by Alisa Woods
“First day requires a higher dress code,” Jupiter admonished. “Then, if everyone else dresses like a bartender who just lost her job, then fine. Be that way.”
Mia had told her roommate she couldn’t go back to The Deviation because she would need help finding something new, but she’d been light on the details of why. She would keep her promise to Lucas, the hot shifter she spent half the weekend daydreaming about, but even without that promise, spilling to Jupiter about werewolves on the streets of Seattle was just a little too close to home for comfort. Mia had only had the weekend to look for a job, but so far no luck. If something didn’t turn up soon, she could still go back to The Deviation. She hadn’t technically quit, and her next shift wasn’t until Wednesday.
Jupiter rummaged through the closet that housed both their clothes, but mostly hers. Articles of clothing started to sail across the room.
Mia watched as most missed the bed and landed on the floor. “Jeeter—”
“Hush!” Jupiter said, her voice muffled. “I’m finding you something decent.” After a moment, she came out with a silky something in brilliant blue. She held it up to Mia. “Perfect! Matches your eyes exactly.” She tossed that to Mia and returned to the closet.
Mia pulled in a breath. “Fine.” She knew a losing fight when she saw it, and maybe if she hurried, she would still make the bus. She rushed through the buttons of her white collared shirt and threw on the blue silk one. It was sleeveless and made her arms feel naked. But it draped just right everywhere else and instantly made her feel more professional.
“Great! Jupiter, you’re the best. I’ll see you—”
Her roommate pulled back from the closet with a set of blue pumps in one hand and a black jacket in the other. “Oh, we are so not done.”
“Jeeter, I’ve gotta go.”
Jupiter thrust the clothes at her. “Change while I get the pearls.”
Five minutes later, Mia passed inspection and somehow ran the whole way to the bus stop in her roommate’s heels. Thankfully, they wore the same size. Or perhaps not: if Jupiter hadn’t been an exact fit, maybe Mia wouldn’t have to endure quite so many mandatory makeovers.
But she couldn’t argue with the effect the clothes had on her confidence. She was dressing the part of the business entrepreneur, and while she would probably spend the afternoon fetching coffee and making copies, she hoped there would be more to it than that. She’d taken quite a few classes in her major already, and she’d done her research on the company: at least as much as could be found on their website. She was there to learn, to make a great impression, and eventually, to score a real job. One that paid.
Her arrival at the Russell Investments Center downtown, as well as the long, slow ride up to the 32nd floor, were enough to bring her nerves raging back. SparkTech’s name and logo were etched into the frosted glass doors, and when she pushed them open, her jitters took another jump up the nervous scale. She had never been in an office that was so… luxurious. The off-white carpet felt like she was walking on a thick, padded cloud. The walls were illuminated along the ceiling and floor, giving the effect that they floated on a glowing cushion of light. The dark burnished wood of the receptionist’s desk shone with such a high state of polish that it reflected her unsteady approach in her blue heels. There was no one behind the desk, and the frosted doors off to the side weren’t inviting. Neither were the glass tables and trim, off-white couches. A small fan whirred in the corner, an air purifier, then she realized the office had almost no scent—as if the small device had scrubbed all the normal human and office smells from the room. It was refreshing, comforting in a way she hadn’t experienced since her last trip to the forest.
“Hello?” she called quietly. When no one answered, she teetered, uncertain. She almost turned around and headed back to the elevator, when the frosted doors swung open, and an impeccably-dressed mid-thirties woman strolled out, all smiles. She gave an approving glance over Mia’s attire.
Mia kept her sigh of relief inside and silently thanked Jupiter for her wardrobe assist.
The woman shook her hand. “I’m Lena. Welcome to SparkTech. You must be our new intern, Mia Fiore.”
“I hope I’m not late.” Mia looked nervously for a clock, but there wasn’t any.
“No, dear, you’re right on time.” Lena ushered her toward the door. She had a light citrusy smell that Mia was almost certain wasn’t perfume… just her natural, clean-scrubbed scent. Oddly, it helped her relax even more.
