Drama on stage (The Freelance Vampire Book 2) by Michael Anderle

Author:Michael Anderle [Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798893545609
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2025-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JACKSON

It was eight when I arrived at 500 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 12A. I had a bouquet of fresh flowers and a carrier loaded with steaming cups of coffee.

The office suite was buzzing with activity. Papers whirred out of a printer. Laughter came from the break room, along with the chatter of a news program. Linda sat behind her desk, her long cherry-red nails flashing across the keys. She had pop music playing on her desktop. She looked up as I entered and gave me a cheerful wave.

“There he is! The man of the hour.” She eyed the flowers, and one hand fluttered to her bosom. “Marcus, don’t you dare say those are for me.”

“They are.”

“They’re gorgeous!” She hopped to her feet, snatched them out of my arms, and buried her nose in a blossom. “I swear, if you and Tatiana weren’t so friggin’ cute together, I’d be falling all over myself to get a date. Did you hear the news?”

She draped her left hand over the desk.

I wasn’t sure what her point was. At my ankles, Whiskers got gray fur all over my cashmere-twill slacks. Not that I minded. I liked the cat.

Linda was waiting for my reaction. Suddenly, it hit me. “No wedding band!”

“That cheap thing. Ramone said it was from Tiffany's, but I have a girlfriend who heard from her rheumatologist that Ramone got it at a pawnshop.”

“Her doctor knew that?”

“Doctors know all sorts of stuff. Especially if they’re the chatty kind.”

“How does it feel to be single?”

“Honey, I feel like I’m twenty again! There’s something about putting up with a man’s snoring that makes a girl feel old. Did Tatiana tell you? I’m on a dating site. Farmers Looking For Farmers. ‘Fluff’ is what we call it on the forums.”

“Good for you.”

She winked at me. “If it doesn’t work out with our lovely Tatiana, you could think about joining. Then again, you won’t find anyone better than Tatiana. She has it all. Better aim than anyone else at the Arlington Sharpshooters Indoor Range by far. Everyone says so. Plus, did you know she recently bought a crock pot? I bet she’ll learn how to cook a decent stew by next winter.”

“Here I was thinking you were going to say she has beauty and brains.”

“Well, that too. I mean, she’s very pretty. I wish she’d do her hair with a little more wave in it. It is naturally wavy, but she blow dries the wave out.”

A voice made us both turn. “I can hear you guys.”

Tatiana emerged from the hall and stalked to the water cooler. The jug gave a loud glug as she filled a cup. “I hope I didn’t interrupt. Wanted to announce my presence before you nit-picked my color palette.”

“Gray,” Linda muttered. “Oh, and beige. White or black, if we’re lucky.”

Tatiana joined us near the desk, amusement in her eyes. “Linda thinks I should embrace purple.”

“Purple, red, and blue,” Linda listed. “Cool reds only. Icy blues. You’ve got a winter complexion. Doesn’t she, Marcus?”

I gazed at Tatiana, mesmerized.

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