Enough is Enough
(A/N: This chapter is very short... I know, and I apologize, lovelies. In case you were wondering, the word of the day is 'escalation.' Oh yes, you heard me right. Last chapter's word, by the way, was 'misunderstanding.' What we have here, with Charlie and Josef, is a failure to communicate. I don't know what movie I stole that line from, but I'm certain I did not come up with it. :) Next chapter's word is 'abscond,' in case you were wondering. Make of that what you will, lovlies. Also, just an aside, don't throw things... It never ends well.)
The very second that Josef arrived at his office, he sighed deeply. He removed his suitcoat and draped it over the back of his desk chair. He'd never tried to be polite to someone beyond basic courtesy, and he found it didn't agree with him at all. All of this deferring to Charlie was, in point of fact, down right taxing. It physically tired him to watch her flit around the house and not be able to do a damn thing about it.
He leaned back in his chair. Staring off into the distance, he decided he could get a few things done before having a drink. He went through several memos and all 124 emails quickly. Most, luckily, didn't require replies.
Paging his secretary, he asked her to send his freshie, Madison, this afternoon. He had refrained from drinking from anything but glasses in front of Charlie, but he didn't restrict himself to glasses at the office. There were plenty of willing donors, and he much preferred the taste, naturally.
And it helped that Madison was one of his most willing, shall we say, donors. It made it easier to relax if his freshie was calm.
Madison walked in confidently, just as she usually did. Petite and brunette, she sat down on his couch. Looking at him assertively, she removed her black blazer, and she began to unbutton her shirt. Not at the wrist where he usually fed, but at the neck. It was a white shirt, and she pulled it off her shoulder, showing her pale blue bra strap, which she also slid down.
Josef looked at her speculatively.
She simply looked at him under her lashes, and smiled suggestively.
His teeth came down, and Madison tilted her head back. Josef pulled her to her feet, and kissed her neck lightly. When he bit down, she sighed his name loudly.
He was thinking of the blood. Completely concentrating on the blood actually. It's never really a good idea to lose your self awareness, and as fate would have it, Charlie opened the door at this moment.
She just stood there, frozen for a moment in stunned silence.
Josef still had not noticed her presence, but then the air shifted, and he smelled her.
He raised his head from Madison's neck, fangs still wet with blood. His eyes were white, and noticeably glazed.
Charlie was frozen in place. Hyper aware. She took in every minute detail of the room. Like the way that the girl's hands roamed over Josef's body possessively. The way the girl bit her lip in ecstacy. The way that Josef did not pull his body away from hers.
Without a word, Charlie turned on her heel and walked out, leaving the office door wide open.
That sharply executed action finally woke Josef out of his stupor. He extricated himself from Madison's grasping fingers.
Running to the door, he called behind him, toward Madison, "You are dismissed."
Madison looked up in confusion, still not quite sure what had just happened. She stood up and walked past Josef out of the office with what little dignity she could, and as thus without a word.
He stood at the door, looking out for another long moment.
He grappled with whether or not to go after Charlie, but he assumed she would want a moment to mull over what she'd seen. He had rarely watched other vampires feed, but he was certain there was an element of violence to it. Naturally it would bring back her memories, fuzzy though they were, of being attacked and subsequently turned. After she calmed down, she would recall watching Josef and realize that the scene was really not violent at all.
Perhaps he'd been wrong to not initiate her earlier into the act of feeding from humans. Certainly this would have been no surprise to Charlie had she previously encountered it.
Once more, he paged his secretary, this time asking that a male freshie be sent to his home tomorrow night. If she was surprised, his secretary wisely said nothing.
The rest of Josef's work day passed uneventfully.
When he arrived home, Charlie was quiet but polite. And Josef wrongly assumed that the worst was indeed over.
Enough is Enough by Eli Young Band
Another empty promise I can't lean on you
Good intentions from the start
You failed to mention
Love would be this hard
I'm tired of talking
Don't have nothing left to say
Maybe sometime
We'll sift through the ashes one day
Can't count on you
It doesn't add up
I see we're through
And the truth is pretty sober
This is going no where
Enough is enough