Lena steered her down the hallway. The wide-open floor plan left plenty of space in the middle for groups to meet, while the offices ringed the perimeter.
“Most of the Managing Partners are out for the day,” Lena said, “but the Principals are all in, including the one you’ll be assisting for the term. You’re just with us for the summer, right?”
“Both summer terms, actually,” Mia said. “If that’s still all right?”
“I’m sure that it is.”
They stopped in front of an office at one corner with a name etched on the frosted glass. All the offices must have windows, or powerful internal lighting, because the same frosted glass that comprised both walls and doors seem to glow with an effervescent light from within.
Lena knocked.
A gruff male voice called, “Come in.”
Lena opened the door, and Mia put on what she hoped was a professional smile as she trailed behind Lena into the office. Mia kept the smile plastered to her face even as her eyes went wide at the incredible view out the windows. The city lay at her feet, with the Olympic Mountains in the distance. The noontime sun filled the lushly appointed office with natural light.
Belatedly, she pulled her gaze back to the man sitting at the desk.
Then the smile on her face died.
Lucas.
She struggled for something to say, confused, shaken, but it was nothing compared to the fire in Lucas’s eyes. He lurched to his feet but stalled out there, still standing behind his desk.
“Mr. Sparks,” Lena said, her voice wavering a little. “I’m sorry to disturb you. This is Mia Fiore. You said you wanted our new intern brought right to you as soon as she arrived.”
He knew? Mia’s eyebrows hiked up, but the pure shock on Lucas’s face said no, he was just as surprised as she was.
He was still frozen behind his desk. Finally, he said, “Right. Yes. Thank you, Lena. That will be all.” His gaze was locked on Mia, looking her up and down, like he expected to find something else, anything else, besides her standing before him in a suit and heels.
Lena seemed to sense the live-wire tension as well, but confusion ruled her face. Of course. Why would Lucas tell his office assistant that he had saved a college girl from two snarling wolves over the weekend? In fact, the freaked look on Lucas’s face had to be more than just shock at seeing her show up in his office. He had to be worried she was going to spill his secret—at his fancy investment job, no less. Mia force a brighter smile and tried to send him reassuring looks, but the intensity on his face just burned them away.
“Well,” Lena said, her voice strained. “I guess… just let me know if you need anything.” Surprisingly, she was saying this to Mia, as if she was hesitant to leave her alone with Lucas. But that was exactly what needed to happen.
Mia gave her a broad smile. “Thanks so much for your help!” The cheery enthusiasm was probably a bit too much. But it worked in nudging Lena to the door and eventually through it.
As soon as the door closed, Lucas tore around the desk toward her.
Mia threw her hands up, not so much to stop him, but to buy a second to get her apology out.
He still beat her to it. “What are you doing here?” His voice had growl in it, even more than she expected, and it sent a shiver through her. “How did you find me?”
That short-circuited her brain. “Find you? I wasn’t stalking you! I’ve had this internship lined up for months.” She snuck a look back to the door. Through the frosted glass, she co
uld see his name etched there, in reverse: L. Sparks, Managing Partner. Her research came rushing back: Lucas Sparks was one of the founder’s sons in this family-owned business. Of course, she hadn’t thought twice that he might be her Lucas. Which made her frown even more: he wasn’t hers in any conceivable way. Except perhaps in her hot dreams about him over the weekend.
He was looming over her, emotions warring across his face, but he was holding something back. She jumped in with the apology, suddenly worried her internship might vanish in a puff of smoke, just like her job at The Deviation.
“I swear I didn’t know you were here,” she said in a rush. “I promise I won’t say anything to anyone. Please, don’t…” She swallowed as his frown just grew deeper. “Please don’t fire me. I need this internship on my resume. I promise I won’t be any trouble.”
At that, the expression on his face broke. It wrenched something inside her, but she wasn’t sure what, because he took a step closer and ran two fingers along her cheek, which completely stopped any thoughts in her head.
