Chapter 2:
Sanaya's P.O.V
I shut my alarm even before it had a chance to complete one ring.
To be honest, I hadn’t slept a wink last night. It had already been three thirty in the morning when I’d arrived home and it had seemed pointless to sleep for a mere two hours before I started working as Lancelin Eustein’s Scribt, or as the modern tern goes, Personal Secretary.
And it had felt like a good idea to go over the documents that Acelin’s team had compiled on his brother’s habits, likes and dislikes instead of sleeping. Working with Acelin and BlueStar had already prepared me for countless sleepless nights as well as numerous jetlags, but I had a feeling that Lancelin was going to be a whole other story.
Getting up at exactly six in the morning, I went straightaway to the bathroom for a warm shower to wake me up from the slight fatigue I was feeling. Once I had showered, I put on my robe and blow-dried my long black hair before combing it back and twisting it in a French twist on top of my head. Thanks to my Indian descent, my hair was naturally as black as midnight and it grew out faster than any of my friends.
For today, I chose to go neutral and subtle and chose a full-sleeved shirt in badge and paired it with a white pencil skirt and a jacket. After dressing up, I put on two pink pearl ear studs, small enough to not be noticeable and yet, elegant at the same time. Wearing white on my first day of work might be a bit risqué, but you only live once, right? At least that’s how it is in the world of us mortals.
I could have never imagined it myself even five years ago that immortals lived among us; that evolution had never been a straight line and we had always been deluding ourselves by thinking that humans were the only species that had evolved to be the creatures we are today. Demons, Incubi, Vampires and what not…not only do they exist, but they are far stronger and more intelligent than we can ever be. In fact, there were so many creatures that I was sure were way above my authorization level to know about…and to think that I would be starting work for the next Incubus King from this morning.
It all sounds so unreal. Even now, when I wake up some mornings, I sometimes feel like maybe it had all been a bad dream and today, things would be different. But it never is. I’m still the woman who works as an Incubus’s Scribt; I’m still the woman who has to keep the dangerous secret of the immortal world from the ones who are most dear to me…and I’m still the woman whose heart had been crushed so badly that even after five years, I’m still trying to piece the shards back together but to no avail.
I rimmed my eyes with the liquid liner, making sure to point the ends upwards to give a slight lift to my eyes. It was surprisingly Acelin who had told me to put on makeup right after I’d joined BlueStar as an intern.
“Beauty is a weapon.” He’d told me. “Use it to your advantage. You could be a plain Jane if that’s what you prefer; you’re intelligent enough to be brilliant at what you do even from the sidelines. But don’t you want to take control? Don’t you want to make the opposite party just stop and listen to what you have to say and make a lasting impression?”
And I had listened to him.
I didn’t know how he had figured out my constant need for control in my life at that moment, but he had and it was something I will forever be grateful for. Acelin had come into my life as a knight in shining armor when my life had completely fallen apart and instead of firing me because of the mess I’d been, he had instead helped me get back on my feet and start anew. But this morning, as I painted my lips a delicate pink in contrast to my usual reds, it wasn’t Acelin who I had in my mind, but his dauntingly sexy younger brother, Lancelin Eustein.
The look he had given me last night, as he exited the elevator, it was akin to the look a predator gives its prey before he devours it. I didn’t know why I had compared that look to that of a feral predatory animal, but there had been nothing distinctively tame about that look, nothing humanly in its hunger. It made a shiver of pleasure run down my spine, but my mind snapped me back to the present.
I’d met Lancelin before, several times. The first time had been at The Ritz hotel at a charity dinner hosted by a celebrity client of both ReefWood and BlueStar. He had looked dashing in a black on black Armani suit, his hair gelled back and his amber eyes looking like those of a Greek God. The only thing I’d done was fetch him and Acelin a glass of Champagne each and when I’d given him the glass, our fingers had brushed lightly, a feather light touch that couldn’t even been considered as a touch, but I had still felt it to my very core.
