Page 28 of The Vampire and the Barista

“Leave them, I'll sort them out,” Ivan told him.

“You’re a good egg, you know that?”

Ivan burst out laughing; mind you, so did everyone else. “Thanks.”

Jamie grinned at him as Dave walked around the table, linked his arm with Jamie and walked them out of the kitchen.

“I just need to send a quick text,” Dave said. He pulled his phone out and sent the text, putting it back in his pocket, and they started walking again. “I just messaged Mathis and Raz, Gavin’s brothers. I know he has Hunter, but he’s close to his brothers.”

“I can’t even imagine what he’s going through.”

“Me either, but we’re all here for him. Now, I’m about to show you where I work and where Max will be working.”

“Max said you were both working in your boyfriend’s library, with old manuscripts and the like.”

Dave nods. “We are. Before we get there, though, let me show you around. This is the lounge,” he said, waving to the room. “Those doors there are for different studies and offices. This is the ballroom.”

Jamie stopped and looked inside. “Whoa, I didn’t know people still had ballrooms. Have you used it?”

“For a few parties and for Gabe to do magic. This is the dining room. We’ve only used it once since I’ve been here, because as you can see, we tend to eat in the kitchen. But this is what you’ll want to see.” He stopped by a wall that had a large tapestry hanging on it. Not that that was strange, as the hallway walls were covered in wall hangings and pictures. It was a medieval picture of knights and dragons. He moved the tapestry out of the way, and Jamie gasped.

“A hidden room?” he asked excitedly.

“Not just a room, follow me,” Dave said, grinning at him as he pushed the wall open. It swung inwards, and ahead were steps leading down.

Dave flicked the light switch on and led Jamie down the stairs.

Halfway down the steps, Jamie gasped, and Dave looked back up at him and grinned. “This is the coven library.”

“It’s massive,” Jamie commented, reaching the bottom step and spinning around. “No wonder you and Max want to work here.” The basement seemed to be the entire length and width of the manor.

“There is no organisation whatsoever, and a lot of these texts are one of a kind. I’ve ordered a scanner, so we can start preserving the older, more delicate ones, before we start on the books.”

Jamie walked to a shelf and gently touched a scroll. “Wow. You and Max are so lucky. This is literally my dream job.”

“Max told me you wanted to be a curator and work with old books and manuscripts.”

Jamie nodded and pulled his eyes away from the shelves to look at Dave. “Yeah, history is my thing. I wanted to get my master's in museum studies and then my doctorate in ancient manuscripts. You guys are so lucky.”

“Well, Max and I have spoken about it. What do you say about coming to work with us? You can do everything you’ve wanted to do, all here in our secret library, without the expense of more education.”

Jamie’s mouth dropped open, looking stunned. “I’m sorry, did you just offer me my dream job?”

Dave laughed. “I did indeed. If you need time to decide...”

Jamie cut him off, launching himself at Dave and pulling him into a hug. “No, I don’t need time to decide and yes, please, so, so, yes please.”

Dave hugged him back, still laughing. “We can talk salaries later.”

“Dave, thank you,” Jamie said, pulling back.

“You’re family Jamie and our friend. How much notice do you need to give?”

“Two months.”

“So hand your notice in today and then count down the days. Max is here on his time off until he leaves the library. With the three of us working here, we can make this library amazing. This is also where we have our ‘jipped by vampires club’. I’ve ordered a couple of sofas, chairs, coffee tables and stuff for over there,” he waves his hand at the empty space.

“I’m not sure I can join yet; Ivan and I haven’t mated yet.”