by Dawn Wilder
And no tell-tale musk.
“You can start tomorrow morning. I'm in the office by five-thirty most days, but you can come in at six. Generally speaking, I need you here until I leave. Depending on the day, that could be any time between seven and eight. Does that work for you?”
She stood up with me, her face surprised.
“I have the job?” she asked, licking her lips. I looked down at them with a frown, not wanting to notice something like her lips.
“Yes, but don't get too excited. Getting the job is the easy part.”
She grinned at that, her whole face lighting up. She went from a buttoned down weary worker to a radiant woman with sparkling eyes in an instant.
I felt the urge to move closer to her, let a little of that radiance soak into my skin.
Shaking myself mentally, I growled a little.
She blinked, the smile immediately fading.
Good. It was too much.
“I'll see you in the morning,” I said, herding her toward the door.
“Good night,” she said, stepping outside.
I nodded at her, watching as she turned the corner with a quick glance back at me.
Unfortunately, I also noticed her ass. It was round and tight, and judging by the looks of it, probably a handful even for me.
Snarling silently, I closed the door.
I hoped I hadn't just made a terrible mistake.
Chapter 2
Reggie
I walked down the hall in a daze.
I was so sure I was caught. And then having to answer his questions and not squirm in the chair while he stared at me with those eyes that seemed to see everything...
That was enough adrenaline for the year, thank you.
Feeling a little shaky, I walked out of the building and to my car, driving home in shock.
Evan Roth was a werewolf.
The CEO of one of the most lucrative businesses around was a werewolf. He was always in the spotlight, always being photographed at different charity events, on all those stupid lists about eligible bachelors.
That guy, right at the center of a media circus, had a secret so big and so well hidden I wanted to clap for him.
Just functioning as a peon was hard enough for me.
Shaking my head, I parked in the underground parking garage and took the stairs up to my apartment.
Walking in, I tossed my keys into the pretty green bowl I kept by the door to keep myself organized.
I breathed a little easier now that I was inside my own little personal territory.
Nesting was one of the things that had kept me sane over the past few years, separated from my own kind. Even if it was by choice, it was still difficult.
Taking a deep breath, I fell onto the plush couch I couldn't resist getting, sinking in until leaving it was probably a little more difficult than it should be.
But I didn't care.
Kicking off my shoes, I curled up my legs and stared at the black television screen in front of me.
I'd just met Evan Roth. I'd gotten a job working directly for Evan Roth.
Evan Roth was a werewolf.
I went through that list again, still a little disbelieving.
The smart thing to do would be to cut my losses and run.
But I liked my life here. I liked my apartment. I didn't like my job, but it paid my bills and it wasn't like millions of people didn't have bosses they didn't like.
But if I took the job and stayed, chances of his discovering my secret went up.
Maybe it was a fluke he hadn't noticed anything. Maybe he was distracted.
If I was going to work in close proximity with him day and day out...
“Ugh.”
I flopped over to my side on the couch, wishing someone could just make this decision for me.
I wasn't supposed to be in another pack's territory without permission. I had thought the city was unclaimed, but I hadn't paid much attention to pack politics beyond the closest packs, so I could easily have been wrong. But I'd figured since I wasn't changing, chances of being caught were minuscule, especially in such a large population to mask my scent.
Which meant that if I was outed, I'd also probably have to face an Alpha who wouldn't look too kindly at a loner that hadn't even followed proper etiquette to move into the territory. And who knew what kind of Alpha was able to hold a city of this size.
Probably someone I didn't want to meet.
My brain ran around in circles, my thoughts and my emotions fighting each other to a stalemate.
I finally fell asleep, exhausted.
When I opened my eyes again, it was still dark outside.
Grimacing, I sat up on the couch, rubbing my face.
I glanced at the clock.
Four in the morning. Wonderful.
Getting up, I went to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. My eyes were puffy and the left side of my face had sleep creases. My hair had decided to rebel and had come out of the bun in a wavy mess.
Hello gorgeous.
Avoiding looking at my reflection again, I shuffled to the kitchen and put on some tea. While waiting for the water to boil, I grabbed some cereal off the top of the fridge and started eating it dry.
Well, I was still here.
And my new job was supposed to start at six. But if I was doing this insane thing, I was doing it right.
I'd be there at the ungodly hour of five-thirty in the morning when he was.
Pouring enough milk into my tea to make it cold, I gulped down my morning caffeine hit and marched into the bathroom.
Brushing and flossing, I took extra care with shaving in the shower, more than I ever had for a workday.
But it would give me some much needed confidence.
Keeping in line with that thought, I spent time on my makeup. A little eyeliner and mascara along with a tinted lip balm was more than I usually did.
Opening my closet, I looked at the clothing options.
Pulling out a gray tweed suit, I grabbed a white button down to wear underneath.
