Chapter Ten
George
Grimacing, George pulled his new taxi into a public parking space outside of Scott’s building. He was torn. George knew the place. He’d poured many rich idiots out of his cab and onto the curb on any night ending in Y. People with more money than sense who spoke in their lofty tones about shit that clearly sounded great in their drunken heads, but definitely didn’t translate well when the words came out.
If George had any choice in the situation, he wouldn’t set foot in the foyer, let alone in one of the apartments. Or rather, the penthouse apartment, because Scott had texted him his address and said he would be home about four.
It was a quarter past four. Thinking about it, George felt as though it had been the longest day of his damn life. Being apart from his demon, even after just one night, was hell on earth, making George wonder how he was going to work. It’s not like he could park Scott in the back of his cab as he did his job, but he doubted he would be a lot of use curled up in a corner of Scott’s office, either.
His bear had been no help—alternating between sulking when George’s fare had him driving away from Dakata’s office and getting all hyped up if they were heading in that direction. George told his bear countless times they did not know if Scott was even there… but it didn’t make any difference.
Suck it up, George warned his inner worry wart. The one thing that consoled George over the very long day was that he’d heard demons didn’t have the same sense of attachments to mates/blissful ones that shifters did, so Scott wouldn’t be feeling any discomfort.
Admittedly, Dakata was pretty much tied to Silas every minute of every day, but that was because Silas had such a deep bond with his tree and the forest. George was sure Merihem had gone to Dakata’s office on his own, without Peni sometimes. Dougal had told him about how Peni had been attacked at Dakata’s house while Merihem wasn’t there. So, it was possible to be separated from a blissful one, even if it wasn’t often. It was enough to prove, in George’s mind at least, that demons didn’t have that same need to be with their blissful ones that George’s bear seemed to have to be with his mate.
A need that meant he had to brave the foyer of the apartment complex from hell.
Getting out of his car, George locked it, trying to ignore how the vast apartment complex loomed above him as he got closer. Built in chrome, steel, and glass, it stood proudly above the skyline as a giant ‘fuck you’ to the more modest buildings around it. There were no trees or gardens, not a whiff of greenery. Just two white marble statues depicting ancient gods flanking the wide concrete path leading to the main entrance.
George shuddered as he got closer. Like living in a glass coffin, he thought glumly, even as his steps quickened when his bear anticipated seeing their mate.
Pushing open the large door, glass, of course, George nodded at a man standing beside a reception counter, making his way to the elevator.
“I say. You there.” George turned to address the man calling out to him. “I don’t know where you’re going, but you can’t just wander in here as if you own the place.”
“I’m heading up to the penthouse suite.” George pointed in the air with his middle finger. If the concierge got the wrong idea about his action, that was on him. “I’ve been invited, and I’m expected.”
“That demon on the top floor doesn’t have visitors. More importantly, he hasn’t informed me he’s expecting visitors,” the concierge said in that snooty tone that made George’s teeth clench. “It’s bad enough I’ve spent half the day arranging carriage for his numerous parcels. He insisted on them being delivered today when he knows the delivery day is Friday. Frankly, sir, piss off. I’m not losing my job because you got it into your fool head to go annoying people who protect their privacy like it’s gold.”
Stalking closer, his fists clenched, George kept his voice low. “You have a phone right there on your desk. A man who was good at his job would be picking up that handset and speak to the occupant in the penthouse suite, informing him that George Maybank is in reception. I’m not the type to cost you your job, as you seem to think I am, but…” he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own phone. “If I call the occupier of the penthouse suite and let him know someone at the front desk is preventing me from going up to see him…” he trailed off expectantly. Most men in that position would at least consider his suggestion.
The concierge was clearly built from stubborn stock and shook his head vehemently. “That demon has lived up there since this place was built. He does not have visitors. I have had no notification from him that he’s expecting company this afternoon or any afternoon. For the last time, leave these premises, or I will call security.”
There was a thread of fear behind the strong words. George could smell it, and that wasn’t an unusual reaction seeing as George was probably twice his size. The problem was the concierge was standing firm, and in his own weird way, George respected that. “I’ll make my call outside,” he said, saluting the man with his phone as he went back out the door he’d just come through again.
