BLURB:
Richard “Dick” Grewcock
is a fledgling vampire, turned by choice on Halloween Night.
He’s a computer
geek, thirty-two years old, and thinks vampires are handsome,
powerful, and
have women falling over them—everything he’s not. Problem is,
after he turns he
doesn’t get any of those qualities. On Christmas he got the
girlfriend of his
wishes, and weeks later his new life takes a turn.
Valentine’s Day he
meets with his maker and is made an offer he can’t refuse, but
he has a date
planned with his girlfriend.
Noelle St. Nicholas is
Dick’s new girlfriend, and a little geeky too, they seem to
be a perfect match.
She plans a night her boyfriend won’t soon forget, but he
tells her something
she can’t forgive.
On his second adventure
to find love, Dick Grewcock gets a Valentine surprise he won’t
soon forget.
STORY EXCERPT:
“Dick, Dick, Dick,
you’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you? C’mon and calm down.
We can fix this.
First, you have to stop erasing her memory and be a true vamp.
Tell her the
truth. Be her master. Then, I want you to bring her to me and
let me check her
out. We can set this right.”
“You sure?”
“Positive, my boy. I’ll
take care of you if you take care of me. Fix my computers and
I’ll put Noelle
back into working order.”
She’s
not broken, like a car needing a tune-up. Geez!
“Yes, sir. How about bringing her by tomorrow night?”
“Hmm, I can do that.
But remember, don’t do anymore mind erasing. Resist, my dear
Dick. Remember you
can do it. Now if that’s it, I have another appointment.”
“Okay.” Dick stood and
reached his hand over the desk to thank his sire.
Vlad stood and placed
his cold mitt in Dick’s. “Ah, does my Dick feel
better now?”
Huh?
The question gave him pause. No, he didn’t mean that the
way it sounded.
Dick changed the subject. “So, Master Vlad when do you want me
to start on the
computers?”
“Tonight, of course.”
“Really? But, I need to
quit my day job, and I’m busy tonight. I have a Valentine’s
date with Noelle,
remember?”
“Hmm, that’s right you
did say today is Valentine’s. Well, I was counting on you. I
need to move on
this immediately. I hate down time in my businesses.”
“I can’t give Noelle a
call first? I have reservations at a nice restaurant and can’t
change my
plans.”
“All I need you to do
is find me the best hardware and software system then network
all of them back
to my computer. As long as I’m up and running by the end of
the week I’ll be
happy. You can have your romantic date with Noelle, and then
work on it when
she’s asleep or is she an insomniac who stays up all night? If
she is, you
might have a problem working for me.”
“No, she sleeps
normally. I guess I could start tonight after our dinner. And,
sir, the end of
the week is in two days. You want this done for seven stores
in two days?”
“Oh my, how this week
has flown by. The days and nights all blur into one for me
lately. Insomnia is
such a bitch. I have trust in you, Dick. Plus you’re
industrious and can make
it work. That’s why I hired you, but I’ll give you a few extra
days because I
like you.” Vlad paused and bit his bottom lip. “Hmm,
I wonder if vamps can
suffer old age symptoms. You know like, dementia or inability
to sleep. And
this,” he said as he grabbed his stomach and squeezed the skin
through his
shirt. “Do you think I’m fat? Look. I think I’ve gained a few
extra pounds
around the middle.”
“Um, I don’t know. I
haven’t been doing this vamp thing for very long. You look
fine to me, by the
way.”
“Hmm, you’re right.”
Vlad turned to the side facing Dick. The older vamp pushed
aside his leather
duster coat with one hand and the other hand he placed over
his abdomen. Arched
his back slightly, he let out a breath, extending his stomach,
sucked in the
muscles, then back again. After a couple more
times repeating the in and out of
his belly, he glanced back at Dick. “Be honest, I can take it. Do you think I’m
getting fat?”
Holy crap! I’m
damned
if I do or not. Maybe cutting back on the ice cream
might help.
“No, I don’t think you look fat, sir. You…you look
fabulous. As always. Hell, I
wished I looked as good as you. You’re one reason I wanted to
become a
vampire.” Not really, well maybe, but Dick had to tell a
little lie because he
recognized no way he’d win this argument with Master Vlad.
“Really?” Vlad’s voice
squealed a couple octaves higher, piercing Dick’s ears.
For a moment the
younger vampire reconsidered his decision to take the position
with Vamps ‘R
Us, but at this point, he couldn’t back out. The offer was
made and accepted,
and in the Master’s world that meant a contract had been
sealed. Dick took a
deep breath and forced a smile.
“Where was I? Oh, yes.
I almost forgot.” The master walked to his desk,
retrieved a file folder, and
then leaned across the desktop, outstretching his hand with
the folder. “This
is for you. Everything you need to know. Addresses, phone
numbers, store
managers’ names, all concerning the properties I’ve purchased.
If you can think
of anything I’ve forgotten, please let me know.”
“Sure thing. I’ll get
right on this.” Dick turned to leave, but stopped abruptly
when the cold chill
of Vlad’s hand came to rest on his shoulder.
“Oh, one more thing, my
boy. When you stop by Tina’s desk to make an appointment to
come in with
Noelle, let her show you one of the offices down the hall. You
can pick where
you want. She’s so good at welcoming my new employees and can
get you set up
with everything you need.” Dick felt the chillier
breath of his maker near his
ear. The soft whisper sent chills down Dick’s spine. “Just
don’t mention
anything about her fingernails. She’s very sensitive about
them for some reason.”
“Okay, no problem.”
“No seriously. The last
guy that came to work for me said something about how he
thought they were
weird with the multi-colors of polish and sharp as needles.”
He paused. “Well,
anyhoo, he doesn’t work here any longer.” Vlad patted Dick on
the shoulder
again and walked toward the door.
Dick swallowed hard.
“Anything else you should tell me, sir?”
Cynthia Arsuaga
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