A Taste Of A Vampire

“Come in,” a woman’s voice called out.

Claire turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, closing it firmly behind her as she gave her boss a serious look.

“Jill, I hope you have a free minute,” she said breathlessly.

Her boss faced her and looked up at her from her desk. Jill Wilson was a Manhattan power attorney. She was dressed in a crisp suit with a short and tidy haircut. Her red hair was streaked with silver that counted the time she had spent pushing and working hard to get to the corner office looking over the vast reaches of the teeming city below her.

“What is it?” Jill asked, her clear blue eyes running up and down Claire once to check that she was all right.

“I need to talk,” Claire said, pushing herself away from the door and closing the distance between herself and Jill. She sank down into one of the two seats before Jill’s desk and handed the file to her.

Jill eyed her carefully and took it, opening it up and perusing the documents and image inside of it. A minute later she looked back up at Claire. “What is this?”

Claire leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees. “It’s mine. I guess. I called Colin Dent and he just told me that I’ve inherited all of that from some cousin I’ve never heard of and didn’t even know existed. I guess he passed away, and now I’m the only living heir left. The whole thing is mine, along with a title of nobility, and some money.”

Jill’s mouth fell open and her gasp turned into a laugh. A grin began to form over her face as she looked back down at the image and the detailed document about the property. “Well, congratulations! That’s wonderful!” she exclaimed with delight. “Who would have ever thought…” She shook her head slightly as she laughed and flipped through the pages.

“Well certainly not me, for one!” Claire answered her.

Jill looked up at her and the grin faded slightly at the corners of her mouth. “You… aren’t happy about this?” she asked cautiously.

Claire’s eyebrows went up as did the palms of her hands in exasperation. “I don’t know! I wasn’t expecting this! I have no idea what to do with this. I can’t take any of this on. I’m… I’m busy! I have a life here in Manhattan! I have an amazing career! I’ve worked my fingers to the bone to get this position and keep it. I have a gorgeous apartment on 5^th Avenue. I just got out of a relationship and now I’m free and independent. I can’t just uproot my life and go to England! I don’t even drink tea! I can’t… I can’t…” she stammered. “What in the hell am I going to do with that?”

With a half-smile, Jill leaned forward and set the file on the top of her desk, folding her fingers together. “What’s your title?” she asked interestedly.

With a shake of her head, Claire rolled her eyes. “Lady… I guess. Mr. Dent said I was ‘Lady Claire Everett.’ Jill… this isn’t my life, this isn’t who I am! What am I going to do with that?”

Jill leaned back against her chair and lowered her eyelids thoughtfully. “What indeed… So, you don’t want any of this?”

Claire shook her head dejectedly. “No, of course not! Mr. Dent wants me to go to the UK to go see it before I make up my mind.”

Tapping her fingertips on the arms of her chair, Jill tilted her head a little and set her eyes on Claire. “You should go. Definitely. Go to the UK and see the place, and then make up your mind about what you’re going to do with it all. Claire, you’re an investment advisor for God’s sake. Look at this as a gain. You could sell it if nothing else, and I’m guessing you could get quite a pretty penny, or pound, for the whole thing. Take the money from the sale of it and put that somewhere else. It’s an incredible situation, Claire. Don’t be quite so fast to turn away from it and push it aside. You have a singular opportunity here. Consider it carefully before you make any decisions about it.”

Claire nodded and sat back in her seat, rubbing her fingertips over her forehead.

“Look, you have quite a bit of personal time and vacation time stacked up; you never go anywhere and do anything. You’re one of the hardest working advisors in this firm. Why don’t you take some time, go to the UK, and go check this place out? You could do a lot with it. You could turn it into an investment property, maybe rent it out, or you could sell it all. Does the title go with it if you sell it?” Jill asked with piqued interest.

Claire waved her hand dismissively. “I have no idea. I guess the whole thing has been in my family for generations. I don’t know if the title just ends or if I can sell it or what. I don’t know how they handle that kind of thing. I guess I’ll find out though.”

“So, you’re going to go see it then?” Jill asked, leaning forward and doing nothing at all to hide the excitement she obviously felt about the situation. “I think you should. I really do.”

With a nod, Claire stood up and Jill carefully slid all the paperwork and the image back into the file again, handing it to her. “I guess I will. I do have the time, and there’s not really any getting out of it; it is mine. I have to do something with it. I guess I’ll go see it and then decide what to do with it. I do like your idea of selling it, though. Maybe for someone else it could be a dream home.”

Jill gave her a big smile. “Maybe so. Good luck with it. Leave anytime you want, and let me know how it all goes. Have Jenna bring me anything that you’re working on and I’ll take care of it while you’re gone.”