Sixteen
Eshim
L eaving Tanya in the break room, I went looking for Martin.
For the very first time, I wished I didn't have orders that forbid me from hurting humans. Orders from your summoner were basically written in concrete, and you couldn't go against them, no matter how hard you tried.
Usually, I didn't care, especially because we only had that one order, and were free to do as we wanted otherwise. We weren't even required to look for Mammon and the dark souls. Every demon who was in the human realm was here of their own free will, and protecting the humans because they wanted to.
But if a dark soul came here at this moment and tried to attack Martin, I'd just turn around and walk away.
That man had tried to sully my mate's impeccable reputation, and I was not going to let him get away with it.
The office was set up with half walls dividing the large room in sections, and each section had four cubicles and a large desk, for four team members and their team leader. There were three sections, and I could see Martin's blond head on the other side of the room in the third section.
As I made my way to him, I could feel eyes on me, and hear many, many whispered voices. I could also hear Tanya, who'd clearly followed me out, passing on what I'd told her to the others.
Humans were such weird creatures. They acted like they were the smartest species in the world, and yet behaved like herd animals, following behind whoever had the loudest voice without wondering for themselves if the person was even worth following.
"Hello, Martin," I said as I came to a stop at his desk, and he glanced up at me, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he expected trouble. After our last conversation, he better be.
"Eshim. Did you need something?"
Perching my ass on the edge of his desk, I sat forward until I towered over him, making full use of my bulk. "I heard something interesting today."
"Oh?" Look at him, acting like he had no idea what I was talking about.
"I warned you not to spread lies about Mr. Cohen."
Martin raised a brow at me, relaxing back into his chair like he was completely unaffected. He didn't know I could hear the way his heartbeat had picked up speed, but I gave him props for his acting. Maybe he could make that his new career.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't." Grabbing the arms of his chair, I leaned closer, delighting in the way his eyes widened and his heart started thundering. "Here are the facts: Jerry and I are dating. We'll be talking to HR today. We're both consenting adults, and you need to stop blabbing about what you don't understand."
Martin was silent for a moment, and I thought he might start behaving. But alas. He snorted. "Oh, I understand, all right. Climbing your way to the top the easy way. I respect it."
Now it was my turn to scoff. "I have no interest in climbing anywhere. If I wanted your job, I'd have just taken it. I'm exactly where I want to be, thank you very much." Tightening my grip on the chair's arms until they creaked, I murmured, "If I hear you spouting shit about my boyfriend again, you won't like what I do to you." I let just enough of my demon voice seep into the low growl to make him jump, then pulled away, turned around, and stalked out of the room without a backward glance.
I couldn't hurt humans, but there were no rules against threatening them or scaring them into almost pissing their pants.
When I returned to my desk, Jerry glanced over, his face lighting up with a smile when he spotted me. I returned his smile before sitting down and waking up my computer.
Shaking my shoulders, I tried to loosen the stress that had gathered there because of Martin, then turned my focus to my work.
Lost in Jerry and my never-ending to-do list, I almost jumped out of my skin at an angry shout from the other end of the hallway. This floor only housed three offices belonging to the three partners of the firm, and it was easy to recognize whose voice it was. Kat. Was everything okay?
I focused on her, sure she wasn't loud enough for Jerry to have heard.
"He said what ?" The anger was still in her voice, but she'd lowered it a little, probably at the behest of whoever she was talking to.
Rita, I realized, when the woman started speaking again. "He was spreading rumors about Jerry pressuring Eshim into bed, but I heard Eshim went down and set them straight."
Wow, news spread fast in this place.
"Call Martin up."
"But—"
"Now, Rita."
Oh fuck. Martin was in trouble now.
Grinning to myself, I settled back into my chair for the show of a lifetime. I had half a mind to go over to her office and watch it all unfold, but I didn't want Martin to think Jerry had anything to do with this.
I didn't want Jerry to find out about the whole thing at all. He'd already been worried about us dating for this exact reason, and I didn't want him to know how quickly the people who'd worked for him for years had doubted him.
I knew part of the reason was how guarded Jerry was. He didn't let most people in, so his employees barely knew him. It was easy for them to believe Martin because of that.
Still, if I could, I wanted to keep this from Jerry. I didn't know if that was the right thing to do, though. Would he be hurt if he heard about it from someone else?
The intercom on my desk buzzed, and I picked it up quickly, glancing back at Jerry. "Yes?"
"You okay? You've been staring off into space for a while."
"I'm fine. Just lost in thought. Need anything?"
"A coffee," he said, then added sheepishly, "and a kiss?"
My smile turned into a grin as I shot to my feet. "Be right there."
Fuck Martin and fuck stupid workplace drama. I had a mate to kiss.
Jerry
I shouldn't be kissing Eshim at work. I'd promised myself I wouldn't.
Yet here I was, sitting on my desk with Eshim between my legs and making out with him like we were teenagers.
He'd promised me he would stop us if he heard anyone coming toward the office, but as he ran his tongue over my lower lip, I honestly didn't care.
