The Dragon’s Aide (Charmed Away Temp Agency #2)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Thankfully, Avery didn’t seem to be in any rush to ditch Isaac too quickly. After they delivered the files and checked in at the front desk for deliveries made that morning, Avery brought him back to Mr. Van Buren’s office, gesturing him to a smaller desk in one corner Isaac hadn’t seen the first time he’d been up here. It was empty aside from a phone and computer, but it was near the windows, so the view was awesome.

While Avery went over the computer system and where to find the legal references that Mr. Van Buren might need, Isaac could feel the man’s eyes burning into him. For someone who was supposed to be overwhelmed and busy, he seemed to have a lot of time to stare. Isaac ignored it, even if his libido seemed to perk up at the attention. He knew how sensitive shifters’ senses were, and he didn’t want the grouchy man to realize his attraction, so he thought boring thoughts until the weight of the man’s stare left him and he could finally focus.

“Always have a notebook on you to take notes at meetings if he needs you to go.” Avery pursed his lips thoughtfully. “That’s about it for now. Did I miss anything?” He turned to glance at Mr. Van Buren, who grunted in acknowledgement, but didn’t offer anything new to the conversation. Grouch.

Avery just shrugged. “Okay. I left the extension for my mate’s secretary right here, so if you need to get ahold of me, just call. I’ll come check in again around lunch. Have a good day. See you later, Maverick.”

Mr. Van Buren grunted again. Isaac resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Someone needed to teach the dragon some manners. He pushed out of his seat, moving to stand in front of Mr. Van Buren’s desk.

“I haven’t formally introduced myself. I’m Isaac Silverbreeze from Charmed Away Temp Agency. I look forward to working with you.” He thrust his hand out, smiling brightly.

Instead of shaking his hand, Mr. Van Buren gave him a stack of files instead. “The top two need appointments scheduled for meetings. The bottom two need research collected. There’s a note in each on what I need.”

The obstinate man narrowed his eyes, almost like he was daring Isaac to make a fuss about his terrible introduction. Isaac only smiled and nodded. It’d take a lot more than a grouchy boss to get him down.

“Right away, Mr. Van Buren. Did you want a refreshment, or would you prefer I start on these right away?”

If Isaac’s response surprised him, Mr. Van Buren didn’t give any indication about it. He waved Isaac away and turned back to the file in front of him. “I’m fine. Those files are more important.”

Isaac made a mental note to always prioritize the work over the basics, like coffee and snacks. Not every boss was the same, and it was important to cater to each of them based on their needs. He wouldn’t be doing this job forever, one day he’d be a partner at a firm and someone else would be fetching the coffee, but he wasn’t afraid of paying his dues. He’d be the errand boy until he was important enough to hire someone else. And then he’d be a lot more polite about it than the people who he worked with before.

He felt the dragon track him back to his desk, and a small thrill shot through him. Apparently, he wasn’t going to be the one who would have trouble focusing. That was all Maverick Van Buren.

The stupid pink hair was distracting. Every time Maverick turned, it would flash on the edge of his vision and draw his attention. It irritated him so much, he actually looked up the regulations in the employee handbook. Avery was right, there was nothing in there about hair color, though Maverick could make the argument that it went against the regulations to maintain professionalism. The man hardly looked professional with hair like that.

Everything about his new assistant was distracting. His hair. His smile. His sage green eyes, framed by long thick lashes. His strange ability to know when Maverick needed a break and a snack. He had an ethereal beauty, his pale skin flawless. Almost like he wore makeup. His long, slender neck made Maverick feel urges he hadn’t in a long time, namely to lick and bite. He chalked that up to a long dry spell and pushed it aside. His assistant was average in height, but smaller than Maverick, and he had a slim build. Not lanky, but not thickly muscled either. It was disconcerting, and it bugged him. Three days of working with him, and he was still distracted.

If he started complaining, though, Maverick risked him walking out. While the man was distracting, Maverick couldn’t argue that Isaac knew what he was doing. He was diligent in his work, and never missed a beat, no matter how much Maverick threw at him. It almost seemed like he enjoyed it. Maverick caught Issac humming to himself whenever he stepped out of the office. He smiled almost constantly, even a small one ghosting on his lips while he did research. Maverick hadn’t met another being who enjoyed legal research as much as he did in an age. He kept waiting for the complaints, but they never came.

He was almost grateful for each meeting now, as it gave him an excuse to steer clear of his office. After finishing up a meeting with Ozen, where they’d discussed the contract with the volunteer thunderbirds for Taron’s next big project idea, Maverick found himself reluctant to go back to his office. Isaac was there, and Maverick found himself torn between annoyance and gratefulness whenever he was around him. The man was distracting, but helpful. It was frustrating.

Usually, when a meeting was done, Maverick was quick to return to his desk. There was always something to do. Today, he lingered long enough for Ozen to notice. He looked up from his own paperwork, frowning at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” Maverick growled. But he still didn’t get up to leave. There had to be something else he could do up here. Some other legal issue to discuss. It was a big company. There was always something.

Ozen raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. He couldn’t just sit here. It was suspicious. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to discuss his complex feelings towards his assistant with Ozen. He owned the company. That could go poorly if not done correctly. Sometimes it was hard when his closest friend was also his boss.

