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There was a knock at Joel’s door and Burnie pushed it open. “Hey, you gonna be around in about an hour?”
“Possibly, why?” Joel looked up from his computer.
“We’ve got a vampire coming in about the secretary job. Seemed jittery on the phone. Her paperwork shows she hasn’t had a human job in seventeen years.” Burnie reached in and set a stack of papers on Joel’s desk.
“So you want me there in case she goes nuts.” Joel picked them up and shuffled through them quickly. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“Thanks Joel.” Burnie shut the door and Joel sat back in his chair, reading through the papers more carefully.
———
“Kara Eberle,” she said, reaching out to shake hands.
“Joel Heyman. This is Burnie Burns, and this is Matt Hullum. It’s nice to meet you.” Joel watched carefully as the two humans shook her hand and the four of them sat down.
“I was going through your paperwork and noticed that it’s been a while since you held a job. Why is that?” Burnie raised an eyebrow.
“Boy, you’re not wasting any time.” She giggled and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I was with a coven of human-eaters. Hard to work a job where your customers and co-workers are prey.”
Burnie nodded and jotted down a few notes. “You’re no longer with them?”
“No. Our alpha turned feral and we had to put him down. We disbanded after that. I stopped hunting humans, it felt wrong. Deceptive.” She leaned in a little. “I’m a tease,” she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.
Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re willing to freely admit that?”
“I’m not going to use my instincts to get a job, Mr. Hullum.” She smiled widely. “And I have a feeling Mr. Heyman here would know if I used them anyway.”
“You’d be correct.” Joel leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table. “Tell me about your job skills.”
Kara went on for a little while about the computer programs she could use and the familiarity she had with desk jobs - she’d only ever had them in the past, before she was turned - and how she was ready to get back into the workforce and was a fast learner.
After the interview was over, they stood up and shook hands again, and she walked out. The three men watched her leave, then looked at each other.
“Well, what do we think?” Joel asked.
Burnie cocked his head. “She was awfully charming.”
“Agreed. Felt like she was putting it on some.” Matt looked at Joel. “Thoughts?”
“She wasn’t operating on instincts, but she was being a little over-the-top. I’m thinking it might be more from lack of interaction with humans than doing it on purpose.” Joel looked out the door and shrugged. “Felt genuine to me.”
Burnie shook his head. “She’s the most qualified for the job and she’s had the best interview.”
“You think you can handle another vampire around here, Joel?” Matt smirked.
Joel shrugged. “Shouldn’t be an issue. As long as I don’t have to babysit her I’m fine with it.” He walked out of the conference room and back up to his office.
Burnie looked at Matt. “You wanna call her?”
“Yeah, I’ll call her this afternoon.”
“Have her come tomorrow, we can sign her paperwork and get her started officially.” Burnie sat down and began sorting through some papers.
“What about Michael?” Matt asked hesitantly.
Burnie’s face fell, and he shrugged. “If he has a problem with her, he can quit. It’s not his place to question who we hire.”
Matt nodded and walked out as well, leaving Burnie alone in the conference room with his thoughts.