I knew for a fact Archer and Lux had sex in his office. Kat and Fressia too, probably. Neither of them could tease me for making out with Eshim. And we were going to clear everything up with HR soon as well, so there was nothing to worry about on that front either.
Eshim pulled back, and I glanced up at him, puzzled.
"Elevator," he said by way of explanation, and I nodded. While my office was on the other end of the hallway, the elevator meant it was someone from the lower floors, an employee. Better to wait and see if they were headed here.
"Okay, all clear," Eshim said, then winced.
"What is it?"
"Uh, there's something I should tell you."
When all I did was raise a brow at him, he took a small step back, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Martin was talking shit about you to the others."
"Oh?"
"Well, about us, but in his version you're the villainous CEO and I'm the naive assistant," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I set him straight, though."
"You did?"
Eshim nodded enthusiastically, and I started to get a little worried.
"You didn't hurt him, did you?"
"I wanted to. I really, really wanted to," he said with absolutely no hesitation. "But I'm not allowed to hurt him, so I just threatened him a little."
"Oh. You didn't have to do that."
Eshim looked offended, for some reason. "Of course I did. No one's allowed to talk shit about my mate."
A lump filled my throat at his declaration, and I had to swallow hard before I could speak. "Well, thank you for that."
"You're welcome, but I think Kat is just about to one-up me."
"What?" I asked, confused about the sudden change in subject.
"She called him up to her office, and she's shouting at him right now."
"You told her about it?"
Eshim rolled his eyes. "Gossip runs even faster here than in the demon world. She found out from her assistant."
"Oh."
"You okay?"
I shrugged, because I honestly didn't know. I'd never liked Martin as a person, but he was a hard worker, and I didn't have to like him to employ him. But was it right for Kat to reprimand him because of my relationship with my assistant? Martin didn't know Eshim was an old-as-dirt demon who was far more powerful than me. Could he really be blamed?
"Stop it."
I shook my head, then glanced at Eshim. "Huh?"
"Stop trying to make it your fault. Martin is a dick, and he's getting exactly what he deserves. It's not our fault."
"But—"
"What would you have done if he'd talked this way about Archer and his baby? About Lux? Or Kat and Fressia?"
Neither of them had dated their employees, but I understood what Eshim meant. Martin was the kind of person who would've found something wrong to say about anyone he had a beef with, and after I'd rejected his advances and passed him over for the Hanover's projects, he had more than enough reasons.
"Oh wow," Eshim said out of nowhere, and I frowned.
"What?"
"Kat just told him he's fired. She's giving him two weeks' pay while he finds some other job, and a good reference as long as he behaves."
"She what?"
"I think it's too generous, but it's her area, so." Eshim shrugged, then glanced at the clock on the desk. "Your meeting is in a few minutes. You should get ready for it."
Nodding mutely, I waited until he'd stepped away to hop off the desk, then forcefully cleared my head to bring my focus back to work.
"I'll meet you outside," I said, and Eshim nodded, then returned to his desk.
I gathered up the relevant files, giving them a quick skim, then made my way outside just as Kat's office door opened on the other end of the hallway. Martin stepped outside, and his eyes immediately fell on me and Eshim.
He started walking toward us, and Eshim shot to his feet. "Oh, hell no."
Eshim smoothly slid between me and Martin just as he reached us, his pose relaxed and completely at ease. "Walk away, Martin."
I glanced up as Kat peered out of her office, and she raised a brow at me. I shook my head, then slid my eyes toward Eshim, and she grinned before disappearing back into her office.
"You got me fired," he snarled, eyes flicking between me and Eshim, as if he wasn't sure who was to blame but knew it was one of us.
"Nope, you did that all on your own by being a dick," Eshim said with a smirk, and I shot him a glare. What was he doing? Was he trying to make Martin angrier?
"Martin, I'd recommend you leave before I call security to escort you out," I said in a mild voice, and his eyes flashed to me.
"Oh fuck you, you asshole!" He reared back, and Eshim stepped into his path just as Martin punched him square in the jaw, and a crack rang through the suddenly silent room.
Panic flared through me, and I reached for Eshim before Martin let out a pained howl and pulled his hand to his chest, curling his body over it protectively.
I glanced over at Eshim again to find a smug smile on his face, and he winked at me when he saw me watching.
"I think you should call security," he said, and I did just that.
"What are you, man?" Martin whimpered, all earlier bravado gone, and Eshim snorted.
"I'm your reminder to not go around punching people. Learn to deal with your issues, Martin. Get some therapy instead of making everyone else miserable."
"Fuck you!"
Eshim sighed, then turned to me. "I tried."
I swallowed a laugh at the placid look on his face, as the guys from security arrived, and escorted Martin away.
"You egged him on on purpose, didn't you?"
Eshim's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, then brightened when he figured out what I meant, and he grinned. "I can't hurt humans."
"But you're good at finding loopholes," I concluded with a chuckle.
"Exactly. Now let's go, or we'll be late for your meeting."
"Yes, sir."