Information is power—and being a corporate thief means getting what your client needs, especially on their competitors and their products. Jackie St. George is one of the best in her field and she won't stop at anything to get the inside scoop on a company's new product.
Right now her client is eager to get the story behind Chocofun's newest confectionary treat, a mysterious chocolate that could be the hottest thing to hit the market in years. And if they're willing to pay, she's willing to go to any lengths to get the information!
Everything's going fine on her surveillance of a secret board meeting until she overhears a strange voice discussing "the second line" with the President of Chocofun. Corporate secrets are one thing, but death threats are another!
Confronted on the rooftop by a self-proclaimed "vampire" Jackie finds that she's in the middle of a war over much more than just the secret of the new candy treat 'Bloodsuckers'. Saved by Fletcher Dillon, a bookstore manager turned vampire hunter she now finds herself in the middle of a much bigger problem than just a case of corporate espionage.
She doesn't know what to do or who to trust—if anyone. But business is still business, though and what's a woman got to do to get paid around here?
Sheryl Nantus lives in Brownsville, Pennsylvania with her husband Martin. A Canadian who met her husband online, she enjoys cross-stitch, online gaming and lacrosse while extolling the benefits of a good cuppa tea to anyone who will listen.
A single drop rolled down my nose, cold on colder skin. Clapping my hand over my mouth I closed my eyes and held my breath for a long minute. Sure, it was a long stretch that they would hear anything over the thunder cracking the air over us, but I couldn't afford to get caught. MackyMack Delights wouldn't bail me out of jail and I had no doubt that ChocoFun wasn't going to either. The tickling subsided, letting me breathe again.
Safe again, I leaned over the small monitor, brushing away the blurring drops as the minicamera caught an image of the CEO, David Longstreet, walking to the front of the table. The room was sparsely furnished—the ten men obviously uncomfortable in anything that wasn't polished oak and leather and making do with the cheap chipboard table and the mismatched chairs sitting around it.
"Gentlemen..." Longstreet's voice boomed out. Dialing the speaker down with a spin I rubbed my ear and cursed again as a trickle of water ran down inside. "Gentlemen, I thank you for coming here tonight under less than... convenient circumstances."
The bottled chuckles rolled onto my tape at a decent level. I watched as they sat down almost simultaneously, each watching Longstreet as he placed the briefcase on the table, causing the thin wood to creak under the weight.
"I'll cut to the chase, gentlemen. I have here the next great product for not only ChocoFun, but possibly for the entire industry." The lid flipped up. "Presenting... Bloodsuckers!"
As the suits leaned forward to get a clearer look at the small candy I spun the dial to zoom in, trying to get a good shot while keeping a good grip on the small black plastic in the drizzle. Spytech's come a long way in the past decade, but there's still only so much you can get. As it was, all I saw was a small brown rectangle with a garish wrapper lying to one side. Another crash of thunder over my head reminded me to thank the camera's builders for making it waterproof. Too bad I wasn't.