Page 44 of Nine Inch Nasty
I should truly just be paid to satisfy her, to care for her, and keep her comfortable.
I shouldnotbe giving so many of my daylight hours up to college professors that can’t even be bothered to shower properly.
“Sorry, Mr. Waldor, I’m going to have to ask you to pause right there. I understand your concerns, but I also don’t. Look, what I do in my personal time is just that. I know I’m the face of this school, and I’ve poured years of blood, sweat, and tears intomaking sure Hemlock keeps its reputation as being an excellent, elite academy, but with all due respect, I don’t need your or anyone else’s opinions on my family life. I am your boss, and I know you’ve been briefed on why I was absent most recently, and how it was unavoidable; but I’m simply not going to change how I live my life because it makes you uncomfortable.”
“He raises an excellent point though,” that vile woman from the history department purrs, definitely barking up the wrong tree. She’s got her reading glasses hanging from the corner of her lips, her blouse unbuttoned far too low to be considered work appropriate, and she’s trying desperately to infuse a salacious tone to her words. “If the headmaster is seen cavorting so openly with a student, what do we tell other students when they approach one of us for a similar relationship? Or what’s to stop any of us from having exciting encounters in our offices?”
I almost flush recalling the way Delaney surprised me in my office just this morning, re-creating the time she accidentally sucked me off, but there was nothing accidental about it this time.
“I would remind you that that is expressly against the academy’s policies. Any student that propositions a member of my staff will be given one warning before corrective action occurs, and any staff so compromised will also be given corrective action.”
“Unless the student is a conduit, right?” she asks in a snotty tone.
“Yes, that’s right,” a voice from the corner pipes up.
Great. Perfect.
It’s my mother-in-law.
“Y-your majesty!” Sheila gasps, knowing she just incriminated herself.
I scramble to look more professional, then decide I don’t have the energy for that.
Miss Ma’am, the queen, smiles at me and grasps onto my shoulder briefly before standing at my side to address the table. “For years, Hemlock Academy has been known as the place for conduits to seek out mates; the place for students to attend who wish to not only gain an excellent education with world-class professors, but to potentially become part of a circuit. In case you forgot, Sheila, that’s what we call a conduit’s group.” Queen Gabby winks at the problematic woman, completely goading her. Fucking love it.
“I remember,” Sheila replies icily, trying very hard to not seem cowed.
“Then you should also keep in mind that even though not all of us are directly connected to a conduit, we are called by the goddess to support them. And make no mistake; even if it weren’t my daughter the lot of you are discussing in this room, I’d be here.”
There’s a smugness to her tone, something I’m just picking up. Almost like she knows something I don’t.
“Conduits are at the heart of our communities,” Delaney’s mom says proudly as she links hands with a few of her mates over her shoulder.
Sheila finally snaps. She stands abruptly, slamming both of her palms onto the table, scattering some of her papers in the process. “Well maybe they shouldn’t be! I’m so goddessdamnedsickof conduits being the darlings of everything! The rest of us matter, too! Conduits don’t deserve special treatment or special rules simply because they’re all a bunch of tramps that can’t commit to a single mate! That is shameful, not something to parade around about! And you! You’ve made our land alaughingstock! You really expect anyone to respect you when all you do is have intercourse with all of your partners? This country needs real leadership, not a bunch of sex addicts!”
By the time Sheila is done ranting, she’s shaking so hard that she seems to be losing control of herself. She’s always had cloaking spells to hide her species, and legally we’re not allowed to ask for it when hiring if they don’t freely offer it up, but there’s clearly another side to her that is forcibly taking over.
But of course, the queen isn’t here alone.
Several of Delaney’s fathers quickly surround the highly unstable staff member, pulling her away from the table.
“Let go of me! I’ve been hiding long enough, and it’s time to take back what is owed us!”
Should I…be stepping in?
Because at the moment, I kind of just want to quit. Lol.
Well, I’ll be damned. Sheila is a gargoyle. Hmm. What was Cory saying about gargoyles? I think it was important…
She shifts into a rock creature, her face all gnarled and craggly toothed, large wings knocking into the chairs that are thankfully empty on either side of her, and I reach forward to take a sip of my coffee and sigh. It’s cold.
I look out the window, spy the light of my life running up the stairs across the courtyard, being chased by her twins, and my heart just isn’t in this drama.
Delaney’s dads have the situation somewhat under control, throwing up runes to bind gargoyle Sheila in place and prevent her from causing any harm in the room while the rest of my staff members are being escorted out hurriedly, and I make my way over to Queen Gabby.
“Quite the time to sit in on one of our meetings,” I joke, taking another sip of the gross coffee I don’t even want anymore.
“It’s not a coincidence.” She watches her mates incapacitate the gargoyle and takes a sip from a to-go coffee she brought with her. I bet hers is still hot. “Adam told us about the prophecy. Since we have access to species info others don’t, we’ve been monitoring all the known gargoyles in case something happened, and Delaney mentioned you had a meeting today to go over some concerns amongst your staff. Had a hunch this treasure of a woman would be reckless enough to do something. She’s filed several complaints against you at HQ and has been trying to get you fired since you mated Delaney.”
