DraculaVille - New York - Book One (15 page)

“Stop calling me that.” She pointed her index finger at him.

“It’s not much.” Gerri draped an arm around the boy’s shoulders.

“Let’s toast Talia,” Felix said. “The genius behind this idea that’s going to make us all rich. Well, maybe not Gerri.” He stuck his tongue out at her and she reciprocated.

They cheered, raised their glasses in the air, and drank. Talia had never felt this happy. Her heart lifted, light and bubbly, like the champagne.

“Hey, champagne in blood is good.” Drake ran a tongue over his lips as he stared at his glass.

“Tastes the same to me,” Pip said, pouting.

Gerri winked at her. Seems Pip’s portion was very small. Good.

“What now?” Drake asked.

“We meet with the Romanians and get started on plans. They need to choose a location for the park. We have to approach major sponsors to arrange investment dollars, purchase land and building permits.” Talia tossed back another swallow of champagne, enjoying the tingle as it swirled down her throat.

“I can’t wait to ride the rides.” Pip drained his glass and handed it to Gerri.

“It may take a couple years for the park to actually open.” Talia patted his head.

“That’s a long time,” the boy said, brow lowered.

“They’ll basically be building a city. It won’t happen overnight.” Talia pointed to her empty glass, and Felix hurried to fetch the second bottle.

“How do I fit into the plans?” Drake asked.

“We’ll work on publicity pieces all along. Initially, you can have a rest until the building plans are finalized.”

“Good. I’m going to start home-schooling with Pip.” He gently punched the boy in the shoulder.

Pip scrunched up his face in distaste. “I don’t like school.”

“You should have a basic education,” Gerri said. “You’ll want to know things about the world so you can make your way.”

“Drake says I’ll never grow up.” Pip’s bottom lip protruded.

Talia’s focus went to Drake. Pain radiated from his gaze. This really bothered him. She hadn’t even considered, but it was true. Pip was turned into a vampire as a child, so he’d always look young. She bit her lip, and her heart ached for the poor kid.

And what of Drake’s position? He’d stay the same age forever, too, if the legends about vampires were true. No opportunity to marry, raise a family and grow old with someone. That’s what everyone expected out of life. Did Drake even know what to expect?

The pain in his eyes changed to sadness. Then he seemed to pull himself together and managed a small smile. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll find a way to make learning fun.”

Pip didn’t look convinced.

Felix refilled their glasses, and Drake motioned for him to add champagne to his, which was almost empty. “I want to try more champagne.”

He took a sip and smiled. “Hey, I think I can drink this by itself.”

Talia laughed. “Don’t overdo it. You don’t know how alcohol affects vampires.”

He waggled his eyebrows and leered at her. “Maybe it makes them go crazy and bite the closest person.”

She issued an exaggerated sigh. “Felix, go get the wooden stake out of my purse.”

“Very funny,” Drake said and took another sip.

“This is just the beginnings, folks.” She raised her glass. “We have a ton of work ahead of us, but in the end, it’s going to be spectacular. So, here’s to the future. Here’s to DraculaVille.”

***

Monday morning, Talia strolled along the halls of The Saracin Agency. She enjoyed the surreptitious stares and whispers that accompanied her path. She had on a new Chanel tweed suit, black striped hose and black platform pumps.
Stand back bitches. The tiger has arrived!

Felix waited holding her skinny latte, nice and hot, along with a report on the GNP of Romania and detailed charts of the output per region in everything from tourist dollars to wine production. He followed her into her office and pointed to a map of Romania he’d adhered to a foam-core board. They’d use the information to zero in on the best location for DraculaVille.

“Have you seen Harv yet?” She tossed her purse on her desk and settled in her chair, sipping her latte.

“Are you kidding? He’s been stalking the halls since eight.” Her assistant sat in one of the chairs fronting her desk.

Speak of the devil, Harvey strode into her office, his hands full of files. “Where have you been? We need to get cracking on this project.”

“Harv, it’s only eight-thirty. What’s the big rush?” She moved her cup as he dumped his files on her desk.

“You need to go through all this. The Romanians want to meet at one today to talk location. Then I can negotiate the final details of the contract with the secretary.”

