4. Josh
4
JOSH
A month went by, and we fell into a pleasant routine.
I moved into Char’s enormous loft apartment, and we drove to work together every morning.
I made sure to schedule all of Char’s appointments — except for the few demanded by Char’s parents, the CEOs — for morning hours and luncheons, leaving the afternoons free.
Between the hours of one and three, we were free to fuck our ever-loving brains out.
And fuck we did.
On the desk.
On the floor.
Standing against the wall.
In the shower.
And once on the conference table, which brought a unique sense of danger because anyone could’ve come up the elevator and caught us with our literal pants down.
Then, one sunny afternoon, just after we’d finished a round in Char’s office of hide-the-cock on a small air mattress Char bought for that express purpose, we were alerted by an app on Josh’s phone that someone had entered the waiting room.
“Oh, shit! Tell me you didn’t schedule an interview for now,” Char whispered.
I sat up and reached for the towel we’d laid by the bed for the express purpose of a quick wipe down before hitting the shower.
“Of course not! I know better than that,” I hissed.
I grabbed Char’s phone and glanced at the app.
“Who is she? I don’t know her.”
I tossed Char the phone as he jumped up, gathered his clothing and hurried into the bathroom.
They hadn’t bothered to lock the door.
Char scrambled for it and clicked the lock in place before the woman could try the door.
She would be ballsy enough to just walk in.
Char said she’d always had behaved as if she’d owned the place.
Mallory.
Her knuckles produced a sharp rapping on the glass door.
“Mr. Coryi? Are you in there? It’s Mallory.”
“I’ll, uh, be out in a minute. Have a seat,” Char called out.
I took the fastest shower of my life.
The water barely had time to hit my skin before I was drying off, and dressing.
“I got it, love,” I said as I passed a very naked Char on the way out of the bathroom.
Our love affair and subsequent mating were no secret.
Both of Char’s parents were thrilled Char had finally selected someone to settle down with, and Char’s brothers were tickled because now there was hope Char would be stepping down as CFO sometime in the foreseeable future.
Therefore, I felt no hesitation at all in slipping out of the office to greet the woman who waited at my desk.
Behind my desk.
As if it were hers.
“Hello. May I help you? I’m Mr. Coryi’s assistant, Josh.”
She was a thin woman, with sharp eyes and blood red nails, dressed in a vintage Chanel suit.
She eyed him up and down.
“Oh. Yes, of course. It stands to reason he’d have replaced me by now. It’s been a month, after all. But I’m back now, so your services are no longer required.” Mallory stood and faced off with me.
I blinked.
“I… I beg your pardon?”
“You’re let go, dear. Discharged. Laid off, if it helps you in a quest to collect unemployment.” She sighed heavily and riffled through a few files.
“I can see I’m back just in time. How did this office ever keep from falling apart while I was gone? I notice there are no appointments scheduled for the afternoon hours all week!” She glanced at me.
“You’re certainly not very good at being an assistant if you’re not utilizing Mr. Coryi’s time efficiently.”
“Oh, I’m utilizing him just fine, thank you. And, just to point out the obvious, you can’t fire me. You don’t work here.” I lifted my nose and put on my best airs.
“Will you leave, or shall I call security and have you escorted out?”
She had the audacity to laugh.
“I think not! I was Char Coryi's best assistant, and he knows it! What do you ever think you can do for him that I can’t do better?”
“I can think of two things right off the top of my head,” I muttered. But both of them are NSFW.
Just then, the door to the office opened, and Char stood framed in the doorway, hair still wet from his shower. “What is going on here? Mallory? What are you doing here?”
“I’ve decided you’ve been punished long enough and have come back to work,” she said. “I only left so you would understand what an asset I am to the company. I need an office, Mr. Coryi. Not just a desk anymore. And I need my own assistant. A new title might be in order as well. Perhaps a vice presidency.” She waved five lacquered fingernails at him. “We can talk later. Please tell this ill-equipped man he is no longer needed here.”
Char blinked. “This man? Oh! I see you’ve met my lifemate, Josh. Josh, this is Mallory, my former assistant.”
Mallory’s pale skin bleached even lighter. “Your lifemate? Oh. I see. Well, I guess there are a couple of things you can do better than I for Mr. Coryi,” she spat at me.
“Mallory, you no longer have a position with this company. You left without notice, leaving me in the untenable position of having to hire a temp.” Char said.
“It seems to have benefited you,” Mallory countered. “Perhaps I’d better have a word with the Chairmen of the Board and see what your parents have to say about it!”
“They already know, and they’re thrilled, not that it’s any of your business,” I said. This bossy, egocentric woman put me off, and I wanted her to leave.
“I wasn’t speaking to you!” Mallory hissed.
“But I am speaking to you . Leave, Mallory, or I will call security.” Char insinuated himself between me and Mallory.
I figured Char must’ve thought my leopard might take claws to Mallory’s smug face.
And he would’ve been right.
“Well, I never! Don’t think you’ll be able to lure me back when this office goes to hell in a handbasket, Char Coryi! I wouldn’t work for you again for all the money and position in the world!” She grabbed her purse from where she’d placed it on the desk and stormed toward the elevators.
I watched her with absolute delight as she nearly turned an ankle in her haste, and a stiletto heel snapped off one of her Jimmy Choos.
She swore as she removed both shoes and walked in stocking feet to the elevator. It was waiting for her when she pressed the button, and she hurried inside it. Her grimace was one of pure hate, and I was both thrilled and relieved when the doors slid shut on it.
“You said she was a really good assistant,” I said, turning to Char and leaning my head against Char’s broad shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want her working for you?”
“Nope. You’re the best assistant I ever had, not her, and not just because you’re the best piece of ass I’ve ever had. I love you. You’re my lifemate, and you happen to be quite the efficient assistant, too. I have the best of all worlds.” Char wrapped strong arms around me, holding me close.
“Are you absolutely sure? Because I can’t go on being your assistant for much longer.”
Char pulled me away and stared at me with an open mouth. “Is that a joke? What do you mean? You’re quitting? You can’t quit! We’re lifemates!”
“I have to quit. I can’t work…once the babies are born.”
Char’s mouth popped open, much as it had that first day when he’d seen what was hidden under my biker leather. I smiled at him.
“You…babies…”
“Yes. Our babies. If history serves, I should give birth to at least two pups. Of course, it could be more or less depending on?—”
Char crushed his mouth against mine in a deep kiss. “My love! You’re pregnant!”
“I am. I’ve known for a little while, but I wanted to confirm it with the doctor before I told you. I’m due in about three months. Fast for a human, perfectly acceptable for a leopard. Although with shifters, you really never know an exact timeline.”
“So, you’ll give birth as a leopard?”
“Of course. The babies will shift soon after birth, though, so I’ll need help, especially if there are more than two.”
“We’ll hire a nanny. No problem.”
“No, Char. I don’t want a nanny. I want you . You need to help me rear the children. I need you to step down as CFO.” I held my breath, hoping Char wouldn’t be upset.
To my relief, Char grinned. “Victor is going to be thrilled that I’m passing the baton. I have no trouble at all stepping down. You and our babies are the most important things in my life now. I want you all to be happy and healthy, and if that means I’m a stay-at-home dad, then so be it.”
“I love you, lifemate of mine,” I said, and reached for a kiss.
“I love you, too. And our pups,” Char said, and gave me the kiss I’d been aching for.