Page 2 of Falling for My Shifter Boss

"Can you blame them?" Eli's voice softens. "They don’t know us from Adam."

"They'll see soon enough. What we're building here isn't just another town." I gesture to the blueprints spread across my desk—detailed plans for wards, safe houses, escape routes disguised as hiking trails. "It's survival."

Eli tilts his head slightly, like he's debating how much trouble he wants to start. "Speaking of moving forward… your new assistant should be here this morning."

A flicker of irritation beats beneath my ribs. "I thought Lisa was coming back."

"She changed her mind. Decided to stay in the city."

I exhale through my nose, glancing at my desk. Lisa knew how I worked, understood the stakes of what we're doing. I don't have the patience to break in someone new, not with hunters closing in on three different territories.

"And you decided this without telling me?"

Eli shrugs. "You pay me for decisions like this."

"Who is it?"

His smirk sharpens, something suspiciously smug in his expression. "Local hire. Should be here any second. Maya Ramirez. She's got experience, an energetic personality..." He pauses for effect. "You're going to hate her."

Before the name fully registers, there's a quick knock, followed immediately by the creak of the door.

Then that scent hits me again.

Lavender. Pine. Wild warmth that makes my wolf stir.

A presence shifts the air in the room. It's not magic. Not anything overt. Just... awareness. Recognition. My inner wolf snapping to attention despite years of iron control.

The woman from the café steps inside.

Maya.

She stops just inside the doorway, her golden-brown eyes locking onto mine, and for half a second, the room stills. She's small but carries herself with refreshing defiance, chin lifted, shoulders back. A cascade of dark curls refuses to be contained by her attempt at a professional bun. Everything about her radiates life and challenge.

Her lips tilt into something dangerously close to a smirk, and amusement flickers through her gaze. "Well, this is awkward."

Eli chuckles behind me, not bothering to hide his satisfaction. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

For the first time in years, I have no immediate response. My wolf paces beneath my skin, caught between the urge to establish dominance and an unexpected pull to move closer, to breathe in more of that intoxicating scent.

Maya raises an eyebrow, waiting.

This is going to be a problem.

Chapter 2

Maya

I settle into my desk after distributing coffee to my new coworkers. It's my first day, and I'm determined to make a good impression, even if my wolf is still unsettled from that earlier encounter with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding. His scent lingers in my memory, making her pace restlessly beneath my skin.

I shake my head, forcing those thoughts aside. I have a job to do, and one grumpy, magnetic presence isn't going to derail me. After six years of pulling double shifts at the diner to help Mom with the bills while my younger siblings finished school, I finally have a real shot at building something for myself. Alex and Sofia are in high school now, capable of looking after themselves, and even little Marco has outgrown needing his big sister to check for monsters under the bed. It's time—past time, really—for me to chase my own dreams instead of just surviving.

"Maya." Eli's voice breaks through my thoughts as he approaches my desk. He's the CEO's right hand man, a bigshot in the company. "Change of plans. You're being reassigned."

"Reassigned?" I raise an eyebrow, clutching my coffee closer. "To where?"

His grin widens, and I already know I'm not going to like what comes next. "Adrian Blackwell's office. You're his new personal assistant."

The coffee nearly slips from my grip. "I'm his what now?"

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