The Dragon’s Aide (Charmed Away Temp Agency #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“Isaac! Your phone is ringing!”

Isaac jumped, jerking the eyeliner brush in his surprise. It left a line on his cheek, which was more than a little frustrating. He didn’t overindulge in makeup, but what he did wear, he wore perfectly, if he did say so himself. And it bothered him to no end that it was messed up. He sighed, wetting a tissue in the sink to wipe it off. Whoever was calling could wait. If he left it to sit, the liquid eyeliner would dry, and he’d have more difficulty getting it off later. He was just fixing his foundation when his roommate popped her head into the bathroom.

“Hey! Did you hear me?”

“Who is it?”

She shrugged unhelpfully. “I didn’t look. Do you have work today?”

Pursing his lips, he thought about his schedule. “No. They didn’t need me this week. Can you answer that? It could be my boss.”

Maeve disappeared from sight to answer Isaac’s phone without complaint. He heard her murmuring from the other room, but as a mage, he didn't have heightened senses like shifters did and couldn’t hear her without a spell. He quickly finished up his makeup, rinsing his hands before he scurried to meet her. They nearly collided in the hallway, and she thrust his phone out with a laugh when they both jumped.

“It’s your boss.”

“Oh, thanks.” He quickly put the phone to his ear, keeping his voice upbeat. “Good morning, Morana.”

“Hello, Isaac. Is this a bad time?”

“Of course not,” he reassured her. “I was just getting ready for the day. How can I help?”

Her sigh was long suffering, and it was more than obvious that this wasn’t the first phone call she’d made that day. There were a few people at the temp company he’d worked at the past few months that were unreliable, and Morana was constantly dealing with their screw ups.

“I have a job for you, if you’re interested. It’s a legal assistant position, so you’ll get some hands-on experience for your degree.”

A bright smile lit up Isaac’s face. “Absolutely. I’ll take it.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. I asked Charlotte to go since she has more experience, but she is taking another leave of absence for her mental health.” There was a level of irritation in her tone. Not that Morana didn’t care about her workers’ mental health, but Charlotte was flaky at the best of times and it was inconvenient just how often she turned down jobs. She only showed up often enough to have money for rent before she started calling out again. Isaac didn’t know why Morana put up with her, but he’d only been working there for a few months, hired as part of a large influx of newbies that summer. The more experienced personnel were obviously important for big jobs, but only if they deigned to show up.

“Happy to help. When do I start?”

“Monday,” Morana replied. He heard paper shuffling in the background, probably Morana looking over the information of the job before relaying it to him. “You’ll have to come in this week to fill out the paperwork. You won’t have time on Monday. The man you’re going to assist is fastidious about not wasting time, and he won’t take kindly to you being late.” She paused and when she spoke again, Isaac could hear the apprehension in her voice. “I should warn you, the man you’re going to be working for has been known to have a bit of a temper. I won’t ask you to stay if he’s being unprofessional, but…”

But sometimes when people work with temps, they know exactly how to straddle the line between being unprofessional and over the line. Isaac was familiar. It didn’t happen with him often, he put one hundred percent into his work and very rarely had complaints, but he appreciated the warning.

“I’m sure I can handle it.”

“I’m sure you can,” she reaffirmed. “You’ve been a great asset since you started. But if you’re ever uncomfortable or feel like you’ve been mistreated, I want you to promise you’ll call me. I don’t want my employees being harassed, no matter how big the contract is.”

Curiosity swelled, and Isaac bounced on his toes a little. “What contract?”

“Spellbound Corps. You’ll be working with their top lawyer, a Mr. Van Buren.”

Isaac’s heartbeat kicked up, and he had to bite back a squeal of excitement. Spellbound Corps was one of the biggest supernatural companies in the world. Their products helped make the world more accessible to all supernaturals, mages included. Some mages whose powers were more difficult to manage used products made by Spellbound to focus their powers so they could function normally. It wasn’t something Isaac had any trouble with, but his cousin Parker was dangerous to everyone around him before those products were made. Now, he had his own apartment in the city and a job in government helping other supernaturals who committed crimes accidentally as a result of untamed magic. All thanks to Spellbound.

Putting on his most professional tone, Isaac said, “That sounds good to me. I’ll come in this afternoon to do the paperwork.”

“No rush. You’ve got a few days to prepare. But I appreciate your promptness. I’ll have the paperwork ready for you at reception. Thank you, Isaac.”

When she hung up, Isaac’s ability to hold back his excitement finally broke and he let out a squeal, dashing toward the living room where Maeve was sitting watching TV. Her eyebrows flew up in surprise, and she smiled curiously at him when he plopped himself onto the cushion beside her.

“What is it? A job?”

Isaac nodded exuberantly, bouncing in his seat. “At Spellbound! As a legal assistant!”

Her eyes widened in surprise and her joy rose to match his own, a bright smile on her face. “Really? That’s like the dream! I’m so excited for you!”

