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She spun on her heel and stalked away without so much as a thank you. Not that I ever expected one out of her. She was probably already counting down the minutes, hoping that I would be late so she could berate me.
Jokes on her because I had yet to be late since starting this job. I popped open the document on my phone to do a cursory check, just to see how bad it was. It was a clear mistake that froze my phone from the sheer size of it.
Of course.
God forbid Councillor Harvey ever be succinct.
I collected a few more assignments from the other Councillors and made my way home with my work for the week. It all could’ve been done via email, but some of the older Councillors heavily preferred that they see my face when they gave me my work.
Thankfully, the others were more flexible, so that would give me time to get Harvey's work done first. I personally hated rewarding her terrible behaviour with expediency, but taking my sweet time would only be trouble forme, not her, and, for the most part, I did enjoy this job. Editing documents for the municipality wasn’t exactly a thrill a minute, though it did pay well enough and kept me up-to-date on the goings-on of the city.
Every so often I got to do more interesting projects, like the novella I had just finished for a client, but ninety percent of my editorial work revolved around making the Councillors sound competent and clear.
I swung by the address that Billie had sent me and found them standing in the entryway of an apartment building when I arrived. They hopped into the van with a bright, if tired, smile on their face.
“You look like you had a good night,” I commented.
“You bet your ass I did.” Billie grinned and pulled me in for a quick kiss. “I’m ready for a shower and some croissants.”
“Nicky didn’t feed you?”
“We got food together after her shift ended, but I bounced before she could feed me again.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Hana seemed worried. You know how she likes to reassure herself by seeing us in person. It didn’t seem fair to keep her waiting.”
“She would’ve survived,” I said, patting Billie's knee. “You’d have had time for pancakes.”
Billie shrugged. “I’ll have pancakes with Nicky tomorrow.”
I raise one eyebrow. “Another date already?”
Billie was a notorious flirt that loved attention, but it had been years since anyone had tempted them beyond a dance or conversation. The fact that they had spent the night with Nicky and were already itching to do so again made me pay attention. I couldn’t fault Billie for their taste when it had been them that had found all of us and brought us together.
“What can I say?” Billie stuck out their tongue. “I’m an exquisite lay.”
I burst out laughing. “You’re not wrong about that. Nicky seemed a little uptight. I’m surprised she found that out so soon.”
“I can be very persuasive.”
I sighed. “Billie…”
“She didn’t need anyactualpersuasion. I promise she was on board with everything well before I got around to asking.”
“Good. Because you’re kind of a force of nature.”
“A force of nature that values consent.” They nudged my shoulder playfully.
“Nicky knows about the whole pack, right?”
Billie nodded excitedly. “I told her all about us. She didn’t shy away from anyone’s scent either.”
I tapped the steering wheel. I hadn’t anticipated adding anyone new to our mix, but I could trust Billie’s instincts for now and get to know Nicky myself. Time would tell if she would end up in our pack like the rest of us had when Billie had blown into our lives like a hurricane.
“How was horrible Harvey today?” Billie asked.
“Just as condescending as every other occasion. I have a rush order from her for a monster project.”
