2. Be Polite. Be Civil
Sacha
The unfamiliar woman’s mouth makes a small, adorable ‘o’ shape, and her hand flies in front of her face as if to block the words that have already emerged.
“Is my species a problem?” I ask.
“Oh shit! Sorry, no! So sorry. Dammit, I didn’t mean to curse,” she blurts. “No. It’s not a problem at all. I just didn’t realize. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that you are. A Bigfoot, I mean. I just didn’t know before I came in here, so it kind of surprised me.” Her mouth is twisted into a charmingly awkward smile now. “Sorry. It’s not a problem. And I won’t cuss anymore. Sir.” She finishes the last sentence in a hurry.
“It’s fine,” I grumble, surprised that I actually mean it. I’m used to some of this behavior since the Decrypting. When technological advances and deforestation made hiding our existence more and more difficult, the urban legends started to reveal themselves to the humans, and cryptozoology became zoology. Not everyone has reacted well to our entrance into human society. Some people are shocked by my existence. Some even deny it to my face. I’ve spent half my life fighting tooth and nail for people to see me no different than a human and treat me as a serious businessman, not a monster.
However, Bailey genuinely seems more nervous to be talking to her new boss than she does about meeting a Bigfoot.
Her hair is dyed bright pink and styled in a short pixie cut that compliments her round face. She’s wearing a yellow skirt and a pink blouse that highlight the impressive curves of her body, wide hips, thick thighs, and the roll of her stomach. I try not to notice how many curves my employees have, but she’s like a vibrant flower in this desert of an office. I ignore the urge to dwell on that, though.
“Can you log in and update the Iliad account, Mrs. Thorn?”
“I’m—not sure, sir; I just started today. Like, I literally just sat down at my desk a couple of minutes ago. I don’t know how to do anything yet. So I don’t actually know if—” She wrings her hands.
I release an exasperated sigh. “Let me show you.” I start to move past her, walking toward the office door. One step closer lets her scent hit my nose, and it nearly knocks me over.
Moss, mushrooms, and fresh rain; it’s like the forest has invaded my office in the form of a shapely woman. She’s perfect. She’s meant to be mine. I need her. My whole body goes rigid.
“What are you wearing?” I ask, fighting the urge to hold my breath.
She glances down at her bright pink chest, broad and tempting. “Is it inappropriate? I’ve never worked in an office this nice before.”
“The outfit is perfect—” I almost choke on my words, “—ly acceptable.” I try to recover. “Are you wearing perfume or something scented?”
“No, sir. Just deodorant, I think. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I mutter.
Something is horribly wrong.
She’s the one, the woman I am meant to be with, and she doesn’t seem to know it. Another irritating aspect of humans. If she were a Bigfoot, she’d have known as soon as I did, but humans don’t have fated-mates. My hand twitches with the desire to touch her; I clench it tightly into a fist. “Maybe you could switch to an unscented brand. The Bigfoot nose is very sensitive.”
“Sorry, sir. I didn’t know.” Her nose scrunches.
But I know it isn’t her perfume, it’s all her that I am smelling, my mate. She’s completely clueless about the bond.
I breathe through my mouth as I pass her, catching from the corner of my eye as she surreptitiously sniffs her underarm. I bite back a grin and step into the alcove that holds her desk. The space is bigger here, there’s more air, and I can think a little easier. The deep desire to claim her fades a fraction.
“Can you log in, please? I’ll show you how to make the changes that I need. You can do them yourself next time.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Kwatch.” She scoots into her desk chair but then pauses, looking up at me with bright blue eyes. “Actually, IT hasn’t given me a login yet.”
“Of course they haven’t,” I mutter. The universe seems to be trying to force my proximity to this woman. “Not your fault, Mrs. Thorn. May I?” I gesture toward her keyboard.
She nods, attempting to scoot out of my path, but in my hurry to reach the keyboard, my shoulder brushes against hers. The glancing heat sends a pulse straight to my cock.
It’s a completely inappropriate reaction to my assistant. Humans don’t operate on instant attraction like this; they don’t take one sniff and know they are perfect for each other. They take their annoying time with things like this. She isn’t longing for me deep in her soul.
I have to put some distance between us, before I do something I’ll regret. My fingers move quickly across the keyboard, pulling up her email and syncing her local folder with the network. I lean away and realize, in my haste to escape, I haven’t explained anything.
She gives me a closed-lip smile, waiting for instructions. It’s almost like the rest of the world goes fuzzy. She’s meant to be mine; my prey. I want her to scream and run, so that I can catch her. I want to capture her soft thighs in my hands. I want to bury my face in her breasts. I want to taste the sweetness of her cu?—
I shake the impulse from my head and take two steps back from her. I haven’t spent the last fifteen years of my life trying to act human, only to be taken down by one single woman.
“My schedule is synced to your computer now. It outlines your responsibilities; there’s a meeting at three in conference room C. Be ready to take notes.”
She nods. I turn, hoping to remove myself from her presence as quickly as possible, but force myself to stop. Be polite. Be civil. Humans like you better when you act like one of them.
“Mrs. Thorn, I hope your first day goes well.”
“Miss,” she corrects me.
I raise an eyebrow in a question.
“I’m not married or anything. It’s Ms. Thorn. Totally single.” She laughs slightly awkwardly before biting her lower lip. I suppress the urge to bite it for her. “Or just Bay is fine too.”
“Have a good day…Ms. Thorn.”
I hustle to my office, reveling in a lungful of air that doesn’t have her in it. My chest constricts slightly, my traitorous body wants to be breathing her in.
I try to get more distance from her desk, stepping to my wall of windows to focus on the view of the busy street below. My office overlooks Silicon Valley, the afternoon sun creating short shadows between the squat buildings. Countless hours were worked in this office over the past eight years. I was only twenty-two when my two closest friends, now business partners, and I built Cryptech from the ground up. It took sacrifice after sacrifice to make this business what it is today. I’ve spent so much time trying to fit in with the humans, until I became no more of a monster than any other businessman.
And now she walks in, and throws my world completely off its axis. I want her so badly that my whole body hurts.
But, hitting on my assistant? Awful.
Firing her on her first day so that I can ask her out? That definitely won’t get me on her good side.
Stepping out of my office, demanding that she run from me so I can chase her down and mate her over the copy machine in front of the entire accounting department? Fucking her until she is screaming my name and so wet that my entire knot easily slips into her? Civilized humans don’t do that. Monsters do that.
I have to take this slow. Give her a chance to warm up to me. Push down my monstrous desires, let her defenses fall, and let my prey come to me.