Isaac couldn’t sit still, he was so excited too. Since he was only a little over half way into his law degree, he thought they’d assign him regular temp jobs like secretary or office manager until he graduated. He never thought he’d actually get to spend time in a legal office so soon. Especially at a company like Spellbound. He launched himself off the couch, snagging his laptop before he sat back down next to Maeve.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking up who I’ll be working for,” he answered, his eyes glued to the screen. “Morana said I’d be assistant a Mr. Van Buren. I’ve never heard of him before.”

Maeve made an incredulous sound, catching Isaac’s attention. He looked up, frowning at her stunned expression.

“You haven’t heard of Maverick Van Buren? He’s like the top corporate lawyer in the country! He cuts through any red tape to make sure the products made at Spellbound can be brought to fruition. That company wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far without him.”

Impressed, Isaac turned back to his laptop, pulling up a search engine. Maverick Van Buren was the top hit, and when Isaac saw his picture, he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Goddess…”

Maeve scooted closer to look. “Oh, my…”

Isaac could only nod in agreement. Not only was Mr. Van Buren a top class lawyer, he was also gorgeous. The company photo alone was something to swoon over. Silky looking jet black hair, sharp dark eyes, thick eyebrows, a square jaw that looked like it was chiseled from marble, clean shaven because it would be a crime to cover up a face like that. The company photo was only from the chest up, so Isaac couldn’t get any details on the man’s body, but his shoulders looked broad and the suit he wore was well tailored to his muscles. Isaac lifted a hand absentmindedly to check for drool. The man was certainly drool worthy.

“How are you going to get any work done?” Maeve breathed, her gaze locked on the screen, much like Isaac’s was.

“Sheer force of will,” Isaac replied. Though he questioned that. He’d need to use every ounce of self control he had to not stare at that man day in and day out. It was hard to imagine someone that gorgeous having a temper, but maybe his personality would be enough of a turn off that Isaac could get his work done. One could hope, anyway. He didn’t want to embarrass himself at a company he one day hoped to work for.

He and Maeve spent some time looking up more information about the man Isaac would be working for come Monday. She knew him from her law classes. She was a year ahead of him, she’d be graduating in spring, but they both worked so they could afford the basics. Neither of them came from money, and Isaac would never ask his parents to pay for his law degree. They couldn’t afford it. Instead, he worked during the day and took classes at night. It was exhausting, but completely worth it once he got his degree. Only another year and a half to go.

After lunch, Isaac headed into the temp agency to fill out the paperwork for his new assignment. Charmed Away paid better than working at a cafe or in fast food, but going a week without work made him nervous and he was eager to claim the job so he could make up his missed wages this month.

Since he was hired along with a dozen other newbies, the office was pretty busy. People didn’t spend much time in the office itself, given that they were hired out to other jobs, but they always came and went to fill out paperwork or sign off on jobs. Isaac grabbed the paperwork from reception, smiling politely at the receptionist before finding an empty desk to work at. He plopped himself down, skimming through the contract, and bounced in his seat a little from excitement.

“Got a good one?” a quiet and somewhat gruff voice asked him.

Isaac looked up, searching for the speaker. He didn’t know everyone who worked in the office, too many people came and went, but he recognized the man across from him because they were hired at the same time and trained together. Tony was a kind of intimidating looking human at first glance, especially with the scarring across one cheek and down his neck, but he was actually a huge cinnamon roll.

“Hey, Tony. How’s it going?”

Tony lifted one shoulder. “I’m working, so I’m good. You?”

Isaac glanced down at the contract again and beamed. “I’m perfect.”

“What’ve you got?” It was surprising sometimes to hear such shyness out of such a big dude. But humans weren’t exactly powerful. Even humans as big as Tony.

“Legal aid at Spellbound. You?”

Tony frowned down at his own paperwork. “Supposed to be maintenance, but I’m not sure it’ll stick. Can’t do any heavy lifting.”

Yeah, Isaac would have guessed that. Tony favored his scarred side and Isaac got the feeling the damage went a lot farther than just the scars on his face. Still, Morana wouldn’t assign him something he couldn’t handle. At least, that was the impression he got off of her the last few months.

“If you’re worried about it, you can talk to Morana. She probably didn’t even think about it.”

Tony nodded slowly. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Isaac got the feeling that Tony wasn’t the type to stand up for himself. Since he had to meet with Morana while handing in the paperwork, he made a mental note to mention Tony’s apprehension. Someone needed to stand up for the poor guy. He was only human. They had it rough as it was. He didn’t need to suffer doing a job he couldn’t handle.

Isaac thought about the job offered to him while he filled out the paperwork. It wasn’t a difficult job, legal aid was basically a secretary with more legal background than the average assistant. But Morana’s warnings flashed through his head. The job might be doable, but working with Mr. Van Buren would put his patience to the test. It was a good thing Isaac knew how to handle difficult people. Mr. Van Buren wouldn’t know what hit him.