Page 160 of Drama Queen

“This morning, after you hung up on me, I tried to call Grace again,” he paused, chuckling ruefully. “I cannot tell you how astonishing it is to have not one, but two subordinates not only hang up on me, but refuse my calls. Grace’s statement, before she hung up, was no less startling than your own.”

Charlotte wanted to scream at him to get on with it, so she could get up and storm out of the place, but once again the man hesitated to speak. Was he afraid of her reaction? Or of what he was about to say? The indecision on the president’s face was clear, but she had no idea of what was holding him back.

“Sir, if you can’t trust me with this, then I need to leave. Not only does it show this is not the place for me, but you’ve given me no good reason to even consider whatever it is you’re going to ask of me. I’m still incredibly annoyed with Grace, and while I feel sorry for her, none of this is an excuse for her disrespect towards not only myself, but her position, and all of her constituents.”

He nodded, sitting upright again. “You’re right, I just need to spit it out. It’s just—” he shook his head. “Grace answered the phone, panting, and grunting. At first I thought she was under attack, and I was ready to call in extra protection for her. ‘Leonard,’ she said, ‘your timing sucks. Then again, so does mine. Something came up, and my wolf has lost it. I’m in heat,and there’s nothing I can do for the next three weeks. You’re on your own, my friend.’ Then she hung up on me, but not before I heard a male growl, asking her who the fuck she was talking to while he was the one fucking her brains out. While another male grumbled that they’d better hurry up because it was his turn again.”

Grace was in heat? And she spoke to him while someone else was?—?

Why was this startling news that Grace Diaz spoke to the president, who could clearly hear what was going on, all while she was havingsex?Then, to top it off, she had not one, but two males, helping her through it?

The president leaned forward again, reaching towards her face, as a bug-eyed Charlotte watched him, while he used the tip of one finger to push her jaw closed.

It was the final straw. As her frantic brain processed all the raw data she’d absorbed that day, Charlotte exploded out of her chair and paced across the room.

They won the court case. Grace fucked the speech. Charlotte quit her job. The president begged for her help. Grace was in heat — which certainly explained her increased aggression and need to grandstand, even if it was inappropriately. Charlotte had a private meeting with the president in a room most people would give their eye teeth to be invited to — and he was right, itwouldbite her in the arse. Grace spoke to the president while fucking two males. And the president? He reached out and touched her face intimately — proving she was gaping at him in shock, without even realising it. If that wasn’t a breach of protocol, she didn’t know what was.

“Charlotte?” he murmured, not rising from his chair. “I hope you don’t mind me calling you that just now and I also want you to call me Leonard, just while we're in this room. I thinkwith the conversation we’re having, formality is an unnecessary impediment.”

An unnecessary what now? He wanted to talk about protocol and propriety when her head was just exploding with too much of everything? Her brain was melting. Everything was wrong. This was just too much. Charlotte could roll with the punches, but this wasn’t a fair fight. This was being ganged up on. Everything was coming at once.

“Charlotte?”

“I just need a fucking minute!” she snapped at him. “It’s been a day, you know?”

He sighed, nodding and leaning back in his chair again, golden eyes watching her as she paced back and forth across the room.

Alright, so she was still jobless, although by the sounds of things, the president wanted her to work with whoever was going to fill in for Grace for the next few weeks. She could understand that. If that was the case, she wanted input into who it would be, or maybe that was too much to ask. Yes, that was getting above herself. She did, however, need to know who it was before she agreed to be their aide. There was no way she was going to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

As for Grace? Well, the rush of hormones preceding a heat would certainly make her unstable, both mentally and emotionally. Perhaps they could mend their fences, but the woman would have to put some actual effort into it, and Charlotte intended to be more proactive in her role.

Which told her she would give the job one more chance. Fine. Yes. She could do that. The next time she paced back in that direction, Charlotte would sit calmly and face the president, hearing out his proposal, and then she would accept her old job back — with some provisos, of course.

Except, it didn’t add up.

Why would he invite her into a private meeting, in a privileged location no less, just to tell her they needed her at least for a transition, if not to ask her one more time to withdraw her resignation? An aide should have handled this, although perhaps it was because of the confidentiality of Grace’s situation. Yes, that made more sense. He was protecting someone he respected, sticking his neck out for her even, which was admirable. Charlotte was simply the tool he was going to use to do it.

Too late, Charlotte realised she’d already turned again, walking away from the president. Rather than appearing indecisive, she continued her previous path, turning gracefully and heading back to her chair. She took those few extra moments to calm herself, connecting with her owl and reassuring it. Yes, they were both overwhelmed with information, but now that she’d processed it, catalogued it, and neatly compartmentalised things, they could move on. It was time for the next step, and Charlotte intended to take it with poise and confidence.

“Obviously, you can’t leave the position vacant for three weeks,” Charlotte said. “You also need someone with the institutional knowledge to oversee the transition period until Grace returns, which I assume is me.”

The president nodded, relaxing a little, although his gaze still tracked her every movement. He needed to stop doing that, especially when she was already riled up. A cat like him only watched a bird like her for two reasons — to fight, or to fuck. As she had no intention of humouring him in either, his predatory gaze annoyed her. Something she couldn’t afford to indulge under the circumstances. It was just one more irritation on a day that she truly wished was over already.

“May I ask who you have in mind to take on Grace’s job? I’m not aware of the protocols for a situation like this, but I gather the pool of suitable candidates is rather small.”

He looked at her in confusion. “You,” was all he said.

Her?

The president wanted Charlotte to be the acting shifter representative to the human government — an elected position no less — and he wantedherto fill it.

Her.

HER!

Charlotte saw the ground rushing toward her, but her mind blanked out before she met it.

Charlotte

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