“Jerk,” Darik muttered.
“I heard that!”
“No shit!” he yelled.
Muffled laughter as Eli went into his own office and shut the door.
Chapter Seven
She paid the cabbie and stepped out of the car, holding her brown leather briefcase in one hand, her white Kate Spade purse in the other. Wearing a coral blouse that flattered her complexion and tasteful heels that matched her tan pencil-skirt, Michelle looked up at the elegantly modern two-story building to the sign that read: D.D.E.N. Inc. Armed with her usual classic style, she felt comfortable she wouldn’t appear too intimidating to whatever male ego might be holding her future big paycheck inside. She was subtle and not overtly sexy despite her curves–always a winning combo for a first-meet.
“Here goes nothing,” she smiled, opening one of the double-doors.
The lobby was crisp white, with two white chairs off to the side, a small, white, round table between them with fresh lilies that smelled welcoming resting in a clear square vase on top. The reception desk was empty with a printed sign on it that read, Press Intercom for Help.
She raised her eyebrows and walked to the white intercom by the immaculate double doors leading inward. Before she had a chance to push the button, a deep, male voice graveled through the speaker. “Ms. Nero?”
Momentarily startled, she glanced up to a tiny, round camera pointed at her, stationed in the ceiling corner to her right. She held down the intercom button to speak. “Yes.”
“Come on in.” A buzzer sounded and she grabbed the long, sleek, silver door handle, walking into a hallway with five doors, two on either side of the hall, and one at the far end that led to stairs with a sign saying so.
From the first door on the right stepped a very tall man with ginger hair and an appealing auburn beard. His suit was expensive, pale gray and fit his long limbs very well. She returned the smile he gave her and walked up to shake his outstretched hand, marveling at the strength and warmth of it. What is with these men and their warm hands? Have I just been out of the dating scene for too long and I’m having a reaction to them?
“Come in. Please.”
Glancing around the room to movie posters on the walls, she took a seat across from an oval silver desk. “Does your firm design movie theaters?” she asked, smiling.
Blue eyes flicked to the posters and he shook his head a little, lowering himself jovially into a high-backed, gray leather chair that blended with his suit. “No, just an obsession of mine. My partners wish I’d put photos of buildings on the walls, but I ignore a lot of what they say.” He grinned, eyeing her with so much interest, it made her a little uneasy. “So, Ms. Nero. Tell me about yourself.”
She hated this question in interviews, but she’d had enough to arm herself. She’d learned to always have a few sentences at the ready, something short and sweet that told a little about herself, but not too much, something that showed her dedication yet also sounded personable.
“Well, I’m from Fremont, California and moved here five years after graduating from Berkeley with a marketing degree. I’ve got plants, but no pets. I devote so much time to my work, that wouldn’t be fair to them.” She smiled, very aware of the flirtatious smirk he wore. Most employers listened closely, but this guy, he was staring pretty hard and more than once glanced at her chest. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name?”
He leaned back and weaved his fingers together in front of his chest. “I’m Darik. One of the partners here. I’m the one who phoned you. So, tell me. A beautiful woman like yourself, are you married?”
Surprised, she answered quickly, “What? Uh...no.”
He looked very pleased with her answer. “Why not?”
She sucked on her teeth and cocked her head a little. “Excuse me?”
“Ever been?”
What is this guy’s problem? “Do you only hire married people or…”
“Ever been?”
After a pause, she carefully said, “Not yet, no.”
“Why not?” He leaned forward with narrowed eyes.
A nervous chuckle escaped her. Glancing down to pretend-straighten her skirt, she explained as casually as she could muster, “I haven’t met the right man, I guess. I’m not sure what that has to do with my qualifications.”
He nodded as if he were listening, but then boldly asked, “So, what are you looking for in a mate? Loyal? Strong? Could protect you…if you needed it?”
Mate? On top of everything, who uses the word ‘mate?’
