Meet Andrei here. Read about his first day | Day 2 | Day 3

Arrived at 8:24 am – groggy – hungry – will need to feed soon.

It had been two hours since his arrival, and every inch of skin on Andrei’s body itched. He ground his teeth and stayed his hands, but every passing moment prolonged his torture. The team was running low on tickets. Since Andrei had joined them – their closure rate had spiked. Even Tina was humming along to the music as she clicked on her desktop. Andrei would have put down good money that the “Tiny Tina” was online shopping. His guess was for new combat boots or cupcake recipes.

She scrunched her nose and smiled—definitely cupcake recipes – with the excessive frosting for decoration.

“Hey there.” came the dulcet tones of Ambrose along with a hand on his shoulder.

Andrei jumped as he looked up to the source of contact, pulling his headset off. “Oh, hi.”

Ambrose’s eyes narrowed by a few degrees. He looked at his Russian friend down and up. “Come with me for a sec. I got a question for you.”

The lean man stood and followed as beckoned. Ambrose led the two of them towards a board room without windows and closed the door behind them. As soon as they were alone, Andrei groaned as he scratched his back. Ambrose burst out laughing.

“The sunscreen getting to you?” he asked his companion as he sighed with relief.

“I don’t know how you do it. I get such an awful rash from this crap!”

Ambrose shrugged and walked to a mini-fridge in the room. “You get used to it. But you look off today – have you fed?”

Andrei froze. “No.”

“Why the fuck not, Andy?” Ambrose scoffed.

He sighed. “My focus was on wo-”

“No, no, no! None of that crap. Shelter, food, and coven! Those are the basics. I know I taught you those!” the elder vampire said.

He returned to the mini-fridge and popped out a back panel. Within the hidden compartment were blood bags, all AB+. Ambrose grabbed a pair and threw one at Andrei. He concealed the compartment again before closing the fridge. Little straws tapped to the bags – much like juice boxes. Andrei eyed the bag, sullen. Ambrose took off the plastic wrapping of his straw by tapping the straw on the desk. He punctured the bag with the straw and took a large first sip.

“Don’t come to work hungry.” He declared.

Andrei sighed, followed suit with the straw, and sipped his blood bag. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine – you get one get out of jail free card. You are also to ask Lizzie out,” he added.

Andrei choked on his blood. “Pardon me?”

The shorter man leaned back on the desk, his free arm propping him up. His svelte form looking elegant in his cream three-piece suit. “I didn’t stutter.”

The Russian’s eye twitched. “Why the command?”

The Italian pointed his blood bag straw at his friend. “Because you’re not taking care of yourself – not making it a priority. Someone has to. You are to ask Lizzie out and make her your donor from here on out.”

Andrei froze, eyes wide. He looked down and put his blood bag on the table. “You can’t be serious.”

The older vampire finished his bag. He rolled it up into a neat roll that he concealed in his fist. “Very serious.”

The younger man groaned. “I’m not a child -”

“Then quit acting like one – what happens if you come in weak from all the rashes and from hunger? How do I clean up a feeding frenzy in broad daylight? When every inch of this office is canvased with cameras. Do they have local, off-site, and cloud backups?!” Ambrose scolded.

Andrei’s shoulders sank. He may have been the taller of the two, but he submitted to the scolding.

Ambrose put a hand on his shoulder. “I regret not having been the guidance you needed. Then you got mixed in with the wrong crowd. The things they made you do? I will not stand for that. Ever again. New home, new you. And the new you will prioritize your health and wellbeing. You need a constant donor, and you like Lizzie. You have until Friday.”

The blond man moved to the door.

“But she has to like me too.” Andrei sighed.

Ambrose froze and looked back.

“It can’t just be about me – for me. I don’t want to force anyone to do anything.”

The older man gave a wry smile. Gentle crow’s feet appeared at the corners of his eyes. “I’m glad to have you back to yourself again, old friend. And I recall you being quite the lady killer when you wanted to impress someone.”

Ambrose left Andrei to mull his thoughts and finish his blood bag alone.

***

He stabbed his beef gnocchi with aggression as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. The now-familiar clicking drew him away from his meal. Today she wore navy, her stilettos high and pointed. Her every step reminded Andrei of all the ballet dancers back in Moscow. Memories of a live orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake flooded his mind. He looked up, leaving his memories of a past long forgotten behind. She looked so smart and so professional in her navy pencil skirt and blazer. Her cream top accentuated how small her waist was. Andrei shook his head and straightened up.

“Late for lunch?” he asked.

Lizzie scoffed as she opened the cupboards and tucked her short bangs behind an ear. “I don’t get to eat at the same time as everyone else. Someone’s gotta man the phones while the techs eat.”

“I brought too much, feel like some gnocchi?”

Lizzie looked back at his oversized Tupperware. “You mean what you’ve stabbed half to death?”

Andrei looked away and cleared his throat in a fist. “In my defense, it’s already dead.”

