Page 195 of As The Shifter World Turns

The alpha pointed up and said, “Tending to his babies.”

I wondered how my grizzly friend would act if he ever had real life babies.

“Hey.”

Daire was at the other end of the roof deadheading flowers. “Did Nate send you to remind me this was date night and I should get ready?”

“No. But maybe this isn’t the best time to talk.”

He stopped what he was doing and peered at me. “We can talk. What is it?” He plonked himself on a bench and patted it. “Something wrong?”

“Not at all.” While Martin and Toby moving from the manor was the best decision for them, if we wanted to spend the night together, I went over there. Now that Toby had his own bedroom, I wouldn’t make him sleep on my sofa.

But that was me thinking selfishly. Father and son were so happy in their new place and that in turn had improved my relationship with Martin. Turned out, giving one another a little space was good for us, though I grumbled when I walked over there on a cold night.

While Archer had offered to have Toby sleep in their guest room if Martin came to my place, both Martin and I agreed we shouldn’t impose on Archer and Micah when we wanted to sleep together, especially as Archer had a toddler and was also pregnant.

“The opposite. I’d like to rent 2A?”

My friend furrowed his brow. “You want to move from 2B across the landing to 2A which is identical to 2B?”

“No. I have no intention of leaving 2B. I want the other apartment to use as an office.” Though I used my bedroom for filming, I had a lot of equipment that needed to be put away and dragged out each day. And my closet space wasn’t adequate for the wigs, dresses, shoes and makeup I’d acquired.

“Okay. That’s doable. 2B becomes just your home and 2A is your work space.”

I debated whether to tell Daire the plan that was formulating in my head to start my own company. Instead of giving a percentage of my income to the company I worked for, I’d be working for me. My decision wasn’t based solely on not wanting someone else to benefit from my hard work.

I’d become friends with a lot of the alphas and omegas who worked from home under the company umbrella offering similar services to what I did, in addition to what I used to do before Martin and I reached an agreement. My reasoning wasn’t that I wanted to profit off my friends, though I would charge them a small monthly fee to cover the admin costs.

The idea behind starting a company was because some of my co-workers had been doxed. Their names and addresses had been published by people online who had somehow ferreted out the details, probably by searching social media posts and picking up clues.

I laid out my plan to Daire because he was my friend and he was a seasoned entrepreneur now that he and Micah had successfully built up and sold their business. “Look at you! Up and coming business person of the year.” He lifted my arm in the air. “Must be something in the water.”

“Huh?”

“Micah and I start a company and with Archer helping us, it grows, we sell and make a huge profit. And I have my gardening videos. Ryder and Ivor have their app and now you, Neil. Gods, I’m proud of my Sunshine Manor extended family.”

I shrugged. “I don’t expect to make a lot of money from it.”

Daire was serious for a moment. “Money isn’t everything. Plenty of people succeed in life without making huge amounts of money.”

That was true, though it was easy for him to say as his family was wealthy, and now he was too.

He got up. “I should go. Nate and I are trying the new Ethiopian restaurant that opened near Ryder’s office.”

I jumped up. “One more thing. My friend Anthony was one of the guys who was doxed and he’d like to rent 3A now that Martin has moved out. He works from home like I do.”

“Sounds good. Have him call me and I’ll show him around.”

“There’s just one little thing.”

“Which is?” He turned on his heel, one brow raised.

“He’s human who has no idea?—”

Daire finished my sentence. “That shifters exist.”

“Please, Daire. He’s scared to stay in his current apartment.”

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