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

Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Since Isaac’s plan ended up making them too busy for lunch, Isaac ducked out of the office for a minute to pick up sandwiches. He was not having Maverick’s good mood ruined by hunger. Besides, Maverick had loved the meatball sub he got him last time, and Isaac enjoyed the classic Italian. The restaurant he got the subs from was directly across the street, so the trip was short, and he was back upstairs within twenty minutes, just in time to see Elijah speaking to Jade.

Irritation swelled, but faded quickly. It wasn’t worth getting worked up about. Jade would say whatever she wanted. Hopefully, the telepath would be able to see right through her.

Jade called out to him when he passed, a bright smile on her face. “Isaac, hi! Where were you?”

“Out,” Isaac answered vaguely. He thought he was going to get along with Jade when they first met, but he found out pretty quickly that she loved gossip and drama, to the point that she would cause it just to feed into the gossip mill of the office. It was her fault Maverick was being shadowed in the first place because she whined to Avery.

“Oh, well, have you had a chance to talk to Elijah? He’s doing one-on-one interviews with everyone in the office.” She batted her eyelashes at the telepath, shooting him a flirty smile. “I didn’t realize there was such a handsome man just a few floors below us.”

Elijah, who’d kept that polite smile on his face in every interaction since Isaac met him, frowned suddenly. “That’s not appropriate, Ms. Pryde. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make comments like that.”

Isaac had to bite back a snort as Jade spluttered and backpedaled. She obviously wasn’t used to someone turning her down, and she never reacted well to people calling her out. She would whine about it for hours.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do,” Isaac muttered, stepping past them.

“Mr. Silverbreeze, just a moment,” Elijah called after him. Isaac stiffened and turned slowly, glancing over his shoulder at the telepath. He was worried Elijah would ask for an interview, and Isaac really didn't want to be in a room alone with the man. But Elijah’s gaze was locked on the bag in Isaac’s hand instead.

“That smells delicious. Can I ask where you acquired it?”

Oh. Well, that didn’t bother him in the slightest. “It’s right across the street. Have you heard of The Fickle Pickle?”

Elijah’s eyebrows flew up, and he let out a startled laugh. “Is that the actual name?”

Isaac nodded, relaxing a little. “Yeah. The couple who runs it think they’re funny. They don’t know how to screw up a sandwich, though.” It was his guilty pleasure restaurant. He couldn’t eat out often, but when he did, he stuck to what he knew. And The Fickle Pickle was his favorite.

“Thank you. I think I’ll head out to lunch soon.” He pulled out his wallet and offered Isaac his card. “If you wouldn’t mind texting me if Mr. Van Buren has another meeting, I’d appreciate it. That way I don’t have to chase him.”

Isaac was careful not to touch Elijah’s fingers as he plucked the card out of his hand. Elijah didn’t take offense and tucked his wallet away, giving Jade a plastic smile. “Thank you for speaking with me. I’ll continue my interviews after lunch.”

He nodded politely to them both before heading out of the office. Once he was gone, Jade’s smile fell, and she frowned at Isaac.

“Should we expect more smoke and fire from our resident grump this afternoon?”

Isaac gave her a bland expression. “If you stayed off your phone and did your job, he wouldn’t be so short with you. I’ve got work to do. I’ll see you later.”

He went back to Maverick’s office, setting up the dragon’s lunch and casting a few spells to keep the sandwich warm and fresh for his return. He either needed to ask for a company card or start budgeting for the frequent trips to get Maverick lunch, because he couldn’t afford this every day.

Ozen made Maverick and Taron wait, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why once they were allowed in the office. Avery’s face was bright red and his eyes were glued to his screen as he pretended to work, but no one could miss his disheveled appearance or the love bite in his neck. It was lucky Ozen’s office was soundproof, so the incubus could have privacy during feedings, otherwise they would’ve gotten a show.

Maverick was polite enough not to bring it up, but Taron wasn’t. He went straight for Avery, a big grin on his face. Taron and Maverick didn't always get along, but he didn’t want the man to die, so he was quick to snatch Taron’s collar and redirect him, taking his place and offering Avery a piece of paper.

“I finished the next book and wrote a review. You are an excellent writer. I appreciate you giving me a chance to read it.”

Embarrassment washed away and pride lit up Avery’s face as he beamed at him. “Thank you! Your reviews are always really helpful. Did I make any mistakes?”

“No. You have a good editor this time.”

