Anna Victoria was smiling when she entered his office, but when those large, pansy-blue eyes locked gazes with him, she grimaced. “What are you doing here?”
“Me?” He got up from his seat. “This is my office.”
Her face went pale. “Y-your office?” Her head swung to J.D. “You said you knew someone who needed an assistant?”
“Yeah.” J.D. jerked her thumb at Damon. “Him.”
“I don’t need an assistant,” he groused. “And if I did, you’d be the last person I’d hire.”
The look of hurt that crossed her face was unmistakable, and Damon felt his animal’s claws drag down his insides. Why he said that, he didn’t know, but he regretted it instantly. “I don’t mean—”
It was too late. The door to his office slammed loudly, and she was gone. “Fuck.” He raked his hands though his hair and sank back down on his chair.
“What the fuck did you say that for?” J.D. whacked her palm on his shoulder. “You didn’t have to be so mean to her.”
He was not going to play her games. “If that woman is your friend, I’ll eat my hat.” He knew everyone J.D. was friends with—and if Anna Victoria was one of them, she would have mentioned it this morning. “Did Gabriel put you up to this?”
“Damon Cooper, I know you’ve got issues, but can you for once not be an asshole?” J.D. crossed her arms over her chest and stamped a foot down. “That woman needs help. She’s lost and scared and has nothing to her name.”
“This morning, she didn’t even know she was in Blackstone,” he said. “And now she’s staying? Doesn’t that sound suspicious to you?”
“You’re being paranoid, Damon,” she said, not budging.
“She drove eight hours from New Mexico in a damned wedding gown and then stopped to get drunk at a bar,” he pointed out. “And I’m the one who’s crazy?”
“Please, Damon, won’t you—”
“If you want her to have a job, you give her one.” Let J.D. deal with that headache. Having her work here every damned day and be surrounded by her presence and scent—it would drive him bonkers.
The Demon, on the other hand, thought that was a very good idea.
“I don’t need help,” she said. “You do.”
“Can we talk about this later? I’m in a meeting with—” Looking around, he saw that Matthew was not in the room. When did he slip out? “Goddammit.” He couldn’t believe it. His boss walked out on their meeting and now Damon had to worry about his job.
Pushing himself out of his chair, he dashed outside. Maybe I’ll catch him before he leaves. Much to his relief, Matthew hadn’t left the building yet. He was near the exit, but he wasn’t alone. Anna Victoria was beside him, her face taut with despair. Matthew touched her shoulder and said something that made her expression relax.
Rage tore through him, and The Demon let out a deafening roar. How dare that male touch their mate? It didn’t care that Matthew himself was already mated—or a dragon. Its lips drew back and its teeth bared, ready for a fight.
Damon wrestled for control, even though a part of him wanted to rip Matthew’s hand away too. A small part, he told himself. Very small. When he calmed down enough, he managed to march toward the two, who were still chatting softly.
“Damon.” Matthew’s silver gaze locked onto him, and he frowned. It was like he could sense The Demon’s anger. Being a shifter, he probably could.
“Apologies for the interruption.” His teeth ground together so hard, it hurt. “We can continue our meeting or we can reschedule, whichever you prefer.”
“I think our meeting is finished.” The air around them turned cold as Matthew’s silver gaze went steely. There was no mistaking the dominant power of his dragon. Even The Demon deferred to it, and slowly backed away.
His fists tightened at his side. And he thought this morning had been a shitshow. “All right. I suppose you’ll want me out of the office by the end of the day?”
“What?” The atmosphere lightened again. “No, no. Jesus, Damon, I’m not going to fire you. I’d probably have a riot on my hands. Everyone here already respects you; they all had good things to say when my team did the reviews two weeks ago. I just came here to offer you the position permanently.”
He swallowed. “Oh. I accept then.” Frankly, if he did step down as chief, he wouldn’t know what to do. It was unlikely he or The Demon would take orders from someone less dominant, and he really would have to quit.
“But …”
Of course, there was a but.
“You’ll need help, like I said.” Matthew crossed his arms over his chest. “With an assistant, you can get more things done and spend less time at your desk. That’s what you want isn’t it?”
Yes, but he didn’t want her as his assistant. He wouldn’t be able to control himself, not with her around all the time. But it was obvious that Matthew had already made up his mind. “You got any experience?” he asked Anna Victoria.
Though her lower lip trembled, her shoulders straightened. “I was vice president of my sorority for two years. I basically had to do all filing and reports for the Dean’s office, plus organize our mixers and events.”
“And after you graduated?”
Her face turned red, and she swallowed. “I haven’t really, er, worked since I graduated two years ago.”
“It’s a tough job market, amiright?” J.D. added, looking at Matthew and then Damon hopefully.
“You need an assistant, and she’s here,” Matthew said. “I won’t tell you to hire her …”
But he already knew the score. His boss wanted her here, and so, if he wanted to score points, he had to play nice. “Fine.” He ground his teeth. “You can start tomorrow. But on a probationary
