A/N: Thanks to all who have been reading and reviewing my story. It will be a little more difficult to find the time to write now that school has started again, so I'm trying to wrap this one up soon before things get too busy. I found it amusing that some reviewers marveled at Josef's morality for not taking Penny's virginity. Others just knew there had to be a vampire reason for his restraint. Please read on to discover the answer…

Chapter 10

MICK

I was depressed, but I showed up for work the next day, determined to avoid both Josef and Penny and keep my focus on my job. I'd been compiling a file of resumes when Nyla buzzed me.

"Mick, Mr. Kostan wants to see you in his office. Right away." Well, so much for best-laid plans.

I looked at the intercom as if it were a snake, hesitating before pressing the answer button.

"Did he say why?"

"No. But he sounded urgent."

I sighed and stood up, leaving my office with dread. "Thanks, Nyla," I said in passing.

Penny was not at her desk. I knocked on Josef's door, this time waiting before he beckoned me inside. He looked awful, but I didn't think it had anything to do with his gunshot wounds. His suit was uncharacteristically rumpled, his shoes scuffed, his short hair spiky and uncombed.

"You look like hell," I remarked, not unkindly.

He assessed my own tired appearance. "Likewise. Please. Sit."

Josef wasn't sitting. He was standing looking ready to resume his pacing mode, a habit he had when he was particularly agitated. When I was comfortably seated, he ran his hands through his hair and began his sad tale.

"As you might have seen, Miss Smith and I have…grown closer."

"Yes, Josef, I noticed. Now if you called me in here to gloat—"

"Well, normally I would have, but really, I'm a victim here as much as you."

I was annoyed. "I'm no victim, Josef. I concede that you got the girl, and if she wants you, that sorta takes me out of the running. Am I disappointed? Yeah, sure. She's an amazing woman. But you seemed to have won her fair and square. I'll do the honorable thing and step aside." His words regarding himself finally seeped in. "What do you mean you're a victim?"

He laughed bitterly. "I was just about to give her the most memorable night of her life"—I rolled my eyes at that—"when we kinda hit a roadblock." He laughed at what seemed to be his own private joke.

I smirked. "And you couldn't get it up?"

"No!" he growled. He shot me a dirty look in the midst of his pacing.

"She changed her mind?"

"No! On the contrary; I did."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Josef? Did you sprout morals all of a sudden?"

"Ha. No, Mick. I was ready, willing and able, and so was she, I might add. No"—and he paused dramatically—"SHE'S A FUCKIN' VIRGIN!"

"Sort of an oxy-moron, wouldn't you say?" I knew I risked instant death at my poorly timed humor, but I just couldn't resist.

"The point is," he continued more calmly, choosing to ignore me, "there are rules about these things."

Oh, so that was it. Vampire rules. I wanted to laugh at his predicament. "You seriously aren't following that medieval old rule, are you?"

"It's actually not just a rule, Mick. It's the law. If a vampire takes a virgin human, he or she is obligated to turn them. It was designed to increase our numbers. Innocent virgins are easier for their sires to control and manipulate. And there used to be a lot more virgins around."

"It's the twentieth century, Josef. Surely the laws are a little more relaxed these days. I mean, how can it be enforced? There are so many vampires now, how would anyone on the Council know who's fucking whom?"

He stopped his pacing and looked solemnly into my eyes. "Trust me, they'll know." I didn't even question how this could be, but Josef had been around a long time. He knew stuff.

"You're getting paranoid in your old age," I said automatically. "Anyway, what's the penalty for violating this law? Death, right? That's the Council's solution to everything."

"No, nothing so merciful. You have a choice. Your dick or your fangs. And I'm particularly attached to both, thank you."

Well, I could see his quandary now. "Wow," I said. "And death is not an option? Wow."

We were both lost in thought a moment, Josef likely wondering, as I was, which would be worse to lose.

"So, what are you going to do, Josef? Wait around for some other guy or vamp to deflower her before you can have her? That could be awhile, and she'll probably have feelings for him, so you might just be losing your shot here."

