Page 14 of No Harm No Howl

“Right.” Gia kept her answers short and to the point. If she even tried to think of some sort of polite conversation, her mind would wander down a thousand different roads that she had no desire to traverse. As it was, she was trying her damnedest to keep her hormones in check. Russ’s scent was driving her freaking mad. The second that wild male scent had infiltrated her nostrils, she’d started to wonder if taking this job was really a good idea.

Seriously, how the hell was she supposed to get used to being around him all day?

Maybe I’ll get desensitized to it after a while.

Ha! That’s some serious wishful thinking,her wolf said, laughing.

“This is your office,” Russ said, stopping at the door next to his office. “You’re right beside me, and your assistant will be right outside at this desk here.”

“I get an assistant?” That couldn’t be right. Could it?

“You’ll need one. Trust me.”

She nodded in response. “I’ll let you settle in for a minute before Angela gets here. I’ll see you after your onboarding process,” he said with a smile.

A smile that made Gia weak in the knees. If he kept giving her that sexy grin, she was going to be a goner far sooner than she wanted.

“Thanks.” The single little word came out as nothing more than a squeak, her throat hoarse and dry.

He nodded and left. The instant his scent stopped acting like a drug to her brain, Gia was able to clear her mind and think logically. Looking around her new office, an ear-to-ear grin spread across her face. Her office was beautiful and decked out with a cherry, executive-style desk and hutch. The fancy leather chair hugged her in all the right places.

“Ahhh. This is nice,” she said to herself.

“That’s one of the nice things about working here. Russ does a good job at making sure all of his employees are taken care of, even with simple things like chairs. He always gets the best for us.”

“I can get used to this. You must be Angela.”

“I am. Are you ready for your onboarding?” she asked.

“Absolutely.” Gia grabbed her pen and the folder containing all of her important documents, knowing they’d ask for everything a new hire was required to provide.

* * *

The morning had gone by exactlyas Gia had expected. She’d met everyone that worked in the office and remembered not a single person’s name or position. She’d filled out what felt like hundreds of papers and signed even more. She’d been given a new laptop, company credit card, security badge, and parking pass.

The one thing that Gia had found refreshing was that no matter how long someone said they’d worked for WSI, they clearly all still loved their jobs. She had been used to seeing coworkers who were miserable at her last place of employment … especially on Mondays.

As she walked through WSI with Angela, she hadn’t seen one person who looked like they’d rather be anywhere other than exactly where they were. Gia found that little detail particularly comforting.

“How was onboarding?” Russ asked as he tapped on her open door.

“It was good. I really think I’m going to like it here. Everyone was so nice. It’s a great change of pace for me.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You get an hour for lunch to do as you please, but today, I’m going to monopolize that time. I thought it would be a great chance for us to go over any questions you have and also to get you up to date on the schedule and meetings for the next couple of weeks.”

“Just let me grab my jacket.”

“No need. We’re staying here. Angela left the cafeteria off the tour, knowing that you and I were going to have lunch together today.”

“Oh. Okay.” She grabbed her notebook and pen, wanting to make sure she could write down anything she needed to.

They walked side by side down a long hall, then down a flight of stairs. The aroma wafting from the café reached her nose, making her stomach growl.

“We have a great café here at WSI. Everything is made fresh daily. I’m sure you realized on your tour today that we have a lot of shifters who work here.”

“I did notice that. I’ve never actually worked with other shifters in the same office. It was one of the reasons I applied here years ago, so I could be around our kind more. Working with humans is fine, but …”

“Hey, I get it. I’m still surprised you slipped through the first time you applied.”

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