Middle of the Night: Chapter 1
Terry Silver is a prominent business owner, who happens to be a powerful vampire leader in the LA area. From waste disposal to escort services, Terry has a market for just about everything. But when a strapping new intern arrives from the local community college, he begins to rethink his priorities.
Trigger warning: This story is filled with drugs, smut and less than pleasant situations. If these bother you in any way, please, DO NOT READ. Definitely 18+. You've been warned.
First days were always the hardest, that’s what Mr. Miyagi had told him anyway as he scuffled from the table and headed out the door that morning. As helpful as the advice was meant to be, it only made Daniel nervous on the drive over to the place, nearly getting lost at one light. He had made the drive before, twice even, and a little anxiety was going to throw off his whole day? He shook his head, doing his best to shake it off as he pulled into the parking lot of the massive building, glancing at the sign out front.
DynaTox Industries was a well-known staple in the area, as was it’s owner, Mr. Silver. He seemed to be a pretty decent guy, always participating in charities and community programs. That was the only reason Daniel got accepted to the internship program in the first place, no million dollar company would have dreamed of taking in a pathetic community college intern unless they were showing a little pity. The entire admissions process had been intense and a little extreme though, yet not once had Daniel met the mysterious executive.
With this in mind, he wondered if he would get a chance to see the man on his first day in with the other interns. Not that it mattered much, he expected to be working with a supervisor or something in the sales departments, that was his focus anyway. It was just always nice to know who you were working for.
The building was plated in glass, reflecting Daniel’s awkward form back at him as he made the trek up to the revolving doors, heading inside. Exotic plants decorated the entry way, the teen pausing to touch a petal of one of the flowers to see if it was real. The purple flake broke into his hand causing him to panic and tuck it into the pot before he darted over to a nearby desk where a lady sat. He gave his best smile, weight shifting from foot to foot when her gaze found him.
“Welcome to DynaTox Industries. How may I help you?” The woman flashed a kind smile, hands folded over her workstation as she addressed Daniel.
“Hi, I’m Daniel LaRusso, I'm an intern” He started, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. “I was wondering where I’m supposed to be. It’s my first day.”
“Oh, right, one of the interns.” The assistant checked the index card holder on her desk. “La…LaRusso…Ah, here you are.” After a moment of reading the card, she wrote down some information on a slip of paper and passed it to the teen. “You’re going to floor three, conference room B. There should be someone there to help you.”
“Thank you so much.” Daniel nodded, rushing towards an elevator just before the doors were about to close. He clutched the piece of paper in his fist, glancing over it as the elevator ascended to his floor just to give himself something to do. Once the car paused on the third floor, he hesitated before stepping out into the hall where a some other people lingered.
A few other interns congregated in the hallway, Daniel spotting them by their dazed looks and questionable attire. Despite his best effort to smile and appear approachable, none of the others paid him any mind, nor did they speak to each other. He figured it was every man for himself around there, but still, he had to at least try to be civil. He was going to be stuck with most of these people for a few months, the last thing he wanted to do was to piss everyone off on his first day there.
Per the assistant’s directions, Daniel scoped out the right conference room, surprised to find an elderly lady waiting for him. She was helpful though, giving Daniel his name tag and a folder of paperwork. Most of it needed to be signed and returned, but the brunt of it was information on the company and its owner. The pamphlets would come in handy for his paper later on, and he did have an interest in how the company worked. He didn’t like to be superficial of others, but he wondered if the other interns actually cared about why they were there or if they only saw a multi million-dollar company and flocked to it. DynaTox hadn’t been his first choice for an internship, but they were the ones who had accepted him, and he was grateful for it.
“You’ll be shadowing our sales team.” The old woman explained. “There will be another intern joining you later this week, so you won’t be the only greenhorn around for long.” Her leathery face crinkled into a smile. “You seem like a good kid, you’ll fit right in.”
“Thanks, Miss Margaret.” Daniel smiled, but his nerves pinched the ends of it, a hand bunched at the hem of his shirt. “Where do I get started? I mean, what will I be doing?”
“For now, just shadowing, watching.” Margaret shooed him towards the door, making sure he had the file in his arm. “Mr. Silver would have a heart attack if interns touched anything.”
Mr. Silver. The name sounded so refined and regal, Daniel had to at least acknowledge that. No wonder the guy was rich and owned a nice chunk of the valley, he probably came from a prominent family with a name like that. That’s where his mind wandered off to when Margaret spoke, not where he was supposed to be or what he was meant to be doing. He blinked then when he heard his name, inhaling a sharp breath.