Ozen’s eyes narrowed slightly before flicking over Maverick’s shoulder. “Firefly, your editor wanted you to meet him, didn’t he?”

Avery looked up from his computer, blinking a few times with a frown. He told them once that he got sucked into the story and sometimes forgot where he was. He needed a few seconds to figure it out.

“He did?” He wrinkled his nose, looking down at the clock on his monitor, then sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. “Shoot. He did. And I’m late. He said he’d meet me downstairs for coffee. Did you want me to bring you anything on my way back?”

“Surprise me,” Ozen said with an indulgent smile. Avery beamed at him, his smile filled with love for his mate. A twinge of jealousy stirred in Maverick’s gut, but he brushed that aside. That only started happening after reading Avery’s books. It was turning him into a romantic. He’d get over that eventually.

“Maverick? Do you want me to pick you up a coffee?”

“I’m fine. Thank you,” he grunted as politely as he could muster. He’d get hell from Ozen if he were rude to Avery, even if he was in a foul mood. It wasn’t worth the fight.

Once Avery scurried out to meet his editor and the door shut quietly behind him, Ozen turned back to Maverick and raised his eyebrow again.

“Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Nothing,” Maverick ground out.

“If that was true, you wouldn’t be lingering in my office. Is it your assistant? Is it not going well? I can always call and ask for someone else–”

The thought of losing Isaac dumped panic in Maverick’s veins. He was the only competent assistant Maverick had ever had. He even overreached Avery, since he seemed comfortable doing legal research, where Avery had had no experience in that arena and couldn’t help much in that regard.

“No!”

His shout surprised Ozen and his friend blinked a few times, his eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline. “Alright. So it’s going well then?”

“Yes. No.” Maverick made an irritated noise. “He’s competent and efficient.” And really damn distracting. But Ozen didn’t need to know that part.

“Okay… That’s good then.” Ozen sounded confused, but he was a patient man and knew when to let Maverick work things out on his own. Unlike Taron, who would be like a dog with a bone if he ever found out how distracting Maverick found his assistant.

For a few moments, Ozen left him in peace, discussing a potential merger of a smaller company doing good work. They lacked real funding to do their research and Ozen didn’t want their potential to be wasted. He would be sending Taron to meet with them initially, since Taron was good with people, but if things went well, Maverick would need to join the conversation.

Maverick was grateful for the distraction and lost himself in the discussion for a few moments, until a knock came to the door. Ozen beckoned whoever it was inside, and a familiar scent stirred the air as the door opened, putting Maverick on high alert.

“Mr. Hawksley, Isaac Silverbreeze is here for Mr. Van Buren.”

Ozen gestured with a wave for Isaac to enter. Maverick stiffened as he felt his assistant draw closer. He smelled like strawberries. It was disconcerting. What male smelled so sweet? And why couldn’t Maverick stop thinking about the scent?

“Sorry to interrupt. I…” Isaac hesitated, and without looking, Maverick could see the frown on his face. It was in his voice, and his confusion and a small amount of apprehension tinged the air.

Ozen stood, offering Isaac his hand with a calm smile. “You must be Maverick’s new assistant. I’m Ozen Hawksley.”

Isaac’s warmth brushed past Maverick’s shoulder as he moved to shake Ozen’s hand. “Isaac Silverbreeze. You… You wouldn’t happen to be Avery Hawksley’s mate, would you?”

Ozen always smiled whenever his mate was brought into the conversation. It would be embarrassing if Maverick hadn’t seen for himself how Ozen suffered before Avery came into the picture. His friend deserved to be happy and well cared for. As a prior assistant, Avery excelled at caring for his mate and his friends.

“That’s correct. Avery is my mate.”

“He gave me a tour and the rundown of my work. He’s also my favorite author.”

Pride and love overtook Ozen’s expression, completely ruining the powerful CEO vibe he was supposed to carry while in the office. Maverick bit his tongue to hold back a comment on the matter. No matter what he said, Ozen refused to be embarrassed of his feelings for his mate. It wasn’t something Maverick understood. He wasn’t interested in relationships, but he wasn’t going to begrudge his friend’s happiness, either.

Maverick stared down at the papers in his hand, feigning inattentiveness as he listened to Ozen and Isaac speak. The longer they spoke, the more irritated Maverick seemed to feel, until a low growl escaped him without warning. It drew their attention, and Maverick regretted it almost immediately.

“Maverick?” Ozen queried curiously.

Making an irritated noise, Maverick finally lifted his gaze to the pair, narrowing his eyes on Isaac to show his displeasure. “Did you come here for a reason, or was your intention to interrupt my meeting?”

Ozen’s brows shot up, but Isaac never faltered, offering Maverick a handwritten note. “You got a call earlier. They said it was important and needed to be returned as soon as possible. You haven’t given me any other way to contact you yet when something important comes up.”

Maverick grunted, and out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw Isaac roll his eyes in response. When he turned back to face him, Isaac’s pleasant smile was back, and he excused himself politely before leaving the room to get back to work. It wouldn’t surprise him if his assistant found him troublesome, but it did bug him on some level. He didn’t want to chase the man away.

“So…” Ozen grinned. “When were you going to tell me you were avoiding going back to your office because you’ve got a thing for your assistant?”