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How was it, that chance meetings could turn into so much more? For months Alex had heard from her staff about the odd woman that would come in, attract attention through waving a chicken foot around, yet she hadn't ever caught her. The one time that she finally caught the 'show,' Alex was hooked. Of course, she was essentially starved for interaction with others of her kind, even if she didn't know it. It was more than that though. Something about Zodiac's confidence, the way that she didn't care what others thought about her, her smile, her eyes... something about her had drawn Alex in. She'd never thought of herself as either a lesbian or even bisexual, though she had been with women before, yet there she was attracted to this woman, looking forward to each interaction with her. She half hoped to draw out the decoration of her apartment, so as to spend more time with her, but one thing that she'd never allowed herself to appear was needy.

Zodiac had asked her a lot of questions, though there were many that she was surprised to not have been asked. To her, it would be common sense to have a bathroom, and she was to have one, but there was no need for a toilet and so she wasn't even asked about that. Fireplaces weren't even something she'd considered, since it was an apartment, yet she was to have three! A predominant color was asked about, but the rest of the scheme was to come from Zodiac. She was the decorator.

Though they had only just met, on that fateful early May evening, for some reason Alex was drawn into trusting the woman. In fact, she hadn't seen the inside of her apartment since she'd given the decorating contract to Zodiac. The previous evening she'd gotten word from her that the apartment was finished, ready for her to move in. She was to meet with her that evening, for the big reveal.

It was rare to never that she took an evening completely off, but the moment she learned about this evening she had called Garrett into her office and broke the news, besides being sure that he was prepared for the night in question. It was rare that he had the reigns and so she wanted him to feel empowered, not to mention to test his mettle. After that she had called Arimil, her bewitched human and personal assistant, into her office to give her a heads up and assign her some tasks. She set it up so that Arimil would pack up the few belongings that she had in her office and, once she'd been given the word, could bring them to the apartment.

On the evening in question she dressed comfortably, but nice. It was rare that she allowed herself to wear pants, since dresses showed off her fabulous legs. Since she never took time off, she hadn't even worn jeans or anything in ages, though she thought she might still have a pair floating around somewhere. Getting ready, she pulled on a nice black and grey pants outfit, with matching jewelry. Of course she wore heels, because flats always hurt her feet and felt weird. She wanted to look nice, yet comfy. She wanted to catch Zodiac's eye, yet be a little more conservative, compared to her work attire. Nervously she stood outside of her apartment door, anxiously awaiting Zodiac's arrival. She fidgeted with her vest a bit, her necklace, her pants. She was tempted to go inside, but had promised to wait for the other woman.

"Trust me! Trust me!"

It had become her battle cry anytime Alex texted her with a question on how the place was coming along. The majority of things came together rather quickly for the project but it was the personal touches that ate up the time. Several nights she worked with a few people for hire she knew and got the basics all set into place. Once that was done, the gypsy began her real work.

Rugs, drapes, the list seemed endless, but the girl knew what odd corners to look into for special requests. It was just a matter of patience and time, along with money. A notebook filled with every receipt for every purchase made was ready for the allurist when the time to settle the bills got into place.

She was having fun with this. It was her first project for someone other than herself, so it had to be perfect. Some of it was challenging as well, such as the paper wall panels and sliding doors, but she learned quickly. Once one knew where to properly drill the holes, the rest was a snap. She was never a point and say 'do this' type of person. Too much of her life was spent doing things for herself and this was no different.

She had finished the place and was ready for the walk through when a final item arrived. Alex wanted an Asian feel to the place and Zodiac had gone to lengths to blend such touches in with the color schemes. The lantern covers for the wall lights just had to be a part of this.

So, she left and made her way to the apartment during the daylight hours. It no longer burned her but she did still smoke a bit. That and feeling totally exhausted. The short hops in and out of the mini bus was easy enough to manage. Once inside, she began to add the lanterns to the existing track lights that had been put in, and took a final walk through to check for anything out of place. The living/entertaining area and the master bedroom was perfect. The walk in closets and other things hidden by the decorations and design. The tiny kitchenette was perhaps the only room that had not gotten more than a repaint, clean down and making sure all worked inside. Being an allurist, Zodiac imagined Alex might use the place to entertain on occasion, so a working fridge and a way to prepare snacks for guests was part of the issue. However, the fridge and the cupboards were empty and waiting. Alex could buy her own groceries if she wished.

