Blair
Next Monday
“Ms. Strand, I’m so sorry.” Embarrassed to have been caught sleeping on what was supposed to be my first day on the job, I apologized profusely, while silently offering a plea to the moon goddess that I had not just blown my chance.
Ignoring the lingering pain, I shot to my feet, nervously trying to smoothen the creases out of my outfit - a light green pinstripe shirt which I’d paired with black pants, and ballerina flats. Except for the shirt - which was one of the only two I owned at the moment, everything else was the same as I’d worn last week and the only clothes I had in addition to a pair of tights, hoodie and sneakers. The clothes had all cost a fortune and bought from high end shops but due to overuse in the last month, they had begun to show signs of wear and tear.
I’d given myself a haircut - and botched it badly. To conceal the uneven edges, I’d put the entire mess up in a bun at the back, but of course, in my short nap, a few strands had slipped free and now hung over my face, evidence of my failure.
If my mate, Resse, saw me now, he’d be hard pressed to believe that the scraggly creature that was my current self bore any links to his perfect, well-groomed wife.
“It’s fine. And please call me Lucy.” Her sharp gaze settled on my face for a moment. “Are you … ?” she trailed off and her forehead puckered in a small frown of concern. “Are you feeling better?”
I forced a smile. “Yes, yes of course. Totally back to normal. Last time I’ll ever try climbing stairs in heels while drunk, though.” My small, fake laugh sounded forced, even to my own ears.
Lucy gave me a polite smile but I didn’t miss how her eyes narrowed on me just a fraction. Her scrutiny put me on edge.
“Okay,” she said, “Let’s go to my office to fill in the necessary paperwork, then I’ll show you around and introduce you to the rest of the staff. Then it’s off to security to set you up with an employee id and pass.”
My heart skipped at the thought of being the center of attention and I opened my mouth to beg off then shut it right back without uttering a word. I couldn’t afford to piss Lucy or any one else off by creating a misunderstanding, so I would just have to endure it and hope I don’t succumb to a full blown panic attack.
I followed Lucy into the work area and stood by awkwardly while she got everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, this is Blair, our new research assistant.” Her voice rang out in the quiet space. “She’s joined us today and I hope we can all make her feel at home.”
All eyes swung to me and I paled, resisting the urge to lower my head. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand to keep from fidgeting, though my legs began to wobble as the edges of panic gripped me.
It didn't help that I couldn't use my shifter senses and could only rely on my human senses which didn't help me in this situtation. With Trish, I would have been able to tell if any one in this room was Lorekind - which, I'm certain at least one of them had to be. Though most Lorekind (witches, shifters, vampires and demons, phantoms, etc,) lived in secluded communities, away from the prying human eyes, there were some who preferred to live hidden among humans, living and working alongside them without disclosing their true nature.
New Orleans, where I was from, was filled with people like that. I'd known entire witches covens and shifter packs existing side by side with humans, it had even become the norm to find the odd vampire or demon here and there.
So, I was sure there were some like that here and it made me anxious. I would need to be extra careful to not give myself away. Though the witch who had provided the spell had assured me that I would be safe as long as I as I didn't shift, I was still terrified of being found out.
Don’t panic…don’t panic…please…don’t. Just smile and say hello…that’s all you have to do.
“And on that note, please guys, do tone down your weirdness until she gets used to our own special brand of crazy. We don’t want her running off before the week is out.”
Her joke was greeted with a smattering of laughs.
“Don’t worry, Lucy, we’ll do our best.” A tall guy with a mop of messy brown curls called out.
“Says the biggest culprit.” a plump girl who looked to me in her early twenties, retorted, jabbing an elbow into the guy’s side. He made an exaggerated sound of pain and doubled over.
“Christ, Ellie, your elbows feel like razors.” He groaned, rolling his eyes at her and she elbowed him again.
“Shut up, Tinman.”
“Children, please.” Lucy rolled her eyes and pointed a manicured nail at the two. “Don’t make me put you in the corner, again.”
I blinked at the weird exchange, fascinated at the relaxed atmosphere, tension draining away. This sort of banter and casual conversation would never have happened at my old workplace and the contrast stuck.