She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “I’m sorry, but what does this have to do with my creating a social presence for D.D.E.N. Inc.?”
A sly smile tugged at his lips. “That’s a very good question. And there’s a very layered answer.” He rose up and walked to stare at the closed curtains as though through a clear window. “How would you propose to create a social presence for our company?” He turned with purpose as though he were playing at being an executive, and over-acting to boot. Was this guy even a partner here or was she being toyed with?
She caught him glancing at her blouse again and she followed his look, horrified to discover the reason. One of her buttons had come undone. The nude lace of her bra was peeking out. “Excuse me,” she blushed. Quickly fastening it closed, she yanked her briefcase off the clean tile floor and laid it on her lap. “I’ve put together a Power Point presentation, which I have on my laptop, if you’ll just give me a second to turn it on.”
He stopped her. “Show that to one of my partners.”
“Um…okay.” She kept the briefcase on her lap and watched him walk to the door. “And where are they?” Please, have him not be the only one at the office!
He opened his door and peered outside like he was hiding from someone, then oddly jerked his chin for her to follow him, vanishing before her widened brown eyes. She rose slowly from the chair and picked up her things, wondering if she should make a run for it now or later. But she was too curious at the way he tiptoed down the hall not to follow him.
He rapped on the second door on the left. A deep, angry voice called through it, “Come in!”
Darik held open the door. “After you.”
She looked inside. This office was very different from the other one. Its walls were wood and the desk black. There were two huge, framed black and white photographs of buildings she recognized, on either wall to her right and left. The curtains here were drawn as well, but were violet. Behind a long black desk sat a handsome man who looked kind of like the blonde guy on The Mentalist, only far more imposing. He glared at her as she stepped into the room, followed by lecherous Darik who stood by the wall, gazing at her like he wondered what she was about to do.
Strangest. Interview. Ever.
Half rising out of his chair, the blonde motioned for her to sit opposite him and when she did, he sat back down. It was a gentlemanly thing to do, but he looked like he hated her so the contrast was extreme and unnerving. “I’m Dontae.”
“Michelle.” She set her briefcase on her lap and her purse on top of it as shields.
“I hear you can help us master modern technology’s ability to reach new clients.”
Relieved he was talking about something appropriate, she relaxed. “I can. I was about to show a presentation of ideas I have, but I hear you’re the one to impress, so let me just show you…”
With a succinct raise of his fingers he stopped her from opening the briefcase. “In a minute. I want to ask you a few questions first.”
She braced herself. “Okay…”
Dontae stared at her for seven long seconds that felt like an hour, during which she doubted her abilities entirely, and that made her angry. Finally, he deemed her worthy of the first question. “Have you ever stolen anything?”
She blinked, her temper bubbling. “Sorry? What? No.”
“Never?”
She returned his cold glare. “No, never.”
“Cheated?”
>
“Dontae,” Darik muttered from the sidelines.
Dontae threw him a glance. “Let her answer the question.”
Michelle glanced back and forth between them, offering sarcastically, “You mean like on a bet or on a guy?”
“Either one.”
“The answer is no.”
He nodded, seeming to believe her despite himself. What was even stranger was that he looked disappointed. “This is your own business, this marketing thing?”
Marking thing? A sense of pride pulled her spine taut. “Yes. Completely mine.”
“What made you do such a thing?”
She shot back, “Meaning?”
He rapped on the desk with his fingers. “Work for yourself. Why would you do that? Don’t work well with others? Not a good teammate? I’m curious.”
Her crossed leg bounced as she considered how not to punch his smug face. “I do very well with teams, it’s why I’m able to fit in with so many. That’s necessary for someone who is self-employed and reliant on being hired by clients of differing backgrounds and needs. But, since I’m feeling irritated, let me also admit freely that I am not one to easily conform to rules set by the masses, if you must know. I am a self-starter and I have new ideas. For example, I…”
He stopped her again with those annoying fingers of his. “No, no. First I have a question that might seem a little off topic.”
