Insatiable

Now was the time to show her the sword. Sometimes it was the only thing that got

through to them in their ardor-induced stupors.

Alaric pushed back the folds of his coat.

“Just tell me where he is, Sarah,” he said gently. “And I’ll let you live.”

Chapter Eight

2:00 P.M . EST, Tuesday, April 13

ABN Building

520 Madison Avenue

New York, New York

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED….

WHAT: A fancy dinner at our place, 910 Park

Avenue, Apt. 11A

WHEN: Thursday, April 15, at 7:30 P.M.

WHY: Emil’s cousin, the prince, is in town!

DRESS: Fancy! DRESS UP! This is your chance to

meet real, old-fashioned royalty! Dig out your fanciest,

sexiest, most expensive shoes and dresses and have fun! No

need to feel down just because your husband won’t let you

take the platinum card out for a spin! Shop your closet and

we’ll see you on Thursday!

xoxo Mary Lou

Meena stared at her computer monitor.

She was supposed to be working on the dialogue for next week’s explosive scene in

which Tabby confronted her mother for sleeping with her riding instructor, Romero, on whom

Tabby herself had a crush.

But all she could think about was Shoshona’s promotion and her horrible vampire story

line, which Fran and Stan had, of course, approved, agreeing with the network (who agreed

with CDI) that it was going to make Insatiable more appealing to the all-important eighteen-toforty-nine female demographic…which would in turn bring in more advertising money. Which

would in turn get them all raises (the Insatiable writing staff had been under a pay freeze for

more than a year).

Then Mary Lou’s e-mail had popped into her in-box.

And Meena lost all ability whatsoever to concentrate on anything else.

Appalled, Meena forwarded the e-mail to her best friend, Leisha.

“Who is this person?” Leisha called a few minutes later to ask.

“My next-door neighbor Mary Lou,” Meena said, astonished that Leisha wouldn’t

remember. She only complained about something Mary Lou had said or done every other day.

“Oh, that’s right,” Leisha said. “The one you used to like until she started stalking you

on the elevator every day—”

“—trying to fix me up with every single guy she knows,” Meena finished for her, “after

David and I broke up. Right. Plus, she keeps going on about how she traced her husband

Emil’s ancestry back to Romanian royalty. She figured out he’s a count, which makes her a—”

“Countess,” Leisha said. Meena could hear hair dryers buzzing in the background.

Leisha worked as a stylist at a high-end salon in SoHo. “Wasn’t she the one on the co-op board

of your building who wouldn’t let you and David buy the apartment at first because you

weren’t married? But then when she found out you write for Insatiable, she changed her mind

because she’s a big Victoria Worthington Stone fan?”

“Yeah,” Meena said. She took a bite from the mini-Butterfinger she’d pulled from her

secret snack drawer. “And she hates Jon but she pretends she doesn’t.”

“What’s she hate your brother for?” Now Leisha sounded surprised.

“She thinks he’s a mooch for moving in with me,” Meena said. “The real question is,

how am I going to get out of going to her party?”

“Uh,” Leisha said, “no offense…but why wouldn’t you go? Last I heard, your social

calendar wasn’t exactly jam-packed.”

“Yeah, well,” Meena said, “I don’t have time to be hobnobbing with alleged Romanian

princes when I need to be worrying about what’s going to happen next to Victoria Worthington

Stone and her vulnerable yet headstrong daughter, Tabitha.” Meena took another bite of her

mini-Butterfinger. The important thing was to make each one last as long as possible, which

was difficult, because they were so small.

“Stupid of me,” Leisha said. “Of course. So what is going to happen to Victoria

Worthington Stone and her vulnerable yet headstrong daughter, Tabitha?”

Meena sighed. “One guess. It came down from on high today. Written on a stone tablet

from Consumer Dynamics Inc. itself.”

“What was it?”

“ Lust started a vampire story arc, and they’re killing us in the ratings. So…”

Leisha let out a little burble of laughter. “Oh, yeah. Gregory Bane. Guys have been

asking me to do their hair like his for weeks. Like it’s an actual style and not something

accomplished with a razor blade and some mousse. People are psycho for that guy.”

“Tell me about it.” Meena spun around in her office chair so she could look away from

her computer screen and out over the gray valley of skyscrapers that made up Fifty-third Street

between Madison and Fifth. She knew that, somewhere out there, Yalena was finding out that

her dreams of a new life in America weren’t exactly turning out the way she’d expected them

to. Meena wondered how long it would be before she’d call. Or if she’d ever call. “I don’t get

it. The guy looks like a toothpick. With hair.”

Leisha bubbled with more laughter. Meena loved the sound of Leisha’s laughter. It

cheered her up and reminded her of the old days, before they’d both ended up with mortgages.

Still, Meena felt obligated to say, “It’s not funny. You know how I feel about vampires.”

“Yeah,” Leisha said, sounding a little bored. “What is it you’re always saying again? In

the cult of monster misogyny, vampires are king?”

“Well,” Meena said, “they do always seem to choose to prey on pretty female victims.

And yet for some reason, women find this sexy.”

“I don’t,” Leisha said. “I want to be killed by Frankenstein. I like ’em big. And stupid.

Don’t tell my husband.”

“Even though these guys admit over and over to wanting to kill us,” Meena went on,

“the idea that they’re nobly restraining themselves from doing so is supposed to be attractive?

Excuse me, but how is knowing a guy wants to kill you hot?”

“The fact that he wants to but doesn’t makes some girls feel special,” Leisha said simply.

“Plus, vampires are all rich. I could deal with having some rich guy who wants to kill me—but

is nobly restraining himself—being super into me right now. Adam doesn’t have a job, but he

won’t even help with the laundry.”

“Vampires aren’t real!” Meena shouted into the phone.

“Calm down. Look, I don’t see what the big deal is,” Leisha said. “If someone who can

tell how everyone she meets is going to die can exist, why can’t vampires?”

Meena took a deep breath. “Did I tell you Shoshona got the gig as head writer? Why

don’t you just twist the knife?”

“Oh, my God.” Leisha sounded apologetic. “I’m so, so sorry, Meen. What are you going

to do?”

“What can I do?” Meena asked. “Wait it out. She’s going to screw up eventually.

Hopefully when she does, the show and I will both still be here, and I can step in and save the

day.”

“Got it,” Leisha said. “Hero complex.”

Meena knit her brows. “ What? ”

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