“Do you want to explain this heap?” Talia gestured to the files.

“I had the research team working all weekend. This is information on everything in Romania from the number of cigar smokers, to the cities with the biggest hotel revenue. I want you up on every segment of the market.”

“Thanks so much.” She eyed the stack and glanced at Felix. “We’ll get right on it.”

She bolted from her chair and came around her desk to escort Harvey from her office. After a gentle shove, he left and she closed the door then waved her fingers at him through the glass door.

She whirled around after Harvey walked away and pointed to the folders. “Get this trash off my desk and let’s get to work.”

Her assistant grinned and swept the offending items into a pile on the floor by the window. “We did all the work, and now he wants to butt in.”

“Seriously. He means well, I’m sure.” She went to her chair. “Let’s start plotting out the items that’ll affect the site of the park. I want charts on distance from major airports, metropolitan areas near mountains, and a report on the road system. You man the pushpins and I’ll call out the locations to mark.”

He nodded and extracted three spreadsheets from his files, and laid them out before her. They spent two hours excluding one area after another until they reached a decision. The best location was in the vicinity of the city of Sibiu. Situated in central Romania, it enjoyed both train and major roadway accessibility. It had enough historical significance to attract history buffs, and was large enough to handle overflow from the resort.

South of the city ran the southern arc of the Carpathian Mountains, which would add to the ambience needed for a castle built on a hill. Talia found the idea of traveling through a desolate mountain pass to reach the park an exciting aspect to consider in choosing a location.

She studied the map of Romania. Sibiu was the capital of the principality of…Transylvania. She smiled. Perfect.

“Okay, hold on to those notes and we’ll present our findings to the Romanians at one.” She made a few scribbles on one of his charts and gave him a brief smile. “Good work, Felix.”

“Thanks, master.” He put the ancillary reports in a folder and gave her a mock curtsey.

She balled a piece of paper and threw it at him. “You know things are going to be tough don’t you? Everyone in the agency will try to get a piece of the action and cut us out.”

“So?”

“So, keep your cool. If anybody screws with us, I’m going to threaten to quit. That ought to scare the higher ups. I’m not taking any more crap. After losing Fizzola, I realized I have to stand up for myself because this company isn’t going to watch out for me.”

“You’ve been here ten years. What if they take you seriously? You could lose your job.”

“I don’t care anymore. I’m tired of playing the corporate game. We busted our butts making this happen. Either they recognize us or we walk. What do you say?”

“I won’t stay here if you leave, that’s for sure.” He raised his chin.

“So, we stay united. It’ll be okay. Harv won’t take a chance on losing this opportunity. He’ll stand up for us.”

Felix stared at her for a moment and shrugged. “Whatever you say, boss. I’m totally on your side.”

By noon, Talia had her PowerPoint presentation ready. She and her assistant ran through it as they ate soup and salad.

“Looks great.” Felix stacked the binders he’d prepared for the delegation.

“We’re ready.” Talia nodded. “Let’s go.”

Harvey pressed the flesh as she and Felix entered the conference room. Their Creative Director, Leslie Harmon, attended as well. She waved to Talia, and Harvey hurried over. He glanced at Talia’s laptop. “Where are the files I gave you?”

“We went through the information. All I need is my laptop.” She patted it and placed it on the table while waving to her wine drinking buddies. Interesting, the secretary hadn’t come today.

Harvey’s brow lowered, but after Friday surely he realized she knew what she was doing. He stepped back and let her greet their clients. Then she set up the projector that hooked into her computer while her assistant passed out presentation binders.

Four hours later, a beaming group of Romanians pumped Talia’s hand and told her how pleased they were with everything.

“The secretary will be very encouraged with this progress,” Cosmin said, leaning close. “She does ask that we produce a package of teaser ads and billboards to start whetting people’s appetites. She can use them when she approaches the sponsors.”

“Of course. How soon would she like them?” Talia smiled.

“Within the next two weeks, if that’s possible.”

“I’ll set up the photo shoot for later this week and have the finished artwork with copy ready the following week. Will that be okay?”

“Excellent.” He beamed. “I’m sure now she will sign the contract and everything will be in order.”