“Hey,” he said softly. “No one’s going to fire you. Stop worrying about that right now.”
His touch was a line of heat across her cheek, but his words worked through her, relaxing the tension that had hiked up her shoulders. That, and the nearness of him, was like a balm that washed away her concerns. His scent finally reached her over the near scentlessness of his office: a freshly-cut wood smell with a musky hint of baked-in-the-afternoon-sun. Her body was likewise warming to the richly masculine quality of it, completely without her permission. When she peered up into his dark eyes, they were hooded, and she could tell he was breathing her in again, like before, when they almost kissed in the alleyway. It wasn’t just her imagination. She was affecting him, too. Only now, he was her boss.
This couldn’t end well.
Before she could think of what to say, he looked over her with a gaze that almost felt like a touch. “Mia.” His voice was husky, and her name on his lips felt like a caress. “I’m really glad to see you’re okay.” He blinked, like he was coming out of a daze, then frowned. “I think perhaps we were destined to cross paths.”
“Or just luck, I suppose.” Bad luck, her mind was saying, but her wolf was whimpering again. Her inner beast didn’t seem think it was in any way bad.
Lucas frowned and pulled back. “It’s better to have you working here, I guess, than at The Deviation. You have told them you quit, right?”
She bit her lip. “Well, no.” When his eyes went wide with disbelief, she rushed the rest out. “I’m trying to find another job, but it’s only been a couple days! I’m sure I’ll find something soon.”
He shook his head. “But you have this job now. Why do you need two?”
Why did she need two? Anger boiled up in her. Because she wasn’t some freaking billionaire perched high in the sky, a son-of-the-boss hottie who made enough money to wear a tailored Italian suit like he was born into it. “Why? Because I don’t have a corner office, Lucas! I’m a college student. And I need to eat on occasion, and maybe buy books, and hello, even the bus fare to come down here cost money! I can’t afford to do an internship like this without some way to make enough money to live on.” With the last of it, her anger boiled over. Sure he probably saved her life, but he obviously didn’t know anything about her.
His face had settled into a scowl. “Whatever we’re paying you, I’ll double it. Will that be enough to let you quit The Deviation?”
“Last I checked, double of nothing was still a big fat zero.”
The scowl went two shades darker. “You’re an unpaid intern.”
“You’re a genius.” She pouted, regretting those words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She regretted it even more as he spun around and stalked back to his desk to pick up the phone. Shit, he was going to fire her. Way to open up your big mouth, Mia, and—
“Lena,” he said into the phone, but he was staring straight at Mia with those intense, dark eyes. “I want to change Mia’s pay class from unpaid to associate.” There was a slightly pause on the phone. “Yes, she’s quite exceptional. Please get the paperwork started. Thank you.”
He hung up the phone, and Mia’s mouth hung open. Had he… did he just get her a job? A real, paid one? Lucas slowly came around the desk again, taking each step carefully, like he was walking a tightrope, until he stood before her again.
Mia shut her mouth, which was still hanging open, and just stared up at him. Why? Why was he doing this for her?
“Do you have a cell phone?” he asked quietly.
“Um… yes.” Her head was spinning, but she fumbled to fish it out of her jacket pocket.
“Call The Deviation. Right now. Tell them you’re quitting.”
He waited patiently while she texted her boss at the club. A kind of light-headed feeling took over as she pressed the send button. She really didn’t have to go back to that stink-hole. She had a for-real job at a prestigious business development firm in downtown Seattle that smelled a little bit like heaven. With a boss who was the hottest guy she’d ever known.
And a shifter, whose secret she had sworn to keep.
