that will best suit our unique needs.”
I marched up to the front of the room while trying not to breathe. If I didn’t breathe, I didn’t smell the blood. Oh my Goddess, I was hungry.
“I had time to look over your product line on the cab ride over here, and I already have some ideas. I love the fantasy of it all. Alien dicks that can be any shape, any size. It’s out of this world, and there is definitely a market for women that would appreciate that. Why limit yourself to the human experience when you can have more, right?” I asked with a playful wink.
The men smiled at my statement and leaned back in their seats. I knew how to work a room. I knew how to do my job better than anyone. “It actually made me think about some books I’ve read recently. I emailed you a list of sci-fi romance writers and some of their bestselling novels. They have millions of women that devour their stories. There’s fan groups. Signings. Intense social media followings.”
As I spoke, the men in the room pulled out their tablets, phones, and laptop computers. Lacey, who was standing in the back of the room with her arms crossed over her chest, smiled. She knew where I was going with this. I was her prized protégé. “Our company already has an established relationship with some of these romance writers and readers. I think we could use these books to target women that would be interested in the sort of fantasy you offer. You could even release new products based on the world building of each author.”
“Brilliant,” the bald man said. “Established market. We could even cut the authors a small royalty deal so they’ll market it for us.”
“Exactly,” I replied with a grin.
My stomach rumbled, and I bent over, grabbing it in pain. Everyone in the room gave me a look laced with half fear and half pity. “Sorry. Still not feeling quite myself,” I whispered. A throbbing pulse shocked my senses. My teeth were sharp and begging to sink into something. I had to get out of here.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” I called over my shoulder as I ran out of the room. I hoped they all thought I had diarrhea, at least then nobody would ask questions. Nobody wanted to hear or talk about diarrhea. They might even praise my excellent work ethic for still coming in while needing to liquidate my assets. I quickly made my way to the bathroom.
Fortunately, the bathroom and all its stalls were empty. Slamming the door shut and twisting the lock, I walked over to the double sink and turned on the cold tap. As I was running my hands under the faucet to splash some of the water on my face, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize my reflection. I was on the hot mess express.
My skin was pale, without even a trace of a flush in my cheeks. My eyes were hollow with dark circles that even the best concealer couldn’t have covered. I splashed some of the cool water onto my face and ran my fingers through my dull, limp hair. I could have sworn I looked better, healthier, before I left the suite this morning. At least the intense hunger had passed.
I took a deep breath and said a quick prayer to whatever god watched over the vampires to help me get through the rest of this meeting. I unlocked the bathroom door and walked into the boardroom, a big fat, fake confident smile plastered on my face.
“Oh honey, you look terrible,” the bald man with a mustache said. I cringed internally at the word honey and thought about how bad it would really be if I just took a little nibble out of his jugular. “You should go home. We appreciate your efforts and believe that you are the perfect fit to sell our line. We’re excited to let Hard Nights take the reins on this growing market. We can continue once you are feeling better.”
Sweet, sweet man. I can’t believe I was thinking about eating him. I looked over to Lacey, and she nodded. “Thank you all for your understanding, I look forward to working with all of you to make this launch out of this world!”
I grabbed my stomach for dramatic effect and left the room. Once I was on the other side of the meeting, a wave of exhaustion swept