“Welcome, Blair,” A blonde lady with smiling blue eyes leaned close. “It’s great to have you working with us. I’m Avery. ”
“Thanks,” I whispered.
“Well, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to paperwork. You can learn everyone’s names as the day goes by.” Lucy turned her attention back to me and motioned me towards her office. Grateful to be done with the hard part, I managed a small smile and a wave then headed there.
“Don’t mind the crazy, you’ll get used to it, and I assure you, everyone here is nice and willing to help, so if you run into any difficulties, just ask for help.”
“I will.” I took the same seat as before. “And once again, thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” Another small smile played across her mouth. “Once you get an idea of the sort of work you’ll have to do, you just might change your mind. I told you it’s mostly gruntwork, right?”
“I won’t change my mind,” I replied with conviction. “I’ll do whatever is necessary.”
“Yes, well.” She sat and pushed a stack of forms across the table to me. “Fill these out, it’s just basic info that we need to enter into the database.” She noticed the look of apprehension that crossed my face at the mention of a database. “Only employees with special clearance can access it, and right now, that’s just myself and Mac, the CEO.”
I’d looked up articles on GenPro at the public library’s computer in preparation for the job and thus I knew who she was talking about. Mac Walsh, award winning Microbiologist, 30 years old, founder of GenPro, a medical research facility, single, born in Iowa, Harvard graduate, with a long list of achievements and accolades.
I remembered watching an interview he’d given on the Daily show, about a year ago and he’d struck me as a handsome, brusque giant of a man. His responses had been clipped and straight to the point and he’d abruptly dismissed any line of questioning he didn’t care for.
Now, I realized I hadn’t seen or heard anything about him since I’d been here.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, there was a small commotion and Lucy’s door flew open and the man himself stalked in.
BlairHuge…The single word echoed in my head as the gorgeous, dark haired, viking built like a tank, barged into the office. I auto switched into defense mode as my instinct reacted to the presence of what it considered an alpha male.I shrank back against my seat with a gasp, trying to put some distance between us. My fingers gripped the armrests until my knuckles turned white as every nerve inside me screamed to escape.“What the bloody fuck am I hearing about a new employee, Lucy?” His voice, deep and gravelly, came out in a growl and made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.I was put in mind of a predator, a large, formidable one and the thought only served to ratchet my anxiety several notches up. Now, I couldn't help but wonder if Mac Walsh was Lorekind. Humans didn't breed them that massive.I wanted to bolt, but his large frame was between me and the door.Shit.“I thought we agreed at the last meeting about not hiring more staff?” Mac crossed his arms across his chest. “A
Mac I was still in a shitty mood from my ten hour flight. My wolf, Aries, absolutely hated being out of touch with solid ground and stuck in a metal contraption that was an airplane, soaring thousands of feet in the sky. Each time I had to take a flight, it was a constant battle of wills inside me, and even though I usually had my way, Aries never gave me a moment’s peace during the entire flight, making his displeasure known in my head until I was an irritable, miserable fuck by the time the plane landed. Because of this, I avoided taking flights whenever I could. Lucy usually would go on those business trips that necessitated flying. But a trip to Washington for the quarterly shareholder meeting was something that requires my presence and was unavoidable if I wanted to keep the funds flowing. Added to that, the meeting had been a bloody waste of time and I’d hated every minute of the time I’d spent trying to convince those stodgy farts to shell out the funds Gen Pro needed. All th
BlairI stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. A pale, dark haired girl with haunted brown eyes that looked enormous set against a face made gaunt from hunger and malnutrition stared back at me. I studied my sunken cheeks and chapped lips sadly, thankful that at least, the swelling was gone and the bruises mostly faded.Grunge emo chick.Mac’s words echoed in my head and I let out a sigh. To think my life had come to this, where a bastard like Mac Walsh could casually level insults my way and assume I was a drug addict because of my physical appearance.Not that I blamed him, I did look exactly like he’d described, I’d give him that, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. I’d endured years of verbal abuse from Resse that I thought I’d developed a thick skin, but somehow, Mac’s words cut me deeper than I cared to admit.My lips trembled as unwanted memories swarmed me, triggering tendrils of anxiety that tightened a vice around my chest squeezing until every breath was a struggl
