Page 133 of Awakened
Emily nodded, her eyebrows pulling together. “Sure, but why not give us a little more time to plan?”
I scrambled to come up with an answer while trying to maintain a calm facade. “I guess it’s one of the last free weekends before the wedding. Wait any longer, and it will be hot as Satan’s ass out here.”
Her face didn’t relax. “Hm. Well, what’s done is done. Come on, breakfast’s ready. That Zach can make a mean omelet.”
Taking the out Emily offered, I jumped on the Zach praise train, “Don’t I know it? It might be the thing I miss most about our sleepovers.”
She arched an eyebrow, giving me a huge grin. “Not the multiple orgasms or magical piercing?”
“Oh, yeah . . . Jeez, I might’ve made a mistake.” Running my hand over my face, Emily laughed and dragged me off the couch.
“Nah, your guy’s out there. When you find him, Zach’s dick will be a distant memory.”
“Very romantic, Em.”
The rest of the day was spent in the car driving back to St. Louis, being bitched at by Marie over speakerphone in front of Zach, Hope, and Chastity. Once I was home, I had to reach out to all the invitees to be sure they would come. As luck would have it, all the women on the kidnap list were more than happy to attend. I arranged extra protection with the participating packs and Howler-approved alphas.
Event coordination, thy name is Les.
I also left a message with Brian, hoping the Prairie Pack Alpha would be willing to provide more backup. He was the only alpha I contacted outside the Howlers’ approved list. We had kept in touch since our bizarre meeting, and I considered him a friend I could trust. The Howlers didn’t comment about my call, so I figured it was all good.
Monday morning, when I stumbled into Rubin Black, I could feel everyone judging my limp. My ankle was basically healed butwas still tender because I hadn’t rested as Grandma Rose suggested. I tried to make it to my cube without running into anyone, but that wasn’t in the cards.
As I passed the break room, Mr. Hastings walked out with a steaming cup of coffee. “Another CrossFit accident, Spencer?” he asked, frowning at my ankle.
“Um, yeah. I took a box jump too hard and rolled my ankle. No biggie. I just need to take it easy.”
He patted my shoulder. “It might be time to find a new workout plan. These injuries are getting ridiculous.”
“You might be right.”
“Hopefully, you’re back to 100% for your vacation next week. You head out Friday, right?”
“Yep! I’m going to visit my brother. It should be nice.”
“That sounds good. He’s up in Kirksville?”
I nodded, then he nodded, and then we both Midwest tight-lipped smiled.
Mr. Hastings rocked back on his heels and glanced toward his office. “Welp, I’m going to go chain myself to my desk. I’m still tinkering with that proposal for the Brocks.”
Lifting his coffee mug and dipping his head, he shuffled past me to his office. I watched him walk away, wishing it had been an exercise accident that left me with a limp. Wouldn’t that have been nice?
“Checking out the boss’ ass, Sunshine?”
Nearly leaping out of my skin, I spun around and slapped Zach’s arm. “Damn it, stop doing that at work!”
He smiled as he rubbed his arm. “Sorry, not sorry.”
Pushing past him, I finally made it to my executive rollie chair. “Did you pay the deposit at the Royale?”
“Sent it over this morning. Did you get all the penis and breast-shaped items in existence?”
“Sure did. I also sent over the finalized menu.”
“We are the dream team of party planning.” Zach left my cube, quietly chanting, “We’re number one! We’re number one!”
Settling into my desk, I took out my day planner. Coworkers always asked me if I was a time traveler from the 90s, but I needed to have things written out. I had three separate to-do lists going.
