Page 13 of Chev's Mate

“Sorry!” I say, continuing forward.

He probably thinks I’m weak and clumsy, which, while accurate, isn’t exactly the perception I want the guards to have of me. Either way, it’s a problem to worry about another day.

I’m running late.

It’s been a long day, and while I love it when the women stop me in the hallway to talk, sometimes it makes me painfully late.

Another guard steps out of my way, already laughing. “Vanessa’s in turbo mode today!”

Todd is one of the only guards I’ve grown to enjoy being around during the two weeks I’ve been working out of the Wrath facility, but even he isn’t going to slow me down. Not today.

I ignore his joke, desperate to get to my office before Echo does.

Another guard offers a smile as I pass by. I’ve met everybody who works here at this point, and they’re all friendly. I’m making a genuine effort to learn every face and name in the facility, andI think the females appreciate that I’ve scheduled one-on-one time with each of them.

Facility managers usually hold group sessions, but I want to provide an environment for women to voice their concerns more intimately. My office is always open, and having individual meetings shows that I genuinely care. I’m not just in this for the paycheck.

I’ve already got a notebook full of ideas and improvements we can make, and thankfully, most are small and easily doable. The females here don’t want much, but I believe the things they feel are lacking are reasonable to get for them.

I just hope Aziel will, too.

He pops in for a minute or two most days, usually just to make sure the place hasn’t burned down, but there hasn’t been time to sit down and discuss the specifics of what I’d like to do. I had to go through his assistant to get a monthly check-in penciled into his calendar, but that’s not for another week.

Even then, it’s only for fifteen minutes.

That will be a point in and of itself to discuss. If we want to make timely decisions, I need him to dedicate more time to the facility—or hire somebody who can.

From what I understand, this was originally Charlotte’s job, but the rumor floating around Wrath is that Aziel and another one of her males are refusing to let her work. Everybody’s quiet about it, but it seems this happens every time she falls pregnant.

I’m not too fond of it, but I’m doing my best not to judge. I would never be happy in a relationship where my significant other controlled my life so completely, but to each their own. If she wants to be an incubator, that’s her prerogative.

That doesn’t change the fact that Aziel is too busy to be doing this, though, and we need a dedicated person to oversee the facility. There’s only so much I can do, and there’s not enoughtime to sit around and wait for Aziel to approve my proposed changes.

I just need to find a way to express this without sounding rude.

Aziel seems reasonable, but my fear of men makes speaking on sensitive topics like this hard. A voice in my head tells me he’ll punish and hurt me for making him angry, and it’s nearly impossible to ignore sometimes.

I push open my office door, grimacing when I see Echo sitting in the chair opposite my desk. She’s doing something on her phone, but I don’t look at the screen.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” I say, stepping into the room.

“It’s not a problem.” Echo puts her phone away. “How are you feeling? I know this has been a hard few weeks for you.”

I shrug, not sure what to say. Echo’s been beyond patient with me, and she’s gone out of her way to keep me and Chev apart. Aziel’s remained true to his promise and Chev hasn’t been allowed to step foot on the property, and Echo’s been coming to Wrath to meet with me instead of making me come to the headquarters.

I was finally beginning to move past everything with Chev when he popped up on the TV two nights ago, his damn face restarting all the progress I’d made. I can’t get his image out of my head, and he’s all I can think about when I lie awake at night.

Word has spread that he’s found his mate, but nobody knows it’s me. They also know she’s a rehabilitated female and he scared her away, and it’s getting a lot of press. Half the people hate him for having been rough with his mate, and the other half couldn’t care less. They think it was a misunderstanding and his mate should forgive him.

They think I’m a bitch for turning down the almighty Chev.

I disagree.

Mammon has even taken it upon herself to issue a statement. She and her followers are calling Chev names I feel uncomfortable repeating.

It makes me feel bad for him, which isn’t an emotion I want to have. Pity is dangerous, and this distance between us has been good. I don’t think Chev is a bad person, and I’m able to recognize that his actions during our meeting were motivated by panic and fear.

He wasn’t trying to show me his penis when he lifted his leathers, and he didn’t even seem to realize it was out until he saw my fear. He was overwhelmed and frantic, and I don’t think he deserves to be persecuted so intensely for it.

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