BlairA similar heat flared in Mac’s eyes, and from the depths of his chest, I heard a deep rumbling that came out as a growl. His arms tightened around me, possessive and passionate and for one moment, I caught a glimpse of the beast within him, ferocious and magnificent all at once.For the first time in months, Trish stirred within me, I could feel her agitation because she was me and I was her, but it wasn’t an agitation borne of terror, no this was different. It almost felt… joyful?I heard a word and realized it came from my own mouth and even more shocking were the words I uttered, words I never expected to utter again in this lifetime.I went cold all over as shock rocked through my entire body.“No…” I shook my head in denial. Placing my hands on his chest, I pushed and mercifully, he let me go, so abruptly that I almost lost my balance again.His arm reached out to cup my elbow, but I shrank from him and to my absolute horror, I whimpered in fear, my arms coming up to shield
MacDespite my best efforts, the scene with Blair in the hallway kept playing over and over in my head as I drove towards the ranch. I had gone after her, haunted by the hurt I’d seen reflected in her eyes as she hurried away from my office. I might be a bastard, but I still had a shred of a conscience left and I knew I had gone too far and that an apology was in order.I had just rounded the corner when Blair had bumped into me at full speed, her tiny form bouncing off mine and if I hadn't reached out and grabbed her, she’d have definitely landed her ass on the floor.I still couldn’t figure out why I had reacted to her the way I had. From the moment our bodies had come into contact, my senses had flared into hyperawareness, my beast had craved to have the woman in my arms.And it hadn’t just been me that had felt it. I’d seen the flare of arousal in Blair’s eyes, the way she’d titled her head, lips parted, longing for satisfaction. That look had almost been my undoing. I’d nearly gi
Mac“Well, if it isn’t Tweedle dum and Tweedle dee,” Lucy quipped as Blake and I walked into her office. Brice, her assistant, who happened to be in the room, choked back a laugh, disguising it with a cough. I scowled at him and the cheeky bugger mumbled an excuse under his breath and hurried out, shutting the door behind him.“Please tell your mate to mind the way she speaks to her boss.” I complained to Blake in exasperation. “It’s bloody disrespectful.”Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee was the nickname Lucy had adopted for Blake and I back in boarding school, because in her opinion, both of us were practically one and the same person, just split into two separate bodies. It was a nickname I didn’t find particularly amusing and Lucy took full advantage of it, using it when she wanted to rile me up.“Just admit that you like it, dude.” Blake chuckled, clapping me on the back before crossing to place a welcome kiss on his mate’s cheek. He pulled her into his arms and she went willingly. “H
Blair“Please have a seat, Blair.” Dr. Strand spoke in the same gentle tone he’d used with me out on the main floor. I shook my head to decline his offer and moved instead to stand close to the door. I could feel him watching me intently and it made me even more uncomfortable.“I prefer to stand.” I replied, careful to not meet his gaze. My heart was frantically pounding in my chest, and I could feel goosebumps prickle my skin as fresh panic seized me.What kind of bad luck was this? Of all the people to run into, it had to be the doctor who’d treated my injuries, and even unfortunate, he remembered me out of all the dozens of patients he must have attended to in the two months since our encounter.Strand…I silently cursed myself for not making the connection sooner. Lucy’s last name was Strand and so was this doctor. He had called her ‘babe’ back there, so did that mean they were a couple? Probably.Another memory popped up in my head, confirming my earlier suspicions. He had litera
Mac“I just want to get the general idea of what you two talked about.” I told Blake for what felt like the hundredth time. I could literally hear his eyeballs move as he rolled his eyes, fully fed up with my bullshit, but I didn’t let it deter me. “She’s my employee - if there’s something to know, you should tell me.”Blake snorted and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Key word being ‘employee’. That doesn’t mean you have the right to nose into her private business. An employee is not an indentured servant, no matter what you may think of yours.”“I’m aware of that, but still, c'mon dude, at least give me a hint.” I urged, tugging my shirt over my head and tossing it unceremoniously to the side, which earned me a scowl from the fastidious Lucy. I shot her an apologetic smile and picked the offending fabric back up, folded it neatly then placed it among the pile.“I’m not telling you shit. Leave it alone” Blake declared. He shucked off his jeans and underwear and stood there arms on waist