No! Not only was he my boss, but he was also an Incubus--a demon that feeds off sex. Not to mention, Lancelin was the next Incubus King! An immortal King for God’s sake! And if I kept this up, I will be jobless by the end of this week. Not that BlueStar wouldn’t appoint me back in a heartbeat, but there had been open challenge in Lancelin’s eyes as I left the office last night, and I never back down from a challenge. He can try his best to get rid of me, but getting fired was not an option for me. Because mortals were not supposed to know about the immortal world unless we were bound by a non-disclosure agreement.
And this was no simple ‘pay-for-the-damage-you-caused’ non-disclosure agreement. If I was ever fired because of some kind of negligence on my part, my mind would be wiped clean to preserve the secrets of the immortals and I would lose everything that I had in the last five years. Which is why I had trained myself to be the best at what I do. I had put Sanaya Johnson and Sana into two different worlds.
Sana was scared of the dangers that lurked in the shadows. She was scared of going to work the next day and becoming someone’s prey. Sana was filled with insecurities and flaws and she was trying her best to survive in this new world that no one had any idea about. Sana was trying her best to mend her broken heart and take care of her broken family.
But Sanaya Johnson was the exact opposite of everything Sana was. She was confident and brave. She faces the world head on and she makes people stop and stare. People believe her, people like her and people trust her. She does everything the Incubi want her to do without complaints. But most importantly, she does not mix business with pleasure. She knows her place and she knows exactly what dangers lay in front of her.
If Lancelin Eustein thought he could ruffle up my perfect image and throw me out like he had so many others, then he better think twice. He might have intimidated Sana, but Sanaya Johnson was not an easy prey.
“Bring it on, Lancelin Eustein.” I told my reflection in the mirror, ready for whatever challenge the day might bring forth.
Chapter 3:Sanaya's P.O.V“Going out already?” My mother asked from the kitchen when I came out of my room.For as long as I can remember, my mother, Samira Johnson, had always been an early bird. She liked to wake up before the sun rose and after some meditation and a shower, spent some time in front of the marble idol of Lord Ganesha and pray for our family’s welfare. Even though my father had been a Christian, he had never forced us to follow his religion. Which is why we had a Hindu idol at our house, as well as a statue of Jesus Christ.“Yes,” I told her as I sat on the table and picked up the fork to dig into the sunny-side up, fried eggs and bacon sandwich that she had prepared for me. “I’ll be starting work at a new office from today onward.”“New office?” My mother looked at me horrified. “Honey, did you get fired from your previous office?
Chapter 4:Sanaya's P.O.VThree hours later, I was cursing every known God on the planet for the ungodly existence of the being called Lancelin Eustein.“Do you have any special preferences amongst the women listed in your diary?”“No.”“Do you have any special restaurant preferences?”“No.”“Any favorite food items?”“No,”“Any particular allergies?”That just earned me a look with a raised eyebrow.Right. Incubi = immortal = all kinds of disease resistant…especially STDs.“Any particular kind of gift you like to send your…”“Meals.”What the fuck? Did he just call his mistresses his…meals?I was screaming and ripping out my hair on the inside but outwardly, I just gave him a polite smile and continued. &ldquo
Chapter 5:Lancelin’s P.O.VI sprang out of my seat as soon as the elevator doors shut behind Ms. Johnson and headed for the trash can. Frowning, I debated what to do as I looked at the discarded Starbuck’s cup and my hands. The entire building was regularly cleaned and disinfected by the clean-up crew early every morning, before office hours started but I was still uncomfortable picking up the cup with my bare hands.Ultimately, my curiosity got the best of me and I pulled out a glove from one of the drawers of a cupboard and fetched out the cup. Opening the lib, I found the thick milky beverage staring back at me mockingly as the scent of vanilla tickled my nostrils. So I shut the lid back on the cup and discarded it back into the trash can, along with my used glove.If there was one thing I hated most in this world, it was being proven wrong. And thanks to Ms. Johnson, I had just been proven wrong and on to
