Page 11 of My Demon Assistant

Turning my focus back to work, I pushed my new assistant to the back of my mind. Work. I needed to focus on work.

Of course, that was the moment Tom decided to wake up from his nap.

He'd been sleeping in my closet—I kept a few spare clothes here in case I needed a change of clothes for a meeting or something—all morning, but now he nosed his way out, tail wagging as he walked up to me.

"Hey, Tom. Did you have a good nap?"

He gave a soft 'woof,' then pulled himself up, nails digging into my thigh as he stood up on two legs.

"Hey, those are my good pants," I complained, but of course he didn't care. I scratched behind his ears, and his tail wagged faster.

Then he hopped off and raced to the door, scratching at the glass.

Eshim turned to look, and then glanced up at me. I waved him inside, and he grinned as he jumped to his feet and came in, careful not to let Tom escape.

"Sorry, Eshim. Could you take Tom on a walk for a bit downstairs? Just ten minutes."

"Of course," he said easily, his eyes on mine the entire time. What was with the sudden eye contact?

I grabbed Tom's leash from a drawer and held it out to him, ignoring the way my skin heated up when our fingers brushed.

"Come on, Tom," Eshim said, then gave me a smile. "We'll be back in a spiffy!"

He was out of the office before his words clicked, and I laughed to myself as I turned my attention back to the file. He tended to do that a lot, mix up his words and phrases, and without even realizing. My new assistant was a fascinating man; that was for sure.

When he came back ten minutes later, both he and Tom were in high spirits.

Tom immediately raced off to his water bowl, while Eshim folded the leash before holding it out to me.

This time when our fingers brushed, I could swear he lingered for a moment before pulling away, his eyes peering into mine like he was trying to read my mind.

Once he'd gone back to his desk, it took me a few minutes to get my mind back on track.

The rest of the day went similarly. Every time Eshim came into the office, he lingered. Every time our eyes met, he drew the moment out until I looked away.

When the work day ended, he lingered until I packed up, and I had a feeling Carol had advised him to do that. She never let me work overtime, and it seemed she'd passed on that knowledge to Eshim.

We stepped into the elevator together, and it closed with just the two of us—and Tom—inside.

"Did I do good today? Do you have any suggestions or criticism?" Eshim asked, peering at me with his soulful eyes. He reminded me of a golden retriever, and the thought made me smile.

"You did well. I don't have any suggestions yet, but ask me in a week," I said, and he nodded quickly.

"I won't give you any reason to complain. But if I do, I'll make sure to do better," he promised, his expression earnest.

Maybe I'd imagined the whole awkward eye contact thing, because there seemed to be none of that happening now.

"That's good to hear."

The elevator chimed as the doors slid open, and I stepped outside, Eshim close at my heels.

"Did you drive?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"I walked," he said with a smile, and I blinked.

I opened my mouth to ask why he'd ridden down to the parking level with me before snapping my mouth shut. Never mind.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said, then glanced down at Tom, who peered up at me with his tail wagging.

---