8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ethan

W hy did Lily leave so suddenly? Who is going to eat all this food? She didn't even let me know that she was leaving. I wonder what happened? Is it because we had sex?

Her smell is all over my room now. The sweet smell of roses is something that will make me crave her every time. Her soft lips against mine are something I am trying to get off my mind, but I don't think that will happen any time soon. It is a shame that she left without a word.

"What a waste," I mutter to myself as I drop the oiled pan in the sink.

I really thought I was going to make her smile after everything I had made for her. It had been one hell of a night for her, and I needed to fix the damage I had done.

I must get to the office. She must be there by now and I must see her. I must apologize for whatever wrong I did. This can't get any more improper. Another day at the office and I have too much on my mind already.

"Any word as to why you left so suddenly last night? Perry was in the middle of solving this issue," Nick asks, walking behind me. He must have been waiting for my arrival.

"Yeah, about that. I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I'm glad I got out when I did."

"Does it have to do with-"

"Ms. Snow, yes. That is why I had to leave so quickly," I reply.

"It must have been serious."

"Yeah. It was. I didn't want her to have to be around people who were clearly not her kind."

"What was on her mind?"

"She had a fun night in El Diablo. My club."

"So, it was her?"

"Yes, it was." I nod and swallow.

"Why would she go there in the first place? Out of all clubs in New York?"

"Oh, Nick, I have been asking myself that question since the moment I saw her. It must be fate."

"Well, fate does some pretty weird things."

"No kidding."

"Did Perry propose anything else after I left?" I ask Nick as I put my things on the desk. My office has a new look now. It is a good change, though.

"No, but he is planning to talk to you later. He has a few options as to what we should do with the situation."

"I bet he does. This is getting overwhelming," I unbutton my blazer, take it off, and place it on my chair. Alfred joins us with a stack of files in his hands.

"Morning, Alfred. Come on in."

"We are working on it, though. We haven't heard from the FDA again, and we haven't responded back yet. We are working in secrecy while they plot something against us," Nick says and looks at Alfred, then at me.

"I bet they are too. Did you have our data manager check up on our client's profiles, Alfred?"

"I was just getting to that," Alfred says, slightly smirking. He places a file on the desk as his smirk widens.

"What is in there?"

"What we have been fearing all along. An odd client."

"What do you mean by odd?"

"It is all in there, Mr. Rothschild."

I take the file in my hands and look through it. It doesn't take me long to realize what he is talking about.

It is all making sense now. Someone has recently purchased a large number of our products. I am only guessing that this person is behind the complaints made to the FDA concerning our products.

"This doesn't make sense."

"It does. Whoever they are, they are buying in bulk, and not for themselves," Alfred replies.

"Demetrius Daire," I read the client's name as I skim through the file.

"Didn't you tell me to look for a strange name that may or may not belong to a vampire?"

"Yes, I did. Any more information on this guy?" I ask Alfred as I continue to read the file. The client had made a lot of purchases over the course of a very few days.

"Not really. I'm assuming he is a vampire because of the sheer number of products he is ordering."

"Of course, he is a vampire, Alfred. I can see he has purchased a lot of our products. How do we know it is him, though?"

"There are a lot of ways to prove that he is behind this whole thing. The problem is that there is hardly any more information on him. Even his address leads us to an abandoned building. Isn't that odd enough? I'm assuming that he is buying everything for someone or something, and he doesn't want us to track him."

"What could be the oddest part?"

"Aside from the fact that he is keeping his location anonymous, the amount of money he is paying. You'd think a regular vampire would spend that much on blood substitutes?" Alfred answers, slightly chuckling and looking at Nick.

"It does not make any sense, Alfred. If this person belongs to the rebels, that means they should know about Rothschild Pharmaceuticals. That also means that they are benefitting from our products. I can see a lot of Solicare being purchased here."

"It has been sunny these days in New York, so I can only assume," Nick says, shrugging.

"Have we had any complaints before on Solicare?"

"It has been the same since the day it hit the market. We've had a few here and there but no one has really complained. It doesn't work with all vampires, and we made that clear. There are always alternatives based on everyone's needs."

"I can say it is among some of our best products, Ethan," Nick says.

"Then we should not worry. This person must be an outsider. Perhaps he does not understand our products. We have been running this business for generations," I say.

"I will have to do further investigation on him. I will see if I can find something else. He must have a social media account or something," Alfred says.

"Let us just focus on dealing with the FDA for now. I trust Perry with his plans. He will get us out of this mess. Meanwhile, make sure you keep a close eye on this guy. We never know."

"I'm on it, Mr. Rothschild."

I place the file on the desk. My eyes fall on it in front of me. The words are blurred, but I am still reading them. My thoughts are racing, and my heart is beating rapidly. I can't stop thinking of her.

"Have you seen, Ms. Snow? Either of you?" I ask, not looking up from the file.

"Not me. I have some business to take care of right now," Nick says as he leaves. He is plotting to do something; I can feel it.

