As I was saying, I didn’t need to sleep, but I did like to rest my body and meditate for a couple of hours every night, or morning. Or whenever I got the chance. It helped me in honing my Sight ability and let me relax after, uhm, stressful nights. Jack would say masturbation worked the same as meditation, but it didn’t. Definitely wass not the fucking same.
When I hadn’t been drinking, the premonitions were typically helpful. I could see the future of people, and sometimes the past. I only needed to touch them once to get more than a glimpse into their lives. I saw too much sometimes, but it was why I was so good at my job. Or jobssss. Plural. Two out of three, anyway.
During the regular waking hours I helped run a billion dollar holdings company. A company owned by my Dad. Well, one of my dads. I had three of those, too. They were all exceptional males. They’d raised me well and spoiled me rotten since I was the only child they got to have together before my mother disappeared.
My life got a little complicated when explaining that I had three male parents. Usually people thought I was joking. But I wasn’t.
My mother was a powerful mage of royal descent, and she had three mates. Together they united kingdoms. Blah, blah, blah... It was a really romantic story, the way they met and fell in love with the same woman. Honestly, it made me a little queasy every time I heard it. They were my parents!! Gross.
Basically, I was a hybrid. The best qualities from all their genes, all thanks to my mother's mage magic. Yeah, thanks, Mom.
People flocked away from me because they thought I was an abomination. I shouldn’t have been created, let alone born... You know, the same old shit people said and did when something was different and they couldn’t understand or explain it.
Another knock at my door had me pausing on the pity party of my life. Franklin, the chauffeur my father, Charles, hired was standing on the other side of my bedroom door. He was a wiry vampire with a kind smile and a gentle voice. He looked more like a grandfather than a vampire, but looks could be deceiving.
“Madam, I’ve been trying to reach you for an hour. You have a meeting in 30 minutes and we have a 20 minute drive.” He kept eye contact with me while he spoke. Normally I loved it because so few people could maintain eye contact with me. Most glanced at my eyes for a moment before averting their gaze, either looking at my chest or anywhere else. Something about the way Franklin was looking around had me wondering if he was alright though.
“I’ll be down in a moment!” I shouted as I scanned my desk for the contract I needed today. Got it. I rushed downstairs in a flash of movement, but couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I had forgotten something. Where was my purse?
“We need to go,” Franklin called from the doorway.
“Okay, let me grab my purse,” I agreed as I rummaged around the foyer for it. I didn’t see it. There was no telling where it went since I stumbled in at 6:30 this morning, still drunk from my first night off in a month. I was still a little buzzed, if I was being honest. I needed to eat something so I could sober up before I went into this meeting.
Franklin cleared his throat, making it clear that he was uncomfortable. “Maybe you should put on some clothes and skip the purse for today?” He looked towards the ceiling to avoid me, and a faint smile touched his lips. “I seem to have found your bag, Madam.”
I peered up, and sure enough, there was my purse. Hanging from the chandelier. I rubbed my hand down my face, feeling a smidgen of embarrassment. It must have been a hell of a night since I didn’t remember all of it.
Franklin cleared his throat again and bowed his head as he informed me he was leaving the room. “I’ll bring the car around. We need to leave in five minutes or you’re going to be late to your meeting with Mr. Rigid and his son.”
Right. Fuck.
Mr. Rigid, as Franklin and I liked to call him, was really Ronald Caplin. He happened to be one of the owners of Caplin Bowers Pharmaceuticals. Today I was supposed to be meeting him to finish the negotiations for buying his company. I slapped myself on the forehead while I scrutinized myself in the mirror to my right. That’s when I saw it, and Franklin’s words finally clicked. Holy... what the fuck!? I AM naked. Shit, shit, shit.
With a quick snap of my fingers, and a silent thanks to my mom for giving me the magic I so often cursed, I took another quick glance in the mirror before rushing out the door to the waiting car.
The sooner I could get this meeting over with, the quicker my day would end and my night would begin. One of my other jobs.
Vaughn
Friday Midday
I stood facing the mirror and scowled at myself while I straightened my tie. I hated wearing ties. “This is ridiculously absurd,” I muttered to myself.
Today the company that I worked for was being sold. Sold for an obscene amount of money. I rolled my icy blue eyes in disgust. I couldn’t believe I had to parade around for a new owner instead of catching up on all the bullshit paperwork I had sitting on my desk.
I heard what the previous owner of the company was asking for. We’d all heard. We also heard that the woman that came in to do the negotiations was a stickler and didn’t give them the over-priced payment they were asking for. It was hard to put a price on a pharmaceutical company; I got it, but the man was asking for billions. Literally. I mean, the company just wasn’t that big yet. Maybe in the hundred millions, but billions? No way.
I knew the son of one of the owners screwed up the negotiations somehow. That thought made the side of my lip curl up a bit. He was always a dick. I’m sure he thought he could hit on her and get what he wanted. That was Taylor’s usual MO. He’d throw a few lines out and expect to reel a woman in with his daddy’s money making his pockets look fat. Let’s be honest. He liked THOTs. You know? That ho over there. The easier they were, the more he liked them. Whatever floats his boat. I was sure this woman wouldn’t fall for his shit, though.
I was slightly apprehensive about meeting the new owner, or the new owner’s daughter, I should say. She’d be coming in today to do a walkthrough after their meeting wrapped up. Which meant there would probably be budget cuts and firing sprees in the near future. I had worked too hard to get to my position, and I was not ready to give that up.
I stood by the window and sighed as I looked out over the floor that I managed. Five years in this company, five years kissing ass and moving up the ladder. It could all come crumbling down after the buyout. I didn’t need the actual job so much as I needed the intel from within the walls.
As I scanned the floor, I noticed some frenzied movement near the sixth aisle. Fuck. I’d bet Susan came in drunk again today. Of all the days to have visible fuck ups, today was definitely not the one.
Sighing again, I opened my office door and trotted down the stairs. My paperwork and inventory checks would have to wait until later. I needed to send this lady home, or to a rehab facility. The latter would be the best option. I couldn’t fire her today, but I also couldn’t have her on the line messing up the sorting rotation or dropping the pills. So that would have to wait until Monday. I’d have to make sure to ask the new boss before I did it. I didn’t know if I’d still have that authority in my job description after today.
I approached the red-headed woman in question and her neighboring coworker, John. He gave me an apologetic smile. He knew today was the worst kind of day for her mistakes. I tapped her on the shoulder as politely as I could and said in the most gentle voice I could muster, “Susan, I think you should go home.”