The head wizard, Lionel, sat back down in his seat. Toby took that as an invitation to expand on his theory. He needed the council of wizards to agree to the office renovations. It was the only way for him to continue his human day job without raising suspicion.
“We all want to be friends with the vampires right?” Toby said. Some wizards whooped aloud. The more prideful ones gave neutral murmurs, but he could see the excited glint in their eyes. “Well, they won’t give us the light of day – pardon the pun – and always tell us they’re busy for the next century.”
“How are they always so busy?” Ray whined from the back. Poor guy hadn’t realised the truth behind the vampires’ excuses yet.
“Solar window tinting can block out UV rays. Think about what would happen if we went through with hiring a professional office glass tinting company. Melbourne has very few vampire-safe buildings during the day. Ours could be one of them.” Toby said. “The vampires would have no choice but to visit.”
“And we could win them over with our Friday potluck!” Gertrude cheered. Toby grimaced. Wizards weren’t known for their cooking. Having them try to accommodate a blood-friendly diet? No way the vampires would enjoy it.
“Exactly,” Toby said with a tight smile.
“I’ll start looking for blood pudding recipes!” she said, racing out of the conference room. Some of the other wizards followed her lead, an excited roar beginning in the room.
Toby kept his eyes level with Lionel. Whilst the council liked to consider themselves a democracy, he knew that the wizard had the final say on the glass frosting solution. Lionel stroked his beard, his beady eyes jumping between the few wizards that remained.
“Lionel, what do you think?” Toby urged.
Seeing how outnumbered he was, Lionel resigned. “It’s a brilliant idea,” he said, walking past Toby toward the door. He paused next to him for only a second. “But I know what you’re up to.”