Chapter Text
“Adrian, he’s the last one.” he swirled the wine in his crystalline glass. “I just got confirmation from Isaac a few minutes ago.” The office was hot. Father never opened his windows and the early summer heat was just cooking the small space. The curtains were drawn completely closed and the sun shone through, turning the room a sinister shade of red. His expensive cigar sat in its ashtray, fogging up Adrian’s vision and making it smell of cherries. Vlad sat lordly over his desk, a map of NYC spread out under his fingers. “One more and the Belmont clan is completely erased from the stinking slums where they seem to spawn from.” He took a thoughtful sip, savoring the dryness of it. “Once that bumbling child of a descendant is gone we’ll have an all clear to move in.” He stood from his chair, dragging his sharp nails on the polished wood as he moved around it. He took another sip of the wine. “I’m putting you in charge of this.” He sets a hand on Adrian’s shoulder, who had been standing just in front of the desk.
He sighed. “If you say so, father.”
“I do say so, Adrian. And I hope you understand the gravity of our situation.” His fatherly tone turned darker, the mirth absent from his eyes. Vlad releases the boy from his grip, turning back to the crimson curtains. “You’re dismissed for the evening. And call Isaac and Hector for me, I have some plans I need to discuss.”
“Of course father.” Adrian nods and turns to exit his father’s office.
The door closes behind him and the sound echoes down the hall in both directions. He sighs. Father never changes. Adrian walked towards the sound of the other office workers, easily distinguished by the unpleasant brrrriiiing! from their typewriters. Heading down the corridor he came to another door, marked PUBLIC OFFICES . Without warning, he barged in on the two men in opposite facing desks, each hunched over a typewriter of their own. Their workspace was evenly divided between the two. The right was impeccable, clean and well organized. The trash was empty and the man sitting at the desk had perfect poised posture. The man on the left was a bit more disheveled, but there were noticeably more pictures and personal items revolving mostly around pets.
“Oh! Hello young Mr.Tepes, I didn’t think we’d see you today!” The one on the left smiled, pausing his work and standing to greet the young man. As Adrian shook the offered hand the other one checked his watch, but strangely enough, did not stop typing.
“You weren’t scheduled for an appointment with Mr. Tepes for another few hours.”
“He wants to speak to you both in his office, he has some plans he wanted to discuss.” He rolled his eyes and tossed a lock of hair from his shoulder. “It’s about the Belmonts.”
At the sound of the accursed name both of the other men shifted their gazes into dower glares. “Right.” The left man spoke. “We should go then.”
Adrian gave a small chuckle. “Don’t be so sullen now Hector, Father will think I said something terrible.”
Hector didn’t have time to return the smile before Isaac was up out of his chair and ushering them both out of the room. “We will see you some other time then, young Mr. Tepes.” The right man called back to him. “And please, give our regards to the woman at the front desk when you pass, and remind her of her meeting at 7.”
“Of course, maybe I should pick up laundry and groceries along the way?” he called after them, but his snarky remark fell on no ears as they were already out of sight. Yawning, Adrian stretched a bit, he looked around the small office and thought for a moment about perusing through the piles of paperwork stacked on both of the desks. And then remembered Isaac would have his head on a platter, son of the boss or not. So he straightened his suit jacket and left back down the opposite direction of the hall, towards the elevator. He passed several more small offices, some of the people occupying them peeking from the small windows to get a good look at him. But none engaged him in conversation, so he kept walking.
The hall opened into a small waiting area in front of the elevator, for the assumed ‘clients’ of his father’s ‘insurance company’ how quaint. The pictures lining the walls were tacky at best and severely dated at worst. He hated the decor of this place. In a few strides, he crossed the space to the elevator, pressing the button. The bell rang for the elevator’s arrival and he quickly stepped in, eager to be rid of this place.
-0-
You check your watch, it wasn’t even five yet. And you still had a large stack of papers to file before you left today. There hadn’t been much traffic in the lobby today either, so no free entertainment for you. A profound ding echoes from across the room and your eyes snap up despite yourself, eager for something to do. The doors slide open, and Adrian steps out in his Italian-made suit, his shoes clicking on the glossy tile floor. You slump back into your seat, this isn’t really what you had in mind for entertainment. It only takes him a few short strides to get to your desk, and you try to avoid contact as he leans over the edge, gazing at you with one of his more annoying faces.
You sigh. “What is it Adrian?” You avoid eye contact and aimlessly shift about your workspace, trying your best to look like you were actually doing something. “I’m trying to work here.”
“Oh yes, it seems very involved and um, complicated.” He giggled to himself. “Please, tell me more about this ‘work’ you’re doing.”
You sigh again, louder and more obvious this time. “Alright, so I might not be doing anything relevant at the moment.” You look at the smirk in his eyes, rage starting to bubble up. “But I do want to know what you want from me.”
“Isaac and Hector say ‘hello’.” He snides.
“Is that all?”
“They wanted me to remind you of your meeting at seven.” His smile is wide and insincere and lingers a bit too long before he stands with a flourish of his hair. You barely have time to voice your distaste and that you already know you have a meeting, but he’s already sauntering through the front doors, golden hair flowing behind him. And you are left to sit at your desk, once again bored out of your mind.