Page 4 of Conning Her Dragonkin Boss

“You have this week to get settled and learn the systems before your first face-to-face with Ser Rokoth. That gives you five days to prove you’re competent before you enter the dragon’s lair, so to speak.”

Okay, that wording is alarming.

“Wait—why does that sound like I’m being sent to my doom?”

Harla glances at me. “Because most of your predecessors didn’t last that long.”

Welp. Fantastic start.

“And before you ask, no, you won’t be meeting him today,” Harla continues. “Ser Rokoth is off-site in meetings. Your firstdirect interaction will likely be a Tuesday morning touchbase, depending on his schedule. Until then, you’ll communicate through the internal messaging system, which we will set you up with when the VorTech guys come through to check your connections.”

A small wave of relief washes over me knowing that I still have time to prepare before meeting my new boss. I’m not shy, per sé, but I do much better with a prepared script. Otherwise, my AuDHD brain and caffeinated motor mouth have a tendency to overshare at the worst time.

“Any advice?” I ask.

Harla balances her files in her arm, already preparing for the next bullet point on her task list for the day. “Yes. Be competent.”

Noted.

By lunch,I’ve met the rest of the administrative staff—a motley mix of Otherkin. Mainly vampires and faekin as they are the most populous races in Obsidian City, and one particularly chatty pixie from HR.

“You haven’t met him yet, have you?” The pixie, Neve, hovers beside me, wings fluttering excitedly.

“Not yet. I might be meeting with him tomorrow via virtual chat,” I say, picking at my adobo while mentally making notes of everything I’ve learned so far.

“Well, brace yourself,” a goblin from accounting chimes in. “Ser Rokoth is…” She waves her hand in the air, trying to land on just the right word. “Intense.”

The warnings come rapid-fire, each one escalating my mental image of Ser Rokoth fromintimidating bosstoapex predator in a three-piece suit.

“He sees everything. He knows when you have been inside his office, and he’ll know when you breathe too loudly.”

“Did you know his tail can take out a desk chair in one swipe?”

“If you ever see his wings, take cover.”

I force a laugh, determined to stay positive. “He can’t bethatbad, right?”

The entire table falls silent.

A wulver from the VorTech division—who is roughly the size of a small car—leans forward, voice hushed. “I saw him fire a guy for interrupting him mid-sentence.”

I freeze mid-bite, mentally calculating how fast I’d need to run if things go south.

Back at my desk, I shake off the anxiety with a few deep breathing sessions.

I got this. I did not survive grad school, then five years of retail management hell, and then a rogue poltergeist infestation in my last condo to get spooked by one grumpy dragonkin whom I haven’t even met yet.

While I wait for the tech guys to come through, I make myself useful. Between the video onboarding modules, I snoop around the Vormugh Enterprises work portal.

With enough random clicks, I create my own email address and profile, and request access to other “off-limits” areas. As an executive assistant, anything he has access to, I need access to.

Apparently, Harla agrees because she immedaitely approves all my requests for access. The last request for access comes with a reply attached to it.

Sunny,

At your earliest convenience, please update Ser Rokoth’s calendar to align with the latest Operational Calendar that has just been approved.

Best,

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