Chapter 37 Thank Goodness for Besties
THANK GOODNESS FOR BESTIES
RAYA
I meet Asher for work at the entrance Monday morning, where we’re stopped by a security guard.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Sullivan,” he says. “I’ve been instructed not to let you in, but Ms. Merritt may go up.”
“Absolutely not.” Asher’s voice is thunderous, and I set a hand on his forearm in an attempt to steady him.
“Why isn’t he allowed in?” I ask.
The security guard’s features pinch and his eyes dart around before he answers.
“I was told you’re a danger to other staff and can’t be trusted to maintain control, and if you have a problem with it, I’m to direct you to contact Mr. or Mrs. Walton, as they’ve agreed to meet with you to discuss the issue.”
So Asher isn’t allowed in after pummeling his awful cousin in my defense, and the only way forward is to meet with his parents first.
Asher snags my elbow and drags me down the block, out of sight of the security guard.
“I can’t go in with you. Even if they agree to meet with me, I know their games.
It won’t be today, they’ll make me wait, and then they’ll make me jump through hoops to get what I want.
” He spears a hand through his hair and paces back and forth on the sidewalk next to me.
“There’s no good option here, Raya. I don’t know what to do. ”
“Okay, well, why don’t you use some PTO? Take today to think about it, figure out your plan, and we’ll go from there.”
He nods at first, then freezes and looks at me.
“What about you? You can’t go in there alone.”
“I’ll be fine,” I try to wave it off, but he’s not having it.
“No, Raya. You don’t get it. They are manipulative and cunning. They’ll come after you and before you know it, you’ll be caught up in their trap, and you won’t survive it. You won’t, they hate shifters, and probably you even more because I said you were with me.” He turns and starts pacing again.
“Shit. Shit. I shouldn’t have told them that. I should have pretended I didn’t know you, then they wouldn’t have looked twice and you wouldn’t be in such danger now—”
“Hey, stop, it’s okay. I’m a big girl, and Alex and Kendall are there.
I’ll make sure I’m not alone with any of your family, it’ll be fine.
” I say, trying for a soothing tone despite my own chest tightening with anxiety.
“Like I said, I doubt I’ll even see any of them, I’m sure they have all sorts of important meetings this week. ”
Asher chews on his lip, his sharp fang drawing blood as his eyes flit back and forth between mine.
“I’ll be okay. If anything goes wrong, I’ll call you. Okay?”
I feel bad at how tormented he looks, but I hold strong.
This job is important to me. I have fun here, with coworkers I care about.
It’s something I’ve never had, but desperately wanted.
I don’t want to lose all of that just to start over somewhere new again, and I refuse to let them intimidate me when it’s unlikely I’ll even see them.
If worse comes to worst, I’ll look for a new job, but I’m hopeful it won’t come to that.
His brows are so furrowed they’re almost touching.
“I promise I’ll be careful,” I say.
Asher’s blue eyes bore into mine. Whatever he finds must be acceptable, because he lets out a world-heavy sigh, and then kisses my forehead in silent acquiescence. I squeeze him a little tighter than normal before we part ways, and I head into work on my own.
“Hey, party girl,” Alex greets as I pull out my desk chair. “How’d the rest of your weekend go?”
“Pretty good, how about you?” I try to smile, but I can’t tell if my facial muscles are working properly.
“Oh, good, good.” Alex leans in as they lower their voice. “Crazy news though, right? How does Asher feel about it?”
I glance at his desk, clenching my jaw at the unfairness of the situation.
“He, uh,” I don’t know what to say.
“I mean, he didn’t know, right? He would have told you at least, even if not the rest of us, but I saw your reactions. Neither of you knew?”
I shake my head, wary of airing his business.
“Holy shit. That’s crazy. Kendall, did you hear that?” Alex is still whisper-yelling, and my eyes dart around the open space.
“Heard it,” Kendall says, not caring in the slightest.
I spare a quick thought to wonder if there’s anything Kendall does care about.
“So, what happened?” Alex asks.
“I don’t know if we should talk about it,” I say, doing my best to end the conversation before it goes off the rails.
“Right, right.” Alex leans back over their own desk.
“Anyway, I think we should probably focus on work stuff today. Who knows what the new bosses are like, right?” I say.
I sigh at the pointed look Alex directs at Asher’s deserted desk because yeah, he would know. Unfortunately, I have an impression as well.
As the day progresses, it becomes clear that ours isn’t the only group feeling uncomfortable.
While some people seem excited about the new names that have taken over, it’s clear by the atmosphere that many others are wary.
The first day under the new regime passes uneventfully, despite feeling like I’m more tense than a rubber band about to snap.
I don’t see any of Asher’s family, and I have a tiny kernel of hope that things won’t be so bad after all.
When Asher doesn’t show up again on Tuesday, a couple people stop by to ask about him. Tension in the workspace mounts in the following days when he still doesn’t return, and word spreads that he’s taking an undetermined amount of time off.
Thursday rolls around, and I try to harness my usual cheer when I tread to the kitchen for a coffee refill, but the atmosphere is off.
“Well, well. What do we have here?” Chadwick’s drawling voice fills the kitchen with an icy chill as he walks in behind me.
The coffee pot drops back into its spot with a clatter and I whip around.
