Ji-Su accepted the phone. “Hello?”
“Ji-Su, how are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“I hope you are recovering after your ordeal.”
“I am. I’m sorry to have caused your agency trouble.”
“This wasn’t your fault. It all rests on the shoulders of Cedric. He will be evaluated to determine if he will simply be on probation or blacklisted completely from our services.”
“That’s fair.”
“I’m told that you will be remaining with Mr. Raul. Are you certain that’s what you want to do?”
Ji-Su quickly glanced at Raul before he looked down at the table. “Yes, I am.”
“Okay then. He transferred one million dollars to your former blood patron to nullify that contract. For your new contract—.”
“Wait. One million dollars?” He snapped his head back up, staring at Raul in shock. “That wasn’t the remaining amount on my contract.” The comment had been directed to Raul but Sandra answered.
“No, it was not. However, Cedric requested that amount and Mr. Raul paid it in order to expedite the process.”
“Oh my God,” Ji-Su whispered. That amount of money... It almost made him light-headed.
“Are you okay?”
Ji-Su shook off his shock over the amount of money that Raul had given Cedric. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”
“As I was saying. Your new contract is for two hundred thousand. Monthly payments will be deposited into your account on the same schedule as before. Which means it will be a couple of weeks before you receive your first payout.”
“Why am I being paid when Mr. Raul has already spent so much?”
“We can’t allow you to stay there without compensation. You will be providing a service to Mr. Raul and must be paid for that service.”
“Right.”
“We have vetted Mr. Raul as well. His career might have some... shady undertones. But that’s not unusual for vampires in this area. More importantly, for him personally, I found no instances of abuse or neglect with any partners—human or vampire. I spoke with several of his former blood pets both contracted and casual and they all gave him glowing recommendations. It looks as though you should be in good hands with Mr. Raul.”
Ji-Su’s shoulders relaxed, releasing the tension he didn’t even realize they were carrying. “That’s good.” He would have hated to learn something negative about Raul after the way he’d saved him and the kindness he’d shown thus far.
“Do you have any other questions?”
“No.”
“Since this is an unusual set of circumstances, I’m giving you my direct number. Please call me if there are any issues.”
Ji-Su took out his phone and stored the number Sandra gave him in his contacts.
“Goodbye, Ji-Su. I hope this next partnership works out better for you.”
“Thank you, Sandra.”
After ending the call, he passed the phone back to Raul. Their meals had arrived toward the end of his conversation, but neither of them moved to eat. They silently stared at each before Ji-Su gave voice to the three words hanging between them.
“One million dollars?”
Raul nodded. “Yes,” he said without breaking eye contact.