Free Demon Blood (Vampire in the City Book 5) by Donna Ansari

night-shift supervisor at OmniPlus, the ad agency where I did freelance work. It said they were in the middle of some product launch, and needed extra people to work all shifts. The email also gave contact information for a Marianne, who was the day-shift supervisor in the art department, and the plea to call her immediately if I had any availability.
    I sat at the desk re-reading the email several times before picking up the phone and calling Marianne. Having worked in the advertising field for more than three years, I wasn’t surprised at her abrupt phone manner, or her request that I come into the office as soon as possible.
    After a quick shower, I began sorting through my closet for anything that could possibly fit the description of business casual. Since I had only ever held a full-time job as a night-shift artist before, there were slim pickings. Finally, I was dressed in a pair of black slacks, flats, and a pretty green silk blouse I had stolen off a woman when I was a vampire. I also heeded Tammy’s advice and put on some make-up.
    The office was in midtown Manhattan, on 42 nd Street. Despite it being after 10 am, there were still a lot of commuters entering the building. Most of them stood in line to swipe their ID cards, but as I currently only did freelance work from home, I had to go over to the security booth and get a visitor badge to be allowed in.
    After I made my way up the elevators, I was surprised to see a bustling office. The night shift was about one-fifth the size of the day shift. Although I had already known that, it took me by surprise. I began to walk up to the receptionist’s desk when I saw something that made my mouth drop open.
    “Welcome to OmniPlus,” a bubbly voice said. “How may I help you?”
    I started to stammer an answer, but all I could do was stare at the monitor above her desk that proclaimed “Welcome to our new CEO, Alex Thompson.” In case there was any doubt as to who was being referred to, there was also a large image of Alex, dressed in a black suit and smiling at the camera.
    The previous OmniPlus CEO had been second in command of the Brooklyn vampires, so it somewhat made sense. But I hadn’t quite realized that in taking over their territory, the Queens vampires would also be taking over their advertising agency, or at least this branch of it.
    “Welcome to OmniPlus. How may I help you?” The voice was not quite as bubbly this time.
    “I’m here to see Marianne Howard,” I managed to get out, still looking at the screen.
    “And you are?”
    “Emma Hammond.”
    The receptionist pressed a few buttons on the phone. “There’s an Emma Hammond for you.”
    When I heard her replace the phone onto the cradle, I looked back at her.
    “One minute. You can have a seat.” She smiled at me. “He’s hot, isn’t he? The new boss?”
    I sat down on the sofa across from her, under a poster for a brand of cookie I had never tried, due to them coming out while I was a vampire. “Oh, um, yeah.”
    “He’s never in the office, but he comes to our parties sometimes.”
    “Does he?” I tried to imagine Alex at a corporate event and failed.
    “Yeah, and he’s not married either. He even got me a drink at the last party.” She smiled, perhaps at the memory.
    I couldn’t help wondering if he had also gotten a drink from her, without her remembering it. In fact, I wondered just how many people who worked in the office were blood dolls.
    A few seconds later, a tall, thin African American woman wearing bright red high heels came into the reception area. She made a beeline over to me, and held her hand out. “Emma? I’m Marianne. Come with me.”
    I barely had time to shake and let go of her hand before she turned around and walked back in the direction she had come from. The long hallway occasionally opened up onto the sea of cubicles that I was familiar with, and was wallpapered with posters from high-profile clients. The area Marianne finally stopped in was the