Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
After the griffin and Isaac were finally gone, Alistair came to stand at Elijah’s side. He looked overwhelmed and flustered, and not in a good way. When Alistair had come in with Isaac, the poor man had looked close to tears.
“Where do you want me to start?”
Elijah jumped, like he’d forgotten for a moment that Alistair was there.
“Goddess. Apologies. I… I’m not sure. I wasn’t fully prepared for any of this.
All the decisions were made this morning, and I was involved in two more group interviews directly after that meeting.
This is the first time I’ve gotten to return to my office all day.
If you’ll just give me a moment, I’ll find you a place to sit and you can start going through these for me.
I only need the active files, which are marked, but–”
Someone knocked on the open door of Elijah’s office, not waiting for a response before they spoke. “Mr. Washburne, can you help me with this? There’s been some payroll issues with one of the entertainment departments, and they said to contact you about it.”
“Oh, uh, sure, Mirabelle. I’ll be with you in just one moment. I need to–”
Someone else popped up behind her, holding out a file to Elijah. “Mr. Washburne, I need you to look at these.”
Alistair watched as Elijah grew more and more flustered.
His eyes kept darting to the piles, then Alistair, then the people at the doorway.
It irritated Alistair that they wouldn’t come any further than the threshold of the door.
Surely they’d learned in however long they’d been working with him what Alistair had learned in one weekend.
The telepath wasn’t invasive in the slightest. He wouldn’t hurt them.
Whether it was irritation or a familiar brashness he hadn’t shown since the incident, Alistair stepped forward and put a hand on Elijah’s arm, drawing his wide-eyed focus back to him. “I can get started in here. I’ll sort them for now, and we can discuss what to do with them after.”
Like every time he either accidentally, or accidentally on purpose touched Elijah, he waited to feel even an inkling of magic being used on him.
He even tested the man a few times, wanting to prove to himself that Elijah was telling the truth when he said he respected people’s boundaries.
Other than the initial magic to size up Alistair’s power, Elijah never used his magic on him or anyone else that he was aware of.
He’d asked Isaac and Maverick both in private, and both said aside from when he was investigating concerning behaviors during their mating, Elijah never used his magic on them.
Just like now. Alistair was touching the man for a lot longer than a brush or nudge and still he felt not an ounce of magic used on him.
“I-I-I–” Elijah looked shellshocked, and the staff at the door were all gaping at him like he’d done something insane by touching him. Was it possible that none of them had given Elijah a chance in all the time they’d worked together?
Using the hand on Elijah’s arm, Alistair pushed him gently toward the door. “I’ll come find you if I have any questions. Go.”
Still staring, Elijah followed his order, not even noticing the way the staff scrambled to avoid him.
That was going to get really annoying really fast.
After Elijah left, Alistair picked up a few files, flipping through them without taking much in.
He didn’t want to violate anyone’s privacy, but he wasn’t sure how to tell the difference between them without reading more than he thought he should.
Perhaps he was a little rash when he sent Elijah away without even a few minutes to talk about the files and what he needed.
A gentle knock at the door drew his attention. This time, the visitor was a young kitsune who cocked her head curiously when she noticed him. “Um, hello. Is Mr. Washburne here?”
“No. He was called away. Can I help you with something?”
She didn’t have a file in her hand, thank the goddess.
The desk couldn’t handle another file. Instead, she was carrying a small tupperware.
She gestured to it with a tentative smile.
“Mr. Washburne agreed to be my taste tester last week. My in-laws are coming to visit soon, and I want to impress them.” She looked around, her smile faltering a little. “Are you dropping all of these off?”
He shook his head, eyeing the woman carefully. Unlike the others who’d come in before, she didn’t seem anxious to be in Elijah’s office. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t going to come up behind her. She seemed genuinely concerned about the mess.
“I’m a temp. I was hired to assist Mr. Washburne while things are so busy.”
She blew out a breath of relief, giving him a bright smile. “That’s wonderful. I’ve been telling him for a while that he’s going to burn out if he isn’t careful. He doesn’t like to inconvenience people, so he never asks for help when he needs it.”
The more he was around Elijah, the more he could see that. The man was a people pleaser down to his core. It was a trait that could easily be taken advantage of if he wasn’t careful.
“Do you need any help? I can spare a few minutes before I start on my work.”
He looked at the files again, brows furrowing. “I don't suppose you can show me how to tell the difference between these? I’m supposed to be sorting them, but Elijah– I mean, Mr. Washburne was rushed out before he could explain.”
Her nose wrinkled as she grinned at him.
“It’s okay. He prefers Elijah. I only ever call him Mr. Washburne when he’s not around to correct everyone.
Some people get really finicky about propriety.
Here, I’ll help you start your piles. That way you’ll know what you’re looking for and can have references in case you get confused. ”
He accepted the help with a nod, watching as she pointed to the spots where the files indicated a person was retired or quit or if they were still working at Spellbound.