“Just shadow the sales team, got it. Thank you, Miss Margaret.” Daniel again grinned for the old woman, who by then had turned to walk away, going towards the elevator. He sighed, trying to recall where exactly the sales team was.
It took some trial and error, a little embarrassing, but he found the assistant head of the sales team. A balding man, who was not nearly as talkative or friendly as he was hoping he was going to be, who made sure Daniel did nothing but stand back and watch. Later he was introduced to the actual head of the team, the lady far nicer but still pretty strict. It was during this interaction that he learned what he was mostly going to be doing over the next few months.
Coffee duty.
Oh, he was seething, the mild scent of sandalwood seeping into his clothes. What was he supposed to learn by just standing and watching? That wasn’t how he learned karate, and that wasn’t how he expected to learn how to run a business. If that was the case then he guessed he shouldn’t have even gone to college. He almost hadn’t taken the risk, but Mr. Miyagi had convinced him to push himself further. Whether he would make it or not was still up in there air.
For the time being, he found himself running back from the nearest coffee shop with orders for nearly every member of the sales team. He was lucky to have a drink carrier, but hot beverages and cardboard don’t always mix. He didn’t spill any, but he stopped just short of losing the entire carrier, setting it down on a table in a waiting area. Daniel adjusted the cups and again tried to pick it up, one of the drinks tilting a bit. He was quick to set it back down, muttering a curse under his breath.
“Do you need help with that?” A voice came from next to the teen, soft and amused.
Daniel’s eyes met an icy blue stare, freezing him in place for a second. The man beside him looked so out of place, pale skin, raven hair, and eyes that just screamed intense. His clothes fit the part though, the guy decked out in a fancy business suit. He looked a little too nice to be working there though. Who was this guy?
“Oh, no, I’ve got it.” Daniel was quick to try and grab the carrier again, but the same thing happened. “Yeah, I might need some help actually. Thanks.”
“No problem.” The man picked up three of the coffees, while Daniel grabbed the other two. “It’s not easy being the intern.” The teen shot a look over at the guy who smirked. “It’s not hard to tell. You’re all over the place.”
“That easy, huh?” Daniel chewed his lip, kicking himself for looking like such an idiot. He led the way to the elevator, punching three with his elbow once they both were inside. There was something about this guy’s scent that made Daniel sway, he couldn’t put a finger on it. It wasn’t like any alpha scent he had smelt before, it was stronger.
“It gets easier, so I hear.” While he spoke, the man cut a glance over at Daniel, tracing his profile. Daniel tried to avoid the man’s wandering stare while they stood there together, but it was hard to ignore. Was it his clothes? He had worn the best clothes he had, but he didn’t have too much to pick from, hoping he could buy new stuff with his first pay check.
“I just wish people would let me do something.” He sighed. “I get I’m an intern and a student, but I can’t learn if I don’t do anything.” Daniel huffed the last part, stepping out onto the floor when the doors opened up. The man followed behind him, mouth slightly pursed and brows arched.
“So, you’re a kinaesthetic learner.” When Daniel gave the man a confused look he laughed. “You learn by doing. You’re a physical learner.”
“Oh, well, yeah.” Daniel shook his head at the strange word the man used. “I just hope this entire intern thing isn’t going to be like this the whole time.” The beta sighed as he paused at the conference room door to open it.
“If they see potential in you then they’ll give you a chance.” He set the coffees he held on a console table by the door before motioning towards it. “I better get going. Me and these guys don’t really get along.” It was a strange thing to say, but Daniel brushed it off, realizing he didn’t get the man’s name.
“Oh, I’m Daniel, by the way.” He wedged his foot in the door to keep it open, disappointed he couldn’t shake the guy’s hand like a professional.
“I know. It’s on your shirt.” The man cut a sly grin Daniel’s way as he pointed to his name tag, before turning and walking down the hallway.
The guy hadn’t even given him his name! How rude could one person be? Well, he did help him carry the coffees to the room, but wouldn’t go inside? Daniel found himself troubled by the exchange the rest of the day, zoning out a good portion of the time that the sales team were going over figures that he could barely understand. He recalled what the man said, that if they saw potential in him that they would give him a shot. But how was he supposed to show any potential by just standing around?
As the work day drew to a close, the murmurings of a get together at a bar across town reached his ears. Something about celebrating the arrival of the new interns or some nonsense like that. Daniel didn’t see the harm in it, not a big drinker but he saw it as a chance to meet some of the other people he worked with. It was all a part of the college experience, right?
