Control

Control

Chapter 23: The Barry Grand Hotel

Sophie's P.O.V

"They'll love you so stop worrying." Hal assured as he put his hands on my shoulders stopping me from pacing round the room. I hadn't worked a day in my life so interviewing for a job was completely new to me, what would they ask? Would they like me? And most importantly would I get the job? I don't think I could stay in the house alone for a long time, although Alex could be around I didn't want to make her feel as though she had to stay in the house. "All you have to do is be yourself."

"And if they don't like me?" I mumbled lowering my head slightly; Hal turned me around and lifted my chin making sure I was keeping eye contact with him.

"Well then they are terribly stupid people." He stated kissing me on the forehead and bringing me into a tight a hug. "There is nothing to worry about."

After reassuring me over and over that there was nothing to worry about, even though a couple of months ago the whole supernatural world had nearly been revealed to the world and we had drank blood for the first time in over fifty years and were about to enter back into a life were we'd encounter people who still had non-toxic blood running though their veins. And not to mention it would be my first time in a job for well for nearly six hundred years, I had no skills what so ever to be employable and yet Hal had all the confidence in the world that I would get this job.

"Are you ready?" Hal asked as he held his hand out for me to take so as to lead me out into the hall and downstairs. I took a deep breath, if I had a reflection I would have looked into the mirror to make sure that I looked exceptional, a first impression was essential in anything in the world, whether it was meeting a suitor or bargaining in the market, a good impression lasted on people.

"I think so." I replied taking his hand and setting off into a new experience in my, I guess you could say, undead life. Tom was ready downstairs standing next to the front door with keys in hand, Alex was leaning on the door frame to the living room, she was still getting to grips with the whole ghost business, but she seemed to be handling it very well. The hotel wasn't far from the house, which could be why there had hardly been any business before George, Nina and Mitchell had bought it, who'd want to go to a BnB when there was a hotel nearby? Then again the Barry Grand Hotel was nothing special, I'd much rather pick Honolulu Heights over it.

As we entered the hotel it felt rather odd, as though something was in the hotel, something that wasn't exactly friendly. Maybe it was the presence of an unfriendly ghost, but then again it didn't feel like a ghost, it felt more evil than any spectre I had come across and with Hal there were plenty of angry ghosts of women that he had killed. Maybe if we got the jobs we could find out exactly what was this aura in the hotel.

Hal's P.O.V

Convincing Sophie that the decision had been the right one, even though between Tom and I we could have brought in enough money, had been difficult to say the least. She had been so set on the idea the day before, but then this morning she was nervous, more than she had been facing the Old Ones…then again she had never interviewed in her life, she had never been in a job for six hundred years. At least with the Old Ones she knew what was going to happen, but she had no clue what she would be doing. It was my fault, I'd sheltered her from it all for six hundred years, even through the years we had little money I had never made her help out with money.

"Hal do you sense that?" Sophie asked as we sat down, Tom was called in for his interview Alex had disappeared off somewhere as well leaving the two of us at one of the rather tacky tables in the dining room. What did she mean? There were no werewolves or other vampires around, as I began surveying the room, to see exactly what she was on about I felt it. An evil presence was somewhere in the hotel, it was not a vampire, nor a werewolf not even a ghost maybe it was just the depressiveness of the actual hotel, it was certainly in need of some attention and care.

"Hmm…" I mused as I continued to look around the room before my attention was drawn to one of the waitresses, I could hear her pulse throb beneath her skin. All that blood circulating, that warm blood just there tempting me to taste it.

"Hal!" Sophie whispered sharply grasping my hand bringing me back to reality, if she hadn't have done so I would more than likely have drank the girl dry. I looked back towards her although her eyes seemed to be elsewhere, had Tom re-joined us? No, I couldn't sense him near us, and Alex still hadn't come back. I looked in the direction she was looking and found a man in a suit, the man who had ordered Alex's corpse to be removed. He sat down at the table, why had he come here?

"Lord Hal and Lady Sophie, my name is Mr Rook," he introduced what did he want? He was a human who seemed to know that we were vampires, who had ordered Alex's corpse removed and possibly was the one that ended Cutler's scheme of announcing to the world the existence of vampires and werewolves. "I have a proposition for you both"