She slid the phone back in her pocket and stared up into his eyes. His neatly tailored blue dress shirt tucked into his smoothly draped designer pants, which hung perfectly on him. All of it hid the muscles she knew lay underneath. The ones she had seen on grand display in the moonlight—an image she still couldn’t get out of her mind.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked softly. Maybe he wanted sexual favors. Maybe this was some kind of quid pro quo that would land her in more trouble than she could handle. As he leaned closer, she had a hard time worrying about that. Everything about him radiated safeness. She knew he was a powerful wolf when he shifted. Even in her wolf form, she would be no match for him. Her wolf whimpered in agreement, but not in a bad way. In a way that made her mouth water a little with the idea of him wanting things from her.
Maybe this was just the kind of trouble she would like to handle.
“I want make sure you’re safe.” His eyes blazed, raking over her and heating up her face again. His hand raised, as if he was going to touch her, and her insides literally ached with anticipation. But at the last second he held back. He leaned away, then took a half step back, as if she had suddenly turned into something dangerous he needed distance from. “Your safety is the most important thing, Mia. You don’t have any idea what those wolves would do to you, if they found you. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
The sudden coolness of his voice confused her. She didn’t know what to say.
He dropped his gaze then turned and headed back to his desk. Without looking at her, he picked up his phone and dialed.
“I need your help on something,” he said into it, then, “Thanks.” He hung up.
When he looked up at her, his eyes were cool again, not blazing with the heat from before. “My brother, Lev, will show you around and get you settled.”
“Thank you,” she said, but awkwardness filled the air. She hadn’t just imagined the attraction, had she? Was he just looking out for her, like a big brother might? She certainly didn’t feel that way, but maybe for him…
A moment later, the door to his office swung open. A younger version of Lucas leaned in, his face boyish and open.
“Take care of her for me, will you, Lev?” Lucas’s voice was all business again. “I’ve got some numbers I need to run for LoopSource.”
Lev beamed, and he looked even younger. But friendly. “You got it, boss!”
Lucas frowned, like somehow Lev’s words irritated him, but then he picked up his tablet and focused on that.
Mia was still awkwardly standing in the middle of his office. Lev waved her out into the hallway with him.
Once they were alone, he grinned even wider. “So you’re the girl, huh?”
“The… what?” she asked, suddenly nervous.
He faltered. “I mean… you’re the new girl.”
She gave him a quizzical look. “Was there an old girl?”
Lev winced, bit his lip, and did a whole facial gymnastics session that Mia could only watch in amazement. They were strolling down the hall, and he seemed to involuntarily glance at a darkened office, the only one that wasn’t beaming light through the frosted glass. Having seen Lucas’s office, the only way that could be was if the blinds were drawn tight, draped over, and all the lights were off. Etched on the doorway was the name T. Sparks.
Lev jerked his gaze away from the door and stared straight down the hall. “No, no, I was just saying…” He looked back to her. “I’m glad you’ve joined us. I’m Lev by the way.” He held out a hand to shake. It was warm and friendly, just like the puppy-dog brown eyes and open smile. “What’s your name, new girl?”
Her unease finally washed away. “Mia,” she said. “Mia Fiore.”
“Well, Mia Fiore, anything you need, just ask, but for starters, how’s this for an office?” He stopped at one of the brightly-lit offices half way down the hall, only four doors down from Lucas’s office, and swung open the door. It was a miniature version of Lucas’s—not so richly appointed, but still the same luxurious furniture the rest of the company had. An air purifier hummed quietly in the corner.
“It’s… amazing.” She strode in and stared at the view out the window.
“Great!” Lev strode over to pick up a tablet off the desk—which, she guessed, was now her desk. “Let’s get to work.”
Lucas had managed to largely avoid the girl—Mia—for most of the week. Even thinking her name rumbled his wolf into some kind of frenzy. And when she’d been in his office that first day… he’d damn near kissed her. It was as if her nearness was an intoxication for his inner beast. It had taken all his control to simply step back from her. Which really made no sense at all. His wolf had never had that kind of reaction to the other girls he’d bedded, or any female for that matter, not since… but if he couldn’t think about Mia’s name without rousing his wolf, he certainly wasn’t going to conjure up Tila’s…
