After the awkward conversation of the morning, Iris had a smooth rest of the day. Teresa put her on Mark's Unit 2 but Teresa was constantly asking her questions. There was a need for advertising on a new restaurant Gastropf-Quill Industries was creating. Iris was more than happy to help. Work distracted her from the inevitable evenings. Work gave her purpose. Work was life.
"What would you advise to add here?" Teresa asked.
"Simple. Add music. I have a few suggestions in my playlist. How about this blues rock song here?"
"Perfect," Teresa awes at Iris' skills. "No wonder we could never top your advertisements. You are the best."
Simple. Perfect. The best. Iris was satisfied with work life. It was her personal life that was on a wooden roller coaster—except she couldn't tell where she would go next. Iris wasn't sure if hanging out with Antoine at night would make any difference. She felt unsure. It wasn't like her. Iris normally had her life planned out down to the perfect response. There was nothing left to say. At least as far as she could think.
Before she knew it, it was time for lunch. Iris followed some coworkers on Unit 2 down to the cafeteria. The cafeteria room was vast and filled with employees. Everyone wearing the ugly badge around their necks. It was like a scene from an Asian office drama. Iris followed the general migration up to choose her meal. Her choices of entrees included chicken, salmon, and vegan burgers. She might be able to lose five pounds or gain twenty.
Iris grabbed her burger and moved to a window seat to eat. Just chomping and chewing and listening to music. She pulled out her headphones as the cafeteria suddenly got very quiet. Antoine had walked in. He walked up and got food like he did it ever day from the cafeteria. He then walked to a table one away from Iris with perfect range to see and hear her. Iris assumed nothing and put her headphones back on.
Again, something is not normal. Antoine preferred to eat in his office. He ordered food from his phone and had it delivered. He was going out of his way to try and get to know Iris, even if by eavesdropping.
Iris wasn't sitting with colleagues or talking. She was listening to her favorite country music song and tapping her feet. Baby loved this song too. Baby was only 7 weeks but Iris just knew that Baby would love it too. Iris was enjoying the song so much that she didn't realize that Antoine was staring at her face. Antoine was using his vampire skills.
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So let's play true or false. Vampires in the beginning only hunted at night with less suspicion and less threat of being caught. Modern vampires love the sun and Dallas area vampires just deal with whatever the weather decides. So false. Vampires can walk in the sun.
True. Special skills exist. Antoine could read thoughts and had superb hearing. Pretty much all vampires have superb hearing and speed but Antoine was special to have thought reading skills. Tony and Alex could change emotions in humans and other vampires. They could make a human or a vampire suddenly calm down or a love interest love them temporarily. Marcus had super strength which helped him lift everything King Antoine wanted. It was the perfect combination.
*************
Antoine was way too distracted. He could hear Iris humming her songs in her own mind. He was enjoying the tune. It was peaceful and serene. He finally stopped and realized that he had been staring at her too long. He finished eating quickly, threw away his trash, and left the cafeteria in a hurry. He start humming Iris' tune all the way up the glass elevator. He sang it in his office and while he kept working the rest of the day. It was stuck in his head and he didn't want to remove it.
Iris had left the cafeteria and returned to her desk shortly after Antoine had left. She kept adjusting the music for the advertisement until her shift ended at 5 PM CST. She clocked out, logged out, and grabbed her stuff. When she got to the lobby, she was shocked to see Antoine actually waiting for her. He called her over and she obediently came.
"You were waiting for me?" Iris asked.
"Were you hoping I would forget?" Antoine replied.
Truthfully, Iris was hoping he would forget. Nights were her current weakness. She didn't want to ruin things with her idol. But Iris lied and said no.
"Where are we going?"
"Dinner and a date."
"I thought you said that it was just to get to know me. Not a date."
Antoine laughed. "Isn't a date the common word for getting to know someone?"
Iris blushed strawberry red. "Yes, sir."
"Please just call me Antoine."
"Yes, Antoine."