“So the coffee thing?”
He shrugged. “I really just like the way it smells. I think it tastes absolutely vile, though. I don’t know how you drink so much of it.”
She grinned, finally looking relaxed as she sat in his chair. “I like it. You drink blood. That smells and tastes vile, if you ask me.”
“Touché.”
“Thank you.”
She paused again before asking, “So, the wooden stake through the heart thing is apparently a myth, but you can be killed by fire. Anything else?”
“Should I be concerned that one of your first questions is how to kill me?”
Her jaw dropped. “What? No! I didn’t mean…I was just curious.”
He snorted. “Well, you can remain so.”
“What about the sun?” she asked. “Extra toasty?”
“I’m not going to burst into flames, but I avoid tanning beds.”
“Silver?”
“Some of my favorite cufflinks.”
“Garlic?”
“Please,” he sneered. “I’m Italian.”
She was wearing an almost adorable scowl as he ruined all of her movie stereotypes of his kind. He was usually bored by human reactions, but found himself enjoying hers. For his part, Giovanni hoped she would take the job as his research assistant. Besides the valuable connection she provided to her father, she was extremely bright, and he found it relaxing not to have to hide around her.
He could also monitor any other vampire who became aware of her. Houston’s immortal population was small, and most tended to mind their own business—which was why he had chosen the humid city in the south of Texas—but if he had discovered her, her father’s sire could, as well.
Beatrice was still sipping her drink and sneaking looks at him when she thought he wasn’t looking.
“So, if I take this job, where would you want to work? At the university?”
“No, here. I have top of the line equipment upstairs and extensive firewalls to keep my research private, along with numerous electronic editions of reference texts and a large library. I just can’t use any of the computers.”
“That has got to be frustrating.”
“Very. Because of my nature and affinity toward fire, I’m even less able to use modern technology than most vampires. It has become more and more complicated as the years go by.”
“Good thing you have Caspar.”
“Yes, it is. He’s very useful, despite the fact that he’s a horrible eavesdropper.”
“I heard that!” Caspar called from the kitchen. Giovanni cocked his eyebrow at Beatrice, who stifled a laugh.
“So, if I take this job—if I take it—what kind of hours are we talking about? And what do you actually do? Can I ask?”
He nodded and took another sip of whiskey as Caspar came into the living room to refill Beatrice’s drink and set a small plate of cheese and olives on the coffee table.
“Of course. I only work when I want to, so it would be part-time. Evenings, of course, but I’m flexible as to which ones. Fridays are not usually available. I don’t have to work, but immortality is dreadfully boring for the idle rich, so I try to keep myself occupied. I’m a hunter by nature, so I hunt rare documents and books for private clients, along with some antiquities. Collectibles, art, that sort of thing, though antiquities are not particularly interesting to me.”
“So, do you work mostly for other—other vampires?”
“Mostly yes, though not exclusively. I don’t advertise, and since clients find me through referral, I tend to take work from those who have worked with me in the past. Most of those people are immortal.”
She sat quietly, staring into her drink before she spoke again. “Wow.”
He frowned. “What? Why? Why ‘wow?’”
“You’re like a—a book detective. That’s really cool.”
He couldn’t suppress his smile. “I think so, yes.”
“And you want to pay me to help you find books and antiques?”
“That’s the idea.”
She paused for a moment, biting her lip before she asked, “Will you help me find my father?”
The blood began to rush in his veins and he smothered a low growl of satisfaction when he heard her. It was perfect. She wanted exactly the same thing he did, though probably for very different reasons.
“Yes,” he said with a smile he hoped didn’t show his extended fangs. “I’ll find him.”
Beatrice smiled. “Then I’ll take it, I don’t even care if you’re an asshole when you’re working. Besides, what you do is a book lover’s dream job.”
He shrugged. “Well, if you’re going to be pursuing a career for eternity, it might as well be something you enjoy.”
“I’ll say so.”
He tried to suppress the smile that wanted to take over his face. “So you agree to work for me? I confess, I’ve never had an assistant other than Caspar. I might very well be an asshole when I’m working.”
“You are!” Caspar shouted from the kitchen.
Beatrice laughed outright when she heard him, and Giovanni couldn’t help but join her. His mind began to race with thoughts of finding his books, and he couldn’t deny that the girl’s amusing presence was an added bonus.