“As if the others were on topic?” She failed to stifle a snort. Off his look, she half-chuckled, “This is definitely the most uncomfortable and inappropriate interview I’ve ever been on. And I’ll tell you right now that I have no intention of working for D.D.E.N. Inc., but since you’ve got me intrigued, I can’t wait to hear what you’re going to ask.”
His blonde eyebrows rose slightly. “We’re one of the best firms in the city, if not the best.”
“Still.”
He glanced to Darik and back. “You are turning us down? Us?”
“Yep. And I can’t wait to do it.”
He looked truly shocked. “Why?”
She opened her purse and pulled out a trial size tube of hand cream, opening it and applying. “Look, you’re both very dashing in appearance. Those suits and your offices are spectacular. But I work for myself, which means I choose who I work with not for. And I can already see by your godlike attitude that you want a servant. And Darik over there was coming onto me very heavily and asking about my marital status, which is just wrong. I don’t want him in the days to come, breathing down my blouse as I’m trying to show him ideas, ideas by the way he has no interest in seeing. He’s got movie posters on his walls. Even his office doesn’t advertise your firm’s goals. How can I help you achieve them if this simple fact has been ignored when even his partners suggested it?”
“You could guide us.”
“Yeah.” She put the cap back on the tube. “But I don’t wanna.”
He drummed his fingers with persistence, narrowing his eyes. “Aren’t you afraid we’ll tell people about your rudeness today?”
“I could give a shit.”
Dontae pursed his lips. “Very interesting.”
“Very,” Darik echoed.
“I still would like to ask you a question.”
Michelle tucked the lotion back in her bag and glanced back and forth between them with a wry smile. “And I’d still like to hear it.”
“Have you been watching the news?
She blinked. “That’s your question? I thought you were about to ask something more unusual.” He waited. “Oh, yes, sorry. I have. Why?”
“Did you hear about the animal attack, the one they’re thinking was an escape from the zoo?”
She felt her blood freeze. After she’d left Laura the other day, she’d obsessively read up on what the news was saying and in having done so, had learned a lot about her attacker in the process. She’d come very close to being one of many he had hurt and she thanked her luck every day that she’d been spared. Licking dry lips, her eyelashes fluttered as she struggled for composure. “Yes. They won’t stop talking about it. Of course I’ve heard. Who hasn’t?”
The way Dontae was watching her made her feel like he knew something about the attack; the look in his eyes was unmistakable if she didn’t know better. But how could he know? Don’t be paranoid, Michelle.
“Do you think it was an animal who committed the murder?”
Darik warned, “Dontae…”
Dontae raised an innocent look to his partner. “What? I’m interested. It’s the topic of the week, isn’t it? We’re just discussing current affairs.” He met Michelle’s eyes again. “So…do you?”
Her hands were clammy, the lotion having trapped in the nervous moisture. She held his suspicious gaze and heard herself say with confidence, “Of course it was. I have no doubt. What else could it have been?”
“What else could it have been, indeed. Well, since our firm is Downtown where the murder took place…”
Darik said, “Dontae!” in earnest, but was ignored.
“…I guess we should all be careful until the beast is caught.”
Before she realized what she was saying, Michelle blurted, “I hope they never find it!” At the shift in both men’s bodies, she apologized, “I’m sorry. That was loud. It’s just that I heard the man who was killed had a record of assaults against women. He’d been in jail twice already for rape.” Her voice shook a little. “It’s one less horrible human being on the planet if you ask me, and there’s nothing wrong with that!”
Dontae leaned back in his chair like he’d been hit. All of the anger that had heated his features vanished and she had no idea why. He nodded curtly to Darik and watched him walk to the door and mysteriously knock on it.
