Oh. That’s me.
“Three of our highest-ranking officials have brought their subjects with them today to discuss the new program. Rowland Batiste, Cassandra Dresla, and Beckham Anderson. Please come forward with your subjects.”
Beckham’s chair scraped back against the floor, and he helped Reyna out of her seat. Her legs shook as she moved to the front of the room. Rowland followed next, and behind him was a tall, model thin girl in a skintight white dress with long flowing blond hair. Behind them came a woman with wavy red hair pinned up at the base of her neck who was a million degrees of beautiful. She looked fierce, but seductive.
She reached Rowland first. “Rowland, my love.”
His smile was magnetic as he kissed her cheeks. “Cassandra.”
She smiled at Beckham and came to stand next to him. “Beckham, darling.” She kissed both of his cheeks in greeting.
“Cassie,” Beckham said cordially.
Behind Cassandra appeared a man. He was pretty for a guy with fair hair and pouty lips. His eyes never strayed from Cassandra’s face, and he seemed completely enthralled.
Rowland stepped forward first. “I’m completely satisfied with my experience with a Permanent Subject. We’ve been together for about two weeks, and already it is better than the rotation program. I am able to get to know her,” he said, eyeing the girl blatantly, “on a more personal level. Because I know she’s not about to leave. This is my Sophie.”
Sophie strutted forward, placed her hand on her hip, and sank into the position. She didn’t look frightened at all. She seemed to revel in the attention. “I’m so happy to be here. I was in the rotation program before this and finding out about a Permanent position was a dream of a lifetime. I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything or anyone better.”
Reyna refrained from rolling her eyes. What a load of shit!
Cassandra smiled and ran her hand down her subject’s arm. “This is Felix. He was placed in my care a month ago. I’ll admit I was skeptical. A Permanent human entering my life, living in my home, dealing with my crazy schedule sounded…unpleasant, to say the least. But having someone always there and not having to worry about fitting them into the schedule. Well, Felix has changed my mind. He’s…delicious.”
Reyna couldn’t keep from cringing. Bad choice in words.
Felix tore his eyes from Cassandra only long enough to speak to the crowd. “Before being included in Visage, I had gone through three years of college and was nearly a hundred thousand dollars in debt. When the economy collapsed, I couldn’t get a job. There was nowhere for me to go. I had to enter the program, and in the couple years I’ve had to work at Visage, nothing has been better than being in a permanent secure position with Cassandra.” He turned back to stare at her lovingly. Enamored. Practically hypnotized.
Now it was Beckham’s turn. Oh God! And then her turn. What the hell was she supposed to say? She couldn’t speak to this group. She had only been here a couple days and fucked up more than she had thought possible. Not to mention that she had no prior experiences with Visage to draw from. This was all so new to her.
Beckham stared straight ahead. He never even looked at her. “I’m happy to participate in the Permanent program. My Subject is Reyna. She is subordinate and the model of a perfect Subject.”
Reyna’s mouth nearly dropped open. What the fuck? Since when? She dropped her chin to her chest and stared at the floor, hoping to cover her disbelief with discomfort.
“Many of you know that I was outspoken against the Permanent position from the get-go…”
She hadn’t known that.
“Having Reyna in my home even for the past couple days has completely reversed that position. This is the future of Visage.”
Reyna tried to hide the shock from her face. What was he talking about? He hated having her in his house. He hated having her around. He hated looking out for her. Why was Beckham saying all of this?
Her eyes turned to their leader, and she saw the triumphant look on his face. What had she walked into?
“Reyna,” Beckham said, gesturing her forward.
She put one foot in front of the other and felt her body seize. Everyone was staring at her. Everyone was waiting for her to say something. Her hands were clammy, her skin cold, and she felt like she might faint. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
She put a hand to her heart, and her chest was pumping up and down with her erratic breathing. What was she supposed to say? What did they expect of her? Oh God! The expectations.
No. She couldn’t do this.
“Reyna,” Beckham said softly. He touched the small of her back, and she sank into his touch. He pulled her toward him. “I apologize. She doesn’t like public speaking.”
“Sick. Going to be sick,” she whispered.
“I’m going to take her out of here,” he said immediately. She wasn’t sure if he was really concerned at the moment or just embarrassed, but she couldn’t care. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, and she was going to hyperventilate.
“Yes. Make sure she is all right, Beckham,” Mr. Harrington said. Beckham started walking her toward the back door. “Humans. Such fragile things. Well, the Permanent positions will begin rolling out for all top Visage employees as soon as we find suitable choices…”
The door shut behind them, and Beckham placed a hand on her shoulder. “Reyna, calm down. You’re fine. Everyone is gone.”
“S-sorry,” she stuttered. She put a hand to her forehead and the other was holding his jacket.
“When you said you didn’t enjoy public speaking, I thought you meant that you weren’t fond of it. I didn’t think you meant that you would freeze up and almost pass out.”
“Oh hey, public speaking makes me almost pass out,” she quipped.
“Do you always do that?”
“What?”
“Use sarcasm as a defense mechanism.”
“You think?” she asked. Her breathing was slowly coming under control. She leaned heavily back against the door and threw her head back.
His eyes widened as he stared down at her exposed throat. She felt him inch toward her. Her own body stilled at his approach. For a moment, it was as if the world revolved around them. As if she had been waiting her whole life for him to get close to her. Then he took a step back and cleared his throat. “I should probably return.”
She closed her eyes, not sure if it was in fear or in embarrassment at what he must have seen in them. “Fine. Go.”
“Your heart is racing,” he growled softly, so close to her she could practically feel him on her.
“Yes,” she murmured. She knew what that meant for a vampire. His hand brushed her neck gently, and she almost stopped breathing altogether. “Becks?”
She opened her eyes when the pressure disappeared, and he was gone. She straightened in surprise. She looked through the glass, back into the room, but he was nowhere to be seen. What the hell? Where had he gone…and why had he disappeared so suddenly when he had touched her?
Beckham was an enigma wrapped in a mystery.
Chapter 11
Reyna stayed leaning back against the door until she finally calmed down, her pulse returned to normal, and her breathing wasn’t ragged. Though she was confused about what had happened with Beckham, her mind was back to functioning on a normal level.
She didn’t know what had scared him off, and she knew asking him would do no good. She hadn’t been with him all that long, and it was clear that he didn’t like to answer questions or for her to ask them.
A few minutes later, the staff meeting dispersed and all the vampires exited the room. She plastered herself against the wall, suddenly feeling very vulnerable without Beckham there next to her. But people barely glanced at her as they left. The flow reduced to a trickle, when Rowland and Cassandra appeared with their subjects and Mr. Harrington.
“Ah, there you are, Miss Carpenter,” he said. “I don’t believe we were officially introduced. William Harrington.”
He extended his hand out to her, and she placed hers in his. “Um…you can call me Reyna.”
“Reyna, of course. Sorry to see your discomfort earlier. Are you feeling better?”