Author Note:

Thank you for reading so far. If you liked the previous chapter and this one, you are welcome to leave a review to say what you liked. Enjoy the next chapter :D

...

Her eyes opened suddenly in the gloom. The slight sheen of sweat and fast beating heart of a nightmare.

A strange dream. A strange memory.

Amelia woke up in the early morning hours. The alarm clock on the bedside table read 5:00 am. Her bedroom was bathed in dark shapes that seemed made only of solid shadow. It was still night outside, with only a hint of light coming through the curtains. Perhaps, it was just the artificial glow of the street-lamps that lit the city. Or, was it the first ray of sunrise beginning to penetrate the obscuring night?

This dream had been a restless companion for the past week. It had begun to wane, but this latest episode marked its return.

It was like a real memory from the subconscious, which replayed in the form of dreams. It was this sense of familiarity that bred greater unease. Whereas, nightmares were just strange imaginations, and their terrors died with their end.

She sat cross-legged on her bed, her mind fixed on these thoughts. Her dreams replayed through that night again. A real experience, not merely imagination. But it was a fractured memory with disjointed scenes, as if the cuts and order of events were made not her own will. And so, it was hard to reason where reality ended and wild imagination began. But even so, something felt not right, and she knew it to be unnatural.

When she consciously put her mind to thinking about that night, she did remember some parts. The dream memory always started the same way, just as it had in real life. There had been nothing out of the ordinary… Initially at least.

It was an arts event at the New York public library, held in it's grand and ornate spaces. Marbled halls. Sweeping stairs.

While she studied for a semester in the city, she had undertaken some voluntary work at some libraries and museums including this one. They suited her hobbies, but were also useful additions to her résumé as they complemented her subject and vocation. She had been invited. And it was an opportunity for networking, as well as socialising. She did not go out often.

She still felt overwhelmed by the city. She was not naturally a city-type, nor much of a travelling 'go-getter'. She had never really been quite so far away from home on her own before. Granted, she had been to university in her own country, but it was never more than an hours train journey.

Drawing herself up on the bed, she looked at her window as daylight returned more and more. The curtains were drawn, allowing only a dull half-smothered light, and yet it was reassuring. It was a comfort to the unsettled thoughts of her dreams. And yet still they lingered, and the lack of clarity confused her.

The unsettling scene that provoked her disturbance?

Later on that night she been to the bathrooms, and then been wandering to escape to more quieter areas. She passed a corner; then a dimly-lit corridor half bathed in shadow. She saw a man and a woman, but the woman was strangely still in his arms. Kisses on her throat. Perhaps, she may have felt blushing embarrassment at stumbling upon the intimacy of others. But that had not been all there was to it. It was an intimacy that seemed more violation than consensual. And something stranger which disturbed her.

Skin so unwholesome white, like the grey ashen shade of a corpse. And his movement, the arch of the neck; lick of the tongue across red wet lips. A subtle motion as he leaned over a hapless victim. More like the languor of a predatory animal satisfied by its triumph and about to slake its hunger, than simple human intimacy.

Cold had hit her like a lightening fear.

And she diminished in silence. Too unnerved to linger. Something of that inhuman figure frightened her. She went with the nervous feeling of hunted prey, hoping dearly to evade the notice of a predator. She had a nervous energy ready to uncoil like a spring at a moments notice. On edge with adrenaline for when the anticipated; inevitable pursuit came…

She walked away with wariness. A dreadful slowness. It felt like an age to make a reassuring distance, time almost slowed, and she dared not to move nor breathe should the creature notice her. But almost as soon as relief started to wash through her as she slipped back around a corner, she walked into something. On edge. Highly-strung. She could have screamed.

Yes… there was him to think about as well. And in many ways, her thoughts dwelled more on him, than what had scared her. But her memory felt strangely vague. Yet at the same time remained clear as day.

