Page 94 of Petals and Fangs

“It turns out Demetrius is not the one behind the FDA case. Someone else is.”

“Who?”

“He wouldn't tell me. All he said was that it was someone from within the company. Can you believe that, Perry? Could it be true?”

“I've seen a lot of things in this business. Nothing surprises me.”

“He was so certain about it. I'm sure there's some truth to his words.”

“How do you know he's not lying, Mr. Rothschild?”

“His mind was so easy to read. Nothing but blank thoughts and sex. Blood, and sex, and more sex. That was the only thing going through his head.”

“That is interesting. He could have been blocking his thoughts.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I am not sure, but I have never had that happen to me before.”

“I see. So, what do we do now?”

“You tell me, Perry.”

“Do you have anyone in mind, Mr. Rothschild?”

“Well, yes and no.”

“I don't think Nick or Alfred could have done it,” he says, looking away. Perry clears his throat and looks around. He is nervous, but his tone is stern. I feel like he is hiding something from me.

“I don't know who to trust anymore.”

“I know a good investigator.”

“No. I don't want anyone to suspect anything. You must pretend that everything is under control. Eventually, we'll be called to court, and we will have to face the accusations.”

“I'll take care of it.”

“There's also another problem. Lily.”

“Is there anything wrong?”

“Now that she knows what I am -” I say but pause for a brief second.

“Excuse me?” Perry's facial expression change. He looks a bit shocked. I have never told anyone about being a vampire.

“You heard me, Perry.”

“Are you implying that Lily Snow knows about you being a-”

“A vampire, yes. Yes, she knows,” I interrupt him, nodding my head.

“Wow,” Perry says, and then shakes his head.

“Now, let us get to business. Do we have any strategies?”

“You are looking at it right now,” Perry smirks as he places his briefcase on the table. He pulls out a few documents and a small notebook.

“Right. More documents. Spare me the details.”

“Well, as with every other pharmaceutical company, we have our competitors too.”

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