Chapter Thirty Amelia

THIRTY

Text messages between Reginald Cleaves and Frederick J. Fitzwilliam

REGINALD: How is Cassie?

FREDERICK: Better. She’s still sleeping for large portions of the day, but she’s up and around for longer stretches and eating regular meals of O positive.

FREDERICK: “What to Expect” and The Annals say she should be more or less herself again in a week

REGINALD: Glad to hear it

REGINALD: Also hey

REGINALD: I’m not asking this for any particular reason at all

REGINALD: Other than because I’m curious, and as always am extremely invested in the minutiae of your life

REGINALD: But how long were you and Cassie together before you started talking about “forever”??

REGINALD: You know, in the vampiric sense

FREDERICK: You’re only asking because you’re curious?

REGINALD: Yes

REGINALD: And because I care about you, my oldest friend, and want to know more about your life

FREDERICK: You are NEVER curious about my life

REGINALD: That’s not true. Remember that time at that one party in Madrid when I asked about that beautiful woman you were talking to?

FREDERICK: You asked about her because you wanted to sleep with and then eat her, not because you cared about my life

REGINALD: I’m hurt

REGINALD: But okay, that’s fair

FREDERICK: Be honest. Are you thinking of asking Amelia to think about turning?

REGINALD: No!

REGINALD: Absolutely not

REGINALD: Whatever gave you that idea

FREDERICK: Oh you silly fool.

Amelia

Walking into my building’s elevator with Reggie on one side of me and Frederick on the other was among the more surreal experiences of my life. At least, until we got off the elevator and made our way to the conference room where we’d be meeting with John Richardson. Then that experience became number one.

I was grateful for the awkwardness of the situation, though. It distracted me from the nerves roiling in the pit of my stomach. I was so anxious about this meeting I hadn’t even been able to eat breakfast, no matter how much Reggie nudged me to take a few bites of cereal.

If all went well, we’d be getting rid of the worst client I’d ever had and the weirdo vampires who’d been after Reggie for years in one fell swoop. It was the most extreme example of killing two birds with one stone I’d ever experienced. And it would largely be up to me to pull it off.

The pressure on me was enormous.

“Don’t you think you should have dressed up more for this?” Frederick asked Reggie with obvious disdain, keeping his voice low enough that we weren’t at risk of being overheard.

“No,” Reggie said, at full volume. “I wanted to dress exactly as I liked for this meeting. I’m done hiding.” Exactly as he liked turned out to be a brown gingham skirt paired with a T-shirt that said, Don’t Blame Me, I’m Todd! and black combat boots. He honestly looked hotter in that combo than anyone had a right to look, though I wasn’t certain whether that was something I should admit out loud.

“But this is a business establishment,” Frederick continued, exasperated. “If you don’t have any respect for yourself, at least have respect for the professionals who work here.”

I unlocked the door to the conference room where our meeting would be held and let them inside. My assistant had already set out the files we’d need for this meeting, and the knot of tension I’d been carrying around all morning loosened slightly.

One less thing to worry about.

“I respect the hell out of the people who work here,” Reggie said, continuing to bicker with Frederick even as they made their way into the room. “The way I dress has nothing to do with it.” He pulled out a chair at one end of the table and sat down. Then he turned to me and added, sounding a lot more contrite, “I hope my appearance doesn’t reflect poorly on you with your employers. I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask first.”

“It’s fine,” I said, then took a seat at the head of the table. “If all goes as planned, by the end of this meeting no one will care what any of us is wearing.” I looked at them both intently. “Does everyone understand their roles?”

“I think so,” Reggie said. “But why don’t you go over it all one more time just in case.”

Frederick took the seat next to Reginald, smirking at him. “It’s a simple enough plan, don’t you think?” Then he leaned over and stage-whispered in his ear: “You like it when Amelia takes charge, don’t you.”

“No,” Reggie said, glaring at him. A moment later, he quietly murmured, “Yes.”

Was it possible to combust from a combination of embarrassment, affection, and desire? I forced myself to ignore the riotous blush I could feel rising up my cheeks. I needed to focus. We were in my conference room, and in just a few minutes we’d be having a very important meeting with the head of a group of vigilante vampires. And how that meeting went would be largely up to me.

