Authors: Charlotte Swanpol
ROMANCE: Paranormal Romance: The Valley (Book One) (Fun, Sexy, Mature Young Adult Vampire Shape Shifter Romance) (54 page)
Book One
Allie
It’s finals season. The weather was finally looking more like winter and less like fall. There were only a few weeks left until winter break. I had to keep focused if I was going to make it through all the exams. I had two more left, but with three down, I had made it through the bulk of the semester. Thank God.
It was hard to believe that my junior year was nearly halfway over. I thought about this as I made my way through the semi-deserted campus. Most other students were hiding away in their rooms while other students camped out in libraries, cramming a semester’s worth of material into a couple of days. They prayed this late night studying would save them from a failing grade. Luckily, I’m a bit of a control freak, so I planned out my studying into manageable little chunks. I knew that even if I didn’t do exceptionally well, I’d still be okay.
Soon, I reached my destination and looked around. The Biology building was usually crowded with frantic undergraduates, looking for letters of recommendation, office hours, or anything else that could get them one step closer to their hopes and dreams. As I saw no one around, I felt a little weird entering the building, but I knew that I had to talk to Professor Pitt.
I had taken his exam the week before and now he wanted to talk to me about it. His email was rather vague and a part of me was nervous. Had I flunked it or something? With these fears swirling around in my mind I knocked on his office door. I stood there, my body sweaty as I waited for him to answer. After a moment, it swung open and Professor Pitt gave me a warm smile.
He was an older gentleman, about sixty years old and probably on the verge of retiring. He was thin and a little awkward in stature. His rounded glasses gave him a goofy look, but that was one of the reasons why I liked him so much. He was what I expected a typical dad to look like. Seeing as I never had a dad, having a father figure like Professor Pitt in my life really helped me out.
“Come in, come in.” His voice chimed out as he motioned with his arm that I should go inside. I smiled at him and nodded, before making my way over to the old green chair. His office was a clutter of different papers and books, scattered haphazardly all over the room, but congregated on his small desk.
There was a small laptop balanced precariously on a stack of uneven papers, which made me a little nervous, but I tried to ignore it as he sat down in front of me with a pleased look on his face. “How do you think you did on your exam, Allie?” He asked as he leaned forward and his elbows found two small unoccupied spaces on the edge of his cluttered desk. His fingers laced together and his face moved forward, resting on them.
I didn’t want to feel over-confident, but at the same time, I felt like I had done rather well. “Good, I guess.” I finally replied, looking at him. He chuckled before searching through his papers. Somehow, he found what he was looking for because he suddenly handed me something. A confused expression swept across my face as I grabbed it. With the paper securely in my hands, I looked down.
“Best in the class.” I was amazed as I stared at the paper, seeing the A+ blotted on the edge. How had I managed to pull this off? I smiled with pride as I looked at my accomplishment. I couldn’t believe it. “Congratulations.” Professor Pitt’s voice finally broke me out of my dazed state.
“Wow… I wasn’t expecting this.” I said softly, still amazed. He chuckled and got up, before patting me on the back.
“You did very well. Keep up the good work. Now, I don’t want to keep you from any further studying you may have to do. Do you have any more exams?” He asked, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose.
“Two more,” I answered promptly as I got up, pushing the chair back into its proper place, glad to have one thing in the room I could control.
“Well, good luck.” He smiled and saw me out. After a short walk, I was back in my apartment. In my haste to find Julie, my roommate, I left my exam on the coffee table as I searched for her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t home. So, I went downstairs, about to make myself a cup of hot chocolate to reward myself for my hard work.
But when I entered the living room, Chad, my boyfriend, was standing there, an angry look on his face. He was holding my exam and as he heard me enter the room, his head whipped upwards as he scowled at me.
“You fucked up the curve.” He growled as he walked up to me, the exam now crushed under his fist. “No wonder my grade was so shitty…” His face was red with emotion as he stood next to me and pressed me up against the wall. I tried to stand my guard, but his intimidating nature scared me.
“You’re so useless. We studied together and yet, you had to be Queen Bee and do so much better than everyone else.” His voice was hostile as his face got closer and closer to mine. His hand wrapped around my arm, making me flinch slightly. “You stupid fat bitch.” He finally spat, before walking away with a disgusted look on his face.
