Page 19 of Mike's Assistant

Talon growled now. “Don’t call him that. Just because he’s a prey shifter doesn’t mean you can be a dick and disrespect the king’s consort.”

“Relax. It’s Brian’s and my thing. I call him a prey princess, and he calls me a furball pussy cat. It equals out.”

“All the same. We shouldn’t judge all prey the same,” Talon said indignantly.

I nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Which prey shifter is your mate? Brian’s brother?”

Talon looked away and didn’t answer. I wondered if I had hit the nail on the head. “Talon?”

He peered back at me. “I don’t know if he’s my mate. Yeah, there’s attraction, but…. I don’t know. How do you know it’s real?”

“What’s your lion say?”

Talon shrugged. “He’s as confused as I am. I left because I didn’t know. I need time to sort things out, and I know if Lucas is there, I won’t be able to. I don’t want to make the same mistakes as Randy and Alejandro.”

I barked a laugh. “No one can make as many mistakes as those two. Don’t worry.”

Randy was human, and Alejandro was a jaguar shifter. They had a sordid affair and were mates. Their story was all things not to do. Don’t freak your mate out. Shifting in front of them without warning was bad. It was a lesson for all shifters.

“That’s true.” Talon laughed. “It’s funny. Now Randy is basically hiding out in a lion pride.”

“I can’t believe he still thinks we’re rabbits.”

“I don’t know if he does. I think he’s figured things out. But he’s still not going to Alejandro. Do you really think they’re mates?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Only they can answer that, just like you can only answer if Lucas is yours. But one thing I know for sure. Your lion will definitely tell you. It will be like your heart just started beating, and you just really started living.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

I stared at Talon, and my heart broke for him. I think he wanted Lucas to be his, but he just wasn’t.

“Come on. Let’s go up, and you can hide out,” I said, guiding Talon toward the elevator.

“Sounds good. Thanks, Mike.”

“Anytime, Tal. Anytime.”

First Day Jitters

Jake

“Do you think you can handle the system, kiddo?”

I peered up at Katie. She was a lovely lady but took to calling me kiddo off the bat. I didn’t mind; her smile and personality reminded me of my stepmother, Ann. The ache of losing my parents rippled through my chest. But I had to go on.

Katie was a wealth of knowledge. She was the executive secretary to Edward Satchel, the owner, president, and CEO of the company. She was an old hand at this job. I took in everything she told me.

I nodded. “I got it. I can handle it. It’s pretty straightforward.”

Katie smiled. “Great. You will learn the ins and outs of what Michael needs. It will take time, but I think you can do it. A lot better than the temps out there.”

“Thanks, Katie. Thank you for the help.”

She grinned. “You’re welcome, kiddo.”

“Not a kid,” I grumbled.

Laughing, she ruffled my hair like Ann used to do. “You’re a kiddo to me. It's midmorning, and there seems to be a break in the schedule.” She pointed at the computer screen before continuing. “It’s a good time to check on Mike and see if he needs anything, coffee especially. He lives on the stuff; all the execs do.”

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