“If she has any specific ideas on the layout of the pictures, please let me know by Thursday morning.” She snapped shut the lid of her laptop.

“I will talk to her this evening and send you an e-mail.” Cosmin inclined his head.

“Another great show, boss,” Felix whispered as they headed back to her office.

Her cell phone rang. It was Drake.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“We just finished. It went fine. They loved our ideas.” She winked at her assistant and mouthed Drake’s name.

“Will you be leaving soon?”

“In about an hour. I have a few more details to line up. They want another photo shoot for some promotional pieces, so I’m going to call Anton and see if I can arrange one for this Friday night. Would that be okay with you?”

“Sure. It’ll be fun. See you later.”

She pressed END, happiness bubbling in her chest. Finally, life had taken a turn in positive direction. Now, she prayed Pip would stay out of trouble and Drake didn’t disappear again.

Chapter 19

Talia looked at her watch as she exited her office building. Six-thirty. Damn, the sun had already set. She wrapped her red wool coat tight across her chest as a puff of cold air enveloped her. The temperature had dropped during the day and now her breath came out in white clouds.

She hurried down the steps and paused at the bottom, her heart thumping in her chest. Drake leaned against a streetlight post, waiting for her. He looked delicious in a black turtleneck and black jeans with a charcoal wool sports coat. He tossed the cashmere scarf he’d been twisting in his hands over one shoulder and strode toward her.

“Surprise.” He gave her a half smile. Cars and taxis honked at each other on the busy street behind him.

“Indeed. How long have you been waiting?” Her heart fluttered at his proximity.

“Only about an hour. I didn’t want to miss you.”

“An hour? Good grief, you must be nearly frozen to death by now.” She blinked. “Okay, scratch that.”

He laughed. She loved the way his eyes sparkled in his happiness. Much better than the fiery coals that glowed when he was angry.

“I wanted to ask a favor of you.” He glanced down, then at her.

“What’s that?”

“I told you bits and pieces of my past are resurfacing. Well today I remembered something so odd I want to check it out.”

“Really? Should I be nervous?”

He paused and looked up the street for a second, appearing embarrassed.

“I like to dance to Latin music.” He grinned.

“Seriously? Latin music? You mean like the Tango and the Rumba?”

He nodded. “Seems I was really good at it. I have visions of competing in some sort of dance contest. I know it sounds crazy, and it’s probably unimportant to you.” He took hold of her elbow and took her to the edge of the sidewalk, out of the path of people pushing. “But if it’s true, it’s a part of the real me, the old me. It would mean a lot to have even such an insignificant element to hold onto.”

“Are you saying you want me to go dancing with you?” She narrowed her eyes. Not being a great dancer herself, this did not seem promising. On top of that, she brought home a ton of work that needed to be completed before tomorrow.

“It’s not only about the past.” He pulled her closer. “I want to do something normal. Something I might do if this hadn’t happened to me. Like going to a movie, or out to dinner.”

Talia’s heart melted. How could she possibly say no? “All right. I’ll go as long as it’s a place that has food. I’m starving.”

His smile dazzled her. “Thank you.”

“What about Pip?”

“Gerri’s babysitting. I made a big pot of beef bourguignon and lured her over.” Drake raised his hand. In seconds a taxi arrived at the curb.

She slid into the back seat beside him. “I hope we’re not going to Soho. I don’t relish running into your friend, Lucilla.”

“Don’t worry. We’re headed north. Way up Broadway on the Upper West Side.” He leaned forward and gave the driver the address then sat back. “We’ll be as far from Soho as you can get and still be in Manhattan.”

“Good. Hopefully we’ll have a vampire free night. Well, except you of course.” She grinned.

They stopped in front of Club Ariba. Flashing white lights outlined the entrance and marquee. No crowd lined the sidewalk to get in, but then again, it was Monday and only six-fifty.

A doorman welcomed them and gestured to the coat room where a perky blonde in her twenties took their coats and Talia’s briefcase. They wandered into the main club area decorated in art deco black and white.

A large dance floor squared off in the center, while booths and tables lined the walls around it. Only a young couple danced. They appeared to be professional dancers practicing a rumba, stopping occasionally to talk, making hand gestures, then resuming their slow sultry movements.