The Dark Secret of the CEO by Sofia de Orellana

I wake up again, with that bothersome feeling of deja-vu…

I quickly regain my senses this time. No more plane, I’m on a firm bed, and I can hear… birds? Birds, and a clock ticking, somewhere close. Steps, and people… breathing. The sounds from the street too. Cars, further away.

I open my eyes. It’s daylight, this time… And it annoys me quite a bit. I frown, my eyes taking a couple of seconds to get used to it. Meanwhile, I get up, noticing the lavender sheets surrounding me, and the piece of nightwear I’ve got on. It’s black again, a long silk gown… Quite pretty. I guess I’ll have to get used to darker clothes? Nothing can ever go wrong with black anyway. I spot a movement in a corner of the room, but it’s just a mirror, and my own reflection… Damn, I really look like shit. I climb out of the bed, heading barefoot to the mirror, too curious to wait. I don’t know what I was expecting, but nothing quite like this. No red eyes, they’re still blue as ever. No big fangs, no dark circles… Well, alright, there are dark circles but that’s nothing new. No, the change is more… subtle. I keep staring, confused as to how that image is me without looking like me, yet I can’t find a damn difference to put my finger on. After a good minute, I finally realize one thing: I’ve lost weight. Like… I’m really leaner. I have been dieting almost every day of my life and I can say for sure I would never have been able to get that slender on certain parts of my body no matter how hard I tried. My cheeks are slightly more hollow, my jawline pointier, and my collarbones more visible. Even my shoulder bones… It’s a bit disturbing. I look taller… or do I? I can’t tell.

I feel like my skin is drier, and I would like to say, better as well, but I was managing it carefully before, so it’s hard to say… No, wait, the redness is gone. That’s what I couldn’t pinpoint before. My skin shade is perfectly even. No blemishes, no darker spots. My beauty mark is still there, but the little redness I’d seen close to it has vanished… Well, that’s one good thing at least. Somebody braided my hair in a long blond braid. …Richard? Can’t see him doing that, but then again, someone must have changed my clothes twice… And bathed me too. I definitely smell too clean for someone who spent hours on a plane, and before that, at the morgue.

I turn around to look at the room. It’s surprisingly clean, and neat. There are fresh flowers in a vase next to the mirror, white tulips. There’s a little bookcase on the wall too, with all sorts of books, but mostly old editions of classics. I can’t tell the warmth of the wooden floor under my feet, so I’ll assume it’s lukewarm… The bed’s big, but it’s a modern one, not an old canopy like I’d imagine in a Vampire’s home… Am I even in Richard’s place? I glance outside the window.

That’s definitely London… The narrow streets, the old buildings, the pretty trees. The street’s empty, but it sounds like there’s more going on a few streets further down. We’re really in the midst of the City…

I decide to leave the bedroom. There’s a dressing gown on the bed; I’m not cold, but I’m not sure about showing off some of my skin to whoever’s living in this place…

I step into a corridor made of the same wooden floor. It’s a bit narrow, but there are many doors, most closed except for a bathroom, and a storage room. Once again, I’m surprised how clean and neat it is. There are shelves on the walls, with more dried flowers and old books, but no portraits, no pictures. No spiderwebs in the corners either… I walk down towards where I hear the most noise coming from. Someone’s moving pans and humming a song. It’s odd how I can hear that from so far… I finally get on the doorstep of a large kitchen, with a big table and lots of dishes on it.

“Oh! Good Evening, Darling!”

Standing alone in the room, a tall woman smiles brightly at me. She’s got flour all the way up her elbows, and is wearing an apron over her long red dress to protect the rest of her outfit from it. I’ve never seen someone with such gorgeous, silky black curls, and she’s keeping them up with a large headband. From her smile, I can tell right away she’s a vampire. The way she smiles hides her fangs, but her cheeks are slightly hollow, her skintone’s a bit too pale for her southern, faint hispanic accent, and I have this same oppressing feeling as with Richard, although it’s not nearly as bad…

“How do you feel?” She asks, wiping her hands on her apron. “Still sick? Thirsty, perhaps? Tired? Oh, you should have stayed in bed…”

“I’m alright,” I nod.

