Book 2 - Chapter 5
2568 Words
Derek
I moseyed down the hallway, dreading being here already. I procrastinated this morning, wondering if it was even worth it to come here today. I was in a foul mood from recent events at the palace, but being here was just as frustrating at times. Today it won out, being the lesser of two evils at the moment. Dean was also nagging me today. He wanted to come to the city for whatever reason.
I said hello to Liz and a few others on my way to my desk. Jeff stopped me on the way and asked me to look over something at the loading dock. I set my things down and went to help him, but not before my nose caught a familiar scent. No, it couldn't be. Someone must be wearing perfume or something. I dismissed it and continued along to go help Jeff. When I returned to my office, I noticed a set of keys and a phone resting on the once vacant reception desk. Trish must have finally hired someone.
My ears twitched, hearing a lot of rustling coming from the normally quiet kitchen around the corner from my office. I followed the sound, my nose picking up the same familiar scent. It got stronger and stronger the closer I got, I had to use a lot of self control not to run towards it. Quietly, I peaked into the kitchen and just watched.
"Mate! Mate! It's mate!" Dean yelled in my head while running in circles.
I knew immediately who she was, Valerie. The best one-night stand of my life, and regrettably, my mate. She was even more beautiful than I had remembered. But Goddess, what was she doing here? She didn't work here...did she? s**t.
"Valerie?" I said, taking a few steps forward.
Her head snapped up and looked over at me. "Derek?! Ouch!" She said, holding her now bleeding hand. "Ugh! I cant even!" She hissed in pain and frustration. My chest hurt for my mate, only further proving the moon goddess had a sick sense of humor towards my life. Of course, my mate would be a human.
"She remembered us..." Dean swooned.
"I would hope so, she screamed out our name enough times." I smirked.
"Here, let me see." I said, carefully taking her hand in mine and looking over the damage. She definitely didn't hold back. She could probably use a few stitches in fact. But even with her injury, sparks erupted over my skin when we touched.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I work here, what are you doing here?" I countered.
"I work here now too." She said, her eyes glassy. "Hopefully, anyway. It's my first day and I'm messing up left and right."
"This will need some stitches, I can drive you to the hospital." I said while grabbing a towel out of the drawer and pressing it onto her wound.
"No!" She protested.
"Valerie, you need stitches." I deadpanned.
"No, if I leave Mr. Anderson might fire me and I really want this job....And I don't have insurance either..." She said sheepishly, sniffling throughout.
Mr. Anderson? Did she not know who I was? I weighed my options but eventually caved. "Follow me." I said, keeping her hand held high to minimize the bleeding.
"Jeff, get maintenance to clean the kitchen." I linked.
"On it!" He answered back immediately.
We weaved through the halls, no one daring to look in our direction, making our way down to the first floor where I had a small emergency room built in the event that something happened to one of my workers. If there was any work accident that required medical attention, we couldn't just get up and go to the nearest hospital. All humans would need was a drop of blood to know we were...unique. Edward had heavily suggested that we add it, especially since the nearest pack hospital was two hours away in my kingdom. I took his word for it and had it added. We only need it every once in a blue moon. Not many injuries or illnesses happen among our kind. Werewolves were generally fast healers, twice as fast as humans. We were also faster, stronger, more in tune with our bodies. But not humans. They were frail, weak, and clumsy.
"What is this place?" Valerie asked. Goddess, her voice was like music to my ears.
"Hospital. We have an emergency setup down here in case there are any accidents. There is a lot of heavy equipment that gets used around the loading doc just through those doors over there." I flicked my head. "Better be safe than sorry."
"Liar." Dean snorted.
"Half truth," I corrected.
"Thats neat." She said, looking over all the equipment curiously. "Hey listen, I hope you don't mind me bringing this up...but I'm not the kind of girl you think I am."
"What kind of girl are you?" I asked, leading her into one of our smaller exam rooms. I pointed for her to sit on the bed, which she did immediately.
"Not the kind that sleeps with strangers." She blurted out.
