Page 3 of Conning Her Dragonkin Boss

With any luck, the new assistant will be onboarded and fully trained before I even meet them.

I don’t have the patience to deal with incompetence.

And I certainly won’t be wasting my time on another assistant who won’t last.

Chapter Two

THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE OFFICE

Sunny Adlawan

The first ruleof thriving in a monster-run corporate empire? Fake confidence until it becomes real.

I adjust my blazer dress, take a deep breath, and stride into Vormugh Enterprises like I’ve done this every day of my life.

The sleek obsidian floors reflect the soft glow of enchanted crystal light fixtures, casting an eerie but expensive ambiance over the space. Employees sweep past me—goblins in tailored suits, vampires murmuring into holographic earpieces, a naga lazily sipping coffee while reviewing a stack of floating documents.

I clutch the strap of my tote bag like a designer lifeline. It’s my life organizer and of-course-I-belong-in-the-executive-suite camouflage.

Because let’s be real—this jobismy golden ticket.

Paid on-site housing in the heart of Obsidian City (a miracle in this economy), full medical, dental, and supernatural insurance (because apparently, accidental hexes are a thing), and a generous salary that would actually let me build a future.

All I have to do?

Survive my new boss, Khanner Rokoth, CFO, without getting fired. From my multiple interviews getting this job, and from the various assessment tests, I had the feeling that resilience—and being borderline psychic—was a damn near requirement to keep this job.

Jokes on them: I was a gopher for my university profs and put myself through undergrad and grad school on a teaching assistantship while also bartending and working third shift in logistics.

Besides, if I can weather my immigrant parents’ never-ending disapproval that I didn’t become a lawyer-doctor, I can survive anything.

A nephilaris woman with lovely iridescent golden skin and dark silk power suit intercepts me before I can even find the elevators. She has a torso of a lean woman and the lower body of a weaver spider. I’m grateful that I recognize her from my last video interview.

The memory of our conversation pops up front and center in my mind’s eye, along with her name, Harla Spindrel, Senior Administrative Manager. She very kindly warned me that her physical appearance may be a bit off-putting.

I’m not naturally afraid of spiders; even so, I took the warning as the little test it was. If I wished to work at the most prestigious company in Obsidian City where human laws don’t apply, I needed to keep my human sensibilities at home.

Luckily, I’ve lived in Obsidian City for a few months, and have trained myself to stop jumping at every shadow or be intimidated by anything that looms over me, which is nearly everyone here.

“Good morning, Sunny. I’m delighted to meet you in person.” Her sharp, black eyes assess me like a jewel appraiser determining if I’m a priceless diamond or cheap cubic zirconia. My face reflects in the six black orbs staring back at me.

I flash my most dazzling smile. “Good morning, Ms. Spindrel. I’m delighted to be here.”

She gives a crisp nod, her black bob swinging forward with her movements. “Please, call me Harla. Our first stop will be the Security Office to make sure your biometrics are in our system, and assign you a badge. Then, we can do the rest of the onboarding, and I can ensure your passcodes work along the way. Follow me.”

I rush to keep up as she power-walks with her six legs through the lobby while giving me a rapid-fire breakdown of my new domain. Thank goodness for my cardio sessions where I belt out Taylor Swift lyrics while walking on an incline. Even so, I find myself simply nodding and making affirmative noises rather than answering in complete sentences so I don’t pass out. I’m hoping I don’t sweat through my blazer.

Once I am officially processed through security, and I am able to swipe through multiple turnstiles, elevators, and the doors onthe executive office floor. Harla finally pauses in front of a set of double doors that looks as if it were lifted from a fantasy novel. It’s all sleek, shiny, dark wood withKhanner Rokoth, CFOemblazoned on it.

It makes me think of drawbridges and moats, it looks that standoffish.

My cold and austere workstation, a modern-looking affair that’s all sleek black and glass, looks more warm and welcoming comparatively.

I try to look through the opaque glass that serves as walls to his office, but no luck. The privacy shields are for real here.

“You’ll be stationed here outside Ser Rokoth’s office. He rarely tolerates inefficiency, noise, or delays, so keep all interactions brief and precise.”

Brief and precise. Got it. I also note the use of the honorific,ser.That is a very traditional Otherkin title for males of high status.

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