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

Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The second day went better than the first, and so did the third. But Isaac knew it couldn’t last forever. Despite the coaching he gave Maverick and keeping the dragon fed, there was only so much Isaac could do to protect him from the staff’s screw ups. And by the time Thursday came around, the staff seemed determined to screw up as much as physically possible.

It started with Jade showing up late. Her desk phone rang off the hook for a good fifteen minutes before Isaac had to go out there and deal with it himself. She’d left a voicemail that said she’d be late, but gave no advanced notice so they could better prepare. He assigned an intern to handle it after dealing with the mess of calls already waiting, but apparently answering phone calls and transferring them was too difficult on the intern because several dropped calls later, Isaac got transferred a call from a client who screamed so loudly in his ear, he thought he was going to go deaf. It took some serious maneuvering to keep Maverick from picking up the phone and dealing with the guy himself. Even Elijah, sitting in the corner watching them, did nothing to dissuade the dragon. Only the threat of electric shock kept Maverick away from him long enough for Isaac to deal with the caller.

Isaac waited for Elijah to say something about threatening his superior, but the telepath just made a note in his notebook and smiled politely. He was smart enough by now not to bother to try and get into Isaac’s head, but he was probably diving deep into Maverick’s whenever he got the chance. Isaac had decided after a conversation with Maeve to keep Elijah’s power to himself until he could at least get Maverick alone, but they’d never had the opportunity. The week had been exceptionally busy, and Isaac was up to his ears in paperwork to help Maverick out. The most he could manage was suggesting working on his mind shields as a way to block out the world and cool off when he was frustrated. They hadn’t actually started working on it yet.

After realizing the intern was not helpful, Isaac moved to the reception desk himself so he could handle it. It slowed his progress and forced him to miss joining Maverick for a meeting, which neither of them was pleased about. Isaac’s notes went a long way in keeping things organized, and neither of them liked Maverick having to go alone.

He was still seething about the shit storm of the morning when Jade finally showed up. She had a coffee in her hand from a fancy shop Isaac knew was across town, and her hair and nails looked freshly done. Isaac’s eyes narrowed, but he couldn’t outright ask her what she had been doing. He wasn’t her superior. He could report his suspicions to Maverick, but given that Maverick was growling on his way out, that might not work out how Isaac wanted it to.

“Morning, Isaac,” Jade said with just a hint of smug satisfaction as she sashayed past toward the breakroom. “I’m just going to put my lunch in the fridge. I appreciate you watching the desk for me.”

Maybe it wasn’t Maverick they should be worrying about. Isaac was feeling close to losing it, too. And he would be just as destructive if he lost his temper.

Gritting his teeth, Isaac took a few deep breaths. It only settled him a little, but it was enough to get him to walk away from Jade without saying anything to her. He took a minute once he got into Maverick’s office to steady himself. He’d been surprisingly short tempered lately. Like Maverick’s foul mood was affecting him, too. Maybe this weekend he needed to make some time to use his magic more freely. Burn some of the excess frustration out. He’d been so busy lately that he didn’t really get the chance. Which made him a little bit of a hypocrite. He couldn’t expect Maverick to take care of himself if Isaac wasn’t willing to do the same.

He was just going to sit down at his desk when he heard Maverick’s rough timber in the hallway. The meeting was over already? It was scheduled for another twenty minutes. He straightened again, leaning to get a better look into the hallway. Maverick stood by the front desk, and it didn’t take a telepath for Isaac to see that he was going to flip his shit in a second.

Damn it.

He hurried back to the reception area just in time to hear Maverick growl at Jade. “It doesn’t matter what you were doing. You gave no notice that you would be late and the desk would need to be covered. That is unacceptable.”

Jade crossed her arms defiantly over her chest, glaring back at him. “I’m not required to divulge where I was. I left a message. It’s not my fault Isaac didn’t check it until the phones were already ringing.”

There was no warning this time. No smoke. Nothing to show that Maverick was losing his temper. His eyes widened in fury and instead of the usual smokey tendrils that escaped his nose, when he breathed out, literal fire escaped with it. Maverick’s teeth were bared, and the air vibrated around them with his fury. Shit shit shit. Not good.

“Mr. Van Buren,” Elijah said smoothly, trying to drag the dragon’s attention off the now shaking receptionist. “Perhaps this is an issue best reported to SR. We can handle Ms. Jade’s actions.”

Yeah, Maverick wasn’t listening. He looked ready to tear Jade apart. And while dragons were allowed certain leniencies when they lost their temper thanks to their animals, Jade hadn’t done enough to earn that. But how the hell did you get a bloodthirsty dragon off the hunt.

You give him something else to hunt. Isaac sighed. This might end poorly for him.

Summoning a small ball of lightning, not enough to hurt but enough to get the dragon’s attention, he tossed it at him, hitting him with a loud snap on his shoulder. Maverick whirled around with a snarl, another burst of flame escaping his mouth. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Pick on someone your own size, you overgrown lizard,” he murmured under his breath. Low enough that no one else would hear him unless they were standing next to him, but with the dragon so close to the surface, Maverick heard him just fine. He growled, taking a step toward Isaac.

That was when Isaac realized there was a flaw in his plan. He’d gotten the dragon’s attention, but the office was the worst place to have this kind of confrontation. Too many people could get hurt, and if Maverick kept breathing fire, he was going to burn the entire office down.

He took a step back, but that only made Maverick’s growl louder. The dragon was on the hunt now and its gaze was locked firmly on Isaac. Fuck this. Time to even the playing field a little.

Spinning on his heel, he took off, back towards Maverick’s office and the rooftop terrace beyond it. Maverick roared behind him, and Isaac’s heartbeat galloped in his chest as the dragon chased him. He threw a heavy gust of wind out in front of him, throwing the terrace doors open so hard the glass shattered. He’d deal with that later. Tearing across the grass, he summoned a lightning strike and cast it directly behind him. It made Maverick jump back, giving Isaac enough time to spin around before he ran straight off the edge of the terrace.

Maverick stood maybe ten feet away, his hands flexing like he was fighting himself. Isaac’s wind whipped his hair around, but Maverick didn’t notice or care. He took another menacing step towards Isaac, the fire in his eyes so bright that it looked like Maverick could kill him with just a look.

“Take a breath,” Isaac murmured. “I’m not your enemy.”

For a second, Maverick hesitated. Just a second. Not long enough to get himself under control, but long enough for Isaac to know he was listening. Isaac let the lightning engulf his hands just as a precaution, but he didn’t think he’d need it. Even now, he wasn’t afraid of Maverick. It didn’t make any sense, the dragon was literally stalking him towards the edge of the terrace, but Isaac only felt the intense need to help him.

“You were breathing fire, Maverick. You could have set the office on fire. Stop and think.”

There it was again. That flicker, like Maverick was fighting his instincts to hunt and rage. Isaac’s gaze shifted over Maverick’s shoulder, where Elijah and most of the legal floor were watching them. The dragon’s gaze followed his, and he growled menacingly. If Maverick didn't get his shit together, his entire reputation was at risk, not just his job at Spellbound. Isaac needed to get them out of here and give Maverick time to pull himself together again.

“Dragon,” Isaac breathed, pulling the beast’s attention back to him.

“Catch me.”

Without an ounce of hesitation, Isaac spun and ran again, this time over the wall and straight off the edge of the building. Hopefully, either the dragon’s need to chase him would have him diving after him, or Maverick could pull himself together fast enough to catch him. Either way, his life was in Maverick’s hands.