The Flower Shop Vampyre

Chapter 3: Message on the Machine

Liliana's POV

Entering the shop, Liliana felt the intensity of the meeting the night before. Walking to the glass countertop supporting the register, she bent to peer at the surface. A faint smear from the few drops of blood that had fallen clouded the top's surface. Standing abruptly, Liliana turned to the stack of tickets sitting in a neat pile detailing the upcoming week's deliveries.

Quickly flipping through the yellow duplicates, she read through the names of the floral recipients. Dorothy Morris. No. Samuel Kipnis' graveside. No. Felicia Asmodeus. Yes! And there was his signature on the bottom. Impeccably neat and measured.

Pulling the ticket out and placing it flat on the counter, Liliana turned to flick on the shop lights. It was then that she saw the blinking red light from the old answering machine.

"Better listen to this before getting distracted by this man. Now, what did Aubrey tell me about this thing?"

Picking up the small box, a button with 'play' centered on it flashed. Pressing down on the toggle, the sound of Darick Xander's voice suddenly filled the tiny space. There was no hesitation or the bumbling ramblings of a half-committed male. Just pure confidence and sensuality

"Hello, I'm hoping to chat with the lovely woman that helped me last night. I believe my credit card was left in my haste to get to a prior engagement. I will be back in Washington D.C. and will only accept a yes to my invitation of evening drinks upon my return.

As she is the one person that understands my loneliness in such a big city. It would also be nice to see her lovely figure in something dressier than a florist's smock and jeans."

Stunned, Liliana leaned back onto the counter. Her heart had started pounding when the first chords of his commanding voice rang out. Slowly, lifting her hands to clasp her shoulders in a crisscrossed fashion, she tried to calm the thrill pulsating through her body. Then, stilling for a moment longer, she turned and glanced down at the floral ticket. In the recipient's message line, a carefully placed note read: 'May you burn from my affections.'

Who was Felecia Asmodeus? Why was this name so familiar? Thumbing through the contacts on her phone, Liliana searched for a trigger to jolt her memory for any details around this familiar-sounding name. Finally, rolling over the name Ron Howell, she gasped.

"No! It can't be. She's the girlfriend of the firm's senior partner. Well, supposedly!"

The woman was tall, gorgeous with dark hair and intense eyes. She also had legs up to Liliana's chin, and a family lineage that everyone talked about within the upper social circles in D.C. Liliana didn't want to even think about the complications of getting involved with this hornet's nest.

The tinkling of the shop bell pulled Liliana from her sour thoughts. The Sunday afternoon brunch crowd was starting to filter in. This would keep her hands busy; however, her thoughts raced and flipped, leaving her drained by the time she flipped off the lights at the end of the day and headed up to her apartment.

• • •

As expected, the dark shadow cast by the flowers going to someone that appeared to be in a serious relationship was unsettling. Add to it that one of the people involved was her new employer. And then the written message with its hint of 'burning affections.' This was all too much.

It was thrilling that someone as dazzling as Xander had found her attractive. However, she would never lower her standards. Men already in relationships were a strict 'no.' It was a matter of principle. The importance of always being able to look at herself in the mirror without shame.

Sitting down with a hot cup of chamomile tea, Liliana absently swirled the silver spoon around in the dainty china cup. Derrick's dark eyes twinkled up from the milky surface. A mischievous grin rippled across the surface and faded. Why did he have to be so unrestrainedly attractive? If she was honest, turning down his invitation was going to be one of the hardest things she had ever done.

During law school, Liliana had listened to the heartbreak that came from infidelity. If it wasn't written about in the cases she studied, it went on around her in the classroom. One of her study buddies had ended up leaving after their second year because of the heartbreak an affair with one of the professors had produced.

Picking up her phone, she unfolded the piece of paper where Darick Xander's number was written. Breathing hard, she knew this was for the best. She might as well get this over.

Entering the international number, she pressed the call button. Blood rushed to her head, and the hand holding the phone began to sweat profusely. Bzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzt. The seconds passed life-long. Another two rings, and then a voice heavy with a German accent came over the line.

"Gutten tag. You have reached the international offices of DX Aero Engines...."

Liliana pulled the phone away from her ear. She ended the call and wiped her hand down the length of her thigh. The buzzing in her ears had become almost deafening. Before her hand lowered, the phone began to vibrate in her hand from an incoming call. Looking at the screen, she read 'D XANDER.' Taking a deep breath, she pressed 'accept' and placed the phone to her ear.

"Hello? Liliana? I believe you just tried to ring me. Hello?"

Liliana squeezed her eyes shut. Somehow this all did not feel real. She had to let him know that she was not interested in becoming a rich man's play toy.

"Yes. This is Liliana. I'm not sure how you were able to call me back."

"That's alright. You just tried to call me. Is this not so? It is nice to hear the pleasant sounds of your voice. Unfortunately, I've had to listen to a bunch of agitated executives for most of the day. The shop must be closed because it is past midnight here."

"Oh goodness. I had no idea. I'll make this brief. Thank you for the invite left on the shop answering machine; however, I'm going to end this now. I'm deeply flattered; however, it's not anything I'm interested in getting involved in."

The line on the other end went very quiet, and then a surprised chuckle filtered between the words.

"I see. Thank you for your honesty. I'm not sure what you have surmised. But, just so you know, I'm not used to being turned down. Maybe you will reconsider when I come into the shop again."

"Probably not. I was just helping out for a few weekends. It's getting time that I focus back on my life."

Derrick Xander paused and then finished.

"Well, Ms. Farley. It sounds like you have far more important matters to contend with. It clearly is my loss. If you change your mind, you have my number."

The line went dead. For some strange reason, Liliana felt like crawling into a deep, dark hole.