She might have felt reassured by the presence of a man who seemed to give protection. He had reassured her; offered her safety. So it seemed. Fair-haired. Dark-colour suit that seemed expensive. His skin was so pale; and eyes were a clear grey. He had a handsome face. Given this, it was understandable to be fascinated by him, and that she was. After all, this dream or memory lingered not just as a nightmare, but because this intriguing figure that was hard to forget.

But those grey eyes were frightening. They seemed to reach into the soul. At points, she felt as if they had a cold grasp upon her. Something in his gaze and disposition gave her an uneasy feeling, as much as it fascinated her.

The very first time she encountered him was the most certain memory. Perhaps it was the sensory stimuli of touch - she had walked right into him. He felt cool… Though, rationally, she knew there was no sense in dwelling on that. She wasn't touching him skin on skin to be sure. But, there was something almost reminiscent of the other that chilled her to the bone. That same uncanny feeling. Although, this dissipated a little as he spoke to her. And she had the memory of his voice almost a velvet touch upon her skin. There was something to him. She couldn't help but think of him over the last few days since that night. She had a certain perception for the strange. The sense for it came to her every now and then. And this was such an occasion.

What happened then? This she wondered. She remembered a little of the rest. Some of it was vivid. Some of it was vague. Maybe, it was all just a dream. But this could not true. It had been a real event; a real night - hadn't it?

She glanced at the alarm clock again. An hour had passed! How deep in these thoughts she must have been. She let herself fall back down on the bed with a sigh. It was still early, yet not enough for it to be worthwhile to go back to sleep. The time would be spent in more valuable ways than in her bed. Normally, Amelia wasn't really one for mornings. She preferred the night. The romance of its black hours. However, now she had reason to feel ill at ease, and she was nervous of lingering alone in it. Sometimes, such strange and dangerous characters were abroad at night.

...

Later that day, Amelia went to the university library. She had pulled herself together after hanging around in her room for a couple of hours. Some of her motivation was to seek a distraction. Doing some work on her reflective portfolio was a useful objective. And would, she hoped, occupy her mind enough for a few hours.

The library was designed in late nineteenth century renaissance revival, and was the second of the two main libraries. It was primarily dedicated to art, design, architecture and information science. The latter of which was her subject. However, being of a creative disposition, and given that her undergraduate degree had focused on historical studies including art history, she sometimes looked the art and design collections. She loved the impressive setting of that library. She would miss it.

She had been in New York for one semester as an exchange student. But, as she had recently completed final assignments here, she would be returning home within a few weeks. And soon, all her graduate studies would be complete, save for putting the finishing touches to her reflective portfolio. That wouldn't take too long. She had worked on it all year, and so it was largely a matter of completing the final draft. Otherwise, she only had to wait for her results and hopefully she would pass. As she knew the majority of her module grades, save for the reflective portfolio, she could calculate a pretty good estimate of her classification. The majority of her results were fairly high. All her assignments in New York had been graded with at least a 3.5 GPA. Her performance at her home institution in the UK was similar. Perhaps not the very top of the class - she wouldn't be a "Valedictorian", had that been a tradition at British universities. But her results were consistently high and respectable, and it looked like she was on the right course. She sometimes put overly hard expectations upon herself, particularly in comparison to others whom she admired, or perceived to be superior in certain ways to herself. But this simply stifled her own ambitions and potential in negativity and self-doubt.

She was on one of the lower floors at the library. Taking up a desk hidden among the stacks in an obscure corner. It was one of those areas that had quite a few weird and wonderful volumes, some quite old, and one particular row of shelves seemed dedicated to all manner of well-known and obscure gothic and occult tomes. It added to the slightly creepy ambiance of this darker and quite silent area. She liked that… Or, would have under normal circumstances. Actually, it made her feel a little weird. A strange synchronicity, given her persistent dream and recent memories.

She did work for few hours. She could see a chink of outside light through the window, which was at the very end of the long rows of shelving. She'd chosen this position because seeing it was reassuring. Usually, it wouldn't have bothered her, but she was still a bit wary. There were golden tones of the sun getting low in the sky. It would soon set. Sighing, she put the lid on her pen and dropped it back into her stationary case. And then everything, papers, notebook and all, went into her bag. She was going to go home, but decided that she might stop by the cafe first. On the way out, she went past the gothic shelves.

