23. Rowan
Rowan
“Ugh!” Nina huffed from the reception area. “Stupid fricking printer.”
I looked up to see her pulling out a piece of paper that’d clearly gotten jammed and using her hand to flatten it on the desk. After shoving it into the folder in her other hand, she stomped over toward my office.
“Whoa, Nina. What’s gotten into you today?” I asked as she slammed yet another file onto my desk. It’d been a morning of short fuses, which was so unlike her. Maybe Bastian had rubbed off on her by waltzing his grumpy ass into my office earlier.
She paused for a moment before she stopped and sagged. “Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just been one of those days.”
That was hardly an answer, and considering Nina barely ever had “one of those days,” I had a feeling there was more to this than just an off day.
The clinic was quiet, thanks to some careful reshuffling of appointments for the rest of the day.
I wanted to be on hand in case Bastian was still unwell.
Gesturing to the chair in front of my desk, I set aside the paperwork I was doing. “Care to explain?”
Nina threw her hands up, sitting in the chair with an exasperated sigh. “Men are idiots. Is that enough of an explanation?” she offered, looking at me with a grumpy expression.
I paused for a moment. That, indeed, was a pretty good explanation. Men were a troublesome topic in my own life, but I still wanted a little more information.
“Can I ask what made you think that today in particular?” I raised my brows at her. “I don’t have a patient, so sit with me and let me be a sounding board.”
Nina looked torn. “There is tons of paperwork that needs to be done. You need me to work.”
“Paperwork can wait. And… I have chocolate in my desk.” I smiled. If there was one thing a dragon could not resist, it was a sweet treat. I mean, I could hardly resist one, either.
“Fine, you’ve twisted my arm,” Nina said, sinking deeper into the chair, a small smile starting to tug at the corner of her lips.
From my desk, I pulled out the tin of fancy chocolate that I had picked up in town. After placing it down and taking the lid off, we both dove in.
“This is from that nice place on Main Street, isn’t it?” she asked, taking a bite.
“It is. Nix insisted on getting me some last time we were there. He can be very wise.”
“He can. I think everyone’s just excited to see you getting along with the Alphas,” she said around a mouthful of chocolate. “When you got here, you were so against them. It’s nice to see you warming up to the guys.”
“It’s hard to deny the pull of mates.” I sighed. “But it’s certainly not icy waters anymore. Maybe… a lukewarm bath.”
“It is, but if anyone could do it, it would be you. The sheer stubbornness you exude is amazing.” Nina raised her hand, giving me a chef’s kiss. “I am thoroughly impressed.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “All right. Enough about me. I want to talk about your struggles with men, not mine.”
Nina let out a dramatic sigh. “But it’s nicer to focus on your boy troubles,” she whined.
“We’ve been talking about my boy troubles since I got here. It’s your turn.”
“Fine. It’s nothing that dramatic, though. I’m just sick of the emails and letters.”
“Emails and letters?” I leaned back in the desk chair to get comfortable for this conversation.
Nina nodded, her mouth tight. “You know, female dragons are rare. It’s a whole thing.
As a result, we tend to be particularly sought after.
Well, because of that, I often get emails and letters from potential suitors, all talking about what wonderful children we’ll have and nothing about, you know, the actual relationship they want to have with me. ”
I grimaced. “Oof. That does not sound fun. You’re more than a baby factory. Can’t you just ignore them?”
“That’s what I’ve been doing. For as long as I’ve been getting them, I’ve been ignoring them.
I read the first few and then quickly realized I didn’t want to deal with them—or any of the men.
Now that I’m getting a little older, my parents are getting…
insistent. They seem to think I’m going to be a spinster and ‘waste my potential.’”
“Spinster? What are we in, the Victorian era?” I laughed, rolling my eyes. Still, I quickly sobered to the fact that Nina was deadly serious.
“I know, right? They begged me to read through a few letters and to take them seriously, but I just can’t.
Every single dragon sounds so arrogant and pompous.
Like I want to spend my life with someone who’s more in love with themselves than with me.
They claim to ‘love me,’ but they haven’t even met me.
I need to at least date someone a few times before I’ll even admit to liking them. ”
“You would think that meeting each other is a prerequisite to love, or at least having lengthy online or phone conversations.”
Nina scoffed a laugh, folding her arms, clearly seething. “Phone sex definitely has its place, don’t get me wrong, but I haven’t even said hello to any of these stupid dragons. There was one I replied to, but he never replied back, so…” She trailed off.
“Maybe the lack of response is a blessing in disguise?” I suggested, giving her a shrug and a hopeful smile.
“Probably.” Nina nodded, raising and abruptly dropping one shoulder. “Anyway, reading the letters has just been getting to me, so I’m a little grumpy. I apologize.”
“That’s totally understandable. Take the afternoon off if you want. Go do something for yourself.”
Nina shook her head. “I won’t be doing that, because you have so many appointments and no one to keep everything on track. I swear this whole place would go to hell if it wasn’t for me. I’m the one who’s managing to keep your schedule somewhat calm and manageable.”
“I’m not going to dispute that.” I laughed. “Your talents are invaluable, but I seem to recall someone telling me to go relax, so… maybe take your own advice.”
Nina narrowed her eyes. “How dare you throw my own logic in my face?”
There was a tiny beat of silence, and then we both burst out laughing. After a moment, both of us grabbed another chocolate because they really were delicious.
Nina stared at the floor, spinning the ring on her thumb.
“I suppose you have a point, but I’ll still help you out for a little longer today.
Besides”—Nina hesitated, still not looking at me—“I’m not all that interested in going back to my room and seeing how many more emails have come in.
I deleted my email app from my phone; it was getting so ridiculous. ”
“Lord, you’d think they’d take a hint. Well, don’t go back there. Head into town. We need a few supplies. You can call it a work trip, but take your time. That way, your silly brain will be able to relax because you’re still being productive.”
Laughing, Nina looked up with a genuine smile, tilting her head. “Damn, insightful much? Though that is a very good idea.”
I shrugged. “Eh, takes a perfectionist to know one. I’m just as bad, as you know. You can also pick up a few more boxes of chocolate. Charge it to the Alphas.”
“Hmm, I am aware of that, yes.” The two of us laughed again. I stood from my seat, walking over to her and pulling her out of her chair. “Umm, what’re you doing?”
“Kicking you out, I’m afraid.” I angled her toward the door, shooing her through it. “Go on. Get us some bandages, and be sure to stop at a coffee shop and get a drink, too.”
She shook her head, still giggling. “All right. All right. If you insist.”
Nina walked over to the reception desk and grabbed her purse. She pulled out her keys and wandered to the door.
Calling out after her, I added, “If I see you back here in the next hour, I’m sending you out again.”
“Understood, boss lady. Won’t let you down.”
“I have complete confidence in you.”
And with that, Nina left, hopefully to find a bit of peace because she definitely deserved it.