"We weren't strangers, we exchanged names." I said, hiding my smirk.
"Ugh! You know what I mean! Look, I just don't want our one night together to interfere with my job, okay?"
I grabbed a stitch kit and lidocaine and sat next to her, hardly able to think straight. Flashbacks of our night together ran through my head. Her sweet scent, her heavenly moans, her perfect ass, that mouth. s**t, I had to settle down and focus before she noticed my pants tenting next to her.
"That won't be a problem." I said, loading the syringe with lidocaine.
"Woah, woah, woah, you're doing this?" She panicked.
"Me or the hospital." I countered while taking a deep breath of her vanilla-coconut scent while I put on my gloves.
She bit her tongue and held her hand out to me, good girl. "This will sting, but it'll feel better than getting sewn up without it." I warned her just before numbing her up with the lidocaine.
"Do you speak from experience?" She hissed in pain, trying to retract her hand, but I wouldn't allow her to move, I didn't need her making it worse. I wish I could take the pain for her.
"Yeah." I answered honestly. I was taken back by my own admission. I was never this open with anyone. Stupid mate bond.
"Oh...im sorry." She said calmer this time, the numbing agent obviously doing its job.
"Nothing for you to apologize for. Now hold still and look that way." I said, grabbing my tools. She didn't need to watch this. "When were you hired?" I asked, trying to distract her.
"Just this morning. But I'm probably already fired and just don't know it yet." She snorted and sighed.
Fuck. How was I supposed to get any work done with her across the hall from me? I couldn't take her as my mate, she was like a delicate flower, I couldn't drag her through the s**t in my life. Humans and wolves never got along anyway. There was a reason we didn't tell humans about our kind. They would try to hunt us down for fun or fear and use our pelts for fur. Savage creatures for being as weak and disposable as they were.
"Why do you say that?" I asked, taking my time with each stitch, savoring the moment with my mate. I knew I would need to reject her eventually and, human or not, it was still going to suck.
"I was told he needed breakfast and lunch, but the kitchen didn't have anything, so I ran to the grocery store that's a few minutes from here and emptied my bank account on coffee and bagels. Only to come back after he had already arrived. Next, I find mold growing in the coffee maker and slice my hand over his breakfast. Which I also have no idea if he has any dietary restrictions. It'll be my luck that I poison the poor man next." She huffed.
"Well, I can give you some tips about working with him, if you'd like." I offered, a smirk threatening to tug at my lips.
"Would you really?! That would be great!" She exclaimed.
"He doesn't drink coffee, only water or whiskey. He isn't picky with food, because he usually forgets to eat, so any food is good food. He has low expectations, just needs someone to show up and offer a hand here and there."
"Well, that's reassuring." She said, mulling over my words.
"He is very flexible, and generally understanding, so don't worry. You'll do great." I said while wrapping her hand.
What was I saying? I needed to reject her, not encourage her!
"Thanks Derek." She blushed.
"There, all set." I said, tossing away my gloves and used supplies.
"Did you work in healthcare or something?" She asked, looking over her stitched-up hand. "This looks flawless."
"Self-taught," I regrettably admitted, again. Her face fell, immediately looking towards my chest. Of course she probably saw my scars during our shack up. "Lets go get to work. Lots to do and little time to do it." I said, trying to deflect her pitying stare.
We made it back to Valerie's desk without being stopped, thankfully. I gave her a full tour of the building on the way, showing her every department and explaining what each did. She seemed genuinely interested, and impressed. It was...refreshing.
"Is your work email set-up yet?" I asked.
"No, not yet", she said.
"I'll get you setup." I said, reaching past her towards the keyboard.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it." She smiled.
"Anytime." I said distractedly, clicking away on her keyboard. It was taking everything in me to not touch her. My skin was crawling at the thought. Dean wasn't any help either, he kept urging me to mate and mark her.
"What cologine are you wearing?" Valerie asked, taking me by surprise.
"I'm not, why?"
"You just smell really good...like a warm campfire." She hummed. Goddess kill me now.
