Chapter 5 : Untold Dangers

I fidget in my seat, leaning back anxiously. Upon seeing my reaction, Luther Orsova leans back, and his eyes stop glowing.

"It's alright, Hemera. No need to be anxious. I'm serious here. What's your price? What are they offering you?"

Seriously, why does he care so much? I know I'm not as valuable as he's making it out to be. If he really thought that way, I would have been promoted long before this had happened. This has to be just out of principle, so he doesn't lose an employee to a rival company.

"Well, Hemera? You're not considering their offer, are you? I mean, we're a family here, aren't we? I don't want to see any of my family leave."

I hate it when employers say sh*t like that. "I'd rather not talk about the job offer you obviously know I've received."

"How about this, I give you a twenty-five percent raise–" TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT?! "--and your own lab and research team and grant. You can research whatever you want, Hemera."

My jaw drops. I must have just gone brain dead a moment there. Brain fart? Something had to have happened in my head to explain what I heard.

"I-I'm sorry, did you say twenty-five percent?" Surely, I must've misheard.

"Yes, twenty-five percent. You're correct."

"Sir, what kind of funding did you get to allow you to even offer this? I surely can't be worth that much of a pay raise!" I blurt out. Have I been underpaid this entire time? Is this his excuse for fixing that discrepancy so he doesn't get a visit from the government or something?

"I believe you are. Sure, you're new in this field, but I don't think that matters." DOESN'T MATTER?! Like hell, it doesn't!

"U-umm, can I have some time to think? I-this is all so much to absorb. I press my fingers into my temples and begin rubbing them in circles. Yeah, this is a migraine coming on.

Luther flashes me a bright smile laced with–with malice? "Of course! Take your time! Just please give me your answer before next Friday. Have a good rest of the day and a good weekend. It's finally Friday!" He lets out a tight, forced laugh and watches me closely as I stand and leave his office with a fake smile.

I numbly walk away and into the closest bathroom to wash my face. What the f*ck just happened? This cannot be real... Seriously, the f*ck kind of magic is going on around here?

I pause washing my face to laugh at the thought. As if any kind of magic would be behind this. Perhaps some supernatural influence would be better.

I take a deep breath and attempt to collect my thoughts before heading out and getting to work. This day is going to be f*cked. I just know it.

"Hey, so is what I'm hearing true?" Trinity demands as soon as I get in, grabbing my arms and shaking me vigorously. How the hell did she hear about this already? "You're not seriously going to leave, are you? You'd be a fool if you did!"

"Ah, stop! Trinity, please stop shaking me." I push her away and check my ponytail to ensure all the hair is still contained.

"I'm just trying to shake some sense into you. Hey, little miss important, can I be on your research team? Ooo, what will you be researching? Are you going to continue this boring battery creation stuff or try something else?"

I attempt to shrug off her questions and get to work, but her pestering draws the attention of our other colleagues, and they begin pestering me as expected after the scene she started. Seriously, we all have work to do!

"You're not going to leave, are you?" My boss, Xiaver, asks. Oh, now he cares about me? Really because the other day, he said my idea was crap. And then, to add to that, he stole my idea as his own!

I groan and push past all of them. "Just leave me alone. We have work to do, and my employment here is none of your concern. Any of you. Stop acting like you care all of a sudden about my private business."

Trinity steps forward, her hands up as if she's afraid I'd run off like a frightened animal. "Mera, you were offered your own research grant, team, and lab! No one ever just gets handed a grant! You'd be an idiot to pass that sh*t up!"

She's right. This is something I've always wanted. I even have a list of writers I could hire to write a grant proposal for me. I would be an idiot not to take Luther's counter offer. And yet...

Nia's image flashes into my head, and the offer he made me echoes. His offer definitely isn't as good. Yet, there's something about either the offer or perhaps even Nia himself that's making me want to choose him... I mean the offer!

Ha! As if I would work beside him. Sure, he may not be the company's CEO, but he's the CEO's son. That in itself is huge and means he wouldn't work beside a simple researcher like me. My thought is stupid.

Still, I think I may just take the job at Zeanon Enterprises. There's just something about Nia that draws me to him. It sounds stupid as soon as I think it. I'm passing up a fantastic opportunity here to go work at Zeanon Enterprises. But I think that's just something I'm going to do.

I take another step back and shake my head. "You know what, if none of you can keep this professional, I'm just going to take the rest of the day off. I refuse to work under these conditions."

They argue further as I turn and leave, but it falls on deaf ears. Why the hell do they even care so much. They're jealous! I would be, too. But at least I wouldn't barrage them with questions and sh*t.

It's not even ten, but I already feel like getting a stiff drink. Ugh, no, probably shouldn't. If I’m not taking Luther’s offer, I need to save the money for now until I figure out what Nia’s can really pay me. I think I'll skip the pricey drinks and just enjoy some good food to celebrate my turn in fortune.

***

NIANOR’S POV

"Sir," James practically barges into my room before the sun has even gone down. "Sir, you need to wake up."

I turn to him with blurry eyes, and my fangs lengthen on their own accord. What could be so crucial that he broke a major rule among vampires? Never wake them up during the day. Never, unless you want to be their next meal.

Vampires are hard-wired to sleep during the day, and it's nearly impossible to resist the calling. I had to drink twice the amount of blood I usually do just so I could interview Hemera.

James very wisely backs away but doesn't leave. "Sir, I just heard rumors about Hemera and the Orsovas."

I perk up slightly upon hearing that. "Well, what are you waiting for?" I snap. I'm already drifting off again.

"First, they've heard of your attempts to bring Hemera to our side and have given her a counteroffer."

Not too surprising, but when James tells me what the offer was, I nearly choke on nothing.

"Holy f*cking sh*t!" I exclaim on impulse.

"It gets worse, Nia. Hemera informed them that she wanted to think, and they're taking it to mean that she's going to turn the offer down and come to us. Of course, they don't want that to happen. If my sources are correct, they will try to kidnap her tonight."

I throw the blankets off–blankets that aren't really necessary but a nice comfort–and head over to the wardrobe. "Prepare several packs for me. I'm going to reach Hemera first and get her to a safe place."

"Sir, it may be cloudy, but–"

"I don't have time to argue, James! The added clouds will help among our other measures. This can't wait until tonight. Go!" I snap at him, already in the process of changing into heavy clothes meant to cover almost every part of my body.

James nods and hurries out of the room. I just hope that the heavy clothes and hat will help along with an umbrella to block the sun.

May sound stupid, but it works. But very impractical. No one in this state uses an umbrella besides tourists. Especially when it's not even raining.

I shake the thought out of my mind and focus on the main issue. I need to help Hemera.