Page 37 of How a Vampire Falls

“No worries,” she said. “Going forward I’ll be taking mine the same way everybody else takes theirs.”

A blink, a frown. In the silence, Leslie’s body began to prickle with suppressed energy, but she kept still and waited him out. A muscle twitched in his jaw. Brent hated silence.

“I was doing you a favor,” he said.

“Having the extra check was nice.” She had to admit that much. “But ultimately you were doing yourself a favor. Being here with my work ethic is worth more to you than the extra check.”

He gave a stiff nod. “I guess you can apply for time off, and if it doesn’t conflict with anyone else’s…”

“I already checked with the other servers, and it doesn’t. And I already applied for it. I applied three times in the last three weeks. You keep letting my request do that auto-expire thing that happens if a supervisor doesn’t see it in time.”

He shrugged. “Must’ve fallen through the cracks.”

“Okay. I’ll apply one more time. Please don’t miss it this time.”

“Sure, Leslie. No problem. Was that all?”

“Yep.”

She flashed a grin and allowed the baring of her teeth to last a fraction of a second longer than she needed to. Brent tried to cover his flinch with a clearing of his throat.

“Thanks for your time, Brent. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She maintained her brave posture until she sat behind the wheel in her car. Then her hands began to tremble. She’d done it. She sent Mom a text and got a reply in less than a minute.

You can tell Dad I managed to be confrontational today. Going to see Ryker next month!

Mom:Good for you. Still not thrilled how your boss handled it but proud of you for rocking the boat!

She sent Mom a thumbs-up emoji, then dialed her boyfriend, who picked up after a single ring.

“Hey,” was all he said, but the single word held a depth of warmth that made her close her eyes and finally, fully relax. Her breathing deepened, and her shoulders loosened. All from hearing his lovely voice and the smile in it…for her.

“Guess who just got confrontational with her boss,” she said.

“Whoa. And?”

“And in three weeks, I’ll be the one grabbing a flight for a long weekend.”

“Yes!”

“Better plan your tour stops.”

“I’ve had a tour planned since our first weekend together,” he said. “I know it probably stressed you out, but I’m glad you finally asked. That guy owes you.”

“He knows that now. Well—no, let me rephrase. He knowsIknow that now.”

“Good. He sounds like a jerk.”

Was Brent a jerk? Hmm. She couldn’t rule it out. They didn’t stay long on the phone, and when she hung up, another text had come through from Mom.

Mom:Dad says “Good job.”

Leslie texted back, shaking her head but unable to hold in a smile.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. I let my boss get away with too much, like Dad said. Until today. Now to plan a weekend seeing all Ryker’s favorite vampire-friendly spots!

Mom sent a thumbs-up, but nothing else as the next few minutes ticked by. Leslie sent a final text before starting the drive home.

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