Tapping Scott’s contact number, the phone barely rang once before Scott answered. He sounded breathless and his voice poured out of the phone speaker in a rush. “George? Where are you, George? Have you been taken again? Do you need me to save you?”
George chuckled. “No, I’ve not been taken again. I didn’t get taken the first time, remember? I’m…”
“Well, why aren’t you here? I have all this stuff, cushions, and things, so you’ll feel comfortable in my space, but I don’t know what you like. I don’t know how to arrange the things, so they look right. There’re boxes and packaging all over my floor…”
“Scott. Scott!” His poor demon seemed to be having a meltdown. “Look out of your window. Look down to the public parking lot.” George stepped out of the awning of the building entrance, moving far enough away from the building so he could see the windows of the penthouse suite. “Are you looking out of the window? Can you see me?”
“I can see you. Thank goodness. I can see you. Why are you down there? I need you up here. I ordered all these things, and they arrived, and now I don’t know where to put anything, and my space is all so messy…”
“Scott, honey. When you arranged for the delivery of everything you bought to help me feel comfortable in your space, did you tell your man at the door I was coming? Only…”
“He won’t let you in? Oh, no, no, no…” Scott groaned loudly. “I ordered the stuff, and then I had work to do, and then I went to see the paramedic, and I… I… don’t go anywhere. I’m coming. I’m coming, George. Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no…”
There was a loud clatter—the sort of noise George equated with an anxious demon dropping his phone and running out of the room. He moved back so he was under the awning, and waved at the concierge who glared at him through the glass.
Seconds later, and it genuinely could only have been the length of time it took for Scott to come down the elevator, Scott came running into the foyer, yelling, “You ass, you’re fired. You should’ve picked up the damn phone,” pointing at the concierge as he kept running to the door.
“George. Oh, George.” Scott was puffing as he opened the door, causing it to slam into the wall with a loud bang. His face was red, and his hair was definitely askew, a sight that warmed George’s heart. “Come in. Come in. I’m so sorry. I was so busy organizing everything else. This man is my blissful one, you asshole,” he yelled at the shocked-looking concierge. “Do you know how rare they are and how amazing it is that I have one?”
“He was protecting your privacy, Scott,” George said gently, not at all surprised that Scott was in a position to fire the concierge. Demons preferred to own and control their environments, and it made sense that Scott would own the building, now he thought about it. “That’s what you pay him for. You can’t fire him for doing his job.”
“I can.” Scott pouted rather dramatically. “I absolutely can if I want to.”
“But you don’t want to. This gentleman and I have met now. He knows I’m allowed in the building, so there won’t be any trouble from now on, will there?” George quirked his eyebrow at the man, who was visibly shaking.
“No, Mr. Maybank.” The man shook his head so fast, George worried his hair would fly off. “I didn’t know. I know now. It won’t happen again.”
“See?” George said at the still pouting Scott, which was adorable because those dimples seemed to dance in the sharp planes of his cheeks. “He won’t do it again. So we can go up now and work on straightening your space, so you feel comfortable in it.”
“I bought so much stuff,” Scott mumbled, but he let George lead him away. “I really wanted you to be comfortable, and my demon said my space is sterile. So, I clicked and clicked, and it never seems like a lot when it’s in a cart online, but then it arrives, and there were just boxes and boxes…”
“Hey, hey, hey.” George waited until the elevator door closed before pulling Scott into his arms, inhaling his mate’s unique scent, settling both him and his bear. “I did say you didn’t have to do anything. I understand you like all your items arranged in their correct spaces.”
“I can’t help that I do.” Scott seemed to cling on for a second until the elevator door dinged, indicating they’d arrived. “But look at all this mess .”
George put his arm across the elevator door to stop it from closing. “Scott, hon, you do realize this is the hallway.” There were a lot of boxes, some empty, a few half open, and the rest still taped up. “Were you planning to unpack it all out here and then move it into your apartment?”
“My apartment’s already full .” Scott grabbed his hand and hurried him down the hallway, dodging boxes and even kicking one that got in his way.
He tapped a few numbers into a small box on the side of the single doorway George could see and flung open the door. “Just look at it all.”