One particular book was emblazoned "VAMPYRES" in garish blood-red letters down its thick spine. Generally, it made her smile each time that it caught her eye. But today it was more of a morbid curiosity. Why was it interesting? She'd read plenty of books like that before… but she picked it up on a whim. There might not be another opportunity to look at it.

After leaving, she crossed the main campus quadrangle, and was at the cafe which had become her preferred haunt. The ambience and setting were stylish, but laid back; without the pretension that some places aimed at the young easily slipped into. The food and coffee were both pretty good, and perhaps more importantly, had reasonable prices.

She was sitting in a cosy corner of the banquette seating booths. It had an upholstery of smooth tan leather, with just enough wear and lived-in feel to be stylish and luxurious. Whereas, something synthetic would fray and peel, rather than take on that handsome wear of the genuine article. It was easy to want to touch that luxuriant fabric. She did love good interior design and quality materials.

Taking a sip of coffee, her thoughts drifted back to this morning's dream. It continued to linger. There was more to it than just… that… man? That thing? What he - it - was doing? She'd only had a few seconds glimpse, and remained unsure. Perhaps, her imagination had built it up into more than it was. And yet, that night she had been genuinely disturbed, and this couldn't be easily dismissed. Then about the blonde man… his presence intrigued her, though it also piqued her intuition with an uncertain fear. But, more than this, it was what he had said to her. This replayed in her head, as if the memory was progressively returning to clarity again.

She recalled flashes of memory. Of him guiding her away from the scene. Of inviting to take her home. Of being in the limousine. Black leather seats, the material crisp quality under her fingers. He sat beside her, though there was a comfortable distance between them. The interior was dim; the shadows cast the angles of his face in relief. His eyes seemed almost luminescent.

Watching the streets roll by. Nearly home…

"We won't be too long, I imagine," he glanced through the windows. She could see his grey eyes survey the passing scenes, though his interest and manner was aloof; above the fray. His handsome profile was illuminated by the lights outside.

"What is your name?" He turned his attention to her again, and his voice seemed almost soft.

"Amelia."

She couldn't remember if he'd told her who he was. She still didn't know that…

He'd asked her what she'd seen, of course. And, she could only tell him about it in vague ways, because she didn't understand the exact truth of it. She felt like he had got more out of her, than she herself could now remember. She was still a little hazy on details. Sometimes, it seemed like the conversation lasted a long time. At others, it felt like it had been so brief.

He asked her about herself, prompted perhaps by what she was doing at that event in the first place.

"Well, I volunteer at the library. Just for the semester I've been here. I'm an exchange student…" She may have gone into more details about what her study area and professional training was, but she wasn't sure.

"I see. You are from England, yes?" He looked at her in a way that gave the impression of knowing the obvious answer. "You will be returning home soon then."

"Yes. I'll have finished at university at home too. In a couple of months anyway."

"What plans do you have then?" He seemed to make smalltalk with her, which usually she found awkward. But with him, she remembered it as feeling easy.

Her eyes dropped and she picked at her skirt, "… I haven't secured a work position yet, I'm still looking at the moment. There might be a couple of opportunities that have potential. I haven't decided yet."

The car slowed to a stop. She was about to go home, and part ways with him.

"Well, I wish you success then. You will find something." He sounded so sure. She wished to have that sort of assuredness in herself. "In fact, I might know an opportunity that would suit you. I'll keep you in mind." His expression was still fairly aloof, but his voice was soft and inviting, "until then…"

"Would you like another coffee?" Amelia was jolted out of her daydream. She'd been staring into space for a long time, and she almost jumped when the waitress interrupted.

"Oh, sorry. Erm, no it's ok. I'm fine, thanks." She shook her head; smiled almost forcefully. She relaxed her hands when she realised that she'd been gripping onto the table edge.