Some folks went home after work to change, while the majority of others left work and immediately went to the bar. Daniel was one of those people, not wanting to explain to Mr. Miyagi why he was leaving home after getting back from work. He wasn’t exactly dressed for a night out, clad in dress pants and a sweater, but he didn’t look bad. There were plenty of other people in the bar who looked worse than he did.
Once other employees from the company began to filter into the bar, Daniel tried to strike up conversations with a few of them. Some ignored him, while others referred to him as a child and outright insulted him. There were a couple who humored the teen, it mostly being the younger women of the company, batting their eyes at him and asking how his first day was. Daniel didn’t mind the attention, it was a nice change after losing touch with a few of his old flames. The wounds were still a little fresh though, and most of the conversations died down soon after they began.
Daniel found himself at the bar halfway through the night, ordering Dr. Pepper and people watching to pass the time. He had tried to order a beer, but the bartender wouldn’t let him, just chuckling at him and giving him a soda on the house. Even when he was trying to be badass, he couldn’t win. So he sat there, drinking his soda and staring off at the other bar goers. Until a familiar voice echoed from beside him.
“Whiskey, please. Neat.”
The man from earlier perched on the bar stool next to Daniel, now dressed in blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt. His dark hair was slicked back into a ponytail, a few stray pieces curling around his forehead and ears. Daniel was quiet while he cut his eyes over at the man, the same odd scent of smoke filling his nose. It made sense that he would be there too. The guy did work at the company. But for him to find Daniel at the bar like that? It was weird. As if on cue, the man seemed to focus in on Daniel’s insecurity.
“Oh, hey, Daniel.” The man grinned, sipping his whiskey. “How was the rest of the sales meeting?”
“Boring.” The brunette admitted as he picked at his cuticles. “I did get to drink one of the coffees though. Apparently, I messed up the order.” He shrugged then, tan cheeks flushed. “What branch are you in…You know I never got your name!”
“Terry.” He held a handout to the teen, who gave it a firm shake. “Ah, I really do a little bit of everything. I’m particularly good at business management, the administration side.” Terry explained, gesturing with his hand before taking another sip of his drink. “So, you want to go into sales, is that right?”
“Oh, I don’t know yet. I just know I’m interested in business. I’d like to have my own someday.” It was the first time Daniel really smiled that evening, the once agitating scent of smoke now oddly comforting. “Not sure what kind yet, but I’d like to have my name on a sign some kind of way.”
“That’s a pretty big ambition. All you need is the drive to get there.” Terry finished his drink, nodding to the bartender for another. “And maybe some money.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m going to save everything I get from this internship…” Daniel paused when the other laughed. “What?”
“This internship doesn’t pay its interns. Most internships don’t actually.” Terry thanked the bartender when he got his drink, setting it aside. “So you won’t be making anything, Danny-boy.”
It was definitely news to him. He had specifically applied to the DynaTox internship program because it offered a paid internship and now some guy was telling him that it was a lie? It had to be a joke. But what if it wasn’t? That meant he was going to have to find some other way to save up money while also going to school, and that hadn’t been part of his thinking going into this. Daniel went quiet, pushing his empty glass around on the counter.
A hand pressed into his back then, the pressure soft against his spine. He blinked, head snapping round to meet Terry’s electric gaze and faint smile. Daniel’s mouth opened though no words left him, the strangest sensation jostled through his veins to have another man look at him that way. Specifically, to have that man look at him that way.
“If you’re strapped for cash I know a way you can make some extra money.” Terry kept his voice low, sliding his hand down Daniel’s back and off his hip. The teen tensed when the man did that, averting his eyes. “It’s totally discreet. I mean, hell, how do you think all the other interns are making their money?”
Daniel’s body warmed. Was this guy really propositioning him? He dug in his pocket for his wallet, pulling it out only to drop it on the floor. He slid from the bar stool to grab it, but a foot stopped him. A lump settled in his throat as he stared at the shoe that rest on his wallet, not daring to look up.
“Let me get those for you, Danny-boy.” Terry slid his foot off Daniel’s wallet then got out his own, paying for both of their tabs. The teen snatched up his wallet, ready to run out of the bar when a voice called after him. “Remember what I said, Daniel. Think about it.”
Was he desperate enough to consider such a thing? No, never, that was disgusting. Besides, he had never been with anyone, why would he drop as low as to have his first time be with someone he didn’t even know? And for a few bucks too? He wasn’t ready to be that pathetic. He preferred to be a broke loser than a floozy degenerate. The entire incident left him shaken and made him regret ever asking the guy his name.
