With another deep breath, she pushed on the heavy wooden door and let herself in. It looked like any typical office she supposed, except that everyone was wearing khaki uniforms, hats, and boots. Oh, that, and everyone around here was hot.
Now, she was no stranger to good-looking men. After all, she was part of Pi Beta Kappa, one of the most popular sororities on campus, and thus had her pick of all the cute college boys, from the football jocks to frat bros. However, these guys seemed like a whole new level. Everyone was over six feet tall, built like lumberjacks, and strutted around with a confident and magnetic air about them. Even the one or two female rangers she spied were also fit and gorgeous. In some of her biology classes, they’d briefly touched on shifter physiology and how they were faster and stronger than humans, and they also healed quickly and hardly got sick. But, none of her books or professors talked about how outrageously attractive shifters were.
And then there was Damon. For some reason, most of her thoughts kept coming back to him. Although everyone around here was attractive, there was just something about him that she found unforgettable. Maybe it was those soulful brooding green eyes of his.
Brooding? She scoffed at herself. But still, she couldn’t help but think of his broad shoulders and that tight T-shirt and wondered if his chest was smooth underneath or hairy …
Oh, stop.
Thinking those thoughts would not end well. Despite all the guys who chased after her throughout college, she always ended up with the ones who treated her like trash and broke her heart. Why couldn’t she be attracted to the nice guys, like Gabriel? Even now, her stomach fluttered at the thought of being near Damon.
“Hey, baby, whatcha looking for? Or should I ask, who?”
She stiffened and whirled around. A man stood behind her, a cocky grin on his face and his golden eyes sparkling. Like everyone around here, he, too, was amazingly gorgeous. And from his smirk, he knew it. “I’m—”
“Get lost, Anders. She’s not interested.”
She exhaled in relief when she saw who it was. “Hey, Gabriel,” she greeted, glad to see him here.
“Hey, Anna Victoria,” he greeted back. “So, I take it you got the job?”
“How do you know?” They hadn’t seen each other or spoken since yesterday, and J.D. didn’t mention anything about working here.
“I, er, kinda guessed,” he said sheepishly. “When J.D. mentioned that friend who needed an assistant.”
“How do you know this angel from heaven?” The other man wiggled his brows at her.
“Oh, brother.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have anything more original than that?”
His smile widened. “So, what you’re saying is, I should try harder?”
Gabriel whacked him on the shoulder. “Lay off. She’s the chief’s new assistant.”
“Temporarily,” she added. “I’m on probation for the next two weeks.”
“Isn’t that nice? Anna Victoria, was it?” Anders’s golden gaze flickered over her. “Well, the name’s Anders Stevens. If you need me to show you the ropes, just holler. I can do other things with ropes too—ow!”
That earned him another smack on the head. “You’re a walking sexual harassment suit, you know that?”
Anders tsked. “You’re certainly prettier than the last ones. I hope you last longer than them.” Anders flashed her another flirtatious grin before laughing and walking away.
Gabriel steered her away. “Sorry about that,” he said. “He’s mostly harmless. And not everyone around here is as unprofessional as him.”
“Wait, what does he mean ‘the last ones’?”
“Er …” He looked sheepishly at the floor. “Damon’s gone through quite a number of assistants in the last six months.”
“A number? How many?”
“About eight.”
“Eight?” she exclaimed. “Does he gobble them up?”
“Not literally,” he said. “But … he’s got a special way of working. But don’t worry, his bark is worse than his bite. Most of the time I mean.”
She worried her lip. However, she was determined to make this work. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“I hope so,” he chuckled. “Since you’re going to be dealing with Damon all day.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“No, just to prepare you.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what J.D. was thinking.”
“I don’t either but … I just need this job.” The more she thought about it, she realized what an idiot she’d been, just driving off without a plan. If she hadn’t driven into Blackstone or met J.D., who knows where she’d have ended up? Right now, Blackstone was her only option.
“It’s all right,” he soothed, placing a hand on her arm. “I’m sure you’ll do great.”
Someone clearing their throat made her start. Standing in the doorway of the office was the man himself. And for some reason, he looked pissed.
Gabriel stepped back and put his hand down. “Morning, Chief,” he greeted.
Damon let out a grumble, then turned to her. “There’s your desk. You know your way around a computer, I assume. The inbox on the desktop is yours, clear it out. I’ll send you instructions there.” He disappeared into his office without another word.
Her hands balled into fists at her side. Not even a welcome or good morning. How rude.
“Don’t worry about him,” Gabriel said reassuringly. “He’s just … well, that’s just the way he is.”
“And what’s that? A b-hole?” Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a great idea to call the boss names on her first day, especially if said boss had super senses. “Oh God, do you think he heard me say that?”
He chuckled. “Nah, a bear’s hearing isn’t as good as a feline’s.”
Huh. So, Damon was a bear shifter. It kind of made sense, seeing as he was so grumpy all the damned time.
Gabriel patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. “Listen, my shift’s about to start soon. But I can swing by for lunch. We
