in reading dating forums, because I need real advice from real people.
When I stumbled across the so-called ‘ love whisperer’, I knew I had to message them for advice on how to allow love back into my life. I did not expect that my old love would walk into my office the next day.
“Why did I even get this low? Dating forms, Ethan? Really?” I mutter to myself.
Now that Lily is in the picture again, I might not need this. Or maybe I do. Deep down I know I need advice, but my social circle lacks humans.
“Should I try again? I paid for this after all,” I say to myself as crack my fingers, ready to type.
I don't like being told no; I begin typing. But, when I scan the profile of the admin, I notice something rather odd.
“What in the world is this?”