My accomplishment had suddenly turned its head. I watched him go and sighed. Why was I still with that jerk? I suppose it was either stay with him or suffer being alone, where my demons had the chance to make themselves known. Which was the lesser of two evils? I don’t know.
Vance
Sigh. Board meetings can be so boring at times. As the CEO of
Blue Venta,
I thought life would be more exciting. But the thing they don’t tell you, is that getting to the top is more fun than actually being there. From an early age, I was on the fast track to success, with parents who supported me financially and an adept mind ready to take on any challenge.
By the time I was 22, I had opened up my own business, by 24 I had made my billionth dollar, but now at 25, I was bored out of my mind. The company was looking for young new interns who could help the company skyrocket into new avenues, such as the biotechnology industry. I can tell you that looking at the bios of countless students is not at all that interesting.
A man from the human resources department flipped through a slideshow of potential candidates as he looked at me for validation or denial. My neck was starting to hurt. But, all of a sudden he switched to a slide that grabbed my attention. On the screen was a headshot of a beautiful young woman. She had an adorable face with flawless skin. Her eyes were big. They were a lovely shade of brown capable of capturing the attention of anyone who became trapped in her gaze. Her hair flowed down freely to her shoulders and as I looked at the picture a little more, I saw that her arms looked a little thicker than most. From what I could tell, she seemed to have some meat on her bones. I liked that.
I grinned, seeing her beauty on the screen. My HR worker looked at me, perplexed by my sudden interest. He hadn’t seen me this invested in any one candidate up to this point and I think this took him by surprise. When I finally managed to pry my eyes away from her photo, I quickly scanned the text, reading her stats. She was 21, a biotechnology major, and studied on the West Coast. We could easily fly her over to New York if we choose her to be the lucky candidate.
“I want her.” My voice broke through the conference room, making many of the people look up at me. Prior to this, there had been little discussion, only the occasional nod or shake of a head.
“Are you sure, Sir? I believe I saw a few others who were better suited to our needs.” His voice was meek as he said this. I heard him out to the last word, but I could feel my face becoming tense.
“Are you going against my decision?” I asked, my voice a little harsher than I had anticipated. He cowered as I stood up, my large 6’1 stature towering above his. He gulped and tried to hold my gaze, but soon he backed off and shook his head.
“No sir… I was just suggesting…” He mumbled, looking down, afraid to meet my eyes.
“I will have no further deliberation on his topic. I want her. Get her here.” My powerful gaze moved around the room as I looked at each one of my subordinates in turn. I did not become the CEO of a company by being nice. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not mean. I’m just assertive. There’s a difference.
Eventually, everyone nodded their heads as they looked at me with nervous expressions on their faces. Quickly, they gathered up their things and shuffled their way out of the room. Once everyone had left, I followed suit, making my way back to the office. I locked the door before walking over to the windows.
Some said the view here was worth a million dollars, but who wants to look at concrete and glass all day? People gave New York City way too much credit. I looked down, seeing people walk through the streets, looking like small ants trying to make their way through life.
Dismissing them, I walked over to my desk and turned on my computer. I waited for it to boot up, as my mind fell back on the woman I had decided to hire as an intern. Her name was Allie Ulrich and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wondered what she was like and how she would react to me.
These questions ran through my mind as I logged in and began browsing the internet. I quickly plugged her name into the search bar, waiting for the results. A smile spread across my lips. She was one accomplished girl.
She had graduated as valedictorian of her high school and was currently studying in one of the best universities in California. From what I could tell, she was perfect. I knew then that she was the one that I wanted.
The human resources department could throw a million different students in my direction, but I knew I would always fall back on her. There was something about her gaze, about her unseen body that drove me wild.
I looked out the window again, seeing the clouds roll in and the darkness descend. Winter on the East Coast was always hard to endure, but if I could get her there soon, if I could but see her, feel her, smell her, before the year was over, I could die tomorrow a happy man.
I leaned back in my chair, looking at the calendar on my desk. If what it told me was true, she should be in my office in little less than two weeks. I grinned to myself, picturing her sitting in the chair in front of me. “Allie Ulrich…” I whispered her name, just to hear how it sounded. I grinned. This was going to be a lot of fun. I looked at my desk as my mind ventured into the darkest realms of my imagination.