She lingered in the bath. It was perhaps her favorite room of the entire project. Alex wanted a large tub for relaxing in, but Zodiac went one step beyond. The wading pool dominated one side of the area. Again, the lanterns casting a soft glow around the room along with the floating tea lights. The opposite side she simply had turned into a lounging area. Like a personal spa. She checked the small end table that hid the cap in the floor from where the toilet originally sat. A waste of space in her view for a vampire. She could not remember the last time that familiar 'urge' had even been felt and she imagined it was the same for the rest of them too, so why waste the space? They were in her businesses, of course, for her mortal clients and the day workers but why have one in your home if it just will collect dust?

She yawned again. It would be several hours till sundown and when she was supposed to meet the owner of this place. Zodiac walked back into the living area and sat down in front of the flat screen TV. Where had Alex found a monster sized one like this was a mystery, but the client was always right. The mystic turned it on and sat back to watch and fell asleep.

***

Her eyes snapped open and focused on the clock. "Oh hell!" she jumped up from the sofa. She was supposed to meet Alex in the lobby (or was it at the door? She wasn't sure) and now she was late. She ran through the apartment, making sure everything was in place a final time before grabbing her purse (or as Alex called it, her bag of holding) and ran for the door. The mystic opened it, ran out and collided with the owner of the apartment. Zodiac screamed in her thoughts as a gagged gasp escaped her lips. She leaned against the door frame panting and clutching her chest for a few moments.

"If my heart was still beating it would have stopped just now, You okay?" she sighed as the girl was finally finding the humor in it all. She unlocked the door, pushed the door open and made an exaggerated display of welcome. "Welcome to the bewitching lair of Alex. Enter of your own free will and fall in love with the place as you see fit." she grinned despite checking her chest again for a heartbeat.

As time passed Alex grew more and more antsy. She was anxious to both see Zodiac and to see her apartment. Finally she'd decided to go on inside and so rather than leaning against the wall beside the door, she'd moved to stand before it. No sooner had she reached for the handle than the door burst open and the vision that was Zodiac burst forth. The impact of their collision made Alex take a half step backwards and she half yelped, half laughed even as she smiled over at the other woman. To help steady them both, a hand moved to grasp Zodiac's side, unconsciously pulling her closer even as she attempted to keep from getting knocked down.

The words spoken into her mind had her laughing even as her hand fell away from the other woman's side. She wanted to flirt with her, but felt awkward. She flirted with people all of the time, but it was a falsehood, an attempt to coerce them into spending more money, staying in the casino. Honest flirting though, that was not something she ever did and so she was off her game. Instead of oozing the confidence that she typically showed, she was almost as meek as a little lamb. She grinned widely and openly at Zodiac, a lightly rosy dusting upon her cheeks as the blood from her most recent meal rushed there. "I'm good Mistress," she replied softly, using the title for the other woman in an effort to bring herself back to, well herself.

When Zodiac stepped aside, motioning around and welcoming her to her own place, Alex's nervousness grew to an all time high. That is, until she stepped inside. She stopped just inside of the threshold and just looked around in awe. Her mouth fell open a little bit as she just stared at her main living room in surprise. Zodiac had taken her Asian influence suggestion and run with it. Not only that, but she'd enhanced it, kicking it up a notch, without overdoing it.

To her right, in the corner, was a fireplace with a couple of fur rugs before it so that she could curl up on them before the fire. Quickly her eyes darted toward Zodiac as her imagination raced and a mental image of the other woman curled up there with her danced into her mind. Tearing her eyes away from that area, she moved them on along. In the far corner was a bar, to the left of that was a table area. Closer was the couch and television area. She'd gotten a positively giant screen TV, all the better to see her favorite shows on. Much better than watching them on her laptop. Everywhere she looked the walls were made to appear like the paper walls that are part of the Eastern Asian culture. Red was the dominant color, as she'd suggested, but all of the accents made things pop!