She turned in her chair to see a man open the door and look around. He was dressed in an expensive suit just like the other two, but his was brown. His tie was purple and thin. He looked like he’d walked out of a magazine he was so fashionable and hip, even with his hair that short. Their eyes met and she instantly remembered him.
“Eli!” she whispered, confused.
He showed no surprise at seeing her, and glanced to the other two. “Verdict?”
Nathaniel’s friend was a partner here, too? Wait, D.D.E.N.
Darik, Dontae, Eli, Nathaniel.
She felt weak. Turning pale, she squeaked, “What’s going on?”
Dontae said, on an annoyed sigh, “I hate to admit it, but I like her.”
Michelle gaped at him.
“Can you come this way?” Eli asked with a gentle tone. She flipped back around so fast that her things crashed onto the floor. “Leave those where they lie,” he said as his brown eyes danced with amusement. “Come with me, Michelle.”
Flustered, she rose up and left her belongings lying there, to follow him to the white door marked “Stairs.”
“Was it you who put me up for this job?” He looked like he wanted to answer her, but didn’t know if he should. Her heels and his leather soles echoed up the two flights and she stared at his back, growing more irritated by the second. “Where are you taking me?”
At the door marked “Roof,” he turned to her with his hand on the doorknob. “Answers coming soon.”
He walked through it ahead of her and called out to a man who stood looking down at the street below. She knew immediately who it was. That body, the way his pinstriped suit tugged at the shoulders, where his dark hair stopped just above the collar, his confidant stance. Had he set her up to the catastrophe she’d just experienced downstairs? What was this guy’s problem? Her steps slowed as brewing rage took her over.
Eli announced with amused triumph, “I’d like to introduce our new Marketing Liaison.” Michelle wanted to punch him in the back of the head.
Muttering an annoyed, “Marketing Lia…?” Nathaniel turned and saw who was glaring at him. The rest of what he was about to say disappeared. Surprise flickered across his masculine features and he whispered, “Michelle.”
She fe
lt heat race down her spine at the way he said her name, so slowly like he savored the word. The obvious surprise to see her meant he wasn’t in on it, so she directed a furious gaze to Eli, thinking him the culprit.
Seeing how angry she was, Nathaniel turned on his friend and snarled, “What do you mean Michelle is our new Marketing Liaison? What have you done?!”
Eli’s hands went up in peace. He could see from their faces that he’d made a mistake, and took two steps back. “Hey, calm down.”
“Did you think you were helping?! She obviously didn’t know I work here with you! Did you deceive this poor woman after all she’s been through?”
Michelle’s jaw dropped. How does he know what I’ve been through?
Eli licked his lips and stammered, “I’m sorry. I…”
“SORRY DOESN’T CUT IT,” Nathaniel growled. “GO!”
Michelle felt the world around her spin as she recognized his voice. The animalistic snarl. The urgent order. The fury that drove it. He was the man…the animal…who’d saved her. She stared, dumbstruck.
Eli turned on his heel, shoved his hands in his pants pockets and left them alone.
The fire in Nathaniel’s eyes as he watched his partner’s exit was both thrilling and terrifying. She studied him. How could he be who saved her from that horrible person? How could this man be that thing? But when he met her eyes, his own softened with such care and concern that it was unbelievable. She was so struck by her discovery, she could barely hear him say, “I’m so sorry. My…friends were out of line bringing you here. What did they do to you?”
You saved me! was all she could think. She dipped her head with humility, wanting to thank him but not knowing how. He didn’t seem to realize he’d given away his secret.
“They weren’t so bad,” she whispered, trying to understand what he was.
“I doubt that. Did you meet Dontae?” She slowly nodded. “Then I know it’s not true. But you’re very kind.” He searched her. “Are you alright? I can’t apologize enough for them. I will let them know it is unacceptable.”
“I’m fine. It’s okay. But thank you. I appreciate that.”
Werewolves of New York: Nathaniel (Werewolf Shifter Stand-Alone Paranormal Romance Book 1) Page 5