Allie
Finally, I managed to pry myself off the wall. I could hear Chad in the kitchen but I knew I couldn’t face him just yet. So, I grabbed my jacket off the coat hanger and made my way outside. I didn’t really have a destination in mind. The air was chilly and I quickly zipped up my jacket, sighing as it was rather tight around me. Why did it seem like everything I owned was always too tight? It was as if people couldn’t make proper clothes for anyone who wasn’t twig thin.
Nevertheless, for the moment, it was all I had. I made my way across campus, taking in the scenery. Students were bundled up as they made their way through campus and into warmer buildings. California climate was pretty warm, however, so it wasn’t too bad. It would have been worse if I had lived in Maine or something. Here, even in the winter, we still had relatively nice walking weather.
I continued to walk, trying to forget about Chad. He was a jerk and I knew I was an idiot for staying with him, but I couldn’t think of breaking up with him. As I struggled with this dilemma, my phone chimed in my pocket. I furrowed my brows, trying to figure out who could be texting me. When I checked my phone, however, it wasn’t a text at all, but an email.
It was probably just spam, but nonetheless, I was curious and opened up the email app. My eyes grew large as I suddenly saw the subject of the email. It was from
Blue Venta:
the pharmaceutical company I had applied to intern at. Excited, I opened up the email and my eyes read the first word: Congratulations.
I froze in place, excitement coursing through my body. Had I really been accepted into one of the world leaders in orphan disease therapy? My hands shook a little as I tried to steady my phone and read the rest of the email. To my surprise, I
had
been accepted but they expected me to visit in two weeks, which luckily for me was right after my last exam.
In a flourish of emotions, I responded to the email quickly, telling them I was interested in the interview they had offered me. I still couldn’t believe it. Within a few minutes, they replied. There was an electronic ticket at the bottom of the email which would bring me to the icy East Coast. I couldn’t believe how fast everything was happening, but I wasn’t about to start complaining.
In two weeks I would be in New York… The thought boggled my mind. Still, I couldn’t deny the excitement that was coursing through my veins. I had to tell someone. Forgetting about my fight with Chad, I rushed back home, hoping to find Julie. I was dying to tell her about my accomplishment, knowing she would support and congratulate me. Unlike Chad, she was actually happy when I did well.
With shaky hands, I finally managed to unlock the door. The kitchen light was off, much to my relief. It seemed like Chad, at least, was gone, but I had no idea if Julie was home or not. I quickly made my way up the stairs, the old wood groaning under my weight, making me blush a little. The stairs never groaned like that when Julie used them. Sometimes I became really jealous of her and her gorgeous model-like body, but for now, I just prayed she was in her room.
When I got to the top of the stairs, I nearly ran down the hall before rushing into her room. I didn’t think to knock. She was there, half undressed. I stopped in my tracks and my cheeks turned red as I saw her reach back and unclip her bra. She was now wearing nothing but panties. I tried not to stare at her tiny waistline and delicate curves. Finally, I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention.
She jumped a little, turning around as her slender arms wrapped around her full sized chest. “Allie, don’t scare me like that!” She chided before grabbing an old t-shirt and tossing it on. She walked across the room and grabbed some sweats, putting them on and rolling up the hem in a style I had seen a lot of skinny girls wear. I was amazed how Julie could make sweats and a t-shirt look sexy. Whenever I tried wearing those things, I just looked like a slob.
“So why did you barge in here? If you were Chad I would beat the living daylight out of you.” She smirked, her red stained lips curling upward and her blue eyes sparkling.
“Sometimes I wish you did,” I muttered, remembering how he had insulted me this afternoon. Sometimes I wished I had the guts to hit him myself.
“What did he do this time?” She asked, her voice full of concern as she stepped closer. We locked eyes and I blushed a little, a bit intimidated by her gorgeous looks.
“Nothing…” I stammered, looking away.
“C’mon Allie, you can’t let him keep bullying you like this. It’s not healthy.” She said, trying to convince me for the millionth time that I should leave Chad. I knew she was right, but every time I tried to end it with him I would get cold feet. But, that wasn’t why I had barged into her room.
“I have good news,” I said with a smile. Her eyes grew big and her smile matched my own as she read the excitement on my face.
“Do tell.” Her sensual voice whispered as she got closer still, her face now inches away from mine, to the point where I could see all the makeup caked on her face. For someone so beautiful, I always wondered why she slathered her face with all that synthetic stuff. “C’mon Allie… I’m dying here.”
“I got into
Blue Venta
.”