Relieved, Avery took the paper and read over Maverick’s review, while Maverick moved to join the others at Ozen’s desk. Ozen had a soft look on his face, his eyes on his mate, but Taron was slouched in his seat with a pout.

“What is it now?” Maverick sighed.

“He won’t let me read them until they’re released. Why do you get special treatment?”

Maverick rolled his eyes. “Because I don’t tell the entire office what he wrote about. You can’t keep a secret.”

Taron’s offended gasp was ignored, and Maverick handed Ozen the paperwork for their discussion.

“Manuel agreed to provide security for the conservation project. Neither of us expects much push back on that one in particular, but I felt it was best to be prepared.”

Ozen nodded, flipping through the documents. “And the security for the thunderbird project?”

“I renamed it Operation Thunderchicken,” Taron interjected with a grin.

“I’m not calling it that,” Ozen said flatly. “If you offend our volunteers, I’ll pull you from the project without hesitation.”

“But it’s my idea!” Taron protested.

Maverick agreed with Ozen. He actually wanted to keep Taron away from the projects entirely, since Taron was not great at behaving, but unfortunately, Taron outranked him.

Diverting the conversation was the only way they’d get through this meeting on time, and Maverick realized too late that he skipped lunch to go to Isaac’s apartment. He wanted to avoid being around Ozen while his mood was turbulent. He took a few deep breaths, like Isaac counseled, before interrupting Taron’s whining.

“I’ve met with several private security firms about the project. A few outright refused because of the risk to their people, but a few others seemed interested. There’s one in particular that seemed promising. I brought their information with me.” They had their own security, but the golems who made up the largest portion of it were notoriously dim-witted and tended to wander into areas they shouldn’t unless doors were locked. Since the thunderbird project would be conducted outdoors to minimize damage and fire risk, they didn’t trust the golems not to get hurt.

“I’ll look it over. Where’s the contract for the thunderbird volunteers?”

“Isaac is working on it,” he grumbled. He was still annoyed that it was late. He didn’t blame Isaac for that, he probably would’ve been done before this meeting if he hadn’t had to distract Maverick, but it wouldn’t have been late in the first place if Richter had turned it in to Schultz like he should have.

“Your assistant is working on a contract?” Ozen queried, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

“He’s in the middle of getting his law degree. He needs hands-on experience.”

For a moment, his friend appeared to want to comment on that. Maverick shot him a warning look. It was Ozen’s fault he had been in such a foul mood that led to his outburst and SR’s interference. If he insisted on teasing Maverick at work, they’d have issues.

Taron seemed to pick up on the tension and diverted the conversation with a nod. “He’s a smart man. He’ll be able to handle it. Now, about funding…”

The rest of the meeting passed without issue, and Maverick was careful to keep his temper at bay, even when Taron started whining. It was easier after his morning with Isaac. He knew the goal was for Maverick to be able to function without needing sex to distract him, but he couldn’t help but think the results would be better accomplished with daily sex instead. But he refused to use Isaac that way. No matter how pleasurable the results were.

Taron fell into step with him as they headed out. He always had something to say, and Maverick knew it’d annoy the shit out of him, but he was polite enough to wait until they were alone waiting for the elevators. He leaned in closer, his voice barely above a whisper. Taron knew Maverick could hear him just fine, thanks to his dragon.

“Are you okay? You looked close to losing it earlier.”

He actually sounded sincere for once, and Maverick liked that at least one of his friends had his back. He dipped his chin to acknowledge the shapeshifter.

“I’m fine.”

Better than he usually would be at this point. Normally if he’d been that close to losing it, he’d be stewing in his office for hours, probably barking at people all afternoon, and the smoke filling his office would have been oppressive even to him. He felt more level-headed now, and he knew there was only one person responsible for that.

To his surprise, Taron followed him to his office. He was discussing the thunderbird project and his involvement in the thing, but Maverick assumed he’d gotten everything across in the meeting. He should’ve known Taron was up to no good.

They entered Maverick’s office, and the familiar smell of fresh bread and meatballs filled the air. Maverick’s eyes immediately snapped to his desk, where his lunch waited. They’d skipped the meal since his long lunch was spent in bed with Isaac, and he was starving. He left Taron by the door, heading straight for the food, and was already digging in when Taron spoke.

“Holy shit, it’s like a wild animal discovering a buffet. You’ve got him exactly where you want him, don’t you?”