really, you don't know that I'm not, or didn't, right?"
Maddy
made a hard face, and seemed a little bitter, but one of the men, the younger
one swallowed hard.
"I'm
so sorry about that Line Walker. She... her family had a bad experience with a
Greater Demon that plagued them for generations. One called The Reckoned? It's
left her a bit... leery?"
He
seemed upset, so Zack decided to let it go.
"Ah.
That's not someone I know, yet. Well, let's go?"
That
didn't take long, even with the three bags they had. They had to wait then, for
Jen and Hiram to show up, if they were going to. Really, they needed chairs in
the node room, for things like that. On the good side, he could easily get some
snacks, and there was no reason they couldn't go and sit in the cafe. He
suggested that, since it would have to be more comfortable.
That
meant he was able to get to his new people, as they walked in the door, and on
a whim, added Kait to the group.
"Kaitlyn
will be training you on register and the computer system. She set it up, so
that's efficient sounding. Jen, you, Kaitlyn, and I, have a meeting first.
Important people, so remember to breathe and act professional. Don't let
yourselves get flustered." Marissa walked in the front door, looking
cleaned up, and wearing fresh clothing. It was a dress, along with tight
looking boots. It was all in tan and a thing that was a bit short on her,
because it belonged to Lenore. He'd seen her in it before. It was cuter on his
girlfriend, but worked well enough on the Vampire elder.
"Here
we go. Marissa! Over here!" It took a minute to get everyone around in the
same place and longer to work them into the next room, but cutely enough Hiram
and Madeline both came along too. He didn't mind, personally.
Zack
gestured at each person in turn, starting with Jennifer and Kaitlyn.
"These
are the people that I wanted you to meet. Particularly Jennifer. Maddy Morse is
the head of the Mage Guild. Marissa is on the Vampire Council. You should all
exchange numbers. Possibly with Hiram too, in case you ever need a good thief,
though you didn't hear that from me."
He
meant that last bit as a joke, but Maddy pulled the girls to the side and Marissa
smiled hugely enough that her fangs showed a bit, even though they were hidden
pretty well.
"Ah!
I could perhaps, use one with those skills. Particularly a Mage. We should
indeed exchange numbers."
That
required some pens and papers, but everyone did it, including with him. Even
the two men got all the numbers. The younger one seemed pretty interested in
Jen. It was a bit strange, since Kait was right there, and pretty hard to
ignore, but it was clear she was being ignored. Not as a game either. Some men
would do that, paying attention to the less pretty girl in order to get close
to the good looking one, but this man seemed very interested in Mage matters.
Maddy
pointed.
"Jennifer?
If you take a summer internship with my office, Bart will be your direct boss.
I didn't know that we'd be meeting a member from the Vampire Council today. Is Marissa
going with us to the summit?"
The
lady herself covered a laugh with her right hand.
"Oh,
my, no. I have some matters to see to here. I'm over-nighting with Zachery, and
then, in the morning, will be off to my next audit. I hope that you and your
people will support peace in this current issue? I didn't come to lobby you
today, but since I'm here..." She laughed again, and so did the others,
including Hiram.
Zack
just nodded, since it made sense to him.
"Good
plan. I'm fully supporting peace, if anyone asks."
Maddy
nodded.
"That's
our current plan as well. Peace is almost always the better option. It was nice
to meet with you, Marissa. Please feel free to be in touch? If you can't reach
me..." She smiled and winked at Jennifer. "Get with Miss Stone here?
She should be able to pass messages for us, if I'm out of cell range."
They
made pleasant sounding conversation, until he had to make the transfer to the
Maddy
made a hard face, and seemed a little bitter, but one of the men, the younger
one swallowed hard.
"I'm
so sorry about that Line Walker. She... her family had a bad experience with a
Greater Demon that plagued them for generations. One called The Reckoned? It's
left her a bit... leery?"
He
seemed upset, so Zack decided to let it go.
"Ah.
That's not someone I know, yet. Well, let's go?"
That
didn't take long, even with the three bags they had. They had to wait then, for
Jen and Hiram to show up, if they were going to. Really, they needed chairs in
the node room, for things like that. On the good side, he could easily get some
snacks, and there was no reason they couldn't go and sit in the cafe. He
suggested that, since it would have to be more comfortable.
That
meant he was able to get to his new people, as they walked in the door, and on
a whim, added Kait to the group.
"Kaitlyn
will be training you on register and the computer system. She set it up, so
that's efficient sounding. Jen, you, Kaitlyn, and I, have a meeting first.
Important people, so remember to breathe and act professional. Don't let
yourselves get flustered." Marissa walked in the front door, looking
cleaned up, and wearing fresh clothing. It was a dress, along with tight
looking boots. It was all in tan and a thing that was a bit short on her,
because it belonged to Lenore. He'd seen her in it before. It was cuter on his
girlfriend, but worked well enough on the Vampire elder.
"Here
we go. Marissa! Over here!" It took a minute to get everyone around in the
same place and longer to work them into the next room, but cutely enough Hiram
and Madeline both came along too. He didn't mind, personally.
Zack
gestured at each person in turn, starting with Jennifer and Kaitlyn.
"These
are the people that I wanted you to meet. Particularly Jennifer. Maddy Morse is
the head of the Mage Guild. Marissa is on the Vampire Council. You should all
exchange numbers. Possibly with Hiram too, in case you ever need a good thief,
though you didn't hear that from me."
He
meant that last bit as a joke, but Maddy pulled the girls to the side and Marissa
smiled hugely enough that her fangs showed a bit, even though they were hidden
pretty well.
"Ah!
I could perhaps, use one with those skills. Particularly a Mage. We should
indeed exchange numbers."
That
required some pens and papers, but everyone did it, including with him. Even
the two men got all the numbers. The younger one seemed pretty interested in
Jen. It was a bit strange, since Kait was right there, and pretty hard to
ignore, but it was clear she was being ignored. Not as a game either. Some men
would do that, paying attention to the less pretty girl in order to get close
to the good looking one, but this man seemed very interested in Mage matters.
Maddy
pointed.
"Jennifer?
If you take a summer internship with my office, Bart will be your direct boss.
I didn't know that we'd be meeting a member from the Vampire Council today. Is Marissa
going with us to the summit?"
The
lady herself covered a laugh with her right hand.
"Oh,
my, no. I have some matters to see to here. I'm over-nighting with Zachery, and
then, in the morning, will be off to my next audit. I hope that you and your
people will support peace in this current issue? I didn't come to lobby you
today, but since I'm here..." She laughed again, and so did the others,
including Hiram.
Zack
just nodded, since it made sense to him.
"Good
plan. I'm fully supporting peace, if anyone asks."
Maddy
nodded.
"That's
our current plan as well. Peace is almost always the better option. It was nice
to meet with you, Marissa. Please feel free to be in touch? If you can't reach
me..." She smiled and winked at Jennifer. "Get with Miss Stone here?
She should be able to pass messages for us, if I'm out of cell range."
They
made pleasant sounding conversation, until he had to make the transfer to the
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