Flora nervously tears off a shred of paper as a snack. Flora chews on the paper as Thomas pretends to text on his phone. However, his periodic glancing at the door gave him away. The sound of crisp high heeled boots is heard on the tile floor. Thomas and Flora straighten up in their seats, Thomas straightens his cuffs and Flora hastily swallows the shred of paper in her mouth and hides the shredded paper inside her bag.

The door swings open as Thomas' eyes flickered with surprise. Flora had explained that their employee was a woman. The woman carefully studies him causing Thomas to stiffen in his seat. But Thomas knew women, but this woman wasn't any ordinary woman. Though tall and too slim, there is a cold, deadly presence surrounding her. He only knew of one person with that kind of aura and that was his clan’s head, Ivan Vladimir, an ancient one of their kind. A vampire who had survived the worst that humanity had to offer. Whoever and whatever, she was, this woman was not one meant to be crossed.

The woman politely extends her hand and says, “I’m Izo Reed. It is a pleasure to meet you, Thomas Vladimir.” Thomas hastily rises to his feet and takes the hand, despite every fiber of his body screaming at him to run. Despite his fear, the handshake was firm and swiftly ended to his massive relief.

Miss Reed seats herself across from the table from them. “First off, thank you both for your excellent work. I sincerely appreciate having good work done and acknowledge it’s done. Upon the auction house officially open, a bonus shall be presented conveying my sincerities,” Miss Reed sincerely said.

Thomas and Flora nod in response as Miss Reed studied the report in front of her. The silence stretches with the only sound being the sound of pages turning. The minutes slowly tick by until Miss Reed is finished. “The employees meet my requirements. I have no problem with your selection, keep up the excellent work.”

Flora calmly replies, “Miss Reed, thank you for your vote of confidence. I can assure you, that Thomas and I will have your best interests at heart,” Flora steadily said as she pauses for a moment before hesitatingly continuing, “However, there is a slight situation. The other auction houses have begun a preventive business strategy against us.”

“Oh? Please explain,” Miss Reed said as her eyes sparkled dangerously.

Thomas eyes the human woman and preventively moves closer to Flora to protect her. Flora might be a nagging mama goat at times, but she was a sweet girl despite leaving hoof marks on the floor. And was one of the few persons, who he marginally trusted outside of his clan.

Flora fails to notice the movement from Thomas and grimly answers, “The auction house is a rather cutthroat business. Despite the fact, that the auction house has yet to open, that merely means that there is one more competitor for money to be lost. And since large construction is underway at the auction house, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the auction house will be targeting their clients. Currently, there are rumors that-, that the owner of the auction house is a pervert.”

Flora falls silent as Thomas remains wary of Miss Reed. Miss Reed is silent for a movement, before throwing her back and laughing. Wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes, Miss Reed breathlessly says, “Oh my goodness, is that all? I thought it was more serious than that,” pausing to grab her breath, she composes herself before continuing, “I don’t care for such trivializes. But I can understand your dilemma in hiring. Offer them, whatever you deem necessary.

As for the auction houses, don’t worry, I’ve been invited to meet with the auction informal society at their country club. However, I would hate for a spy to be among my craftsman. I understand that is impossible to entirely root them out. If so, place them in positions, where they won’t be a hazard and will be easy to keep an eye on. Are there any further questions or comments?”

“No, Miss Reed,” Flora confidently reported as Thomas nods in agreement. Satisfied, Miss Reed nods at them and departs leaving the two of them alone.

Thomas lets out a sigh of relief as Flora glares pointedly at the vampire. “Thomas, that was rude of you! Don’t think I didn’t notice, how you're acting towards, Miss Reed. She is our employer and more importantly, she’s not a pervert with fetishes,” Flora harshly said.

“Yes, but there is something off-putting about Miss Reed. I am not sure if it is her face, but she reminds me of the clan head,” Thomas unhappily replied.

“No matter, her appearance, she is our employer, who deserves our respect. I will only ask this once, Thomas. Are you capable of working for her? If not, now is the time to speak clearly,” Flora demanded to know.

Thomas shakes his head and sighs. “I can work for Miss Reed, but I won’t deny my feelings. Miss Reed is dangerous, but I will concede that I acted irrationally and will properly in the future maintain my composure,” Thomas firmly promised.

Flora nods with satisfaction, before grabbing her bag from under the desk. She sneaks a shred of paper into her mouth as Thomas winces. Flora glares at him and says, “You don’t see me reacting negatively about your dietary eating habits.”

Thomas bows apologetically as the door opens revealing a muscular ogre. The greenish figure in jeans, a white tee-shirt, and leather jacket barely fits in the doorway. A gravel-like voice says, “I came about the open beast tamer position. I am a certified tamer and I heard that the pay was good.”

Without hesitation, Thomas jumps to feet and says, “Please have a seat.”

The ogre hesitatingly takes a seat in a chair that squeaks ominously for a moment. To all their relief, the chair holds firm despite the weight. Flora takes out a portfolio from the file cabinet and says, “Sir, please fill out these forms with your most recent work experience.”

Thomas takes the portfolio and hands it over to the ogre, who begins to carefully fill out the paper forms. With a pleased expression, Thomas chats with the ogre, whilst Flora readies the employment papers. If the ogre passed the background test, he would be employed. Which was great as ogres were known to be excellent tamers.