Lizzie smiled, keeping her lips sealed, the muscles in her face tense from withholding a grin. Andrei chanced a glance at her and gave a shy grin. “Come on. I could use the help.”

“Sick of eating gnocchi?” she asked.

He groaned. “All week!”

Lizzie snickered and brought a plate and fork to the high table where Andrei sat. “Fine, fill me up, Russian Import!”

Andrei sighed. “I gotta beat you to get you to use my name?”

Lizzie stole a piece from his plate and popped it in her mouth. She looked up at him with dark, luscious eyes. Andrei rolled his eyes and scooped half his food onto her plate. They sat in silence a moment as they both ate.

“Holy shit, did you make this?” she exclaimed after her third rushed bite.

A wicked grin bloomed on his face. “Yes, I did.”

“Where did you buy the gnocchi from?” she asked between more bites.

“I made them from scratch,” he said as he let his chin cradle in the palm of his hand.

She looked up, dark eyes widening, her eyeliner making her look like an anime character in shock. “No fucking way.” she breathed.

He grinned outright, like the devil himself. “I could show you. It’s not hard.”

She swallowed her bite. “The prep takes forever, though!”

He chuckled. “Only when you’re not used to it.”

She took a few more bites. Andrei’s grin softened to a smile as he watched her enjoy his cooking. “I make Ossobuco too. Pelmeni, Pierogi, got a great Stroganoff recipe too.”

She leaned forward. “Wow, ever think of opening your own restaurant?”

He shook his head, his eyes intent on hers. “Shy, remember. I prefer cooking for people I know and like.”

She blinked a few times. He didn’t look away. A blush bloomed on her cheeks, and she broke eye contact. His eyes widened as he realized what he’d admitted.

He cleared his throat. “I, umm…”

“You’re very sweet, Andrei.”

He froze. He loved how she pronounced his name. It sent a shiver down his spine, but he feared what came next.

“I didn’t mean to-” he began.

She put a hand on his wrist.

He became one with marble.

“How about we change the rules a bit?” she asked.

Her hand was still on his wrist. Her palm was soft and warm. The edges of her nails were in sharp contrast with her soft skin.

He remembered to breathe as she batted her heavy lashes at him. “Sure! Umm, what rules?” he stuttered.

“For Tekken?” she reminded.

Andrei looked away and cleared his throat. “Oh, yea, umm, what are we changing?”

She giggled. Her voice was soft and high. He looked back to see her put her free hand over his mouth to restrain her laughter. He wished she didn’t.

“Is that what you do?” she asked between giggles.

He blinked. “Do what?”

“When you’re nervous? Is clearing your throat how you try to hide it?” she asked.

Her hand was still on his. He couldn’t focus, and he lost every third word. Her heartbeat, like a siren’s call he wished he could ignore. He couldn’t tell what was making was worse. How attracted to her he was, or the fact that he was hungry.

He croaked. “Yea.”

She smiled again, and he sighed. “So how about we play again tonight, and winner buys drinks for Friday’s happy hour?”

Andrei grinned. “R-really?” he managed.

She blushed a pretty shade of pink as she looked away and tucked her short hair behind her ear. “Yea.”

“I like that.”

They ate in embarrassed silence for the rest of their meal. Lizzie thanked him as she put her dishes away into the dishwasher. He returned to his desk late. It didn’t matter. None of the tickets were high priority. He pulled up YouTube and began studying the move set of the character Mokujin. 5;00 pm rolled around far faster than he had hoped. While others were saying their goodbyes, Andrei raced to the console couch. Lizzie was there – game ready and controller at hand.

“I hope you’re prepared,” she said with an arched brow.

He sat down and took the controller. “Me too.”

The rounds were much closer this time. They both had a win each when they made it into the final showdown.

“You did study – but why the dummy?” she asked as their round loaded.

Andrei smiled and shrugged. “Because he’s silly?”

Lizzie grinned. “Not the strongest fighter, though.”

“True, but I made it this far,” he admitted.

The countdown began, and they dueled again. They were both leaning forward, elbows on knees. A few other techs had gathered round to watch them face down.

“Hey! The new guy’s beating Lizzie!” one called.

“What? Who she playing?” another asked.

“She’s got her main out.” someone else replied.

“What?!” came Lars.

Andrei focused on his fight. He was invested in the outcome. But all the voices around distracted him. How many were watching? He broke out in a cold sweat.

“Stop messing around, fratello!” cried Ambrose.

His cheeks burned. Their health bars were down to a strike each. Her character grappled his, and it was over. Groans and cheers blended. Andrei raised his shoulders as high as possible to cover his embarrassment. Lizzie leaned back on the couch and looked at Andrei. He looked back with a shy smile.

“Now, I buy it,” she said.

“I was never lying.” he cried, eyes screwed shut.

“Drinks on you, Friday.” she snickered.

He looked up and smiled. “My pleasure.”

Left work at 5:45 pm – distracted by the cutie I’m having drinks with Friday night.