At the same time, the Masquerade does not say that Kindred cannot interact with Kine in other association relationships beyond simply thraldom or as enemies. It may be complicated, but think of it in interactions like how in Bloodlines your character can get into business relationships with Fat Larry or a bunch of other characters who have no idea that you're a vampire. Or even how (in rare circumstances) some Vampires have worked with the odd Hunter who has different views on various monsters, though then they also probably don't fully understand what Kindred are, either.

BTW for future reference, don't worry about much or how little knowledge you guys have on the series or universe. My own knowledge is limited mostly to Bloodlines and the stuff I read off the Wikis. So don't worry about your level of knowledge.