"Ms. Snow is currently working in my office. She has proposed to me a plan," Alfred says, smiling proudly.

"What? She is here already?" I suddenly stand on shaky legs. I feel as if my legs are about to give up on me.

"Yes, she is. She arrived here right before you did."

"Oh, wow. Why didn't you tell me, Alfred? You could have told me."

"I assumed you'd read my mind and found out," Alfred smirks.

"I am too thirsty to use any powers right now," I tell him. The sex with Lily earlier this morning really exhausted me, but it also felt like I was reborn.

"Ms. Snow told me she had a rough night, so I left my office to give her more space. I can't wait to see the result of the new decor."

"Rough night," I faintly say, echoing Alfred.

"There is something that caught my eye, though."

"Which is?"

"A bandage around her hand. She must have injured herself."

"She has indeed. It happened right there in my club in front of everyone."

"Wait. I am not supposed to intrude, but did they-"

"No, Alfred," I immediately say. I know what he is thinking.

"Oh, good grief."

"She caught people's eyes for sure, but I was quick to escort her out of there as soon as possible. She hurt herself, and the wounds were bleeding all over my hands."

"Oh."

"Exactly. You know how it is, Alfred. It was quite the bloody scene."

"Oh, that sounds rough. What did you do?"

"I helped her, but it was a tedious task. You know how I get around blood."

"I do. That must have been hard."

"You have no idea, Alfred," I sigh and sit back down. I need to clear my head.

"I will leave you now. I'll see if I can find more on this person," Alfred says, walking backward.

"Thank you, Alfred."

Lily is here in the building. I need to see her. I have so much I want to talk to her about. I want to know why she left so suddenly. But that is the problem. I don't really know how to keep a conversation with her.

Maybe we went too far this morning. The second I smell her and see her; it is hard for me to contain my thirst and lust.

I must remain professional in the building, but it is too late now. There is something about her that lures me in, body and soul.

"Get it together, Ethan. We have work to do," I whisper to myself, rubbing my eyes.

As I open my laptop, I quickly realize that the dating forum's tab is still open. There is no reply to my previous rude message, except for my recent message sent earlier this morning.

For some reason, I needed to know what the best breakfast a human woman would prefer was.

"Hey there! I would say go for something cute and simple like pancakes with fresh berries and whipped cream. It's easy and delicious. But given your last not-so-friendly message, I am only assuming your arrogant self is a bit over-demanding. I am also assuming you are the type of person who likes to go beyond and do something extra, but not in a good way. There are plenty of breakfast ideas on the internet, so I don't know why you would look for that in a dating blog, but it is the internet after all, so a lot of things happen here. Anyway, scrambled eggs with avocado and a little fruit salad on the side will do the job just fine. Not just any fruits, though. Make it something that will catch her eye. Make it exotic and colorful. Also, don't forget the coffee. Coffee works best when it is black. No sugar. Oh, and make sure you add a little touch of magic in there, but that is not something I need to remind you of since you do seem like you would go beyond your boundaries to please whoever you need this information for, and that is something we both know you cannot do. PS: coconut and mangos make for the perfect breakfast fruit."

I reread the message several times. Something about it feels off and I can't figure it out just yet.

"What? What the hell did I just read?" I ask myself. My fingers are on the keys, ready to type back.

There is a part of me that is angry with this comment, and another part that is thinking about the breakfast mentioned in the comment.

"Coconut and mango? Isn't that-" I am soon interrupted by a call from my attorney, Perry.

I stand up, leaving my chair and laptop behind. My hands are sweating, and I can feel my thoughts racing. It is as if I can hear the chaos occurring inside my head.

"Yes, Perry? Good morning."

"Morning, Mr. Rothschild. We need to talk."

"We need to. Do you have any updates?" I ask, placing my hand in my pocket.

"Not yet, but I am working on it. I wanted to ask if we could meet up sometime today to resume our meeting."

"Yeah, that will be fine. What time?"

"Is lunchtime alright?"

I walk to my chair again; my eyes and thoughts are focused on the message on the screen. Everything about it feels so familiar. This message is exactly like her. Like Lily. She is behind this. Lily is behind this. Is that possible?

"Lunch is fine. I'll see you then. Thank you, Perry," I say and hang up.

I place the phone on the desk and look back at the message again. If anyone loves a coconut and mango fruit salad, then it is Lily herself. I know her more than anyone else. I still remember every detail about her.

"How can I forget this?" I say to myself, shaking my head.

I can't take it anymore. I must see her. Perhaps the look on her face can tell me something.

I slowly walk toward Alfred's office. As I get closer, I can feel her sweet scent lingering in the air. My eyes are closed and the memory of her in my arms is flooding my mind.

"There you are," I hiss at Lily. She doesn't look surprised to me. She looks as if she has been waiting for the very moment to see me.

"I've been waiting for you."

"That makes the two of us."

"I thought you were going to see me sooner. I have done a better job in Alfred's office than in yours," she says, as she looks around her.

