The vampire in the corner office

Damon Cole smile

Three floors down, in an office with a view considerably less impressive than his ambition, Damon Cole watched the security feed of Adrian's office go dark and smiled the way sharks smile — all teeth, no warmth.

"They're getting close," he murmured.

Across the desk, Marcus Reyes stood with his arms crossed, unimpressed.

"Close to what, exactly," Marcus said. It wasn't a question.

"Nothing that concerns Security," Damon said smoothly. "Just admiring how quickly Mr. Voss's new assistant has made herself... indispensable."

Marcus's eyes narrowed. He didn't trust Damon — hadn't for years, not since the COO's numbers on the Q3 filings had never quite added up, not since Elena Voss had come to him four years ago with a folder full of discrepancies two days before her car went off the Fairmont Bridge.

"You should be careful," Marcus said. "Mr. Voss doesn't like people circling things that aren't theirs."

"I have no idea what you mean." Damon's smile widened. "I'm merely doing my job. Same as you, Marcus. Same as we all are."

After Marcus left, Damon opened a drawer of his own — no vampire secrets inside, just a folder marked ELENA VOSS — INTERNAL AUDIT, the one he'd made disappear four years ago and never quite had the nerve to destroy.

He picked up his phone.

"It's me," he said, when the call connected. "We may have a problem. The girl — Bennett — she's getting close to the necklace. Close to the mother's things." A pause. "No. I want it handled quietly. No accidents that draw attention. Not this time."

He hung up, and outside his window, the storm that had rattled the city all week finally began to clear — the calm, he'd think later, before everything came apart.