I was happy about this turn of events, I had to admit. If I couldn't have her, well neither of us could.

"How did Penny react when you wouldn't sleep with her?" I asked, suddenly concerned with how she might be feeling. I immediately felt guilty that that had been my second concern, behind Josef and I both losing our bet.

Josef sat down finally, my question obviously hitting a nerve. "She cried, Mick. And there was no explanation I could give that would make her think I wasn't somehow rejecting her. Losing your virginity is supposed to be a beautiful thing. I would have made it good for her. But I can't turn her. I can't take that responsibility."

I was curious. He must have turned others in the last four hundred years. "Why not?"

He hesitated a moment, seemingly about to say something, then rethinking it at the last minute. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Grooming a new vampire takes a lot of time and effort. I'm too focused on my business right now for that."

I knew he wasn't telling me everything, but I wasn't going to question his reasoning. I wouldn't wish becoming a vampire on anyone, even if it were their own choice. The thought of Penny losing that vitality that comes with sunlight and eating and breathing was just too sad to contemplate.

"You're doing the right thing, Josef. Both for yourself and for Penny."

"Yeah, well, why does doing the right thing always have to feel like shit?"

I laughed. "Welcome to my world."

"Did you see Penny on your way in here?" Josef asked a few minutes later.

"No. You mean, she didn't quit?"

"I don't think so. I mean, she acted liked she fully planned to continue in her position here. I guess I pissed her off or embarrassed her too much to expect her back."

"Or maybe she's late because she doesn't have a car," I guessed, wondering why I was trying to comfort him.

He smirked a little mysteriously. "No, that couldn't be it."

At about that time, there came a soft knock on Josef's door, and low and behold, the wonder that was Penny Smith opened the door before her employer could answer the knock. Josef and I instantly rose to our feet, both of us feeling the painful pleasure of her nearness.

"Josef, I have to protest—Oh, Mick." She caught sight of me and immediately scaled back her ire. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to you later, Mr. Kostan."

"No," I said, having the sudden, insane urge to put my fist through the wall, or maybe curl up into a ball and cry like a baby. "I was just leaving." Josef, of course, sensed my mood and gave me a look of pure empathy.

"I'd like to continue this discussion later, Mick," said Josef, his meaningful look belying his casual words.

"Whatever you say, boss," I replied. With a polite nod toward Penny, who stood waiting at the threshold, I gratefully vacated Josef's office.

JOSEF

It was good to see her there, in my office, all fiery-eyed and on her high-horse. She was beautiful.

"You can't buy me off, Mr. Kostan," she continued, some of the wind out of her sails upon seeing Mick.

"What happened to Josef?"

"Well, since we are now apparently returning to a professional relationship, I think it's best we go back to addressing one another more formally. And that's beside the point. The car, Mr. Kostan. You shouldn't have bought me the car."

I listened to the sound of her pounding heart, smelled her nervousness, and I hated feeling so uncomfortable and full of remorse because of it. It was an unusual feeling for me. I hadn't felt that way since my botched turning of Sarah—the real reason I wasn't about to try to turn Penny. I wanted to tell Mick about it, but I was so ashamed, so raw about it, even almost twenty years later, that I couldn't voice it, not even to my best friend. Now, the least I could do was buy Penny Smith a new car.

"I'm not trying to buy you. You lost your car because of me. I owe you. Really, it had nothing to do with last night," I lied.

She eyed me suspiciously. "I had insurance—"

"Well, your rates don't have to go up because of Linda now. Enjoy it. You earned it."

"Earned it? How? By disappointing you in bed?"

Now the truth was coming out—at least on her side. I rushed over to her, grasping her upper arms and looking into those giant blue eyes of hers, watery beneath the horn rims.

"You weren't a disappointment. You are wonderful. You are the sexiest, most intelligent woman I know." I devoured her shapely figure with my eyes. "And you have a body made for sex. Unfortunately, I'm not in the business of taking innocent virgins." I bit my tongue, then tried to use all my powers of persuasion to get her to understand without telling her any secrets. It was a tall order.

