Page 40 of Moon Tamed

“Failure to keep a close eye on me is how you end up with doves and peacocks.”

“Good point.”

The trip to the library exhausted me to the point I failed to notice when Calden took me to his home rather than mine. Somehow, I’d ended up on a couch, and I had taken a hostage. In my sleep, I’d secured a tight hold on his arm, and judging from appearances, I had maintained my grip the entire night. Not only had I taken hold of his arm, I’d taken over his lap.

Sleeping me had excellent ideas, and I approved of her cunning.

“Awake?” he asked, raising a brow.

“I seem to have taken the dragon commentary a little too far,” I replied. “I’m sorry.”

Had I been truly sorry, I would have released him.

“You were cold,” he informed me. “Rather than turn the heat up, I accepted my new role as a portable heater. Then I passed out, as you’re warm and I was comfortable. We do need to get ready for work. Dad should already be at work, so you can go home, shower, and change clothes. We can race. Whomever loses is responsible for dinner tonight.”

“You’re on.” I launched off the couch—and his lap—and headed for the door, snagging my purse on the way. “My office is the target goal,” I informed him.

“Excellent.”

As I wasn’t about to lose out on fireplace reading time with a bonus of dinner, I ran to my place down the street, waged a brief but fierce war with the lock, and scrambled up the steps. Until making the bet with Calden, I’d made a point of taking my time with my showers. I blitzed through cleaning and washing my hair, drying it only enough so it wouldn’t drip, and tossed it into a messy bun to deal with later. A pair of black slacks, a white blouse, and a sweater would serve as professional attire. I wore flats for the trip to work, stuffing a pair of heels into my bag along with my digireader, wallet, phone, and keys.

Twenty minutes early, I strolled into the reception on the seventh floor, where an army of hummingbirds swarmed me. I laughed, went to the nearest feeder, and discovered it to be empty. Giggling over their demands for food, I took the glass contraption and went to work preparing their breakfast.

“I’m sorry,” Leita called out from the general direction of her desk, where she had an entire flock of the little birds pestering her for their breakfast. “I just got in. They’re always like this. I swear, they have at least two feeders with nectar in them still.”

“It’s no problem. I’m sure they’re just grateful we’re going to save them from the travesty of trying to share from two, and only two, feeders.” After cleaning the glass and plastic, I gathered one of the measured jars filled with white powder and the bottle of water marked for their use. If tending to the birds lost me the bet, oh well.

I would suffer through somehow.

NINE

She’s mastered the air of expectation.

Three of the hummingbirds followed me to my office, and I set up a feeder for my feathered friends. Someone had come to the conclusion my office would forever be a meangerie, having moved cat toys, scratching posts, and several potted, flowering plants in for my expected residents. Several nests suitable for hummingbirds hung from the ceiling, and as soon as the birds determined I wouldn’t be leaving, they squabbled over who would get which one before settling in for a hard-earned nap.

Thirty minutes after my arrival, Calden showed up with his father and the cheetahs in tow. I released the furred beasts, gave them their owed pettings, made sure they had water readily available, and left them to their devices, which involved playing with one of the many toys left out for their amusement.

“He waylaid me in the lobby,” he complained. “Your furballs have a vet visit in a few hours and need to start their training today. It looks like you have some company.”

One of the hummingbirds clicked at the wolves from the safety of its nest.

“I helped Leita feed them on my way in. Good morning, Mr. Stephans. Do you need anything from me?”

“Actually, yes. As soon as I make it to my office, I have a ridiculous number of digital invoices that need to be sorted and sent to the appropriate departments for payment. My helpers have made a list of contacts for you. They just don’t have time to get the invoices sorted themselves.”

I read between the lines: to give Mr. Stephans a few days off, everyone had piled on the extra work. Handling invoices fell directly within my zone of general comfort. “I’ll be waiting for everything and will get to work immediately. Perhaps Calden should escort you, so I can begin my work faster.”

Calden smirked while his father sulked. “I think we’re being evicted, Calden. Maybe she should be put in charge. She’s mastered the air of expectation.”

“I think she’s learned you’ll take all day to get to your office if you don’t have an escort,” Calden countered.

“Same difference. Part of my job is to check in with everyone. I’m just doing my job.”

“You’re doing your job in a questionable fashion.” Calden wrapped his arm around his father’s neck and dragged him out of my office. “I’ll make sure he sends everything over promptly.”

“Thank you, Calden.”

While Calden wouldn’t appreciate my work later, I made a note on my work tablet detailing his father’s general methods. I’d be giving Calden what he wanted but not in the way he wanted.

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