Page 12 of Obsessed Wolf Daddy

Suddenly, Charlotte gasps beside me and grabs my arm, nearly knocking my coffee out of my hand. “We’re late! We can’t be late.”

I can’t help smiling. That’s the Charlotte I know. Not the one making googly eyes at Jonah but panicking about not being seen at her desk within five seconds of arriving in the building.

Terrance rolls his eyes but wisely doesn't say anything. They're in the same department, after all, and despite his predisposition for messing around, I know he wants this job to be a success, too.

"You really shouldn't be late, Charlotte," Jonah agrees. “I’d have to get the boss to tell you off.”

He flashes her another wink, but this time, I don't think it has the same effect on her as she's already dragging Terrance down the hall. Terrance glances back at me like he's going to say something, but turns away. I really hope Charlotte's wrong about him liking me. I like him as a friend and don't want things to be weird.

I smile at Jonah and Ruby. "It was nice to meet you, Jonah," I say before turning to walk to my department.

"You too, Saffy." As he walks away, Jonah says, " I'll organize that party. Maybe we can even talk Cole into coming, eh?"

He doesn't wait for my reaction before he and Ruby walk away, and I'm left standing there, wondering if he deliberately mentioned Cole's name because he knows something about yesterday. Which is ridiculous, really. I think I'm actually losing it. The conversation in Cole's office must have affected me even more than I thought.

I walk into the R&D department, still feeling a bit nervous about my new surroundings, though everyone here has been so friendly and welcoming. As I approach my desk, one of the researchers, Sarah, waves me over.

"Saffy, you're helping me today,” Sarah says. “We're going to be running diagnostics on some new software. Just give me five minutes."

I beam. That's precisely the kind of project I was hoping to work on. The software I've been developing is at the testing stage, and I'm hoping I can use some of the ideas I learn here to fine-tune it.

"Amazing, thank you," I reply, sitting at my station for a moment.

Again, I feel the all-too-familiar sensation of being watched. My wolf is alert but strangely not nervous, just intrigued and slightly on edge. I glance around the department,but everyone seems busy and certainly not bothered about me. Looking through the large glass panels that face out onto the walkway, I almost freeze as I make eye contact with Cole. He's on his phone, talking, but his eyes are fixed on me.

My mouth goes dry, and I find I can't look away. I'm almost pinned to the spot.

He smirks at something on his call. Or at me, I'm not sure. My cheeks are on fire as I manage to pull my eyes away and pretend to look for something in my bag. When I look up again, he's gone.

What the hell?

Chapter 7 - Cole

"Are you going to be bored?" Annie asks from the back seat.

I turn slightly to look at her. Already in her PJs, she looks tiny in her seat with her teddy sitting on her knee. "Of course not. I've got some work to do," I reassure her. "Besides, I'm just happy you're having a good time with your cousins."

"Work sounds boring. Why don't you come, too? We don't mind," she says, and the sentiment is so sweet, I feel my heart contract.

"You know, I find some parts of my work really fun. So I promise only to do the fun parts this weekend. Your aunt has a full plan for this sleepover, and I don't think she wants her big brother hanging around. She probably doesn't even have enough marshmallows."

Annie giggles. "You do eata lotof marshmallows, don't you?"

"Almost as many as you," I say with a laugh. "I tell you what, when I pick you up tomorrow afternoon, I'll have our whole hot chocolate station set up at home. Including marshmallows. If you're not too stuffed, of course?"

Annie rubs her tummy dramatically and declares, "I always want marshmallows."

As I pull up to my sister's house, I can see her cousins already dancing around on the porch, waiting for her.Thisis why I moved back here. I may be a bit of a lone wolf, but I still value my family. Seeing Annie with them means everything to me.

"They look pretty excited to see you." I point to her cousins, who are now running inside to tell their mom we're here.

"I like having a family now," Annie says, and her words take me by surprise.

"You've always had a family, Annie," I reassure her.

"But not like this with Mom. I miss her, but I prefer having lots of cousins to play with."

The innocence of her words pulls me up for a moment, but she's already moved on, grabbing her things and opening the door. She eagerly runs toward her cousins, who are rushing down the drive to her.

---