Antecedent Read online

"Name your price," he said. Was this guy for real? I'd been making a little above minimum wage at Game Junction and was barely getting by. Sure the house I lived in was paid for, but there were a lot of other bills that needed to be taken care of, and apparently my car needed a little work.

  "I want twenty dollars an hour," I stated firmly.

  "That won't work, he said. "I need you on-call around the clock. Would you agree to twelve-hundred a week salary?"

  Now, my Aunt Eileen always said if something sounded too good to be true it probably was.

  "Yeah sure, but I'm gonna need my own flying pony," I said as his phone rang. He gave me a dull look-unamused at my humor-as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

  "Meet me here tomorrow at 8 p.m." He handed me the same business card that he'd given me last night and walked away talking on his phone. Luckily my car started, and I made it home just fine. I was glad because I was starving. It was nearly ten o'clock now, and all I'd had to eat was some crackers this afternoon. My sweatpants and Stouffer's mac and cheese were calling my name!

  The next morning after breakfast, I opened the door to get the paper. I rarely read them, but my Aunt always had. I went out and got it every morning mostly out of habit and because it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do. I would cancel the delivery if I knew who to call to do it, but it was always on the bottom of my priority list. Instead of adding this one to the tower of them in the den, I stripped it from the plastic and read it while I had another cup of coffee. I was perusing the classified ads when I heard a knock at the door. I never had company. I waited a minute then got up and peered out the window. I had no intention of opening the door. Seeing no one, I opened the door and saw a car battery sitting there on the porch.

  This dude was just straight up whacko crazy. I'd have to stop calling him tall, dark, and grouchy and start calling him Daddy Warbucks. Whatever, I'd take the battery because I couldn't really afford a new one. Then, I would go to his little antique shop tonight and tell him I didn't want the job and to leave me alone, forever. I went back inside to my coffee and newspaper. The classifieds were a bust. There were a few receptionist jobs and quite a few waitress jobs, but that was about it. I'm not a people person and never had been. I was an only child and never had many friends, but I kind of preferred it that way. I just wasn't a social person, so being forced to make small talk to people while I brought them food sounded torturous.

  I knew nothing about cars, so that afternoon I googled battery installation for dummies on my laptop and managed to get the old one out and the new one in without killing myself. It took me about an hour, but I did it. I was proud of myself. I'd always taken my car to a garage, but this I handled on my own. The rest of my evening was totally depressing, however. It consisted of writing bills and balancing my checkbook. At this rate, I would run completely out of money in about three weeks. Maybe working for Daddy Warbucks wasn't such a bad idea, but he would definitely have to dial down the crazy.

  Finding something to wear tonight would prove difficult. I wanted to look professional because this was a job interview of sorts. On the other hand, I was headed into an unusual situation with a creepy and mysterious man, so I didn't want to look the slightest bit sexy. I wanted to lessen my risk of being raped and murdered, if possible. I chose dress slacks, the biggest, frumpiest blouse I could find, and flats in case I needed to run away from the situation. I went for the no makeup look except for a little eyeliner so I didn't look half asleep. I tied my hair into a granny bun and headed out.

  Luckily, I was able to find my destination before it got completely dark. I hated looking for places I'd never been before in the dark, but thankfully I already knew where Reiber Street was. Forever Young Antiques was a gray cinderblock building with a pale blue awning. I parked in the small parking lot next to the building and got out. Daddy Warbucks startled me as he came walking out of the alley beside the shop.

  "Emina, I'm glad you're here," he said.

  "Call me, Em," I corrected. I hated being called Emina.

  "Come on in," he said, opening the door to the shop. I noticed the sign on the door said closed and hours posted were 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The shop was already closed which made me nervous.

  Inside, it didn't look the way I imagined an antique shop to look. I'd imagined shelves and shelves of dusty junk and useless crap. This place was very elegant. It was open in the middle with mirrored shelving all along the walls. There were a few interesting pieces of furniture scattered in the middle, but the place wasn't by any means cluttered. Yes, very elegant, except for the hounds from Hell! Here came two Dobermans coming toward me.

