Suck It Up by Brian Meehl Read Free Book Online

didn’t call it Dredful Public Relations.”
    Morning instantly liked her. Not only was she the kind of fast-talking New Yorker he’d missed in the last ten months, her outfit was the same color as the Green Lantern’s.
    Birnam gave her a friendly smile. “Why did you name it Diamond Sky?”
    â€œâ€˜Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a
diamond
in the sky,’” she recited. “I’m in the business of making people sparkle. So, which one of you is my diamond in the rough?”
    Birnam gestured toward Morning. “Meet Morning McCobb.”
    Morning watched her cheery mask for a twinge of disappointment. Nothing slipped through.
    She eyed the gawky string bean of a teenager sitting on the other side of her desk. “Hello, Morning.”
    â€œHe’s a vampire,” Birnam announced.
    Without skipping a beat, she waved at the picture-covered walls. “I’ve handled everyone from a professional wrestler named Two-Headed Harry to an Elvis impersonator who claimed he was the real Elvis, back after thirty years of alien abduction.”
    â€œThat’s why we picked you,” Birnam explained. “The more unusual the client, the more you rise to the occasion.”
    She laughed. “A vampire joke.”
    Birnam tossed her a quick smile. “Only if you believe vampires rise from the grave. You see, Morning has something Two-Headed Harry and alien-abduction Elvis don’t. He’s not an impersonator. He’s the real thing.”
    It was Penny’s turn to flash a smile. “The customer is always right. But could I make a suggestion on the costume?”
    â€œActually, no,” Birnam said politely. “This is how he dresses.”
    â€œOkay,” she conceded, “we’ll do the slacker vampire thing.”
    â€œWe were thinking more on the lines of the
Leaguer
vampire thing.”
    Penny’s brow knitted. “Isn’t he too old for Little League?”
    Birnam opened the briefcase on his lap. “It’s all right here, Penny.” He pulled out a glossy presentation folder and handed it across the desk. “Here’s the playbook.”
    Penny’s cheeriness vanished as she lifted her hands away from the folder. “Whoa now, Mr. Birnam.
Here’s
the ‘playbook.’ I figure out how to put the diamond in the sky. I come up with the plan that sends this morning star blazing across the firmament of celebrity. It can be for fifteen minutes or fifteen years, that’s all negotiable. But whenever Morning’s last twinkle is swallowed by the Black Hole of Has-beenia, I’m still going to be here. I have a reputation to protect. And
no one
tells me how to do my job.”
    Birnam gently placed the folder on Penny’s desk and turned the open briefcase toward her.
    Glimpsing the contents, her eyes widened. The neatly wrapped bundles in the briefcase were the same color as her pantsuit. “Like I said”—her smile returned—“the customer is always right.”
    Birnam nodded happily. “I knew I picked the right woman for the job.”
    â€œShall we begin tomorrow morning?”
    â€œSounds good.” Birnam rose from his chair and extended his hand. “I know you and Morning will make a great team.”
    Shaking hands, Penny glanced at Morning, still slumped in his chair. “Me and Morning? Won’t you be here tomorrow?”
    Birnam gave Morning a tight smile, like a parent leaving his firstborn at college. “No, he’s all yours now.” He turned and walked out.
    Penny scooted around the desk and followed him into the reception area. “Wait a minute, where is he staying?”
    Birnam opened the glass door and turned back. “He may not look like it, but he can take care of himself. Before he became a vampire, he was an orphan in this city.”
    â€œBut—”
    But Birnam was