Chapter 6:Sanaya’s P.O.V“Thank you for your co-operation.”I slid the envelop across the table at the woman sitting opposite me. Her glossy black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and her usual bright makeup was replaced with something natural, to make her blend in the crowd rather than stand out on a TV screen. Jaclyn Stonewater was easily one of the most recognizable faces on TV as one of the top fifteen Hollywood news reporters. She was also considered a style icon by many. But the woman who sat opposite from me today was dressed in grey sweatpants and a black hoodie. Her outfit and makeup a camouflage to blend into the crowd.“You don’t have to pay me,” the senior reporter pushed the envelope back in my direction. “Consider this a favor for Mr. Eustein. I’d like to redeem my price another way.”I eyed the woman and realized that she had always had an
Chapter 7:Lancelin’s P.O.V“A red lipstick from my luxury line deluxe edition?” Amber Rose Verborg, the CEO of one of the famous luxury make-up brands in the UA, Esteem Amber, a part-time supermodel and a Succubus, a female Incubus, raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at me from the opposite side of the table.“Is there a problem?” I asked her, trying to give away anything that would raise unwanted interests in my personal life.“Absolutely not.” Amber Rose smiled widely and tilted her head to the side making her auburn curls brush her exposed shoulders. “However, I will need specifics.”I was currently at the La Donna Deluxe Hotel in Queens, New York, on a dinner date discussing business and family matters. To outsiders, it may look like we were on date but we weren’t actually. Amber Rose was my cousin, my maternal uncle’s daughter and
Chapter 8:Sanaya’s P.O.V“I’m home!” I called out as I shut the front door behind me.“Maa?” I asked out loud when I didn’t hear her reply. “Maa, where are you?”Hanging my keys in the key holder beside the door, I took off my shoes and entered the house. The bright neon green sticky note stuck to the fridge was like a huge pop-up sign that I already knew the contents of, but I ripped it off the fridge and read it anyway.Gone to Mrs. Sharma’s for Maata Ki Chowki. Don’t wait up for me. P.S- Mrs. Sharma’s son, Rahul, he’s also going to be there. I heard he’s a civil engineer. I’ll save you a seat.I sighed and threw the note away in the trash can. Only my mom would make a post script longer than the actual message and advertise her friend’s ‘talented son’ all at once. Her
Chapter 9:Sanaya’s P.O.VMy breath was a bit unsteady as I walked into ReefWood HQ the next morning. I couldn’t tell if it was because I was barely skimming the eight o’ clock mark this morning or because of that blasted dream last night, but my hands were a bit shaky as I pressed the elevator buttons to the sixteenth floor and I was pretty sure that the entire building could hear my heart beat.Incubi could invade dreams. Fuck! How could I have forgotten one of the most crucial powers an Incubus has? It was the first thing that Acelin had warned me about when I was first promoted to the position of a Scribt.“Not all Incubi possess this power,” Acelin said to me, his bright crystalline blue eyes clear as the ocean. “But some of us do and it can be very dangerous for the human. Mostly all high ranking Incubi can invade dreams.”“I understand, Sir.”
Chapter 10:Sanaya’s P.O.V“Sanaya! Hold up!”I paused on my way to the exit and looked back to find Tanya running towards me in her disastrous high heels. I half expected her to slip on the polished marble floor and break a leg or two, but the woman managed to gracefully come to a stop in front of me without breaking a sweat.“Good! I was able to catch you just in time.” She panted with a hand on her chest. “Are you done for the day? Do you wanna hang out?”“Hang out? Where?” I asked her and noticed three other people had come to a stop a few feet away from us.“The Vixen.” Tanya said with a huge smile and turned back and motioned the others to come join us. I immediately recognized Martin from the group. He wasn’t wearing his chauffer’s uniform this evening and instead had a light blue shirt on that complemented his icy blue eyes