I had a moment of dizzy disorientation as I wondered, for the tenth time that morning, how any of this was happening.

“I’ll go over it again, just to be sure,” I agreed.

Reggie beamed at me. “I’m all ears.”

Frederick snorted.

“My role has a couple of parts to it,” I began, ignoring him. “First, I will let John Richardson know on behalf of Butyl and Dowidge that we are closing their file. I will lay out the tax consequences of what they’ve failed to do, tell them how much they almost certainly owe the IRS in back taxes, and explain how much trouble they’ll be in with the IRS and potentially with the Justice Department if we report them.” I paused. “I will also let them know that I know exactly who and what they really are, but no one else at my firm does. And that if they go quietly and vow to leave Reggie alone forever, it will stay that way.”

“After you’re finished doing the hard stuff,” Reggie continued, “my job will be to talk about how I had nothing whatsoever to do with The Incident, and that even if I had been responsible, it’s been over a century, and for the love of Hades they really need to find better things to do with their time.” He paused. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll also offer to help them find who was really responsible.”

That surprised me. This offer had not been part of the plan we’d gone over last night with Frederick over pancakes (for me) and bags of O-positive (for the two of them). “Really? You’d do that?”

“I would absolutely offer to help them, yes. But if they take me up on it, I’d likely only go through the motions.” At my quizzical expression, he added, “The person who set the fire likely had their reasons. Even though I had nothing to do with it, I’m not sad it happened. I will not rat the actual arsonist out.” A pause. “Whoever they are.”

I stared at him. Did Reggie actually know who did it?

Before I could ask any follow-up questions, Frederick chimed in. “My job will be to be the adult in the room, so to speak.” He gave Reggie a meaningful look. “My being here will let them know you two are not acting alone. That you do have support from within the broader vampire community.”

“Good,” I said. I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. This was going to work. “Any last-minute questions?”

Just then, the door to the conference room swung open and Evelyn Anderson walked in with John Richardson.

At the sight of them, white hot panic snaked through me. No one else from my firm was supposed to be here for this. Our biggest bargaining chip was that no one but me would know the truth about his organization so long as he agreed to go gently into the night with his goons.

We couldn’t speak openly about this situation in front of Evelyn.

Frederick and Reggie looked as alarmed by this development as I felt. John Richardson was clearly caught off guard, too. He stood rooted to the spot just inside the conference room, eyes saucer-wide and locked with Reggie’s, looking like he was in a state of actual shock.

Good. That part, at least, was proceeding according to plan.

“Apologies, Amelia,” Evelyn said, as she took a seat at the opposite end of the table. “I know I said you could conduct this meeting, but I talked it over with the other partners. Given today’s agenda, we agreed it would be best if I was present.”

She gave me a meaningful look.

Today’s agenda, as far as Evelyn knew, was that we’d be closing the Wyatt Foundation file and nothing more. They must have wanted that decision to come from the firm, not me.

“Thank you, Evelyn,” I said. What else could I say? She was the partner. If she wanted to be here for this meeting, there was nothing I could do about it.

John Richardson continued staring at Reggie as though he’d seen a ghost. Reggie glared at him with a hatred in his eyes I’d never seen there before. As if all that kept him from lunging across the table at him was the presence of the two humans in the room.

My mind was spinning, trying to think of a way out of this mess. “Evelyn, would it be all right if I still led the meeting? I’ve prepared for it, and—”

“Of course. I’ll just be here in case I’m needed.” Evelyn turned her attention to Frederick and Reggie. “And who might you be?”

“My name is Reginald Cleaves,” Reggie replied, eyes still on Mr. Richardson. His voice managed to hide his seething hatred, but just barely. He gestured to Frederick. “This is my friend, Frederick.”

“Do you have a connection to the Wyatt file?” Evelyn continued, looking confused.

“You might say that.” Reggie raised an eyebrow at Mr. Richardson. “John, do you want to explain to everyone why Freddie and I are here?”

Mr. Richardson looked as though he were about to make a run for it. He hadn’t moved since he entered the conference room, his body taut as a bowstring.