"There, all set. You shouldn't need it too often, but I would encourage you to check it in the morning and before you leave." I said, standing back up straight, almost bumping into her on the way.
"Sorry-"
"Sorry-"
We both said together, taking a few steps away from each other.
"I'll leave you to it." I said, backing away further.
"Alpha! There you are!" Trish said, a pile of papers in hand.
"Alpha? What is that, a nickname or something?" Valerie asked.
Trish's expression blanched when she saw Valerie sitting behind her desk.
"Yeah, nickname. What can I help you with, Trish?" I asked.
"I was just coming to give our new hire her paperwork to complete and introduce you to her."
"We've met, you are a bit late." I dismissed her.
"Yes Sir." She said, placing the pile of papers on Valerie's desk and scrambling off.
"Sir and Alpha? You must be pretty important." Valerie laughed.
"Well, I am the owner." I winked. Valerie's mouth hung open in shock and horror, watching me as I went to my office and sat down at my desk.
I discretely watched her have a silent meltdown. She turned a bright red before heading around the corner and out of my sight. Not every day you work for your one-night stand I suppose. I powered up my computer and pulled out a few stacks of papers, diving head first into the mess.
"Here you go, Mr Anderson." Valerie said, handing me a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a bottle of water.
"Oh. Thanks." I said, taken back. "Please, call me Derek. And here, I said, handing her a check and a gold credit card.
"What is this for?" She frowned.
"Paying you back for the food you bought this morning, and the card is for future expenses." I said.
"Oh, thank you Sir."
"Just Derek." I reiterated, my d**k twitching at her calling me Sir. "When you make or order lunch, make sure you have some for yourself also." I added, stunned at my own proposal. Stupid mate bond had me worrying about her eating now too.
"That is very generous, thank you." She smiled.
I nodded to her and she scurried off, returning to her desk a few minutes later with a bagel for herself. Good. Maybe now I can focus on my work. I started with my emails, nothing too pressing thankfully. I decided to send Valerie an email with my contact info, I could always get her info from HR later.
Valerie,
Please save my number into your phone. I will periodically call or text if something is needed. Below is a list of responsibilities I would like you to manage. My calender is linked through your email. If you schedule something, add it to the calender. If you cancel it, take it off. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
- Water the plants in my office
- Collect my mail from the mail room
- Order or prepare breakfast, lunch, and occasionally dinner.
- Schedule meetings
- Take notes at meetings
- Manage my calender
- Help with daily time management
- Run errands
- Answer phone calls
- Make travel arrangements
I would like to have morning and evening meetings with you to ensure a seamless workflow each day.
Thanks
Derek
Send. Hopefully, my life will finally start to get easier. A few minutes passed, and I was soon lost in my quarterly financial report, which was looking good, great even. Minus the one discrepancy, we were quite profitable. A quick knock at the door caught my attention. I looked up to see Valerie standing in my doorway with a large water pitcher, filled nearly to the brim.
"Can I come in?" She asked.
"Of course, no need to ask. Only if my door is shut do I ask for privacy. Otherwise, come on in." I said, going back to my report.
"Cool, thanks." She smiled and started going from plant to plant, giving each copious amount of water and plucking off the dead leaves, trying to salvage what was left of my plants. I didn't even know what half of them were. I watched Valerie intently, and goddess, she looked good in a skirt. She worked her way around the room, starting from the door and ending next to my desk.
"Thank you." I said when she finished.
"Of course." She smiled. "I bought subs for lunch, if that's okay."
"Perfect." I smiled back.
I suddenly felt like an awkward teen again, gawking over the girl next door, or in this case, the assistant across the hall. I highly doubt that the council would approve of me, the southern werewolf king, taking a human mate. If I was being honest, the thought repulsed me too. Until I caught a whiff of her delectable scent, that is. Of all the races, she had to be a human. Even if I did decide to pursue a relationship with her, would she be accepting of our kind? Would she be open to being in a leadership position? Would my people respect her as their queen? Maybe if I learned more about her...no...I shouldn't play with fire. I would need to reject her. End of story.
- Writer
