Page 155 of Drama Queen

Walking fast enough to almost be in a trot, Charlotte made her way to the limousine waiting for her, her bag already vibrating on her arm. No doubt both her and Grace’s phones were already ringing, countless text messages and calls lining up to give their opinions on the judgement, Grace’s fuck-up, and the beginning of Charlotte’s rescue.

If only someone would rescue her!

“What a day!” Grace exclaimed as Charlotte closed the door.

“What a day indeed,” Charlotte replied drily, a headache already beginning to pound at her temples.

Unlike human myths, shifters didn't have perfect health. She could still catch the flu, get reflux, and even catch STIs. The main difference was, when Charlotte wanted, she could morph her form into that of a barn owl. Oh, and she could heal faster from a penetrative wound than a human did. Still, a bullet to the heart, even an ordinary lead one, would kill her just as fast as it would a non-shifter. Which meant the stomach-acid slowly swirling around in her gut was doing damage whether or not she shifted.

“Oh, don’t be so grumpy. Shifters are now recognised as an integral part of the human population, and thus not exempt from laws regarding discrimination. That’s a huge win that will cover us for more than a bunch of nut-jobs wanting to cut us apart to see how we work! Could you ask for anything more than that ruling?”

“You sticking to the agreed script,” Charlotte muttered, fishing in her bag for the phones and handing Grace’s to her.

“Oh, you arefeistytoday,” Grace said with a grin.

Charlotte blushed. Grace wasn’t meant to have heard that, and the woman knew it. In a confined space like this, however, there was no chance she’d miss anything she said. It was just as well the woman liked her. Then again, she’d been through over a dozen assistants before Charlotte, and at eight months, she was the longest serving one! Perhaps she’d earned a little leeway.

“We could have been pushing our agenda, celebrating the victory, making some sweeping statements here, Grace,” Charlotte whined. She hated whining. “I just don’t understand you sometimes. We spent days crafting your responses based on whether we won or lost. Now the only thing hitting the news is a sound byte of you threatening a reporter.”

Her boss’s smile turned smug. “Exactly! And in the meantime, the decision will pass quietly into history, and the lawmakers who support us can start working on getting it made into something a little more permanent than a judge’s decision.”

“It was a panel of judges,” Charlotte said dryly. “We could have expounded on humans and shifters working together to make history. We could have changed the direction of the conversation away from how we’re all feral animals. Today could have marked the beginning of a new wave of support. Instead, I’m going to be dealing with a dubious lawsuit from his employers claiming you threatened him, and a lot of people trying to understand what it was you actually said when you were talking about fighting and biting.”

“Charlotte,” Grace said quietly. “You know that none of that would stick, right? You can proclaim it as progress all you want, but at the end of the day, nobody is really going to remember it, beyond the fact that some people didn’t get what they wanted with the ruling. Humans are stubborn, and they’re also terrified of anything different. We’re about as different as it’s going to get, and you won’t ease their fears with sweeping statements. All you’ll do is get the opposition fired up to spew forth their own bullshit.”

“Then how are we to change their minds?” Charlotte asked her.

“By being invisible,” Grace told her firmly. “If we divert their attention, move the topic away from the monumental change this will bring, then they’ll forget it was ever different. They’llforget they had the right to enslave us in secret labs, torturing us with hormones and chemicals to see how we’ll react. They’ll forget they think we’re dangerous. If we become like the next loudmouthed celebrity, they’ll forget they fear us.”

Charlotte could see her point, but she didn’t agree at all. Sweeping the modification to the law under the carpet, meant the other side could do the same, and the legislation they wanted wasn't in the best interest of the shifters at all. In fact, they were more dangerous than any threat the humans declared the shifters posed.

Nobody could afford to ignore that.

The vibrating device in her hand was just the start of the torture she was going to face for the next few days, and not for the first time, Charlotte wondered if this was worth it. Grace had her own way, her own style of doing things, but were they really making a difference? Sure, she was popular with shifters everywhere, but was she actually making shifters more liked and accepted by the humans? Or were they just treading water? The fact she couldn’t tell, meant this wasn’t working, so why was she supporting it?

Grace already had her own phone to her ear, grinning manically as someone shouted at her while she pretended to listen. It was the way she always handled this stuff. She let them blow out their frustration, and then when they had gotten the worst of it out of their system, she just steam-rolled right over the top of their protests.

Kind of like she’d just done to Charlotte.

Her boss gave her a funny look, her gaze shifting down to the phone clutched in Charlotte’s lap which was still buzzing away as someone tried to reach her.

“Hold the line a moment please sir,” Grace said, putting the call on hold without waiting for permission. “Do we have a problem, Charlotte?”

Like usual, Grace was pushing her, the aggression in her tone warning that she expected Charlotte to comply. The problem was, Charlotte was also a predator, and she had more than enough confidence to stand up to the woman if she needed to. For once, it felt like she really needed to.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I think we do.”

Just because Grace chose to be loud and obnoxious, didn’t mean Charlotte had to be too. She could still argue without losing her temper or raising her voice, something the wolf shifter in front of her seemed unable to do. For the first time, she was really doubting Grace’s suitability for the position, and it didn’t sit well with her owl.

“I’ll call you back,” Grace said suddenly, hanging up on whoever was still screaming at her, and putting her phone on silent. “Okay, speak up, or shut the fuck up and do your job.”

She sighed, disappointed. Grace was still riding the high of what she’d done, thinking she’d pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes once again. The thing was, Charlotte wasn’t so sure that was the case. Not if the mood of the correspondence hitting her desk was to be trusted, and even the press was getting tired of her antics.

“This isn’t working for me,” Charlotte told her honestly. “I was proud I could turn around your fuck-ups when I started. Pleased that I could soothe tempers, and get a more positive message across to the public, put out spot fires, and genuinely make a difference.”

“And?” Grace demanded impatiently.

“Lately I just feel like an overtired mother running around after a toddler who’s having tantrum after tantrum.” She held up a hand when Grace opened her mouth, her expression furious. “Just stop, Grace. For five fucking minutes, stop simply reacting and listen to me for once.”

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