Mel smiled when she saw the fanged clowns atop of the
circus. Anita felt that she shouldn't really be leading a hired killer into
Jean-Claude's daytime retreat. Mel followed Anita through the back entrance
like she belonged there. What a scary thought. They were met on the stairs by
Jason. Anita really hoped that he was dressed for work, because he was wearing
a honest to god loin-cloth. He seemed very happy to see Mel. "Anita, you
shouldn't have. It's not even my birthday and you got me a present."
Mel just gave him completely dead eyes and waited for Anita
to go on. "Jason, this is Mel. Mel, this is Jason."
Anita really didn't want to talk. "Mel? the same Mel
that Nathaniel was talking about? Wow."
Jason seemed even more interested in her now. Mel just
looked at him like she couldn't care less if he dropped dead bleeding from all
his orifices right then and there. Anita pushed past him trying to get to the
bathroom. Mel flashed Jason a dazzling, magazine cover empty smile, for a split
second before wiping her face clean of all emotion and following Anita.
Jean-Claude had been redecorating yet again. The living room was like stepping
into a blizzard. The walls and floor were covered in a shimmering white fabric.
The chairs and couch were upholstered in white leather. There was a white grand
piano in one corner. The only color in the entire room was the painting of
Julianna, Asher, and Jean-Claude over the white marble mantle. Anita decided
that she was going to have to have a talk with Jean-Claude about his decorating
sprees. Speaking of the devil, Jean-Claude appeared in the doorway like he
heard her thoughts. He was wearing a white shirt with pearl buttons and
billowing sleeves, dove gray pants that clung to him like a second skin, and
his favorite pair of pettable black leather boots. He looked Mel over like she
was a car and gave her an approving nod. Anita gave him a quick kiss before
waddling of in the direction of the bathroom. It seemed to her like she had
spent a good third of the pregnancy in there. It was getting to the point where
it was getting hard to get back up. With her luck lately that would be when
Olaf struck, when she had her pants around her ankles and couldn't get up off
the toilet. Anita's absence left Jean-Claude and Mel alone together. Mel walked
across the room and draped herself across the couch. "I'm going to get
straight to the point. Anita gets into dangerous situations sometimes. You know
very well that a fight is won because of superior fire power. Anita is not
always going to be able to fight them off on her own. I want to hire you to be
Anita's body guard. Not twenty four seven, just when she's going into danger,
her work with the police, local shape shifters and such. You'll stay here at
the circus of course. For payment I think ten thousand a week sounds
fair."
"J.C. baby that is just plain insulting. I don't get
out of bed in the morning for less than thirty a week."
"Fifteen."
"Twenty-five."
"Twenty."
"Twenty, plus open bar at all your establishments."
"I'll go tell Anita of our agreement. She won't like
it, but I think that it will be in her best interest in the long run."
Mel being only human, couldn't resist watching his butt as
he left. It was a very nice view. Mel walked to the piano, sat down and started
to play. That had been so easy. She hadn't even had to let Olaf kill someone to
scare Anita. Now all she had to do was wait. As she played she was oblivious to
the golden man that watched her in the shadows. Lately, with Jean-Claude's life
at such perfection, Asher wondered how many chances at happiness had passed him
by these last five hundred years while he was mourning Julianna. Anita and
Jean-Claude had helped him heal his wounds, he had even gotten plastic surgery,
but what was the use if she had been his one and only? What was the use of
another five hundred years alone? He wondered if maybe it wasn't time for him
to leave it all behind. Time to go on to the next and final phase of life.