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By the time the Friday of that week rolled around, I was emotionally wrung out, physically exhausted, and in dire need of alone time. My plan was to get home as soon as possible, take a bath, crawl into my bed, and watch Criminal Minds reruns until I eventually passed out.
That did not happen.
Instead, Hell’s Ginger cornered me during my lunch hour.
The kitchen was on the second floor, the same floor he worked on, so I should have been better prepared for when the door closed and the lock turned with a deafening click.
“You made it through the week,” he mused, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks and leaning against the door. “And with your job, no less.”
He raised a brow at me expectantly.
“Because this company employs everyone. It’s not discriminatory, unlike some of its miserable employees,” I huffed, taking my lunch from the microwave to one of the little tables scattered about.
He was silent for so long, I could pretend he left me to eat my lunch in peace. Then, he chuckled, a dark and rumbling sound.
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
I didn’t bother responding, stuffing a faceful of pasta into my mouth and chewing slowly.
“You really think someone like Azazel Ambrose would hire your kind out of… out of thegoodness of his heart?”
He seemed genuinely surprised when I turned to stare blankly at him.
“Dear gods, you really do…” he trailed off in surprise. “Do you have any idea what he is, little wolf?”
I bit my tongue to stop myself from asking what. I would prefer to have my curiosity stifled than to indulge this mad man. Not a single interaction we’d ever had made sense, and I refused to ask for clarification, because I knew he already firmly believed whatever convoluted story he’d concocted in his head about why anyone would hire a fallen-blood wolf.
“You don’t,” he breathed, closing the space between us to sink into the only other chair at the table. “You have no idea what the fuck kind of hell you’ve gotten involved in.”
I shoveled another forkful of food into my mouth.
I was certain there was something wrong with him. And, as we sat there, I realized that in the week since I’d known him, I hadn’t learned his name.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
“Let me guess—the reincarnation of an ancient god?” I snipped, unable to help myself. “It would explain your Jupiter-sized ego.”
His brows furrowed. One of his hands rested on the table, its fingers drumming distractedly as he regarded me. “I can’t tell if you’re genuinely this clueless, or just an amazing actor.”
“Maybe both,” I answered with a shrug.
He glared at me, those hazel eyes glinting with the promise of danger.
“I don’t know what your endgame is, but I suggest you find another job,” he said. “You really don’t belong here, Aria.”
Maybe it was the way he’d said my name that set me off, or it could have been the way he looked at me like I was a wild animal, something that could be easily spooked. I hated it, and for the very first time, my wolf and I agreed on something regarding him: we'd had enough of his disrespect.
I wanted to take a moment to rejoice when my wolf bared her teeth at him in my head, her hackles raised and her head lowered.
“Why don’t I belong here, exactly?” I asked.
He blinked. “You’re an unstable wolf in a building filled with other—”
“And I’ve been working here for five weeks without a single fucking incident,” I growled. “Do you want to know the first time I had any sort of confrontation? The first time anyone in this building upset me?”
His eyes widened as I pushed my chair back, its legs scraping across the floor with a loud screech, and stood above him, my hands pressed flat on the surface of the desk.
“When I metyou, asshole,” I hissed out. “The moment you opened your godawful mouth in my reception area— that’s right,myarea, because I’d been managing my job just fucking fine untilyoushowed up and disturbed my peace.”