At length, a muscle twitched in his jaw. “I have no idea why you’re here,” he said. His tone was terse, but he remained calm. As if the person his organization had been hunting for years weren’t sitting less than ten feet away from him. “It seems a rather foolish decision on your part.”

Evelyn, suddenly thrust into the middle of a feud between centuries-old vampires and armed with nothing but the skills she brought with her as a CPA, was struggling to make sense of what was happening. She turned to me and asked, in a quiet voice, “Are Reginald and Frederick disgruntled members of the Wyatt Foundation board?”

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter. If only it were that simple . “Something like that,” I managed.

“Freddie and I came because we want to talk, John,” Reggie said, ignoring both of us. He stood up and started making his way slowly to where John Richardson still stood motionless by the door. “There’s a lot you and your friends think you understand, but the reality is—”

Reggie didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence. “I need to make a phone call,” Mr. Richardson cut in abruptly. “If you are here, there are other people from The Collective who need to be here as well. They’re angry, Reginald Cleaves.” And then, leaning in closer, he added, “You have been a very naughty boy.”

He fished around in his pocket for his cell phone. His hands shook. Good , I thought. He’s nervous. Without another word, he stormed out of the conference room, fingers jabbing furiously at the screen.

“One of us should probably follow him,” I said, trying to stem my rising panic. “You know how disgruntled board members can get.” John Richardson wandering the halls of my firm meant this situation was rapidly spiraling out of control. What would happen if more members of The Collective showed up? Frederick and Reggie didn’t attack humans anymore—but I had no idea what these other vampires might do.

Evelyn nodded her agreement. “Yes. I’d prefer they not be allowed to wander the building. Perhaps we should place a call to security and not allow them in?”

“I don’t know if that will help,” Reggie said, before shooting me a meaningful glance. “Call security just in case, Ms. Anderson, but I’ll go follow John just to be on the safe side.”

“Not by yourself,” Frederick said. “I’m coming, too.”

“He’s not going to do anything stupid in a building full of hum—” Reggie cut himself off, catching the mistake he’d been about to make at the last minute. He cleared his throat and tried again. “He won’t do anything stupid in a building full of accountants .”

“May I remind you that this is not a group known for making carefully reasoned decisions?” Frederick said. “Or a group that is used to being around this many… accountants …who aren’t expecting them? You’re not facing them alone.”

“Should we call in a mediator?” Evelyn’s eyes darted back and forth between Reggie and Frederick. She obviously realized she’d lost the thread of the conversation at some point, but Evelyn Anderson was not someone used to being caught flat-footed. “Mediating board member disputes typically falls outside what we offer clients, but if calling in a mediator would help—”

“It wouldn’t,” Frederick said bluntly, rolling up his sleeves. “This is something we should be able to resolve amongst ourselves.” He looked at me. “Especially if you’re there with us, Amelia.”

I stared at him, eyes wide. “Me? What good will my being there do?”

Reggie nodded towards the pile of papers on the conference room table. All the hours of work I’d done to prepare for this meeting. “You more than anyone else here should be able to end this…board member dispute.” His eyes softened. “You’ve worked so hard, Amelia. You’ve got this. You’ve got them . We need you.”

“Agreed,” Frederick said. “Reginald and I have certain arguments we can make, but you’re the one who knows exactly how much trouble they’ll be in if they don’t…go along with what the rest of the board wants to do.”

I turned back to Evelyn. She was the partner here as well as my boss. If she wanted to follow us as we went to confront The Collective, there was nothing I could do to stop her. But if she did come along, god only knew how messy this might get.

“I’ll make sure they know any decisions made on their file come from the firm, not from me,” I said, thinking quickly.

“Fine,” Evelyn said. “I’ll stay here. This seems like a situation where the more people in the room there are, the more explosive things could get.”

“Explosive,” Reggie said, snapping his fingers. “Good word.”

I let out a huge internal sigh of relief. “Thank you, Evelyn.”

Evelyn said something in response, but I didn’t quite hear what it was. I was already halfway out the door.

“How will we know if the others have gotten inside?” I asked when we arrived at the elevator. “How will we find them?”

“If they’re here, finding them will not be a problem,” Frederick said, sounding worried. Only then did I realize how much his previously calm demeanor had been an act for Evelyn’s benefit. “I only hope we’re not too late.”