When Comes the Night

By Anita Dobs

Vampire Rafe Hawkins never wanted to become what he was forced to become, but now he at least feels nothings, and no one can hurt him anymore. As the billionaire C.E.O of Sirius Advertising Agency, his days are filled with a never ending whirl of activity, and his nights, the bloodlust he cannot ever deny. As a leading member of The Vampire Council, he knows fraternizing with humans is off-limits, yet there is one girl who has a strange effect on him, an effect that shouldn't even be possible – if vampire lore is to be believed... 

Stacy Jones, a girl with a checkered and secret past, flees to London, England to escape her small town demons, only to be confronted with more unexpected ones when she arrives. Starting a new life, she finds taking an advertising course harder than she'd ever imagined it would be, and decides to try for an internship at the famous Sirius Advertising Agency. Interviewed by the dashing Rafe Hawkins, Stacy finds the aloof C.E.O intriguing, but a new work colleague hints at something altogether more sinister occurring, and Stacy becomes torn with confusion about the choices she must make...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomingdale Books
• Release date: Feb 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524219406

Book preview

As I stood there I felt my very soul almost exit my body and disappear into a void of nothingness. Once more I had trusted, and once more I had been betrayed by life, and betrayed by a girl who I thought was beyond it. I didn’t believe for a moment that she hadn’t felt something for me, but what did I really expect? That she’d spend the rest of her life with a vampire? If I hadn’t been in so much pain, I would’ve laughed at my own stupidity...

Part 1

Weeks Earlier – Last Chances

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It was raining in London as I made my way to the University. As usual. Since I’d left Blackford - and the nightmare situation I’d gotten myself into there - all it ever seemed to do in London was rain. I’d heard about their famous weather, but this was ridiculous! Holding my umbrella over my head, a sudden gust of wind blew it backwards, with me then getting soaked in one fell swoop. I cursed, and rushed onto the campus and quickly entered the lecture building for my advertising class.

As a girl, I felt lonely in London, I couldn’t really understand English people, that reserve they had, and the way they looked at me strangely when I expressed the kind of things that they’d often hold back. In those moments of embarrassment, I’d just comfort myself with the thought of all I’d been through in order to get there in the first place, and to be even able to have enough money to do the degree course. It wasn’t as if anyone had helped me financially, I’d had to work to save enough money all by myself.

With the door creaking no matter how hard I tried to open it quietly, A few of the other students in the auditorium looked around at me, rolled their eyes, and groaned at my late arrival. Yeah, I was ‘that’ girl. Professor Felix stopped talking in mid-sentence and glanced over to where I had just entered, and sighed,

So nice of you to join us Stacy, take a seat, and who knows, you might learn something before you go back to the U.S of A.

Yes, professor, I murmured, all the other students still staring at me as I walked down the middle of the aisle, trying to find a place to sit.

I accidentally brushed my wet umbrella against one of the girls and she cried out,

Hey!

Sorry, so sorry. I blustered, then sitting down and tentatively putting my books on the table, only to have them promptly slide off and slam onto the floor with the noise echoing in the silence of the entire lecture hall. I cringed at that moment, and looking up, saw Professor Felix with his hands on his hips, shaking his head,

Anytime today Stacy, there’s a good girl.

The truth was, I liked Professor Felix’s class, although I often thought ‘sarcasm’ was the major that he was teaching, bearing in mind he took every chance to use it, especially on me - not that he didn’t have some call to. My grades had been slipping, and this was the third time in two weeks I’d been late. It was my final year, and I knew if I didn’t pull my socks up I’d be heading back to Blackford, and if there was one thing I didn’t want to do, it was to have to go back to Blackford, back to square one!

It was because of that - and my declining grades - that I realized that perhaps my only chance to stay in Britain was to get an internship, at least that way I’d be getting some work experience, and if I did well at a company the potential chance to get a job and work visa could bring my failing ambitions to some sort of fruition, at least, that was the plan.

It was with that sense urgency in mind, that I’d directly phoned up the Sirius Advertising Agency - the preeminent advertising agency in London - and spoke directly to Raphael Hawkins, the young C.E.O whose face had been plastered all over the newspapers due to his brilliance, and rather mysterious personal life. I honestly didn’t know why the British press focused so much on the guy, I thought they were just looking for some kind of scandal they could pin on him, such was their general focus with anyone even remotely famous. He was always so erudite every time I saw him being interviewed on the news, though. But I had to admit, he did have that kind of aura about him - the kind that made you always feel there was something hidden about him that was just out of reach.

I’d really had to do a lot of sneaky research to find his phone number in the first place, but when I’d found it and finally plucked up the courage to call - and expressed my genuine interest in doing an internship - he’d been quite dismissive. I supposed I shouldn’t have expected much else from cold-calling a C.E.O.

I didn’t know if it had been my persistence or something in the tone of my voice - perhaps he could hear the urgency in it - but he finally relented, telling me to come to an interview at three PM sharp, on the Thursday.

Thursday had arrived with me already being late once that day already, but I still thought I had just enough time to finish my class and get the subway so I’d arrive promptly at the Agency, or so I hoped.

There had been no time for me to go back to my dorm and change, so ‘drenched wet’ would be my ‘look’ for the interview, but at least be on time, that was something.

...

Sarah had misplaced some of my documents again. As a secretary, her inter-personal skills were second-to-none, but it was her organization skills that left something to be desired. I’d deliberately overlooked that point when hiring her and chosen  in favor of her really being a diplomatic ‘people person’, because in my line of business and with the clients she’d often have to deal with, that was paramount. But with me then having to search my desk for signature papers - a futile pursuit if ever there was one - I finally gave up. I called Thomas, my best performing advertising campaign closer, and told him to go ahead with the pitch without me. I’d be late, I told him, but I was sure he could handle it.

As a C.E.O I just had too many things to do, and learning the art of delegation had always been one of my weak points. I always wanted to have a personal hand in everything, but in a company of the size of Sirius, it had proved impossible.

Sarah, I pressed the intercom on my desk, "do you have any idea where you put my documents for the Ross account?"

There was a pause in her response, which I knew from painful experience meant that she didn’t.

Give me a couple of hours Mr. Hawkins, and I’m sure I’ll be able to find them for you.

Fine. I replied, turning the intercom off and then groaning.

I just had some time to focus my mind before I’d go join Thomas and ‘Wow’ our clients with my commitment to their cause. Just a few precious minutes of peace and quiet, a rare chance to be with my own thoughts. Juggling two different lives wasn’t all it had cracked up to be. But I hadn’t known the level of commitment that would be required of me when I first decided to become what some of the good Christian folk called, ‘The Damned’.

A meeting had already been set up with Bale for later that evening, something about an interfering old priest causing trouble. I ran my hands back through my Brylcreamed hair, closing my eyes and listening to the noisy street traffic below, which was strangely calming at that moment, until the intercom buzzer violently broke my reverie.

Mr. Hawkins, Sarah’s voice called, Miss. Stacy Jones is here to see you for the internship interview.

‘Damn!’, I thought. I’d forgotten that I’d arranged that interview with the girl. With any interns that applied, I’d always try to personally vet them. I only wanted interns in Sirius who I felt had some real potential, students that I thought would get some legitimate benefit from the experience. She’d just been so persistent on the phone that she’d won me over at that moment, not to mention impressed me with the audacity she displayed by calling me directly. There weren't many people who'd do that. Yet it was my one chance at a bit of calm in the day, and I was going to be interrupted by a probably over expectant student that more than likely wanted world to just fall at her feet. Most were unfortunately like that. But I always held out