Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Elijah still felt like he was walking on clouds when he returned to work the next day. He’d honestly never expected so many good things to happen to him in his lifetime. And based on the way they were talking, the good things would just keep coming.
It was all thanks to Alistair. The beautiful man showed up in his life right when he needed him the most, and Elijah felt like he could handle whatever the interviews threw at him with Alistair at his side.
He tripped over his own feet when he stepped into his office and wasn’t immediately hit with the dread of having to deal with the mess left for him.
Over half the files were organized already in neat piles against the wall.
The rest were moved to another corner so Elijah had access to his desk and the couch to rest if he needed it.
He hadn’t noticed the difference when they left the night prior, his head aching too much to take it all in.
“This looks amazing!” he exclaimed, spinning around to smile at Alistair.
They’d slept separately, because Alistair claimed to sometimes still have issues with nightmares, but as soon as they bumped into each other in the kitchen the following morning, Alistair resumed his hands-on affection with Elijah.
Which was just another reason Elijah was in such a good mood this morning.
It didn’t matter if they were holding hands or having sex, he basked in every touch Alistair gave him.
“I should be able to at least have them organized today or tomorrow, but it might take me longer because I want to go with you for your interviews. I don’t want you hurting yourself like yesterday.”
He felt his face flush, pleased with Alistair’s determination to care for him.
“Thank you. I’m happy to have you come along and take notes if you feel up to it.
Unfortunately, headaches are going to happen.
In order to avoid them, I’d have to release my hold on my magic entirely, and I can’t do that. ”
Alistair shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on the coat hook on the back of the door before putting his hand out for Elijah’s.
“Yet. I don’t think it’s a good idea to fully suppress it while you’re using it, though.
Could you try releasing only part of it during the interviews?
Enough to have magic to spare to do the readings without draining yourself. ”
He considered it as they both got ready for the day.
It was possible he could get away with it if he was careful.
He’d need to focus more of his energy on hiding the magical signature than shoving down his magic, which technically wasn’t legal, but if he kept it at a minimum, it should be fine.
He knew he risked getting into a lot of trouble if someone found out what he was hiding and shared it with the wrong people, but to Elijah, it was worth the risk.
He didn’t want to go back to being alone.
Alistair disappeared long enough to get himself a coffee. When he set a mug of brown liquid on Elijah’s desk, Elijah cocked his head in confusion. “Did I not mention I can’t have caffeine?”
“That’s not coffee,” Alistair replied with a smirk. “Just try it.”
Just like Alistair trusted him, Elijah trusted Alistair. He picked up the warm mug, bringing it to his lips for a small sip. He looked up in surprise when he realized what it was. “You made me hot cocoa?”
Chuckling, Alistair nodded. “You were shivering on the walk from the parking lot. This will warm you up without adding any caffeine to your system. Do you know if that particular issue is only because you’re suppressing your magic or if the same thing happens while your magic is free as well?”
Elijah’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “I’m not entirely sure. I’ve never tested it. I didn’t want to accidentally forget to use the suppression spell so I kept it on all the time.”
It might be worth testing, at least at home. Not that he needed caffeine or anything, but a nice glass of wine at the end of the night might help him relax after a long day. As long as his magic didn’t go hinky in the process.
Alistair got to work on organizing his files while Elijah answered emails and updated his calendar with deadlines and things of that nature.
There was a memo sent out the night prior that Elijah’s duties were being reassigned during the interview process and a list of names and numbers to contact if help was needed.
Elijah felt better knowing there were others who could help while he was unavailable.
His alarm went off about an hour later, reminding him that the first batch of new hire interviews would be starting soon. He stood, smiling when Alistair gave him his full attention.
“I’m attending new hire interviews this morning. At this point, they’re just group interviews, and I don’t need to use much magic, but if you still wish to join me, I’m sure Brennus wouldn’t object.”
“I do,” Alistair agreed, setting aside the files he’d been going through and stepping up to Elijah’s side.
His warm hand on Elijah’s back made Elijah want to turn into him for a cuddle, but now was neither the time nor the place.
He would need to maintain professionalism in the office.
No matter how much he wanted to climb the man.
They headed down five floors to where the interviews were being conducted.
The waiting room was already crowded with supernaturals hoping for a spot in the company.
Elijah didn’t actively try to glean anything from the group, but he took in the general sense of hopefulness and anxiety. That was normal for things like this.
Brennus was waiting for them in what was supposed to be a conference room.
The big table in the middle had been removed, and chairs sat in a line facing the windows.
A smaller table was put in for Brennus and Elijah, as well as the division head, Dorian.
The vampire hadn’t arrived yet, but he had always been a stickler for arriving on time. He would be here momentarily.