The waitress went away. Amelia sighed, feeling her pulse gradually return back to normal. She gathered her previous thoughts again. Did he really say that he might know an opportunity suitable for her? That he'd keep her in mind? She couldn't quite sort the real from the imagined. Yet, it seemed more the former than the latter.

But how could she ever be in contact with him again? She didn't even remember who he was. Was he real, and not a figment of her imagination? She thought hard, in fact her brows furrowed from effort, as she tried to find a name hidden somewhere in her mind. Did he have her details? One weird coincidence happened when she had checked her business cards stack yesterday. She felt almost foolish having something like that, but she'd designed it as a little graphic design project for herself. It was useful after all. And, given that she was at a university primary known for design and applied arts, she might as well take advantage of facilities… She was sure that she'd had 6 printed. She had checked several times, but one was missing. Had she given it to him? That meant the whole thing was real - he was real - and not all a dream.

Naturally over the last few weeks, her mind had turned to thinking about jobs. She had registered at agencies, and had membership of the professional association specialising in her field. But, she had yet to finalise anything so far. Some opportunities required greater experience than she currently possessed. Perhaps, another internship or a temporary contract might be favourable to her, and both were likely scenarios to arise.

Thinking about this made her a little nervous. Sighing, she looked out of the window. The skyline of skyscraper sepulchres to power, wealth and commerce. The sky itself had dull clouds full of rain. She should have brought her coat…

Previously when she had graduated from her BA, she had not been particularly successful in securing graduate employment or training schemes. This was largely due to a lack of confidence and self-doubt, rather than actual inferiority. There had been many options. And, like the feeling of this city, she'd felt overwhelmed. Like she didn't measure up to others. She hadn't really been sure what to do with herself. There had been a year between her BA graduation and starting her MSc. During that time, she had secured volunteering and temporary work here and there, and sometimes unemployment benefit, which she found slightly humiliating. But, it had added to her work experience and resilience. Sometimes struggle was necessary. She did have the ability and potential. She was the type of personality motivated by achievement. All she had needed was a goal.

So, she applied to go to graduate school. Amelia was essentially a librarian or an archivist, although she might refer to herself as an information management specialist. Given her concern for career prospects, she decided against studying librarianship or archives qualifications, at least in their traditional form. Those vocations tended to have a dearth of vacancies, rather than a surplus. So, she'd chosen her programme because it was mainly concerned with specialised forms of information management, and skills in information technology. One of her specialisms was corporate business information management - hence her internship at the LaCroix Foundation. She still had historical interests, and also had training in archives, records and special collections - antiquarian books; manuscripts; curation and preservation, that sort of thing. She would have enjoyed interning at one of the major museums, galleries, libraries or archives in London, but she already had a good amount of volunteering for those. And besides, jobs in those sectors tended to be rare. She had lacked professional experience in a corporate environment, so the internship at LaCroix rectified that. It was just simple pragmatics. Still, she wasn't sure if multinational corporations would suit her, but she could benefit from the experience and skills. In a similar way, she hadn't necessarily had a great desire to study in London - nor do her study abroad in New York for that matter. She was not really a big city person, but she didn't ind the experience. Her graduate programme was one of the best. Because it was in London, good opportunities were more numerous, and her university was known for professional training and industry connections. She could manage it for the 18-month length of her course. And as for New York, she'd be back at home soon… but perhaps only temporarily.

A couple of mornings ago, she received an interesting offer. At the time, she had been packing her belongings - she had no more studies, and her tenancy contract ended soon. She wanted to get everything organised in advance, rather than last minute.

It was an email from Matthew Hofer, a manager at the LaCroix Foundation London offices.

[Subject: An Enquiry]

Miss Amelia Siddall,

It was nice meeting you again last week. I have been asked to forward an enquiry for your attention. As you are aware, it is not unusual for an offer of employment to be made to successful participants of our internship programmes.

However, this position is slightly different to what is typically offered. The CEO would like to recruit a new personal assistant to join his private staff, specifically someone of your qualifications and experience for projects that need attention. As the organisation is currently expanding in Los Angeles, there is much work to do in this regard.

