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The tension in the room broke as several people laughed. A young woman with bright-green eyes raised her hand like we were in school. “Speaking of concepts, can we please revisit the glitter explosion idea? Because I’ve been working on some mock-ups and?—”

“Down, Tina,” Jin-Ho interrupted. “We are not turning this into a teenage vampire fantasy.”

“But what if?—”

“No glitter explosions,” a serious-looking man in a crisp suit cut in. He turned to me with an apologetic smile. “I’m Nathan, accounts director. I try to keep the creatives from bankrupting us with their ideas.”

“You mean you try to crush our dreams,” Tina muttered, but her eyes danced with humor.

As Jin-Ho pulled up the presentation, I couldn’t help but compare this to my old marketing meetings. No Ms. Rodriguez shooting down every idea before stealing the good ones for herself. No Sarah from accounting rolling her eyes at every suggestion. No toxic competition masquerading as teamwork.

The first slide appeared on the screen—a sleek, minimalist design in muted golds and silvers. Professional. Safe. Boring.

“Our concept focuses on timeless elegance,” the presenter, a well-dressed man named David, clicked through more slides. Models with perfect faces stared back at us, posed against neutral backgrounds. Everything screamed high-end luxury… in the most mundane way possible.

“The tagline ‘Beauty Beyond Time’ emphasizes our product’s lasting effects,” David continued, showing mock-ups of magazine spreads that could have been for any premium brand. “We’re targeting the upper echelon of the markets…”

I stared at a particularly bland image of a model holding a crystal bottle against a beige background. The product literally contained essence of moonlight, according to the brief I’d glimpsed, and they were marketing it like overpriced face cream?

My old boss would have loved it. Safe. Marketable. Completely soulless.

I didn’t realize I was frowning until Archer nudged me. “Something on your mind, sugar fang?”

Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t ? —

“It needs to sparkle.”

And there goes my filter. Again.

David stopped mid-sentence, his perfectly practiced pitch faltering. The room went quiet enough to hear a pin drop—or in this case, my rapidly beating heart.

“Sparkle?” David’s polite smile looked strained. “We were aiming for sophisticated elegance?—”

“But we’re not selling to the Council Elders,” I blurted out, then immediately wished I could sink through the floor.

But something about the bland presentation sparked memories of all those times I’d bit my tongue in my old life, letting mediocre ideas win because speaking up wasn’t worth the backlash.

“This is a beauty line infused with actual moonlight essence. The target market is young supernatural people who want to glow like the Sato Clan’s kitsune or shine like the Bellini leopards.

But these ads…” I gestured at the screen where another model posed with all the personality of expensive wallpaper. “They could be selling anything.”

Jin-Ho leaned forward. “What would you suggest, Prince?”

Prince. Right. I wasn’t the quiet junior marketing exec anymore. I was a vampire prince in a room full of supernatural creatives.

“Show the magic,” I said, warming to the idea. “Not just the bottle, but what it does. Imagine a vampire’s skin catching starlight or a wolf shifter’s fur gleaming with moonfire during transformation. Real supernatural beauty, not just… pretty poses with pretty products.”

“We could use crystal formations,” Tina suggested, her green eyes lighting up.

“Or aurora effects,” someone else called out. “The Park Clan’s latest entertainment venture used something similar…”

The room erupted with ideas, creativity flowing like someone had uncorked a champagne bottle of inspiration. I caught Archer watching me, his eyes sparkling with something that looked suspiciously like pride.

“What about getting an actual idol?” Jin-Ho mused, pulling up a new document. “Someone who naturally embodies that ethereal beauty we’re talking about…”

“What about Aria from ECLIPSE?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

When everyone turned to look at me, I forced myself to continue.

“Sylvie was telling me about her—she’s a vampire idol whose skin naturally creates this luminescent effect.

And when she sings, she can actually form crystals in the air… ”

The energy in the room shifted from excited to electric.

“ECLIPSE is debuting soon,” Jin-Ho said thoughtfully, pulling up some information on his tablet. “They’re being very selective about endorsements…”

“Their company’s backed by both the Park and Sato Clans,” Nathan added. “The partnership possibilities…”

“And having a vampire idol would perfectly represent the product’s supernatural essence.” Tina practically bounced in her seat.

I watched as the team brainstormed, adding notes to Jin-Ho’s growing document. The bland beige presentation was forgotten as they discussed lighting techniques that would capture vampire luminescence, special effects that could enhance natural supernatural beauty without hiding it.

“This,” Archer finally spoke, making everyone fall silent, “is exactly what we needed.” His grin was pure mischief as he looked at me. “See what happens when you let yourself sparkle, sugar fang?”

I ducked my head, feeling my cheeks warm with embarrassment.

“We’ll need to wait until after ECLIPSE’s debut,” Nathan was saying. “See how they’re received. But this could be the start of something bigger than just one campaign.”

The meeting continued for another hour, the team diving deep into concepts and possibilities. By the time Jin-Ho closed his tablet, we had the bones of something that felt magical rather than mundane. Even David seemed won over, his earlier stiffness replaced with genuine enthusiasm.

“I should get back to those calls.” Archer sighed as the team filed out. “Want to take some of the mock-ups home to review? Give me your fresh prince perspective?”

I nodded, trying not to look too eager. After years of being shut down and ignored in my old marketing job, having people actually want my opinion felt… nice.

Marcus appeared with a sleek tablet loaded with the project files. “I’ve already sent access credentials to your personal device, Prince,” he said, then added with a small smile, “It’s refreshing to have someone who can handle Mr. Whitlock’s creative energy.”

“My creative energy is perfectly manageable,” Archer said with an exaggerated pout, before his expression softened as he turned to me. “You did good today, sugar fang. Really good.”

Coming from the mischievous Archer, the simple praise meant more than any of the team’s enthusiasm.

The elevator ride back to the penthouse was quiet, but my mind was buzzing with ideas. I clutched the tablet to my chest, already itching to dive into the files. Maybe being a vampire prince wouldn’t be so bad after all.