“Good morning, Brennus,” Elijah greeted. “I’ve brought my assistant along to take notes if you don’t mind.”
Brennus huffed out a breath of relief. “Good. I hate taking notes when I’m asking questions. It distracts me. Grab that chair in the corner there, Alistair. It was brought in for Dorian’s assistant, but he won’t be joining us anymore.”
“Oh? Is something wrong?” Elijah asked as he took his seat at the end. Alistair pulled up the chair Brennus pointed to, sitting beside Elijah without a word.
Brennus chuckled, sitting on Elijah’s other side. “No. Dorian’s mate noticed he was working too hard again and got cross with him. I believe Kian’s intention is to stay behind and take care of things while Dorian is here so he won’t be overwhelmed later.”
Ah. That made sense. Dorian had gotten into trouble for overworking and neglecting his body’s needs during the initial weeks after the coup.
If he was getting to a state where his mate felt like he was at risk of hurting himself again, Elijah didn’t doubt Kian would step in.
While he couldn’t read the man– fae were immune to telepathy– he had heard plenty about how caring Kian was about those he considered his people.
He was the liaison in charge of Charmed Away’s temps at Spellbound. Which also made him Alistair’s boss.
“Have you met Kian yet?” Elijah asked Alistair.
Alistair didn’t add much to conversations unless he was invited in, but Elijah didn’t think that had to do with him feeling out of place.
It was more his nature, since he did the same thing with his brother and Maverick.
He wasn’t a chatty person, which was fine.
He still talked to Elijah easily enough.
Alistair shook his head. “No. I was told to head straight to you when I arrived. I’ve exchanged emails with him to sign my paperwork, but we haven’t met in person yet.”
If he could find the time, Elijah would introduce them. Kian was a good ally to have. It would be hard while Alistair was joining the interviews though. Maybe they could meet during a lunch break or after work.
After Dorian arrived and got settled, the first set of interviews began, and Elijah had to focus to ensure none of Aristeos’s people slipped in.
The interviewees all shifted nervously as Brennus introduced himself.
A griffin’s magic compelled honesty, which would make any attempt at lying on their resume practically impossible.
It would weed out a lot of those who were hoping to get in on false pretenses.
Dorian, while he didn’t actively use his magic during interviews, was sharp and asked questions that could throw an interviewee off their game if they got too cocky.
He basically built the tech division from the ground up, and when he took over medical innovations, he put the same care and effort into rebuilding the crippled division as well.
He wouldn’t be satisfied with superficial answers.
Elijah only really asked questions when he felt he needed to.
If certain emotions were in the air, he asked questions to draw out the person feeling them and made a note in their file.
If he fully released his magic, he probably wouldn’t have to ask.
He’d be able to tell at a glance. But despite how determined Alistair was to get him to set his magic free, he refused to intimidate interviewees just to make himself more comfortable.
“Has there ever been an instance where you saw a coworker doing something against the rules? If so, how did you handle it?” Brennus asked, then pointed at the interviewee at the end, a nervous looking cyclops with a polka dot dress.
“I, um, uh–” She only got more flustered as she stumbled over her words.
Elijah put up a hand, offering her a smile. “It’s okay. Take your time.”
She gave him a quick smile in return, fidgeting in her seat for a moment before answering, “I noticed a coworker taking lunches that didn’t belong to them before.
I reported it to that company’s SR, but she didn’t get into trouble.
It was a big misunderstanding. Her mate packed her lunches, so she never knew what was in them, and she had vision problems. All the lunch bags were gifts from the company upon getting hired, and the only difference was our names written on the back.
She couldn’t see the names to tell the difference. It wasn’t really her fault.”
Elijah nodded once. She truly felt that way and didn’t hold it against the other employee. They would be smart to hire employees who didn’t hold grudges.
One by one, they went down the line, and the employees answered their questions to the best of their ability. Only the one on the end made Elijah pause. His reply about not noticing a coworker doing any wrongdoing was true, but there was an edge to it. Something about his emotions was off.
He wished not for the first time that he had full access to his magic when asked to do things like this.
It could be that the interviewee was just experiencing an emotional upheaval unrelated to the question.
Or he was hiding something with some clever wordplay.
He made a note in the file, but otherwise kept his questions to himself.
He didn’t want to embarrass the man if it wasn’t something he could control.
They had three rounds of interviews before lunch, but the drain on Elijah’s magic was minimal with interviews like these.
It was when he had to actively use his magic to enter someone’s mind that would cause the issues.
His stomach clenched at the thought. He desperately hoped they would be easy interviews.
He was a little worried about how his protective lover would react if he noticed someone causing him pain.