“Oh, good, good. You were quite sick, you had me worried for a while! …Oh, don’t mind me, I just need to do something when I’m nervous, and it’s usually baking.”

“I-I’m June,” I mutter, unsure what to say next.

“I know, Darling, but you should introduce yourself as Hera now.”

Oh, right… I’ll have to get used to it.

“I’m Catherina, but you call me Cata, Dear.”

“Nice to meet you, Cata. Can I ask… Where are we? Is Richard… around?”

“Oh, he’s sleeping!” Cata exclaims. “He’s not used to traveling, so he must be quite tired, but don’t worry, you’ll see him a bit later. Our poor Richard isn’t all that young, we should let him sleep for now, hm?”

I agree with a faint nod. Her chirpy voice is nothing like I would have imagined a vampire to be… I’m slowly scratching every bit of the stereotype I had in my head into oblivion. Cata’s making little jumps left and right, her curls bouncing along, still visibly busy and entranced by her baking. Her movements are quick, sharp and incredibly silent, considering the utensils she’s using.

“This is his main residence,” she explains, while stirring. “We’re in London, England. You’re familiar with London, Dear?”

“A bit… I was born… around here.”

“Oh, marvelous!”

No idea what’s marvelous about me being born around London, but I don’t dare say anything to break her over-the-top spirit. She keeps grabbing glass jars one after another to add a spoonful or two to her preparation, and I kind of wonder what she’s preparing without a hint of a recipe around. Is it a vampire-friendly mix?

“Oh,” she exclaims, noticing my eyes on the food. “Do you want to eat something? It’s your first meal as a vampire! What do you want? We can have anything you desire, Dear, even order from a high-end restaurant… Or I can cook you something! Those cookies won’t be ready for another hour, but don’t be shy, tell me!”

“…Can I have McDonald’s?”

Her enthusiasm melts like snow under the sun. I grimace.

“Sorry, that’s…”

some time, and… uh, well, it’s the first time one asked for such food, you just threw

something that looks like… Is that seriously a phone? It’s one of those very old antiques, like literally just

I

the wooden floors creaking, louder and louder, for a long while until the steps get to

heck, Cata, I was

bit of white hair before he suddenly steps back, dodging the

happened in less than a second. I didn’t even have time to react, let alone

“Your manners!”

“What the heck!”

never heard before that immediately gets me on edge. To my surprise, he stops as soon as his eyes get back down on

in the front and uneven behind, with the piercings of his ears visible underneath. He’s wearing denim jeans and the t-shirt of a rock band I’ve never heard of before,

“…Wha- Who is that!”

before I get

her from?” Bart asks,

did not,” retorts Cata.

His expression falls.

you kidding

didn’t hear us. Were

me, with an app open to order food from. Bart doesn’t even protest; the news about Richard seems to have left

he?” He suddenly growls. “Where the hell

I’m not sure I’m allowed to answer, and I don’t like his tone either, so I just decide to ignore him and rather focus on

back. He was in New Amsterdam. And you’d

…Why the hell

hand him back the phone; there was a credit card already in use, I hope it’s fine I used it. I kind of hope it’s

Bart,” says Cata, going back to her baking. “He just came back with Hera last night, that’s all you need to know.

“Hera?”

remembering my full first name? He stares at me for a while. Oh, damn,

chick I saw on TV! From that movie, the remake of the old one! What

“It’s June,” I groan.

were alive not long ago, right? What on earth happened to you?

very rude,”

sitting his ass

I

that. “Your Overlord. Don’t tell me he picked up a stray again? Why would he bother to go all the way to

“Are you playing stupid? She’s a

This time, all of his attitude from before’s gone. He glances my way, frowns, and then

“…For real?”

“Yes. Everyone’s coming down.”

over?” Bart raises an

a new member in the family,” says Cata with a smile. “Isn’t it a good

from Bart’s expression, things are not as merry as she makes it

old man had his reasons. Welcome to the

than me,” I can’t help

this room,”

in her late thirties, and this brat is… older than her? Damn, I should have known. Can’t underestimate a vampire’s good looks. Oh, well, I’m not

the

Cata giggles.