At first glance, George couldn’t see anything wrong with the space at all. It was a wide open-plan room. There was a solitary couch, in white, that stood out in stark contrast to the dark wooden floors. A single television screen was the only thing adorning the white walls. The penthouse had enormous windows, which let in a lot of light and a gorgeous view of the setting sun. Beyond the “living area,” and George used that term loosely, he could see pure white cupboards in the kitchen area, and countertops that shone despite being black granite.
What am I missing? George looked around, especially around the couch area. He noticed three bright cushions, one yellow, one red and one blue, put in a neat pile by the side of the couch, which was why he missed it before, and there was also a rug. It wasn’t big, but it was similar in color to the one George had in his own house.
“There’s a lot of room on the floor,” he offered, not sure what Scott was getting upset about. “Were you short of cupboard space or bookshelves?”
“I’ve got bookshelves.” Running across to the wall, Scott pressed on a panel under the television, revealing a hidden cubby hole that was lined with shelves. They were stacked full of colorful cushions and soft throw rugs. “They’re full up. I’ve still got to find space for all the stuff in the hallway.”
George bit his lip, trying so hard not to laugh at the meltdown. “What about in the bedroom? Cushions are nice on the bed.”
“I’ve done that, too.” Scott disappeared down a hallway to the side of the kitchen. “Come and see.”
Following the cute butt down the hallway, George could see the room before Scott walked into it. Again, it had wide, high windows, the same dark wood floor, and an enormous bed that took up most of the space. It was covered in a white bedspread. Perched up were pillows, four of them wrapped in white pillow slips. There were another two pillows, round ones. Both were yellow, and neither one of them was much bigger than George’s palm.
“I don’t have room for anything else.” Going over to the bed, Scott picked up one of the pillows and moved it about an inch closer to the other one. Then he stood back, frowning. A moment later, he went around to the other side of the bed and moved the other cushion an inch closer to the one he’d just moved. But it was clear he still wasn’t happy with the arrangement.
“Scott, hon, leave the cushions alone.” George went around the bed, pulling his mate into his arms. “I’m happy you tried to make me comfortable, but you don’t like these things, and that’s not the way mating works.”
“But I have all those boxes, and I’ve still got to take out the trash, and…” Scott was clearly overwhelmed.
“Go and fix your hair and your face,” George suggested. “Change your clothes into something more comfortable. While you’re doing that, I’ll break down the empty boxes and tape up the other ones that are still full, if you’ve got any tape. You can return all the items we’re not going to use. All right?”
“I just want you to be safe and comfortable.” Scott slumped against him.
“I know, hon.” George gave Scott an extra squeeze. “I’ll tidy up the hallway, and you can tidy yourself. Then we’ll go out for a meal, I got my new cab today. We won’t be going anywhere fancy, just burgers from a food cart, so you don’t need to dress up. And when we’ve eaten, and you’ve relaxed a bit, you can tell me what you found out about the paramedic you investigated for me.”
“There was nothing to find. I went and talked to him personally to make sure,” Scott said, sounding glum. “The paramedic was just following what he’d been taught to do. He’d only been on the job three weeks, and the department had a meeting just two days ago saying all shifters needed to be medicated if they were injured and traveling in an ambulance for the safety of the driver and staff.”
That doesn’t explain how the paramedic knew I was a shifter in the first place, but George didn’t see the point in pushing his overwhelmed mate into finding out anything else. He could do that himself in his own time. “Well, let’s go and get some burgers. I think you need a chance to get out of the apartment for a while and destress.”
“We can’t do that either.” Scott’s frown deepened. “The boxes are going to have to wait, and you’re going to need a suit.” He clicked his fingers and suddenly George was wearing a very smart, and definitely not him, tuxedo. “My mom called. We’re expected there for dinner tonight. It’s my brother’s birthday.”
“Where’s there?” George had a sinking feeling in his gut. “Do they live locally?”
“No, they live in the demon realm.” Scott ran his hands through his hair, and suddenly he was wearing a tuxedo that matched George’s, and his hair was immaculate again. “It’s a family event. That makes it a perfect time to introduce my blissful one to the whole family all at the same time, don’t you think?”
“If you say so, hon.” George wasn’t sure who was trying to convince who.