Chadwick looks completely healed; arms at his sides with his hands tucked loosely in his pockets, his face is back to hard edges with menacing eyes, and his suit is cut to perfection.
He exudes an air of barely restrained violence with an undercurrent of rage when he stares at me. He looks like my worst nightmare.
Correction: he is my worst nightmare.
My chest tightens and I’m unable to draw in air. My thoughts race and my eyes turn fuzzy as he walks toward me. Before I know it, tingles race along my skin. I try to ground myself and hold it off as long as possible as I dodge around him and sprint out of the room.
“Leaving already?” His cold voice calls out behind me. “Guess I’ll catch up with you later, then.”
I chant to myself as I run down the hallway, not caring if anyone sees or hears. “Almost there, just make it to the bathroom.”
I slam and lock the door behind me before collapsing to the floor and letting go. I shift into a rabbit, and am promptly buried in my clothes. A sensation I wish I wasn’t getting used to.
I feel like crying, but apparently I can’t in this form, so I sit and wait as tremors wrack my body and a flashback to Friday night attempts to infiltrate my mind. I focus on the ground beneath my fuzzy feet, and how it felt to be wrapped up in Asher’s arms all night.
When I shift back, my only goal is to get out. I punch the button for the elevator, hitting it over and over, and twisting to look over my shoulder as I wait, dreading every moment I have to stand here alone.
I leap in, then it descends slowly, but I’m finally able to pull in a deep lungful of fresh air when I exit and hit the sidewalk. My feet mindlessly carry me away from the building to a park bench near the river.
It doesn’t take long to realize I can’t go back there today, not even to grab my stuff. Not wanting to worry Asher or interrupt his day with my near-breakdown over something he predicted happening, I call Zuri for help instead.
“Hey girl!” Zuri’s cheerful voice answers after the second ring.
“Hey, um.” My voice hitches, and my throat closes before I can say any more.
“Where are you?”
I sense the shift in Zuri’s mood immediately.
“Um, by the river.”
“Share your location, I’m on my way.”
Zuri sits down next to me without a word, holding an arm out for me to lean into. I gratefully tuck myself into her side, breathing in her familiar, comforting scent.
“Thanks for coming.”
Zuri nods, her cheek resting on top of my head.
“What do you need?” she asks.
“To go home, I think. I’ll call Noemi and ask to work from home the rest of the day.”
We take our time walking back to her car, then I buckle up in the passenger seat while she runs into the office to grab my purse and work laptop.
Zuri looks at me from the corner of her eye when we make it to our building. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“Not really.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, realizing it’s true. “I’m okay.”
I dredge up what I hope is an encouraging smile.
“I gotta call work, let Noemi know I’m not coming back in. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you being there for me today,” I say, stopping inside the door to pull Zuri into a quick hug before disappearing into my room.
Noemi clears me to work from home the rest of the day as well as tomorrow, so I don’t have to worry about going back into the office until Monday.
That gives me a few days to talk to Asher, see if he’s spoken with his parents, or come up with any ideas for how to navigate this situation.
After some couch cuddles with Reverie, I text him to meet me at the local coffee shop down the road from my apartment if he’s free, which he immediately agrees to.
My foot is jiggling like mad while I wait for him to arrive. It’s mid-afternoon and the place is mostly empty wooden tables, with soft jazz floating through the air.
His face is pinched in concern, hands shoved in his pockets and steps hurried as he walks up, but the lines on his face soften when he sees me, and his exhale loosens the tension around his shoulders.
Asher envelops me in a tight hug after dropping his bag onto a chair, then pulls back and cradles my face in his hands.
His eyes ping between mine, thoughtful and serious and so, so beautiful.
“Hey,” I say. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course. Why aren’t you at work? Is everything okay?”
I break eye contact, looking down instead. He pulls me into his chest, smothering me in his woodsmoke scent.
“What happened?” he whispers.
“Um, I mean, nothing major. Just Chadwick dropped into the kitchen to say hi while I was there, and I sort of ran away and freaked out.” I attempt a rueful smile, but he’s back to scowling and I can’t hold on to it.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
“I was worried anyway, and not hearing from you all day, every day this week certainly doesn’t help.”
“Oh. Right.” I look down at my hands, not having thought about my last few days from his point of view. Although he’s been tense in the evenings, he hasn’t seemed overly worried.
Asher sighs and runs a hand through his dark hair, which, now that I look at it, is incredibly messy. Like he’s been doing that for hours.
“I’m sorry,” we both say at the same time.
“I understand why you wouldn’t want to be on your phone at work. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’ve just been out of my mind worrying, and I didn’t even know you’d left, so when you called I sort of panicked.”
I nod. “I get it. I definitely didn’t mean to put you through all that.”
“You’re okay, though? He didn’t hurt you?”
I shake my head. “He didn’t hurt me. Just scared me a bit, and I left right after.
Zuri came and picked me up, and before you protest, I called her because I wasn’t in a headspace to cope with you acting like this—” I wave my hand at his furious scowl and rigid shoulders, muscles bunched like he’s ready to attack.
He unfists his hands, then reaches out to take mine and strokes my knuckles with his thumb.
“She’s a good friend,” he says after a moment, jaw unclenching.
“She is.”