Page 40 of My Demon Assistant

"Yeah, yeah. That reminds me—we have a meeting with HR today to get everything in writing, right?"

"Yep, at 04:30. Now work."

"Yes, sir," I teased, and Eshim shot me a smirk before leaving with my now-empty cup of coffee and the cookie dish.

Time to get to work and stop thinking about my hot demon boyfriend. Should be easy with him right there on the other side of the glass. Not.

Eshim

Something was off. I kept hearing whispered conversations from the floor below, but it was too far to hear clearly even for me. After hearing Jerry's name multiple times, though, I decided to investigate. The floor below us housed the design teams, so it wasn't unusual for them to be talking about Jerry, but his name had never come up quite so many times in a single conversation before, or I'd have noticed.

Sticking my head into Jerry's office, I told him I'd be back in five, then took the elevator downstairs.

As soon as I stepped out, I felt like all the eyes were on me. Since I couldn't exactly go up to someone and ask them why they were talking about my man, I made my way to the break room, as if we didn't have one on our floor.

I grabbed a cup and started pouring myself some coffee, keeping an ear out for any hint of the conversation that had suddenly shut down at my arrival.

"You should talk to him," a man whispered.

"You do it. It'll be easier for you."

"Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm good at conversations like that. I'm still a man."

I snorted at that, then listened as they argued about who would talk to me. I had half a mind to stick my head out and pick one myself, but I wasn't supposed to be able to hear them from so far away. Before I could decide what to do, a woman declared, "I'll do it!"

A few moments later, a brown-haired, hazel-eyed woman stuck her head into the breakroom, smiling when she spotted me.

"Hey. Eshim, right?"

I smiled. "Yep, that's me. Sorry, I don't know your name."

"I'm Tanya. Tanya Brown."

"Nice to meet you, Tanya Brown."

She smiled as she grabbed a cup and filled it, then turned to me. "Are you okay?"

Brows furrowing, I tilted my head at her. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, we heard what Mr. Cohen did, and we just wanted to check in. If you want to lodge a complaint with HR, I'd be happy to accompany you."

I blinked at her, and even the implication that Jerry had done something untoward made me angry.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Her eyes widened, but she pushed on, as if she thought I was being defensive. I was defensive. Defensive of my sweet mate who'd never done anything for them to think badly of him, who'd been so fucking worried about being with me specifically because of this.

"Mr. Cohen. We heard he was being inappropriate with you at the party. And that he's pressuring you into being with him."

"And where did you hear this?"

Tanya blinked, then bit her lower lip, reluctant.

"Tell me. I want to know who's so concerned about me, especially since you guys have known Mr. Cohen for years while I'm a newbie. Who convinced you Jerry was being inappropriate?"

She frowned, as if she hadn't thought about it before. "Uh, it was Martin. He's the one who saw you at the party."

"Of course he was. Well, let me clear up the confusion. Jerry and I are dating because I asked him out. He has no control over me because Kat is responsible for my paychecks and everything it entails. We also have a meeting with HR today so everything will be aboveboard. You can tell the others that, and ask them if Jerry has ever been anything but professional with them in all their time working here."