CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE （OF CUBICLES） #2
Then, with her heels clacking and wings fluttering, Amara vanishes.
I stare at my desk, at the computer, at the abyss. “Okay,” I mutter. “Let’s do this.”
I move the mouse. The monitor flickers. Then flashes red.
ERROR: OOPS. WE’VE RUN INTO A PROBLEM. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR.
“Excuse me?”
A pixelated cartoon demon appears, wagging its finger at me.
“Oh, come on. I haven’t even typed anything.”
I glance around. Am I on one of those hidden camera shows?
I jab the keyboard. Nothing. I pull the mouse. It squeaks. The screen flickers. Something groans.
“Okay,” I mutter. “Maybe I should’ve stuck with waiting tables.”
That’s when a large shadow falls across my desk.
“Crash it already?”
I look up—and up—at a mountain of emerald green muscle and rolled-up sleeves.
Broad shoulders. Thick glasses that magnify his giant green eyes.
Forearms that could bench press me and still have room for a bus.
Of course, I’ve met orcs before, but this one wears an expression that doesn’t match his size—gentle, almost careful.
His tusks peek out from a grin that’s all good humor and zero menace. He appears… charming.
“It—it just… happened,” I stammer. “I swear, I didn’t touch anything. I mean, I tried to turn it on.”
He chuckles, low and warm. “That’s where you went wrong.”
“Name’s Greg.” He points at the badge stretched across his massive pec.
Of course his name is Greg. Aren’t all IT gods named Greg?
Oops. I’m staring—at his chest, I mean—the badge… and completely forget to form words. Finally, it clicks. “Sean Rivers. I’m… Mr. Frost’s new assistant.”
He crouches beside me, and the chair creaks under my weight as I try not to notice how close he is. Suddenly I’m enveloped in the scent of cinnamon and cedar. Like someone baked cookies over a roaring fire.
Focus, Sean.
He’s peering at the monitor, glasses sliding down his nose.
When he pushes them back up with a thick finger, his deep green eyes meet mine for a heartbeat, and the closeness hits like static.
Way too close for someone I’ve just met.
My chest tightens, and my brain decides now is the perfect time to short-circuit.
“Ah.” Greg’s fingers dance over the keyboard with surprising grace. Looks like the firewall’s having a little fun with you. It likes to pick on people at random. Your computer gets its operating system from the network, which is why you were dead in the water,” Greg explains, typing rapidly.
“Lucky me.”
He laughs, tusks peeking through a grin, the sound deep and rolling but with a softness that makes it… warm. “Your password is new, so it locked you out until someone clears it.”
“But I didn’t enter a password.”
“Well, I guess it’s playing games with you.”
“That’s… absurd.”
“Welcome to Labyrinth Solutions. Absurdity is our specialty.”
His tusks flash when he smiles. My brain flashes something too, but it’s not technical.
“So,” he says. “First week?”
“Yeah. First day.”
“Ah. That explains the fear-sweat.”
I gape at him. “Excuse me?”
He smiles softly. “Don’t worry. Happens to everyone. Well, the new folks mostly. Smells like… ambition.”
I can’t tell if he’s teasing me, flirting, or both. Either way, my face flashes hot.
He clicks a few keys and a window pops up. He types something completely foreign to me, and the screen blinks back to life. Greg stands, reminding me just how much he towers over me.
“See,” he says. “Not so scary. You’re good to go. Try not to anger the firewall next time.”
“Thanks. I’ll—uh—try not to piss it off.”
“Smart man.” He opens a jar on his cart, revealing shimmering candies. “Want a Splatter?”
He holds the jar toward me, and I blink at the contents—glistening, alive-looking sweets that definitely aren’t from any vending machine I’ve frequented. I’ve never seen anything like them, but he looks so proud and I don’t want to be rude.
“What is it?”
“Splatters? They’re candy, silly goose.”
I take one. It’s red and warm in my palm, and when I bite down, sweet juice bursts in my mouth.
“Whoa—it squirts.”
Greg grins. “That’s kind of the point.”
Of course it is. And now I’m blushing.
He rolls his cart back. “If your machine crashes again, call my cell.” He nods to the card he’s left on my desk—his grin all tusks, eyes sparkling in a way that somehow makes me forget to breathe, and a number scrawled below. “Or just yell ‘Help!’ I might even come running… if you’re lucky.”
He gives me a slow, playful wink.
“Thanks, I think,” I mutter, watching him go. “Big IT energy with a side of biceps.”
And just like that, he’s gone, leaving me with a working computer, a half-melted Splatter, and the realization that my first day at Labyrinth Solutions might not actually kill me.
It might be… interesting.
Or disastrous.
Possibly both.
I pop another candy into my mouth and can’t stop thinking about Greg—muscles, glasses, tusks… all of him as it spews sweet fruitiness into my mouth.
I let out a long, exasperated sigh.
“Great. I’m horny for the help desk.”