"Why not?" she asked. "You're a vampire. From what I know of vampires, morality usually doesn't play a role in much of anything they do."

"You wound me," I said with a small smile. "And normally, you're right. But you're special, Penny Smith. Your innocence should be a gift, for someone you really love, who really loves you. This thing with us—it's just lust, pure and simple. You don't love me. And as much as I want to bury myself inside you, I'm afraid I'm probably incapable of loving anyone." Another lie, but by the way she was looking at me, I think it was the right thing to say.

"But, you said something about vampire rules…"

"Yeah. We sort of live by the you break it, you buy it rule. And I made the mistake of letting things go too far between us. I mean, I must be losing my touch. I should have realized, seen the signs. But you bowled me over. I wasn't seeing past those luscious curves of yours."

She blushed furiously, but that didn't stop her from twisting the knife. "Are you saying it's impossible to have a romantic relationship without sex? Why can't we continue on like before?"

I dropped her arms and turned away to walk slowly back to my desk. When I'd decided how to respond, I turned back to her.

"It's impossible for me, I'm afraid. Vampires are sexual creatures. If you and I were to be as close again as we were last night, I don't think I'd be able to resist you, quite honestly. I'm only allotted one act of mercy per decade. And the sixties are about over." I smirked at my own joke.

"Do you still want to work with me though? I won't be too much of a distraction for you?" A hint of sexy vixen crept into her tone along with one raised eyebrow.

I grinned. "Oh, you'll be a distraction, all right. But I stand by my instincts about you. You're a great secretary, and someday, you'll have a secretary of your own. But you don't need to be wasting your time on me when there is someone else out there who deserves you more."

Suddenly, I was rewarded with a warm hug that almost made me change my mind, damn all the repercussions of siring a virgin. I hugged her back, inhaling her sweetness for what I knew might be the last time from this close proximity. I pulled away slightly, and pressed my lips gently to hers.

"Please stay. I already don't know what I'll do without you. God knows Mick found the best girl from the steno pool. And you're off the hook as far as being my freshie goes. For one thing, I don't think I can resist you anymore. One bite, and I'd have you on your back in no time. No, I'd better not take that risk."

She smiled, her tears only enhancing her loveliness. I handed her my handkerchief from my inside jacket pocket, and she dabbed her eyes and nose. "I guess I should thank you," she said, putting a professional distance between us. "For letting me keep my job, along with my virginity. My mother did raise me to save myself for my husband. No offense, but I somehow doubt you are husband material."

I laughed. "Truer words…I'm definitely a confirmed bachelor. And besides, I hate mothers."

She laughed too, and it was like a stake in my chest. I should send her away. Maybe to the San Francisco office, or, better yet, to New York. I normally tried to avoid subjecting myself to torture. I promised myself right then that if it became too unbearable, I'd let her go. Until then, I'd admire her from afar, and enjoy the benefits of having the best secretary in the company. She moved to leave my office, and I marveled at my own strength at resisting her. At the last minute, she turned around, and I was struck anew at her beauty. I wondered if that reaction would ever lessen.

"Thank you for the car. As much as I loved my old MG, the new one is even better. How'd you know I love green?"

"Some things, you just know," I said enigmatically, but her answering smile told me she understood exactly what I meant.

Alone in my office, I sat in my chair, leaning back and propping my feet up on the desk. I felt a fluttery sensation, like I'd just missed out on something wonderful. At least I knew that I could feel for a woman again, that I could see myself falling in love once more. No one would ever replace Sarah, but I no longer felt so dead inside. Metaphorically speaking, that is.

TBC

A/N: You like? Well, please let me know! Please log in before you review, so I can respond to you personally. Those who can't/don't for some reason, I do still appreciate hearing from you no matter what.

Just one more chapter to go on this foray into flashback land. Thanks for staying with me on this one.