"I agree with Cora Lee," Vanda said. "Number one should be rich. Number two—a handsome face."
"Let me make this clear," Darcy warned them. "The qualifications you pick will determine what sort of master you end up with. So, you might want to consider intelligence, honesty, dependability—"
"Boring," Vanda yawned. "I vote for rich and handsome."
"I agree." Lady Pamela wrote number one and two on the legal pad. "Wealth and good looks are essential."
Darcy sighed. "What about kindness?"
"Fiddlesticks," Cora Lee said. "He could be as kind as a saint, but if he has the face of a mule, I won't be able to abide him."
"That is truly spoken." Princess Joanna motioned toward the pad of paper. "Number one must be wealth. Number two—fair of face."
Darcy groaned inwardly, but refrained from interfering. After all, this was their master they were picking out.
"Excellent." Lady Pamela wrote down their decision. "Now, for number three, I propose good manners. Someone who knows how to behave in polite society and address us by the proper title."
"I agree," Princess Joanna announced. "For number four, he should have the voice of a troubadour and be able to charm a lady with fine words."
"Oh, I like that." Cora Lee nodded, her blond ringlets bouncing. "And he must be well-groomed. A sharp dresser."
"Indeed." Lady Pamela added those to her list.
"And he should be a very good dancer," Cora Lee added.
"And a good lover," Vanda said, grinning. "He should know how to please us."
"Posh," Lady Pamela scoffed. "I have no intention of involving myself physically with any man."
"Fine," Vanda muttered. "But we'd better make sure he likes women and does vampire sex well. And he should have a gorgeous body. We'll have to look at him for centuries."
Darcy was ready to scream. Whatever happened to intelligence, honesty, or dependability? "You seem to be doing very well, so I'll leave you to it." She hurried from the room before her frustration could explode. Their ideal man was a fast-talking, well-dressed troubadour who could dance and do vampire sex? Ugh.
She headed toward the break room, which was located by the recording studios in the back. As she rounded a corner, she ran into Gregori. "Hi." She nodded at his companion. "Simone."
"Bonsoir," Simone replied with a smug smile. It was little wonder that Simone had become a famous fashion model for she was stunning. Tall, dangerously thin, with almond-shaped brown eyes and long black hair, she was dressed in her signature outfit—a slinky black catsuit with a rhinestone-studded belt.
"Simone just teleported in from Paris," Gregori explained. "We're starting work tonight on an exercise DVD."
"How interesting," Darcy murmured politely.
"It was Roman's idea," Gregori continued. "Since modern-day Vamps no longer bite, he was worried we could lose our fangs from disuse."
"Ah." Darcy nodded. "Mustn't have those fangs falling out." But wouldn't that be a good thing?
"I will be zhe star of zhe DVD," Simone announced. She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "We are waiting for zhe famous director from Milan, Giovanni Bellini. Naturellement, I only work wiz zhe best."
"Naturally." Darcy nodded.
Right on cue, a small man in rumpled clothing and a black beret came sauntering around the corner.
"Ah, bellissima! There you are, as beautiful as ever." He kissed Simone on each cheek.
"Signor Bellini, this is Gregori." Simone hesitated as she looked at Darcy. "And I forget zhis one's name, but it is not important."
"Thanks." She gritted her teeth. "I'm Darcy."
Giovanni nodded at her, then turned back to Simone. "Bellissima, this will be the greatest vampire film of all time. I envision doing certain pivotal parts in black and white to signify the bleak despair of the modern age."
Gregori cleared his throat. "Mr. Bellini, it's just an exercise program for our fangs."
Giovanni stepped back, pressing a hand to his chest. "Even exercise can be portrayed as fine art. Imagine the conflict. Man versus his own corrupt, indolent nature. Come, bellissima. " He escorted her into the studio.
Gregori winced. "I shouldn't have hired him, but Simone insisted."
"You mean bellissima?" Darcy patted him on the shoulder, smiling. "Good luck."
"Yeah, I'll need it." Gregori trudged into the studio and closed the door. The red light came on.
Darcy hurried back to her office. She opened the door and froze.
Adam Olaf Cartwright was sitting at her desk.
CHAPTER 9
He looked up and smiled. "Hello, Darcy."
Her heart hammered in her chest. Wasn't her world crazy enough without this man turning it topsyturvy?
As she closed the door, she wondered why he was sitting at her desk. Had he looked through her papers? She turned back to face him. He was still smiling. If he had snooped through her things, he didn't look embarrassed about it. Besides, why would Adam be interested in contracts with caterers or limousine rental agencies?
And why did she react this way every time she saw him? Her heart was racing, but everything else seemed to slow down. She noticed every little delicious detail about him. And there was a good tensecond delay in all her responses because her brain was refusing to work properly. At this rate, he would think she was a moron. "Good evening."
He stood and rounded the desk. "Sorry to take your chair, but the others are occupied." He gestured toward the chairs facing her desk. Two packages, wrapped in brown paper and twine, sat in each chair.
"They're portraits," he explained before she could even ask. "I just came from having mine done.
Fred is actually very good." Adam grinned, displaying his dimples at their deepest. "You gotta admit, Fred is an unusual name for an artist."
Unusual for a vampire, too, Darcy thought wryly. She tried to ignore her reaction to Adam, but it was hard to do when her heart was dangerously close to exploding in her chest. And all because of a pair of dimples and turquoise eyes. She wondered if Fred had managed to do him justice. "Is one of these yours?"
"No, mine was still a little wet."
Oh yeah, a little wet. She could relate to that.
"Fred said these four were finished," Adam continued. "He was too busy to bring them here, so I offered to do it for him."
"You really didn't need to do that."
"Oh, but I did." A corner of his mouth quirked up. "It gave me the perfect excuse to see you again."
Her heart thumped louder in her chest.
"And then tomorrow, when my portrait is dry, I'll have another reason to drop by and see you. A clever strategy, don't you think?" His left dimple deepened.
She gulped. He was gorgeous. Fair of face with a sexy voice like a troubadour. Sheesh, he was a perfect match for the list the ex-harem ladies were making. Maybe they were on to something after all.
He sat on the edge of her desk. "So, how was your weekend?"
She stiffened, recalling how Shanna's father had almost ruined her wedding. Surely Adam had had nothing to do with it. "I went to a wedding." She watched him closely for a reaction.
He narrowed his eyes as if trying to remember, then nodded. "Right. Your friends, Raoul and
Sherry. How'd it go?"
Darcy exhaled in relief. How could he have told anyone when he couldn't even remember the names correctly? "It was fine."
"Good." He glanced away. His jaw shifted slightly, and she wondered if he was grinding his teeth.
Suddenly, he gifted her with one of his fabulous dimpled smiles. "So where are they going on their honeymoon? What's the popular place these days?"