She is not wrong. The office looks like an entirely different place. It is colorful, and there is not a single piece of paper on the desk. It is a vast improvement, I can tell.

"I bet. But that is not why I'm here," I tell her. My mind is so full of thoughts. I can ask her a million questions right now.

"What is it then?"

"I-" I begin, but soon feel powerless. I can't get mad at her. I want to ask her so many things, but the way she looks at me makes me weak.

"Yes?" she blinks at me.

"Why did you leave so suddenly?" I ask. That was not the most important question, but I just wanted to ask her that.

"It was inappropriate to stay in your bed like that. Plus, I was late for the office."

"Did something happen? Did I do something wrong? I just wanted to make you a nice breakfast and apologize for the way I have been acting and talking."

"I felt like we went a little too far. And yes, something did happen."

"Tell me. Let me fix it."

"I cannot. It is too silly," she replies.

"How is your hand?" I ask her. I can't control myself. Her scent is overwhelming.

"It still stings a little. It should heal in a couple of days."

"It is good. I should have taken care of it more, though."

"You did. Don't worry."

"Can we start over, please?" the words suddenly escape my mouth.

I don't want to start over, but if that is what it takes me to make her happy, then I will happily do it.

"What do you mean?" Lily chuckles.

"Let us just pretend that nothing happened between us today."

"Has anything happened?" she asks. I can tell she is teasing me, but who am I to judge? She is good at it.

"Just don't set foot in my clubs again, Lily. Please."

"You can't make that demand. That is unfair."

"It is not."

"Yes, it is. I had fun last night, till you came along."

"I had to come along. If I hadn't, you can never guess what would have happened to you there."

"You are being dramatic, once again. You didn't have this trait before."

"The people in there are not for you, Lily. Terrible things happen in there, and I don't want to elaborate on it any longer."

"You own those places, which means they should be safe."

"Yes, they are, but they are not meant for people like you."

"And who am I?"

"Someone who I do not want to see anywhere near the El Diablo," I look down at her.

"You cannot stop me, Mr. Rothschild," she replies.

"Why are you so persistent on wanting to go there?" I ask her, getting a little annoyed.

"I just like it, that's all."

"No, you don't just like it. You like testing my patience, and let me tell you, Ms. Snow, your efforts are not in vain."

"Oh, really? And why is that?" she asks, folding her arms together.

"Because" I take a step closer to her.

"Because?" her voice gets shaky, but she still looks up at me. It is like she wants to prove something to me.

"Because I'm not a patient person, and I care about your safety. So please, don't go around being reckless, because you will only end up hurting yourself."

"Why do you care?" her eyes are full of curiosity.

"I care about everyone in this building, Ms. Snow," I tell her.

"That is not what you said earlier to me when I was in your bed."

I smile and look down. I know what she is doing. I should confess she is so good at it, too.

"Well, that was different," I tell her, my gaze still locked on hers.

"Why?" she asks, her voice soft.

"I don't know, but it was different. We are at work now, Ms. Snow. We must be professional," I reply, looking down at her lips.

"Your rules are odd, Mr. Rothschild."

"They are not. Everything is written in the file I provided you with yesterday," I brush my fingers on her cheeks. I love seeing her shiver.

"You are not being so professional now."

I don't reply. Instead, I place my hand on the back of her neck and pull her in, our bodies and lips are only inches away.

"You are such a tease," I whisper to her, and the next thing I know, her lips are on mine. I can't let her enjoy it. I can't let her kiss me. She can't.

"That's all you get for today, Ms. Snow. This is not a game," I push her away, and step back.

"I am not playing," she says.

"I am not either. I feel like I know so many things about you already," I reply, fixing the sleeves of my shirt.

"It is a weird thing that I have the very same feeling. Perhaps we are both right."

"Are you sure you are being completely honest with me, Ms. Snow?"

She doesn't reply straight away. Her eyes widen and her cheeks flush red. I can tell she is nervous. She knows what I am referring to. She suddenly looks back at me, daringly.

"Of course," she says.

"Are you lying, Lily?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"I don't know why you think I'm lying, but you should get used to this fact. I don't lie, and even if I do, you cannot catch me."

"I can always catch you, darling."

"I have a hard time believing it."

"That is because you still don't know me."

"And you still don't know me," she smiles.

"But I'm trying. Can't you see that?"

"You can try as much as you want, but there are things that are just meant to stay hidden. Even from someone who tries to be as good as you." She takes a few steps away from me.

"And why is that?" I follow her.

"Because, sometimes, what people don't know can't hurt them. And even if they do get hurt, they will forget about it in the future."

"I have to say the same thing about you, then?"

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you are so eager, and you want to know everything."

"I'm not that eager, and I don't want to know everything. I just want to know enough to understand you."

"What is there to understand?"

Lily smirks at me. Her looks are suddenly different. She walks back towards me again. She looks at me in a way that makes me willing to do anything for her.

She places her hands on my chest and looks up. I can feel her body heat. It is intoxicating.

"I know a lot of things."

"What is it that you know, Lily?"