I usually didn't bother wearing a full suit to work, but better to be overdressed than under.
I wasn't willing to compromise on comfort, so I put my flats on again.
Probably I should buy a new pair.
I blow dried my hair smooth before pinning it into a french twist.
Putting on my glasses and stepping back I surveyed myself in the mirror.
Beauty queen I wasn't, but I looked more polished than my usual self. Not as sharp as the Executive Secretary, but who was?
Best I could do.
I had another attack of nerves as I drove to the office, almost driving past the building instead of parking.
Sliding into a spot, I gave myself a quick pep talk.
“You can do this. Just brazen it out. You have giant, cantaloupe-sized balls. People look at you and say 'hey, look at the size of those things!'”
Nodding to myself, I got out of the car and walked inside, entering from the back out of habit.
And realized I still hadn't told Weber that I had a new job.
Switching gears, I walked over to my familiar desk and wrote a quick note. I left it on his desk since he wouldn't be in for a few hours at least.
I was leaving him in the lurch.
That shouldn't be so satisfying. But I guess I wasn't the world's most altruistic person after all.
Oh darn.
I resisted the urge to add some expletives to the note.
Because, you know, I was an adult.
Damn it.
The floor was quiet as I went back to the elevators and rode them up to the right floor.
The secretary's desk was empty and I felt a surge of juvenile one-upmanship at beating her to work.
Sticking my tongue out at her desk, I continued down the hall to Roth's office.
His door was closed again.
Pulling my suit coat down, I knocked firmly.
Never show weakne
ss if you could help it.
That was a lesson I'd learned growing up that I still took fully to heart.
“Come in.”
I opened the door to find Roth at his desk, papers spread out in front of him and a coffee mug steaming gently at his elbow.
He looked up at me and then down at his watch.
He raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on my early arrival.
“Good, you're here. I have some files you need to look over before the day starts.”
He spun his chair around and took a neat stack from a table set behind his desk. I stepped forward to take the files.
“Take your time going through it. I need you to be up to speed on the details- saves time later. You can use the desk through there.” Gesturing to a door I hadn't noticed before, he went back to perusing the papers in front of him.
Alrighty. No chit chat.
The door led to a smaller office, with a desk and a seating area.
Relieved to not have to sit in the same room with him, I turned on the lights and took a seat in the plush office chair.
Not knowing what to expect, I opened the first folder.
X-tech.
Flipping through the others quickly, I realized these were summaries of current accounts Equilibrium Enterprises was working on.
Detailed summaries.
Feeling a thrill I'd never felt before at work, I adjusted my glasses and got down to business.
It was fascinating. All of the players and the logistics laid out, along with the numbers. Big numbers.
I went through the first file carefully, committing what I thought would be the most important aspects to memory.
Then I moved on to the next.
Before I knew it, I'd gone through the whole pile and three hours had passed.
I sat back with a sigh, rolling my neck and shrugging my shoulders to get the kinks out.
Putting everything back together, I went out to find Roth. He was on the computer now, typing away at something.
“Done.”
I put the neat stack on his desk.
“Good,” he said absently. “The lawyers should be in by now. Go down to Roger Chen's office, third floor, to sign the non-disclosure agreement.”
OK.
Stretching my legs felt good as I rode the elevator down to the right floor.
Roger Chen's office was in the back, the door propped open with a rock that said Number One Dad.
I peeked around the door jam to find a slender Asian man in his early forties pacing back and forth on the phone, one of his hands clutching a sheaf of papers.
He held a finger up to me as he continued speaking.
“No, we're not budging on this...”
He already had his sleeves rolled up and his tie loosened.
Taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, I looked at the framed photos he had displayed.
A pretty Hispanic woman and two children with bright smiles stared back at me.
One wall was taken up by shaky artwork probably done by those same children.
“What can I do for you?”
I looked up into his open face.
“I'm Evan Roth's new personal assistant?”
“Oh, yes.” He sat down and pulled out one of the drawers at his desk. “I make sure to have these contracts on hand now. I was getting tired of constantly having to print out new ones.”
Thanks for the reminder of the high turnover.
“It's pretty standard. You can't share anything you learn in this job. Nothing work related and nothing about Evan personally. We will prosecute at a ridiculous level, etc. etc.”
I took the contract and skimmed through it.
Didn't look like I was signing over my soul, though I doubted I'd be able to tell if I was.
I was sure Chen was a shark in disguise or he wouldn't be working here. And he definitely wouldn't be on a first name basis with Roth.
With a mental shrug, I signed and dated it.
“Great. You're done.” He took the contract and filed it away. “Word of advice, stay on the up and up. Evan can smell a rat before the rat even thinks about doing anything.”
“Thanks. I'll keep that in mind,” I said dryly.
