Romatech Industries
Ivy took in a deep breath. In spite of the seemingly innocent cake, conversation, she was still having trouble wrapping her mind around this. Vampires. Vampires with wives and children. How could that be possible? The chocolate cake sounded good, though. She shook her head. "Mr. Staganesti,"
"Call me Roman."
She gave him a wary look. Just don't call me dinner.
"Why am I here?" What do you require of me?"
His eyebrows lifted. "Straight to the point. I like that. The truth is we find ourselves in a moral dilemma. We've always tried to protect mortals from bad vampires, but there is one who is living in China, giving us major grief. He goes by the name Master Cao."
"He's mutating mortals and using them to fight his battles," Dr. Ruthven added. "We need to defeat Master Cao, but we don't want to kill the mortals."
"That's big of you," Ivy muttered. "Where do I come in?"
"The mortals have been transformed at a genetic level," Abby explained. "Since you're an expert in that field, we were hoping you could find a way to change them back."
Ivy swallowed a pang of disappointment. She knew she was here on business, but for a few minutes, she hoped that Abby wanted to be her friend. Her eyes burned. Here she was, surrounded by vampires, possibly in danger, and she was fretting over hurt feelings? How silly of her. But everyone always approached her with an agenda. They wanted her brain, her expertise, her learned opinion. No one ever saw her as a normal person to hangout with.
"I was looking forward to working with you." Abby regarded her sadly. "And I hoped we could get to know each other."
Did she really mean that? Ivy stared at her. Did she know the loneliness of never fitting in?
"We'll understand if you refuse," Roman said. "But please do give it some thought before you decide. If you can help us, you could possibly be saving the lives of over a thousand men."
Over a thousand lives? That was not something she could easily turn away from. "I will think about it. But I do need some time to think."
"Of course." Roman nodded. "You've had a lot thrown at you this evening."
"But you're doing great." Dr. Ruthven smiled. "We can relax and enjoy the party now, okay?"
Relax with vampires? Ivy glanced at the camera. Those watchful eyes she felt, did they belong to a vampire? Had he observed her like a lab mouse trying to find its way through a maze? Unfortunately, the evening wasn't over, and she was still in the maze. One step away from a nervous breakdown. "I'd rather be alone with Abby right now."
"We understand." Roman stepped back to let her pass.
"Come on." Abby headed for the door. "Lets get some of that chocolate cake."
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