At the far end of the room, where she knew it opened onto the kitchen area, was a set of sliding paper door panels, so that the area could be kept separate, and not even shown if she didn't want to. She crossed to these and pulled them apart, peeking inside with a big grin upon her lips. She knew she'd not have much use for it, since it wasn't like she was prone to entertaining others, but she liked having it available. After her peek, she slid the doors back closed and moved slowly around the room, just taking it all in. She paused to lightly touch the Japanese fan that decorated the cabinet, beside the television, then she moved to the hallway where there was a series of fine samurai swords in a rack on a table. She of all people, should have been wary of swords, given that a sword had killed her, but she was fascinated. She knew that there was a bathroom just passed the doorway beside her, that she still had that and the bedroom to check out, but she was so taken by the whole look, that she was at a loss for words.

Her face was aglow as she smiled widely over at Zodiac, her eyes wetter than normal as she was on the verge of tears spilling out. Swallowing, to get passed the lump in her throat, she whispered, as if she were afraid to disturb the silence of a church, "Beautiful... just beautiful..."

Zodiac leaned against the doorframe and said nothing while the woman explored her revamped ('ouch!') apartment. This was her first attempt outside of tinkering with her own places so if she pulled this off, she would have a centerpiece for future business. Not like she didn't have enough on her plate most nights as it was, but something like this project was a distraction from the norm. A occasional side business, nothing more.

She watched Alex in general rather than center on her expressions. After meeting with her several times as well as the one evening in the casino, she had picked up clues on how the woman moved in general. Alex tended to move like she was on stage at times. Possibly because of the nature of her job, but as she walked about her place the mystic noticed when she was suddenly 'off balance' as she took in the results of Zodiac's efforts. Those small instances where the woman was suddenly 'off her game' as new discovery surprised her. Zodiac began to relax as the potential list of 'WTF is this all about?' began to grow smaller in her thoughts.

"Beautiful... just beautiful..."

Inwardly, the girl finally relaxed while flashing a full fanged grin.

"I am pleased you like it. I did my best to cut corners, but not quality in this. I knew you could possibly afford the best of everything, but that's not how my mind works. A little bit of patience, care and some TLC can surprise you when it comes to a project like this." She finally moved from her spot on the wall and approached the woman. "I am sure you still have some personal touches to add to it all. Hell, I can't think of everything, but if the basics are sound then all is good."

She handed the allurist a slightly thick folder that was clipped close to prevent anything from being lost from it. "The 'bad news'. Receipts for everything that was purchased, what I had to hire in extra help to do, and the dreaded bill. But before you go through all that, you got to finish the tour."

Zodiac slid open the door that revealed the bath and made a gesture with her arm to encourage Alex to enter. "I admit I kinda went a tad crazy in this room, but I think you will like it." She walked in and across the small room and took a seat in one of the twin chairs. "To me, bath time is a 'it's all about me' deal. A little haven from the world at large. Place to pamper yourself and relax. Granted the size of the tub allows you to have a few friends over, but you get the idea."

So in awe, she didn't even really hear what Zodiac said into her mind. She was transfixed by the detail, by everything that had gone into making her home the masterpiece that it was. While her fingers touched the sword, her eyes moved between it and the fireplace across the room. She, who was known for taking everything in stride and keeping going, could not even get her mouth working, let alone her mind. She was aglow from the excitement but she was just so speechless.

The next thing she knew she had a folder pressed into her hands. Chocolate eyes dropped to the folder before darting back to Zodiac, then around the room again. She heard the word 'bill' but couldn't focus on the bottom line just yet. Absently she slid the paperwork onto the counter beside the sword rack before she followed Zodiac into the bathroom. Once more she was surprised. Her jaw dropped open, her eyes bulged and she just stared in shock.

The room had been of a good size for a bathroom, and it was true that she'd asked for a larger tub, but this went beyond a large tub. She must have reinforced the floor by quite a lot to accomodate the veritable wading pool that took up half of her bathroom! The other half was a little sitting area, almost salon style! There was even a fireplace in the bathroom! She was surprised by the lack of a toilet, but then most vampires didn't need to expell anything. The only time an Allurist did was if they injested food and fluids other than blood. She actually had to do that more often than not, to let her clients see her joining them, but she could expell that at work.

