*NOTE* I have Jury Duty next week so blogs will be delayed until it's over or Saturday whichever comes first. Until then sample the first chapter in next the book in the Isis series, Isis: Night of the Vampires! Covers are not final; pondering a Kickstarter to pay for them!
Time Magazine calls him the man who rules the world. I call him the man who’s ruining my life.
Time Magazine calls him the man who rules the world. I call him the man who’s ruining my life.
Ever since the board made John Haynes
the CEO here at Morris Phillips, more and more of our kind are being replaced
by his kind. If things keep going like this not a single creature of the night
is going to have a job here.
Over
the past year I’ve said goodbye to so many friends it’s not funny. Older demons
are putting in their retirement papers and younger ones are taking jobs at
other companies in the Lord’s organization. I’d love to join them.
Unfortunately it’s hard for our kind to get jobs in the Legion let alone keep
them. In the Lord’s order we’re usually the last hired and the first fired. If
I lost this job, it could be years before I found one that paid this well and
allowed me to work these kinds of hours.
The
time on my Smartphone is 8:56 when I get off the elevator. Moonlight shines
down through the picture windows of the top floor of the Morris Phillips Tower
as I push my cart towards the reception area of the executive suite. When I
approach the reception desk, Mr. Haynes’ administrative aide Samantha greets me
with a smile. “Hey Sam, you’re working late.” I say.
“Well,
Mr. Haynes had a long meeting Lilith.” Samantha replies.
“So
I guess I should come back later-”
“Things
looked like they were wrapping up for the day. Let me see if you can go in
there.”
Samantha
picks up the receiver and punches in an extension. “John, one of the
maintenance people is here. Is it okay for them to pick up the trash?”
“Yeah,
we’re about done for the day. You can send them in.”
“You
can go in.”
I
push my cart past the reception area and towards the tall mahogany doors of the
executive suite. When I open the doors of the CEO’s office Mr. Haynes is standing
in front of his desk having a conversation with his assistant E’steem. The
husky golden brown skinned man dressed in a tailored pinstripe suit breaks from
his conversation to smile at me. I’d love to give him a piece of my mind. But
his girlfriend is one of the most powerful demons in the entire Legion. I get
in her man’s face and I’ll go from undead to deceased in less time than it
takes to blink.
I
head over to the wastepaper basket near E’steem’s desk. While I’m taking the
plastic bag out of the bin and replacing it with a new one I overhear their
conversation.
“I
guess we better head upstairs.” John says. “I don’t feel like taking that long
train ride uptown at this hour.”
“Yeah,
I don’t think I could even muster up the energy to teleport us home after the
day we had.” E’steem replies. “How
long have we been up?”
“Since
about five A.M.”
“Let’s
just hope no other crises come up during the night. Because I’m probably going
to sleep through most of it.”
If
he only knew about the crisis among the creatures of the night here like
myself. Many of us undead are worried about our job security around here. I bet
if I told him about how he’s making our lives miserable he wouldn’t be sleeping
so soundly.
“That’s saying a lot for someone with
your enhanced stamina-”
“I
feel like I’ve run a marathon with all the going back and forth from the copy
room to the conference room.”
“But
at least we made some inroads on Morris Phillips’ holiday plans. What’s on the
schedule for tomorrow?”
I
want to say something. Anything. Tell him about the issues of the working
stiffs around here like myself. But my mouth remains shut. I look over at
E’steem in her designer red dress and she looks more intimidating in person
than she does online. Yeah, there’s all this talk on the Demons Anonymous
Facebook Group about her crossing over to the other side. But knowing what a
vicious killer she was in the past makes me afraid to say anything.
“Not
much until the afternoon.” E’steem says brushing her long silken black hair out
of her face to study the screen of her iPhone. “Your schedule is pretty much open except for that meeting
with the Craft Cheese execs at 1:30 tomorrow.”
Crap,
he’s practically got a free day and I can’t capitalize on it. If sunlight
wouldn’t turn me into a pile of ashes I’d ask him for an appointment to make a
presentation. I know I could state my case now, but seeing E’steem standing
right there scares the crap out of me. I know if I said anything about the
issues of the undead she’d probably dismiss me. Compared to someone like her
we’re second-class citizens in the Legion.
“Then
it’s a madhouse.”
“Yeah,
after that meeting then we have to get ready for that Bachelor auction at the
Roosevelt-”
“You
have your paddle ready?”
“I’m
always ready to spend my money for a good cause.”
“Since
my morning is free, maybe we can take a trip up to my old neighborhood.”
E’steem’s
face lights up “That sounds like fun.”
“Cool.
There’s a place I’d love to show you that meant a lot to me as a kid.”
I
frown on hearing their plans. They’re planning on having fun and I’m worrying
about whether or not I’m going to have a job tomorrow. But if I say anything
about my problems I may not remain alive. I huff a sigh as I head over to the
wastepaper basket next to John’s desk. As I’m taking the garbage bag out of it
and putting it into my bin, John grabs the phone on his desk and punches in an
extension. “Hey Sam, you can get ready to go. Yeah, we’re done for the day.”
John
hangs up the phone and peers down at me. When his dark eyes meet mine I get
startled. “Are you finished Miss?” He inquires.
Finished?
I wish I could have gotten started. “Er…Yeah.” I mumble.
John
and E’steem head out of the office suite. I follow behind them pushing my cart
angry at myself for missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime.
Isis: Night of the Vampires will be available on Kindle and in paperback Summer 2015!
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