Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
“Yeah, my girlfriend is telling me how much she loves my nose,” Miranda said.
Konni’s gaze held mine for a silent beat. “Girlfriend?”
My love for Miranda’s nose dwindled because I knew damn well my shifter best friend could smell how much I was lusting after the dangerously gorgeous man standing a foot away from us.
“You’re not interrupting. I was just about to start my shift,” I said, standing.
He took the seat I’d vacated and watched me throw away my takeout. Miranda watched him watch me, a knowing smirk on her face.
“What can I get you?” I asked him, ignoring her.
“A mocktail. Something sweet.”
“You got it.” I made him a Shirley Temple and charged him twenty again. Miranda’s humor rose.
“Are you going to drink those shots or donate them?” I asked her.
“Why? You want one?”
“No thanks. Going in hungover during my first week will probably earn me even more disdain.”
“Every office has its bitches. Ignore ‘em,” Miranda said before tipping back a shot.
“I thought Steele Corporation had a positive work environment,” Konni said, listening to us.
“I never said I was working at Steele Corp,” I said.
“Sorry. I assumed when you asked about Steele and Wulf Enterprises, and Steele recently posted a administrative position that made some noise.”
“Ah. Well, yeah, Steele’s work environment is good. Efficient. People collaborate. There’s no backstabbing. At least, not that I’ve witnessed yet.”
“Don’t worry…you’ll see it eventually. Every office has it,” Miranda said, toasting me and taking another shot. “Oh, this one was good.”
“That’s a Papa Smurf,” Uncle Jay called.
The man’s hearing was his human superpower in a club with above-conversation-level music thumping.
“Ten out of ten,” Miranda called back.
“Why do you think you’re disdained?” Konni asked, picking the conversation back up.
“Because all my coworkers think I’m there to bag the CEO.”
Miranda choked hard on her shot in progress, and like a good friend, I grinned at her and handed her a napkin.
“Why do they think that?” she rasped once she caught her breath.
“It seems to be the norm for most new hires. All new hire females are assumed to be social climbers unless they’re married, gay, or old enough to be the CEO’s mom. And all men are safe, apparently. Even the gay ones, since the CEO is straight.”
“So telling them you're transitioning didn’t help clear your name?” Miranda asked.
I couldn’t tell if she was being helpful or trying to out me.
“My gender shouldn’t matter. I shouldn’t have to clear my name at all. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
“For what it's worth, your gender doesn’t matter when you’re with the right people,” Konni said.
“I appreciate that.” I glanced down the bar as if someone had caught my eye. “I’ll be back.”
A strategic retreat to hide how much his comment had flustered me was necessary. He was getting under my skin in ways I couldn’t exactly pinpoint.
Maybe I just needed to get laid and let off some steam. It’d been a while. And I’d moved home and started two jobs, one right after another. I barely had enough time to sleep now.
That thought stopped me. When in the hell did I think I was going to find the time for a quickie?
Feeling more defeated, I focused on mixing drinks. Miranda was gone by the time I turned back to her, leaving behind her drained tower of shot glasses and Konni, who was still nursing his Shirley Temple and looking way too tempting.
“You take that end of the bar,” I said to Uncle Jay.
“How do you not look hungover?” I asked Miranda.
“I’m blessed with a more superior liver than yours. So how are your office witches today?”
“They’re not witches,” I said with a cautious glance around the Steele buildings’ cafe.
“They’re just standoff-ish. And they’re the same for the most part.
But I think that’ll change next week. I’m officially ready to take over some of the tasks they’ve had to double up on since the last person left. ”
“That’s good. Not as good as having a shifter mate, but still good.”
I frowned at her. “What does that mean?”
“It means that I can earn another bag if you give me five minutes of your time for a shifter sales pitch, sponsored by your shifter admirer, with a sworn oath that I will only tell the truth and not glorify anything.” She leaned in. “Please say yes to five minutes.”
I rolled my eyes at her, knowing full well she wasn’t interested in selling me on a shifter as much as she wanted to earn another handbag.
“You have my blessing to proceed,” I said.
“First, shifter mates are amazing in bed. As in, twenty out of ten stars, knock-your-socks-off-and-make-you-forget-your-name kind of amazing. They will search out every erogenous zone you possess and use them to unmake you. And they want it all the time.”
“Fun at first, I’m sure, but painful once the chaffing sets in,” I commented.
She pouted at me. “Fine. Over-enthusiasm in the bedroom might be a con if you’ve already progressed to cobweb coochie.”