Moving over to the tub, she sat upon the edge of it and let her fingers drag through the water. That movement sent ripples over the surface, sending the little water lilies that were floating there moving. "Perhaps you'll have to join me sometime," she said softly, not even realizing what she was proposing. Any other time she would have turned that into a seduction line, however in the here and now, when she was so caught up with the perfection that was her appartment, the details that Zodiac had gone through, she wasn't even thinking like herself.

During the course of the remodel she had tried to flirt with Zodiac and had no response to it. While it seemed to only make Alex all the more interested, it was also very frustrating. Since she spent all of her time around humans, she was used to her Allurist tricks working all of the time. Now, not even the seduction tricks she'd learned pre-turning seemed to have any reaction, at least on Zodiac. Perhaps the woman was being kind, by ignoring the flirting, or maybe she wasn't into women. Overall, it was very disheartening. In the moment though, she wasn't even thinking about flirting. Right now it was all about the wonderment that was her new home.

"This is more like it, room to stretch out!" she said with a wide, silly grin. She rose, her arms outstretched as she spun once, then she grasped Zodiac's shoulders as she beamed into her eyes and said, "You've outdone yourself!" That being said, she leaned in, brushed the woman's cheek with her lips, then swept passed her. She moved through the door from the bathroom, across the living space and over to the far doorway. Once more the doors were done like the Asian paper doors and so she paused at it and admired the handiwork before she slipped them open.

The entire left hand wall was covered with more sliding paper style red doors and behind each was her giant walk-in closet. At the moment it was bare, but she'd call Arimil to bring her clothes to fill a corner of it up, then she supposed that she'd have some shopping to do. The floors were hardwood and before her was a large blue Chinese Dragon rug and a beautiful wooden dresser. Immediately to her right was a wooden desk with a marble top, perfect for her laptop. Passed that was the fireplace for her bedroom, a marble affair too, a lovely rug with the image of a flower on it, and her big comfortable bed. There was even a designed rub beneath that, two end tables and a trunk at the end of the bed.

The entire place was so much more than she could have imagined! She crossed to the bed and sank down on the bottom corner, just looking around, trying to take it all in, yet overwhelmed by it all. She truly couldn't say anything.

In the words of Robert Preston in Victor/Victoria "Wait till you see the bathroom. It's an religious experience."

Zodiac sat and beamed as Alex took it all in. No mind reading required to see the woman was overjoyed with the place. There was a few features she had yet to describe, and a small guest bathroom just in case mortal company should drop by, but all it was was just a small closet with the main bit of visiting in place with a sink. This? Oh no, this was for the lady to enjoy as she saw fit, not have people tramping in and out like it was a bus stop. Never that.

The kiss surprised her as Alex left the room to look over the rest of the place. That and her reference to sharing a bath was not lost on her. "What is it with me with allurists and killers, I swear." she thought to herself as she stood up. She had noticed the subtle bits of flirting, but Alex did not have a clue who she was actually dealing with. Zodiac held herself to the same work ethics she expected from those she hired to work for her. There was a job to do, so do it and you will be paid well. Tell the mystic all would be done by say, Thursday, and come Thursday she finds you haven't even started yet, you would find yourself quickly out of a job. She rewarded honesty and hard work generously. Anyone who worked for her as a norm knew that for a fact. So when she worked for another, she gave them what she expected herself from others. No distractions, games, tall tales or excuses. Work first, then anything else could be considered afterwards.

She had forgot to show the woman a final bit of addition to the bath room. A wall panel opened to allow a massage table to drop out. Hire a masseuse and be ready for business after a hard night's work. It would keep for now. She slipped her bag over her shoulder and stepped out into the main room again. A quick visual sweep told her Alex was discovering the bedroom. Had she done too much with the walk in closets? She didn't think so. She sat on the couch and made a few notes to herself. One, she picked up a bit of an odd vibe as Alex inspected the katana blades in the rack. Did she not like them for some reason? No biggie, the gypsy could always remove them and use them in another project. Perhaps a couple bonsai trees in their place? Personally she found the small trees a delight to tend and fuss over, but perhaps that would be something outside of what Alex would find fun to do.