  "Thor, Loki," he said and they both sat down where they were. Thor and Loki, really? I rolled my eyes and patted one of them on the head. They were beautiful and sleek, well-groomed and well-behaved.

  Back behind a glass counter were two men, both oriental looking. One was much older, probably in his seventies with long gray hair. The other looked maybe a little older than me with shaggy black hair not quite as long as the other one's. We walked over to them and Daddy Warbucks introduced us. I wasn't sure when he was going to introduce himself, though, maybe I'd just call him tall, dark, and grouchy or Daddy Warbucks forever.

  "Emina, this is Li Tang and his grandson, Wu." I couldn't help but laugh.

  "Your name is Wu? Wu Tang?" Of course, I busted out in a rap from the eighties. I couldn't help myself.

  "Swinging through your town like your neighborhood spiiiiiderman. Yo, you best protect ya neck."

  They looked at me like I had three heads and maybe had sprouted a fourth.

  "Wu Tang Clan? No? Not a fan? Well, alright," I said a little embarrassed now.

  Wu laughed. I reached out my hand.

  "Hi, I'm Em, I'm socially awkward." He laughed again and shook my hand.

  "Emina is my new assistant," Daddy Warbucks announced.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa cowboy, I haven't agreed to anything yet!"

  "She's perfect," Wu said with a smile.

  "Well let's go talk business then shall we?" he asked. He gestured toward the open staircase toward the back of the room.

  "My office is upstairs," he said leading the way. There were three floors. The bottom floor held furniture pieces, vases and such. The second floor looked to be books and paintings, and the top floor was a lot of weaponry. There were swords and daggers hung on the walls and even more in glass showcases. There were actually two suits of armor on either side of the door of his office. I'd only ever seen those in movies.

  His office was just as elegant and spacious. A big desk, a few chairs, a leather sofa, and beautiful paintings on the walls. He closed the door behind us and sat down behind the desk then gestured for me to take a seat.

  "I think I'll stand thanks," I said.

  "Relax, Emina."

  "It's Em!" I corrected, "?and by the way, you haven't even told me your name yet."

  "My apologies, I'm Bohuslav Pavlok, but you can call me Bo."

  "Geez Louise. I thought my name was bad, but I think you take the cake! Another member of the horrible name club."

  "Actually," he said, "I'm quite fond of my name. I shortened it to Bo when I moved to America for many reasons.

  "Where are you from?" I asked, curious. I had noticed that he had a bit of an accent but didn't think much of it.

  "Lithuania, but let's discuss business for right now."

  "Ok Bo, tell me?how do I know you're not a psycho who's been following me around with plans to rape and kill me?" I asked frankly.

  "Would you relax and sit down if I told you I was almost completely impotent?"

  I choked. I literally just choked on my own saliva. Well ok then, he's tall, dark, and flimsy. No wonder he looks so grouchy. It did make me feel a little better, though, IF he was telling the truth. But why on Earth would you lie about something like that? I sat down but there was an uncomfortable ambiance to the room now?TMI, Daddy Warbucks, TMI.

  "Look, Em, I'm not much of one to
beat around the bush?"

  "Clearly!" I interrupted.

  "So let me just put all the cards out on the table here. I'm a vampire." There was a long uncomfortable silence.

  "Ooookay, well I need to be going now," I said slowly getting up from the chair. "I think I'm gonna pass on that job, but it was nice meeting you." I turned around to head for the door, but Bo was up out of his chair and across the room, standing in front of the door in an instant.

  My mouth dropped open. I stood there staring at him for a few minutes. He stared back at me, neither of us saying a word.

  "Don't go," he said finally. "I've handpicked you for this job. You're a loner, you have no family or friends, and you're dependable. It's a good job, and I'll pay you well."

  "Aaaand if I refuse?" I asked.

  "If you refuse, you know too much. I'm sorry, but I will have to kill you."