Page 168 of Drama Queen

Well fuck, why hadn’t she thought of that?

Seeing the expression on her face, the president relaxed a little. “Charlotte, you’re not one of the assistants anymore. Even when Grace does come back. We’ll find another role for you somewhere, but there’s no way you’re just one of the peons who help keep the wheels greased. You’re one of the big hitters now, which means you get to delegate the little shit to others. Like fetching your laptop from Grace’s office, and anything else there you’re going to need in the next few days. I don’t think you’re going to get the opportunity to leave the building unless it’s to attend a meeting elsewhere.”

Right. Because this was already bigger than anything she’d already dealt with. Unlike the man in front of her, who’d seen and done a lot more in his tenure than any president before him. There was a reason he’d been voted in again and again. He was simply fucking good at what he did.

“Okay, well, uh, I need to know where everyone disappeared to. I gather there’s some conference room that’s acting as ground zero, but I’m also going to need a space away from all of that at times too.”

“There’s an office in your suite, and you’ll be using Grace’s office here in the building on this floor,” he told her.

Of course. She was Grace’s stand-in. That made perfect sense. Charlotte wanted to slap her own head in embarrassment. What had she thought not five minutes ago about not wasting anymore of his time?

“As for the conference room—” he’d taken a hold of her elbow and directed her into the hall. “Ah, Ms Kelsing, just the very person I wanted to see. For the next forty-eight hours, I need you to be the acting assistant to the pro tem representative to the humans. This will include compiling a list of suitable applicants for a more long-term assignment. They can be seconded to this position, and you may apply yourself, for the duration of Ms Diaz’s convalescence, and then we’ll look at the budget and anappropriate permanent assistant once we’ve decided what Ms Bailey’s final position would be.”

“Yes, sir,” Ms Kelsing replied.

“Excellent, then Ms Bailey, I leave you in Ms Kelsing’s capable hands. I have calls to make.”

Giving them both a slight bow, he turned and walked in the opposite direction, the younger woman’s gaze following him for several seconds, before remembering Charlotte was there. What the assistant couldn’t hide, however, was the scent of lust beginning to emit as she watched him stride away.

Her owl ruffled its feathers, displeased by the woman’s attention and intentions, unsettling Charlotte even more.

“When you’re done ogling, I need to go to the conference room where the others are,” Charlotte said coldly.

“Oh my god,” the woman whispered. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. It’s just— He’s so overwhelming!”

She supposed he was at that, but Charlotte was sure that wasn’t the only problem.

“Ms Kelsing, have you ever encountered a lion shifter before?” she asked gently.

Taking a deeper breath only confirmed her suspicions. The woman was a feline shifter. Charlotte wasn’t sure which species, but from the pungency of her scent, she knew it was one of the larger ones.

Flushing crimson, Ms Kelsing shook her head. “No, I haven’t,” she replied quietly. “My mother always said we’d get a little swept away by the males, but I never took her seriously. I mean, they’re bossy, lazy, and they sleep around a lot before they settle. Who wants a man like that? I thought it was a load of crap, to be honest, her romanticising how she’d fallen for my father, who promptly took up with another woman when he found out she was pregnant.”

“You’re a lioness?” Charlotte asked, just to be sure.

“Oh, uh, yes. Sorry. I’m doing this all wrong. He just packs quite a punch, and I wasn’t expecting it. It was bad enough from a distance, but up close? And he knows my name!”

“Ms Kelsing?” she prompted. While cute, she didn’t have the time to coddle the woman.

“Fuck, yes, alright. Sorry. I’m sorry. My name is Bonita Kelsing, most people call me Bonny. I mean, you can if you want, you don’t have to.”

Taking pity on her, Charlotte allowed her lips to curl into a slight smile but no more than that. She couldn’t afford to be too lax in this situation. “Then Bonny it is, but I do need to know that you can keep your head about you, because I’m going to be working closely with him for the next few days. This is a tense time, tempers are going to be running high, and the threat rate is through the roof. The last thing I need is for things to go tits up because my assistant is mooning over the president.”

“No, yes, absolutely. I’ve got some scent blocking cream in my desk, I’ll put some of that under my nose and that should deal with most of it. I’m pretty sure I can resist his looks for a few more days,” she said with a giggle.

Oh dear. She was going to be one of those people. Still, she was what Charlotte had to work with, and she would make the best of it.

“Are you going to apply for the position?” Charlotte asked her point blank.

“Uh, yes, I think so. I mean, I don’t know what your job is now, or what it’s going to be when Ms Diaz returns — is she okay?”

“She’s fine, just indisposed for now.”

“Oh, good. I like her, she’s a lot of fun.”

Not if you work for her,Charlotte thought.

Charlotte

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