All the world's indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another's audience
Outside the gilded cage
Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Tara had a strong desire to wallop the pompous smirk off Charlie's handsome face. How dare he ask such a self-serving question, she thought.
What I do in my free time is my own damn business.
She paused, but only for a moment, and then strategically shifted her gaze from impish Charlie to cool Eric and she was instantly able to gather her thoughts.
"I've always worked nights at all of my previous jobs, so I didn't have time to visit this fine establishment, although I certainly wanted too."
You go, girl!
Tara let out another deep breath of relief, as she did; she noticed Eric's eyes lowered from her seeking gaze down to her ample breast. His gazes lingered upon the rise and fall of her perky bosoms; He had the most tasteful dirty grin on his stunningly chiseled face. The young woman's cheeks began to warm with a sensation that was new to her; his gaze held such influence; most people would be intimidated by this. Most would wilt under such a stare. But not Tara, she was a master at keeping her cool.
"May I suggest auditioning for the exotic dancer position?" Charlie proposed while admiring her lovely curves; he was certain that she could give the current dancers something to aspire for. "I think you'd fit in perfectly." Charlie pictured her as a vampire, fangs extended, topless, and skillfully dancing in nothing but wet leather boy-shorts and thigh-high boots.
"I'll have to decline that offer." A slow smile crossed her lips; she was too flattered to be offended. "I'm here for the bartending position; if that's not available, I'm willing to waitress."
"Would you be willing to do some promotional modeling for the business?" Chris asked while imagining her dressed as a Victoria Secrets runway model, instead of white wings hers are black, and her panties are red-lace and leave very little to the imagination. He'd be the photographer in a private session with just the two of them.
"That would depend on the subject matter," Tara replied with a slow thoughtful nod. Again, she had to look away from the vampire, his eyes still resting on her like she was a shot of single malt. His stare was as uncomfortable as a chorus-girl's corset. "I won't model topless, nude, or with tobacco or alcohol products. I know this is a bar, but I don't want my image to be associated with those sorts of things." She tucked long dark hair behind ears and crossed shapely legs. "Other than that, I suppose modeling would be okay."
"Out of all the jobs you've held, what was your worst?" Eric questioned, smiling and inclining his head, eagerly waiting for a response.
Well, this is certainly the worse interview I've held.
"My first job, I was 17 and working at Fun House Pizza. The first night a kid ate a bunch of pizza, jumped up and down and all around in the bouncy balls and threw up all over the place. I had to clean it all up." The giggle finally emerged and she concluded. "I couldn't eat pizza for 3 years after that."
Eric nodded silently, it was a difficult task staying focused, such vivid images of Tara cascaded in his mind. She was in his home office, dressed in nothing but a white off the shoulder, sweater. Instead of sitting primly in the office chair, her toned, yet curvaceous form is provocatively splayed across his black leather sofa, her sweet cinnamon eyes meet his, suggestively, watching him as his sea-blue eyes roam all over her and linger on her smooth, mahogany legs.
"What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?" Eric asked, needing to know more.
Confusion reigned in Tara, she'd never been asked this question before, as a matter of fact, she'd never been asked any of the questions they were asking.
"Well my mother gives the best advice," she started, deep in thought, and then finished, "Never change who you are for someone else. And never doubt myself. Her exact words: You don't tell yourself no. Let other people tell you no."
He gazed so intently at each divot of her lips as if it could map out ancient seas and find the true north. He watched her like she had the stars in her hands and soft petals at her feet. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let go.
"Would you consider becoming my personal assistant?" Eric asked.
The way he said the word 'my personal' was very suggestive, slow and deliberate; his raspy voice was smooth like a glass surface. Dirty grins were now plastered across the vampires' faces, as they waited for a response. For Eric, the excitement wired his body like he was plugged into the mains. He felt like his brain was on fast-forward and there was no off switch.
No longer able to hide it, Tara wore a puzzled expression.
"I-I uh...I thought I was interviewing for the bartending position?"
The woman, disregarding his silent salutation, continued to stare at him wild-eyed, as a damned soul in purgatory might look at Satan. It wasn't just the cool blue eyes; it was the intelligence behind them that did it. For Eric, staring into her eyes gave him a thrill that was hard to get another way.
The two were enthralled in such a heated gaze, they did not notice Chris and Charlie exit the room.
Eric found himself attracted to her with the kind of heady trance that brings a butterfly to nectar. She was just the right blend of shy and sweet, nothing like the women he'd grown accustomed to meeting. She was like a breath of fresh air - like a refreshing drink of cool water after hours in a desert. She made him feel again.
"Look, I know ya'll don't get much chocolate around here." She stated, thinking back to the last time she was there. She was the only dark-skinned woman among a sea of pale, thin blondes, "but let's get this straight, I am not here to strip, fuck or be bitten." She was certain that her molasses colored body, toffee eyes, and rosewood lips were the reason the vampires were shamefully flirting with her.
"It is not the color of your skin, hair or eyes that draw me to you, Tara Thornton. So though it is your beauty that I look upon and admire, know that the attraction runs deep at my core. I don't do superficial, I never did."
Eric's eyes were mesmerizing, they grabbed deep inside of her and when he said those words, it was as if her brain had been reprogrammed and overridden. It was as if all her previous interests had been deleted and replaced with the image of his face and the sound of his voice. There is something about Eric and Tara that matches.
Eric was used to seeing his applicants appear ill-at-ease in their interview suits, but this young woman wore it like a second skin. Before each question she paused, head tilted to one side just a smidgen, and then she delivered an articulate answer. A few years ago she must have been a girl, the apple of her father's eye and giving her mother a hard time. Her long dark hair flowed like waves past her shoulders and her makeup was well applied. Her skin had a honeyed glow and her lips were crimson and plump. Doubtless, she'd been waiting a while to step out as her own person, to be the boss of herself. She didn't know it yet, but she was hired. The other interviews he had scheduled were just a formality now.