“Uh, thanks.”
Jason had the decency to knock twice, but then he pulled the door open without waiting for an answer.The woman retreated to her cubicle.
Heath’s office wasn’t as bright as the hallway, and that was nice.Raven glanced at Jason, who relaxed too.The dog seemed indifferent but made for a heavily upholstered seating arrangement, which in turn got Heath to look up from whatever he was bent over at a sleek, elegant desk set at an angle to the large windows.
“Oh, perfect timing.Raven, I have your phone.”
“You…found my phone?But they… It’s broken.”
Heath blanched.“N-no.I mean—shit.I’m sorry.I mean your new phone.Remember I told you I was getting you a new phone?I didn’t know which brand, but I just went for best overall performance.You’re still good for casual gaming, and the night photography is nice.They only had two colors at the store and ready to messenger over, and I got you pearl-gold.Is that okay?”
He held up a device that even at a glance was fancy.It was a creamy white with an elegant golden shimmer.It’s pricey.My old phone wasn’t anything like that.
Jason perked up.“Hey, nice!Do I get a new phone?”
Heath narrowed his eyes.“You know, that’s a good idea, actually.Fuck.I should’ve thought of that.It’s like unless my ass is on fire, I can’t find it.”He cleared his throat.“Metaphorically speaking.”
“Huh?Dude, I was joking.”
Jason took Raven by the arm and tugged him closer to the desk.Raven wanted to look anywhere except at the expensive phone.There was a nice, lush orchid on the desk as well as a shallow glass dish with a piece of grass growing in there as if it were a regular office plant.
Heath shook his head.“No, it’s a good idea.Want to leave your old one with me?I’ll just upgrade and transfer your data over to the new device.”
Jason turned to Raven.“I’m not sure if I’m still drunk or not.Is he joking?You’re sober, you figure it out.”
“Uh, I, uh…”
Heath held the phone out to Raven.“Here, take it.Let it scan your fingerprint.They have trouble with face recognition for vampires sometimes.”
“But—”
“I put my number in there.And the old bat’s.But don’t call him if anything’s wrong; call me, and I can assess the situation like a grown-up.If you want stupid running commentary, call him, by all means, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Jason pulled out one of the guest chairs in front of the desk and slumped into it.“Isn’t he your dad though?”
Heath nodded.“That’s my point.I’m the grown-up.He just goes around like some big old weirdo.Apparently in his pajamas sometimes.”He looked directly at Raven, who was debating whether to take the phone or decline.“I don’t know what he was thinking, dragging you along for that.I hope it wasn’t too weird?”
“Oh.”Raven reached for the phone, mostly so he didn’t have to keep looking at Heath.How do I explain what I did?And to his father.I can’t tell him that.“I just wanted to get some fresh air.”
Jason pulled his phone from his pocket and held it out to Heath, who took it, turned it over, and nodded.“They’re going to have this year’s model.Okay, let me just call them—Raven, don’t just look at it, let it scan your finger.”He wiggled his own and grinned.“After you peel off the protective film.I left that on for you.”
Raven looked up from the device.“I can work for this.Pay it off.Anything.I can clean your office if you’d like, or…I can type.Secretarial work.”
Heath blinked.“But…you can’t work.You have to go to therapy.Shit.Not right now or anything, and not for the phone, but… Shit.I mean, um…” He scratched his head.“The phone is a present.I’m giving it to you.For free.Because…because you just became a vampire, and I think that should be celebrated.”
Raven bit his lip.“But…”
He had no idea how to frame it.This scared him.He wasn’t exactly sure why.He didn’t know Heath, and while he seemed nice, the small, super slim device in his hand seemed to weigh as much as a dozen bricks.
Jason cleared his throat.“You said you need a temp person, so can’t Raven temp with me?Can’t we share the work or something?”
Heath straightened.“Yup.Yes.We can totally do that.That’s earbuds as a bonus for thinking well.”He wrote something on a notepad in front of him.“I love rewarding employees who are good at the thinking part.”
“Sweet.”
Heath frowned, then looked at Raven.“I’d give you a set as a signing bonus, but as a vampire, if you’re not used to it, you’re not going to like the way they distort the sound of your surroundings.At least at first, when everything changes.You’ll actually want to try out a few models after that.I can schedule something down the line though.”
“I really just want to work for this.”Raven did his best to lift the heavy-not-heavy phone for emphasis.