She also pointed out files with a red note in them.
Those were employees who had left with Aristeos, but they weren’t booted from the system yet.
The staff in the medical innovations division were so overwhelmed, they hadn’t gotten around to it.
“Anything else you can put aside and I can help you sort them after.” She put the files she’d pulled onto the floor in neat piles. It wasn’t the best system, but it would work for now. At least until Elijah could use his desk again.
Spinning around, she offered him her hand with a bright smile.
“I’m Aoi, by the way. I’m mostly responsible for new employee paperwork, but if you ever need any help, you can come to me.
Poor Elijah is so busy, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t around very often.
My desk is just past reception. It’s nice to meet you…
” she trailed off, waiting for him to fill in his name.
“Alistair,” he offered, shaking her hand. “Alistair Silverbreeze.”
Her eyes widened in recognition, and he answered before she could ask, “Isaac is my little brother.”
She gasped, clapping her hands. “Oh, that must be fun! Working in the same company as your brother. I would be overjoyed if my sister came to work here. She’s too young yet to work but maybe someday.”
She left when she heard her desk phone ringing, throwing another offer to help when he needed it over her shoulder as she hurried off.
Alistair felt his shoulders come down after that interaction.
He’d worried about the reactions of Elijah’s coworkers when he came near them earlier.
It made him feel better to know there were people in the office who didn’t assume the worst. If he could let go of his issues and learn to trust the telepath, then so could they.
They just had to give him a chance. He was so earnest about his intentions, a blind man could see he meant it when he said he wouldn’t overstep boundaries.
Alistair was elbow deep in files when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, sucking in a breath when he saw his ex’s name on the screen. She only ever called for one reason.
“Hello?”
“Daddy!” two little voices shrieked over the line.
“Thayer, Hazel! How are you?”
It always happened when his kids convinced their mother to let them call him. His eyes filled with tears, and he fought back the urge to drop everything and run to them. He wasn’t allowed to yet. Not without supervision. Edwina’s parents had made sure of that when they realized how unstable he was.
They talked over one another, trying to get their news out first, and Alistair only heard half of it, but he couldn’t stop smiling even as he tried to understand what each of them was trying to say.
It took longer than either he or Edwina had hoped for her to get pregnant with the twins.
Between missions, long training periods, and issues with fertility, they were together for a long time before they had the twins.
When Edwina finally told him she was pregnant, he had been overjoyed.
Each day since the day they were born had felt like a gift.
They were both turning ten soon and so smart.
Just like Isaac had been when he was their age. It gave him hope for their futures.
“We saw Grandma yesterday,” Thayer informed him. “She said we could see you soon. Can we?”
Alistair frowned. He hadn’t heard anything from his grandmother about a visit, but he’d never say no to one. If she was willing to supervise him, Edwina should feel comfortable enough to allow it.
“If your mother is okay with it. I’ll talk to her and Grandma.”
They squealed like it was a done deal, and Alistair hoped beyond measure that he could keep that promise. He’d drop everything to see his children.
He let them talk themselves out, offering his thoughts when he could get a word in edgewise, and smiling through the entire conversation.
When they eventually had to go and Edwina took back the phone, he was sure they’d repeated a story or two a few times.
He didn't care. He’d listen to them repeat themselves all day long if it meant he got to talk to them.
“Alistair?” Edwina’s voice was terse, like it had been since he showed up after his last mission broken.
She didn’t appreciate the way he was released from the military, and she didn’t stay long afterward.
She didn’t like what it did to her image.
Her parents had some opinions about his discharge as well, and she had always caved to their demands.
Alistair didn’t fight it when she asked for a divorce.
At that point, he was struggling just to stay present.
He couldn’t be what she needed, even if she had been willing to wait.
He understood when she filed for full-custody.
At the time, the flashbacks had gotten so bad, he couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t most of the time.
She did it to keep their kids safe. Therapy, medication, even communing with the spirits didn’t make a difference.
He only came back to himself when the blockers were put on, and he could finally think.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sure they told you about Agatha’s request for a visit? She said you’d be there.”
Something about her tone made him frown. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“No. Don’t put words in my mouth,” she snapped.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I didn’t mean to imply anything. Did she say when?”
“This weekend. If it’s too soon, we can always plan another time for you to visit. I know it’s short notice.”
Alistair’s brow furrowed. Why the hell did it sound like she didn’t want him to show up?
If his grandmother was involved, it was likely they’d be meeting at his family home.
Even if he hadn’t been stable for months with the magic blockers, they were safe with his family.
His grandmother would intervene if she was ever worried about it.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll be there.”
She paused, and Alistair’s suspicions rose. Something was up with her. He wasn’t sure what, she’d taken almost everything he had in the divorce, but something about the way she was dancing around the topic made him think she was hiding something.