Page 20 of Claiming a Demon

My head jerked back like I’d been slapped. I’d never heard someone use that term before, and it took me a second to react. Mal’s hand settled on my shoulder, a deep and low growl piercing the room.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Beckerman took it as a threat instead of a warning like he’d meant it to be. She pointed one gnarled finger at Mal, her voice raising and probably disturbing the whole spa.

“Did you hear that? He’s going to attack me! Police! Someone call the police! They need to put that animal in a cage!”

I bared my teeth, my fists clenched at my sides, but before I could respond, Brienne’s cool voice interrupted Mrs. Beckerman’s tirade.

“What is going on out here?”

Mrs. Beckerman spun around, pointing towards me and Mal accusingly. “That beast is threatening me and Zachariah is refusing to do his job! I’d like to file a formal complaint and–”

“That won’t be necessary. Zach, please meet me in my office. Your friend can join you if he feels more comfortable, or he can wait for you out here.”

Startled, I shot Brienne a wide-eyed look. Was I really about to get fired for standing up to a prejudiced old bitch?

Brienne’s eyes softened a little, and she tipped her head towards the back. “Go on. We’ll talk in a minute.”

I wanted to say something, to fight for my job, but now wasn’t the time or the place. I could see some of my coworkers peeking through the curtains. We were obviously disturbing people. I took Mal’s hand, pulling him along with me to Brienne’s office. It was just off the lobby, so we could still hear everything as long as the door was open. I stood by the crack to listen. If Brienne was going to give in to Mrs. Beckerman’s demands, then I needed to find a new place to work. I wasn’t going to be part of a team that was intolerant of others.

“Mrs. Beckerman, I believe your appointment was canceled,” Brienne said cooly.

“You aren’t serious! You’re going to allow that boy to refuse to do his job? What about my massage?” she demanded, throwing her hands out dramatically.

“I believe it’s best going forward if you find a new place for your service. We don’t tolerate harassment of our clients here.”

“That thing isn’t a client! He shouldn’t even be allowed in here! He’ll bring the devil upon us all!”

Unwilling to listen any further to Mrs. Beckerman’s poison, I shut the door quietly and turned to face Mal. He was standing on the other side of the room, a dark look on his face, barely tempered by his stoic mask. When I approached him, he turned his face to the side to avoid my eye.

“Mal…”

“I’m sorry. I knew you got off work around lunch. I wanted to pick you up so we could go eat together. I shouldn’t have come here.”

Putting my hand on his chest, I leaned to catch his eyeline. “Hey… You did nothing wrong. I love that you came to meet me. Mrs. Beckerman is an old bitch and you aren’t the first person she’s harassed here. I’m so sorry you had to listen to all that.”

His hand came up to cover mine, squeezing lightly, but he still couldn’t look me in the eye. His gaze dropped to the floor and stayed there. I could see the hurt underneath the mask. No one should be treated like that, and I almost wanted to go out there and give Mrs. Beckerman another piece of my mind for hurting Mal.

Since I couldn’t get him to look at me, I snuggled into his chest instead. It gave him the support he so desperately needed without forcing him to pretend he was better than he was. He wrapped himself around me, his cheek resting on the top of my head, and I felt some of the tension ease the longer we stood there.

It was the door opening that drew us apart. Since Brienne didn’t seem to agree with Mrs. Beckerman’s drivel, I wasn’t sure what she wanted to talk about. It made me a little nervous, and when she gestured to the seat in front of her desk and I sat down, my knee bounced restlessly.

“What happened?”

“She stormed out when I threatened to call the police for trespassing. She won’t be returning here again. Which means you lost a long-standing client today.”

I knew that, and it didn’t bother me. Yeah, every client counted, and I wasn’t really in a place in my life where I should be turning down jobs. But I’d never just stand around letting someone be abused like that. Especially not Mal.

“I understand. I’ll be okay.”

Brienne’s eyes flicked up from the paperwork on her desk. She was normally a calm and gentle person, so the stoney look was a little off putting.

“What?”

“How long have you been seeing a client, Zach?”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

MALAKAI

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