I snorted.
“Second, they’re very attentive outside of the bedroom. Hungry? They’ll make you dinner. Thirsty? Not a chance. They’ll make sure you have a glass on hand at all times. Bored? They’ll take you wherever you want to go. They’re there for you, twenty-four-seven.”
“Sounds smothering.”
Miranda huffed out a breath.
“Third, they’re protective.” She paused and gave me a questioning look.
“So’s a handgun, but you don’t see me running out to get one of those.”
“You want me to tell him all your responses, don’t you?” she said.
I grinned. “You’re smart and beautiful. Are there any other perks?”
“Well, you already said you didn’t like money, but your mate would want to provide for you, too. They’ll want to give you the world and be your world.”
“I’m content being my own world,” I said.
She sat back and considered me for a long moment. “I know you are. But I think we’re the same. Being our own worlds is nice. Peaceful, even. But sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to have a partner who would completely have my back, no matter what, no matter when.”
I smiled a little. “That’s why I have you and Wrenly. How much do I owe you for the burger, by the way?”
She lifted her handbag to stroke it lovingly. “The debt’s been settled plus some. And you’re right. I’m here for you. Whenever. However. Except the bedroom. I’ll find you someone worthy if you have the need, though.”
“No need yet,” I said.
She sniffed and smirked. “But you’re thinking about it, aren't you?”
“I take back my nose kiss.”
“Did you ever figure out what your uncle was worried about?” she asked.
“Not yet. He’s not the kind of person to keep secrets, though, so he’ll tell me soon, I’m sure.”
We talked for the rest of my lunch break, and I returned to my desk for the afternoon. It went quickly, with more to do than sit and watch someone else work.
“It’s five,” Whitney said, standing.
Surprised, I glanced at the time, then back at the form I’d been filling in.
“Should I finish this, or can it wait until Monday?” I asked, pointing.
“It can wait,” she said.
I quickly saved it and grabbed my purse.
“Plans?” she asked, watching me.
It was the first time she’d shown any interest in what I did outside of work.
“I’m helping my uncle tonight. Thanks for everything today.” I waved and hurried to the elevator, feeling a little lighter just because of that simple interaction.
For whatever reason, it made me think of Konni.
Since I’d started at Lunar Pulse, he’d come in almost every night and always tried to talk to me.
Sure, he’d hit on me, but what if that hadn’t been his full intent?
What if he just wanted someone to talk to?
I thought back to his comment about my gender not mattering and wondered if a simple need for friendly conversation was why. It made the most sense.
I grabbed the sandwiches I’d pre-ordered during lunch and headed home.
An unfamiliar car sat in the driveway. Had it been some middle-class sedan, I would have been fine. But it wasn’t. It was a top-end luxury sedan that filled me with dread, anger, and the need to keep driving.
Only one person in our lives drove one of those, and I wanted nothing to do with him. However, I couldn’t abandon Mom to face him alone.
“Asshole,” I said under my breath as I parked on the street.
I grabbed the takeout and headed inside.
Dad was sitting at the table, looking very out of place as Mom poured him a glass of water.
“Sophia,” he said with a smile as he stood, ignoring the water Mom set in front of him. “It’s good to see you. I brought you something.” He picked up a box from the table and held it out to me. It was an expensive-looking cake. Too bad it was in the box. I could have smashed it in his—
“Congratulations on your first week at Steele Corporation. I’m so proud of you.”
I looked up from the cake to meet his gaze.
“Why are you here?”
His doting-father expression didn’t falter.
“To catch up with you. It’s been too long. We need to have a family dinner soon. I’d like you to meet your stepmother and brother.”
I was a nice person. A people person. I cared when people were hurting. I had empathy. But right then, I couldn’t dredge up a hint of niceness. I could feel my neck heating with my temper.
How dare he come into my mother’s house and talk about the rich, old-money woman he’d fucked my mom over to marry?
Mom read my expression.
“Denis, now might not be—”
“Why now?” I asked him. “What benefit do you think I can bring to you? I’m still the same nothing I was when you abandoned us.”
His confident air cracked. “I didn’t abandon you, Sophia.”
“No, you just traded me for company stock, which had more value to you than I did.”
He sighed and set the cake on the table.
“You’ve had a long day, and I’m sure seeing me again surprised you. Call me when you’re ready for a family dinner.” He started for the door, and Mom walked with him.
“It was good seeing you again, Abbye,” he said at the door.