Like I wasn't already intimidated enough.
Riding the elevator back up, I tried not to let my nerves take over again.
When the doors opened, the secretary was at her desk.
“Yes? Can I help you?” she asked in her professional voice, her eyebrow raised just enough and her head tilted back just enough to convey her less than stellar opinion of me.
I needed to learn how to do that.
“No, thanks.”
I breezed past her confidently.
“Hold on there, Miss-”
“I work here now,” I threw over my shoulder.
He he.
A little panic was good for the woman. I bet she almost always got what she wanted.
When I got back to the office, Roth was on the phone, but he gestured me over.
“Could you please make notes on this file? Only a basic skeleton.”
Before I could say anything or ask any questions, he went back to his phone call.
OK.
If it didn't turn out exactly like he wanted, he should have given me clearer directions.
Irritated, I went over to my desk and sat down.
Opening up a text document on the computer screen I got to work.
Not knowing what was considered important and what wasn't, I erred on the side of including the really iffy bits.
By the time I was finished, I was reasonably sure I'd done the best I could.
Giving it a quick skim, I hit the print button and the printer across the room spit out the pages. Stapling them together, I took them to Roth.
He grunted without looking up, scribbling furiously on a notepad in front of him.
“Is there anything else?” I asked pointedly.
He looked up, his eyes a little distant, still not completely focused on me.
“Yes. Could you please send flowers to this woman.” He slid a business card across the desk to me. “Just sign my name on the bottom please. Oh, and order lunch for us if you could. You can use the company card.” Opening the top drawer of his desk, he slid over a credit card.
I picked both of them up.
“What do you want?”
“Whatever you're having is fine.”
He bent his head back down to the notes he was taking.
Dismissed, I thought to myself.
I took care of the flowers first. Not knowing what they were for, I went safe with a mid-range bouquet, figuring he would have told me if it was a special occasion.
That task done, I racked my brain for food that would be appropriate to give to my new boss and the CEO of a billion dollar company.
Nothing sprang to mind immediately.
Taking out my phone, I texted Fran to ask for advice.
She texted me back quickly.
After she got over the surprise that I'd not only gotten the job but that I was already in the thick of things, she suggested lobster.
Or maybe caviar of some kind.
OK, not only was I not particularly fond of either of those, I didn't really know a good restaurant nearby that would get me that kind of food quickly.
Fuck it.
Leaving the building, I walked down the street to a burger place I frequented.
They were good.
Even rich people had to like burgers. All wolves liked red meat at least.
Ordering two for him and one for me, I carried the heavy bag back down the street.
The elevator doors opened and Ms. Secretary looked up.
She just gave me a cool smile this time. It froze even further as her gaze shifted to the bag I was carrying.
I looked down at her desk to see a neat little salad. There was some dressing on the side. If she'd put any on top of the actual salad, I was pretty sure I'd need a microsc
ope to see it.
This was ridiculous. I couldn't keep referring to her as The Secretary.
“I'm Reggie, by the way.” I stopped, placing the drink holder on her desk and holding out my hand.
Her eyes went to the holder on her immaculate desk and then to my hand. I could see she wasn't particularly thrilled to have to shake it. But good manners won out and she took my hand in a firm, almost harsh grip.
Wow. I would have figured her for one of those people who barely put their fingers into a handshake. Being forced to hold on to someone's fingertips was always awkward.
“Philomena.”
“Nice to meet you.”
I gave her a big smile to compensate for her coolness.
“You, as well,” she said stiffly.
“Well, better go deliver the boss's lunch,” I said after an awkward pause.
Picking up the drinks, I escaped judgment junction, hurrying to Roth's office.
Hoping I hadn't made a terrible mistake, I knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer.
But, for once, he wasn't alone inside.
“There you are, Reggie.” Was that a hint of relief in his voice? “This is Nicolette. She was just leaving.”
Nicolette, huh?
The flowers had been sent to a Nicolette.
I wasn't a detective, but chances were this was the same woman.
Nicolette was one of those Nordic beauties with legs that seemed to go on forever and hair so blond poems could be written about it. She was dressed to kill in a small, black skirt suit with spiked heels that made her ankles look impossibly delicate.
My ankles were normal sized. And I would never describe anything on me as delicate.
“Nice to meet you,” she said with a strained smile.
I'd definitely walked in on something. And if Roth was relieved and Nicolette was unhappy, I was guessing she'd just gotten the old heave ho.
She walked passed me in a cloud of some citrus-infused perfume that had me sneezing twice before I could get control of myself.
“Yeah, she likes to bathe in that stuff.” Wrinkling his nose, Roth stood up. “Why don't we eat in your office? We can at least escape the cloud in there for a little while.”
I nodded, following him to the door and closing it behind us.
“I got burgers. I hope that's OK.”