She looked up from her notes to the sliding doors leading to the bedroom and reached out with her thoughts. "Hey, I know that bed is comfortable, but don't tell me you fell asleep on me." her mental voice soft and laughing. "Business is still business till the checks are signed and all that. Plus I have another potential client in this building to try and catch sometime this evening."

Zodiac crossed her legs and took another look around. Already her mind was considering 'stealing' bits of this concept to incorporate into a project of her own. She glanced ahead to the primary notes for her other client she was to meet with.

"Torture racks and hammocks. I like it already."

Despite how thrilled she was with the way the apartment had turned, despite her joy in the moment of discovering this aspect or that, she'd not forgotten the company nearby. Stepping up to the dresser, she ran her fingers over the fine grain of the wood. Next she crossed to the desk, the marble top's texture so cool to the touch. Everything was just so much and so fabulous!

When she'd told her assistant, Arimil, and her Assistant Casino Host, Garrett, that she'd gotten an apartment, both had applauded her. Gary hadn't been sure how she'd managed to look so fantastic and live out of the small office she'd been granted at the casino. Then she told them who was decorating it and they'd both paused and looked at her as though she were crazy. They only knew the woman as the one that came into the casino, making a scene and waving a chicken leg around the place. Truthfully, Alex hadn't known too much. Yes, Zodiac had shown her some pictures of her completed projects, but they could've been of anyone's work. Before Zodiac got to work though, Alex quietly inquired about her and learned that she was very good and so she was sold.

The time it had taken for the work to be completed had felt like it dragged on forever. She knew that it wasn't really all that long, especially given the length of time that a vampire had to live. What was it that was said? Anticipation was either a tortoise or a hare, moving slowly while anticipating something or speeding by when joy was had. That wasn't exactly how that went, but it was the analogy that had kept her sane during the wait. All of the best things were worth waiting for. That was true of things, like her apartment, and people, like Zodiac. She had a major crush going on for the Mystic and the woman hadn't been responding one bit. Either she wasn't interested or she was waiting for something.

Her awe was broken by the woman's soft mental voice and a peel of laughter. Alex couldn't help but smile and so she turned toward the bedroom door. The rest of the message came through and Alex's excitement was tamped down a bit. After the anticipation of the apartment had come, she'd hoped that perhaps more might come with Zodiac. However, if the other woman had to rush off, it didn't seem that would happen. Stepping into the living room her excitement was dampened a little, by that one disappointment.

Crossing toward the bathroom, she stopped at the table she'd left the bill on and grabbed it. Now came the downside to a new place, the bill. She carried the folder over to the table and settled down gracefully. Immediately she put on her business face and began to sift through all of the receipts, the invoices, notations here and there. Now was the time to be serious. If she'd been thinking about it, she might have held her counsel on how wonderful the apartment was, to try and haggle. The thing was that if Alex was one thing, it was honest. She might try and trick her clients out of their money, but she was honest about it. They all knew what her job was, yet they always came back because she helped them have fun while losing their money.

"Everything looks to be in order," she said once she'd gone through every last detail. Never mind that Zodiac was waiting for her money. She wanted to know exactly what she was paying for. She did notice a massage bed was one of the things listed as being in the bathroom, so she'd have to go back and find that. She saw the toilet on a bill, but that was when she noticed the hidden door. She'd hastily moved to check it out, nodding a confirmation before she'd gone back to the invoice. When all was said and done, she reached into her purse and pulled out a check book.

Alex was very good at her job. When she'd arrived in Las Vegas she'd had little but the clothes on her back. After being shown what to do she had worked her way up until she'd become known as the best Casino Host in Vegas. With each passing year in that town she had negotiated a better salary, adding a percentage of her client's losses to her final total. After returning to Harper's Rock, and effectually becoming trapped there, she'd approached Chad Worthington III about his slower business there in town. In little time she had his place full, including luring some of her whales from Vegas up to cold Canada. He paid her nicely for her efforts and so she was able to pay a bit more than some.

"Everything lines up and seems reasonable," she commented as she held out the check to the other woman, her chocolate orbs looking the raven haired beauty straight in the eye.