I have attached further details for you to read. Please, do not hesitate to respond and ask questions. If you are interested, we can discuss further.

Sincerely,

Matthew Hofer.

She had stared at this email; rereading it over and over. Hofer was fairly senior and she rarely saw him, although he had been on an interview panel. Actually, when she thought about it, she couldn't think of ever seeing him except in the very late afternoons or evenings. He was interesting, if somewhat unusual. Strangely, some employees in his department seemed to follow a certain pattern… But anyway, he was in New York too at the moment. In fact, he had spoken to her a little at that event last week, which had been the setting for the strange dreams. Coincidentally, ever since the day she got this email, she started dreaming about it again.

The vacancy was based in New York, and she was a little intimidated by the details. She had considered private staff positions, but did not expect to obtain anything for someone like Sebastian LaCroix, the CEO of the LaCroix Foundation. She was unsure if she would really be qualified for it. This must be an error! Or, perhaps not. She had interned at the LaCroix Foundation. She did have suitable qualifications… But this could not wholly justify it. Why would she be chosen to work for the CEO himself? Her only real professional experience was that internship! Plus, a couple of short work placements at the faculty of arts office and special collections library. She was puzzled by this. Wouldn't she need greater secretarial and PA experience, neither of which she had? But, in spite of her doubts, she had sent a reply expressing interest, and curiosity for further details.

[Subject: RE: An Enquiry]

Thank you for your email. I have read the attachments kindly given by you, and I am very interested. However, I would like further details and clarity regarding the duties and responsibilities, if that is ok.

I have been in New York as an exchange student, as part of my graduate programme, MSc Information Management at 'University of —, London'. I have completed studies, and will be graduating shortly with a forecasted classification of merit (GPA 3.7). I have completed a portfolio for my degree module projects, which I can also send to you, if that would be useful.

For reference, please find attached my updated CV.

Kind regards,

Amelia Siddall

That was just under a week ago. And since then there had been further correspondence; a meeting and she'd spoken to one of LaCroix's PAs on the phone. She had been made the offer.

Apart from her dreams, she mainly thought about whether or not to accept. She had a weird feeling of synchronicity, like there was a relationship between this and her dreams about that man. She wondered if… no. Maybe?

There still caution with which she considered the offer, but she felt drawn to agreement. It was as if a sense of fate push her to it.

It was a temporary situation for a few months. The salary was very decent, and included accommodation expenses. The prestige alone was surely an attraction. She supposed she didn't have a real reason to refuse. She was reluctant to be permanently far away from home, but as it was temporary… Apart from that, she didn't have any serious ties or commitments to prevent her. She had some university friends, but she felt the closeness ebbing away. And she had no romantic prospects either. Actually… she'd begun to feel slightly more ill at ease with that than she had before. As teenager she was a shy, bookish girl; sheltered and more focused on her educational goals than sex or romance. But at twenty three, it would be nice to make consideration for both… But why did she think of this? It wasn't relevant. She sipped the last of her coffee. It was almost too cold to enjoy now, and only the milk froth remained.

She got home slightly wet by rain. And then thought about the offer more. She needed to make a decision. And eventually, she typed a response in acceptance. After a pause, she shut her eyes and clicked *send*. A sense of relief and trepidation.

The next evening, she received an email.

[Subject: RE: An Offer]

Dear Miss Amelia Siddall,

My associates have notified me of your interest following your correspondence and meetings. I am pleased by your acceptance, and confirm that you have successfully secured the position. You will report directly to myself, but will work with my personal staff and report to them for day-to-day matters on my behalf. We can discuss your exact start date. However, I would prefer that you start within the month.

An official offer letter will be sent to you shortly, with the specific details and terms, for your benefit. Please return a signed copy as soon as possible.

I look forward to meeting you. And please, do not hesitate to contact myself or my PA, should you have any questions.

Yours sincerely,

Sebastian LaCroix