Page 12 of The Vampire's Receptionist
“Uh… I’m not sure yet how I feel about it?” he said, almost like he was asking the ball to confirm. It flickered and turned green again. Huh. He knew he felt off about it, but he didn't think it would bug him enough to mess with the little ball.
“Do you feel unsafe around Mr. Kuramori?” Elijah asked, his eyes flicking between him and the ball.
“No.” That was definitely the truth, and the ball proved that by staying a steady green. “I fully believe it was an accident. He didn’t feed when he needed to and suffered the consequences. I also think he won’t let it happen again.”
That was more of an opinion than a truth, since he didn't actually know Dorian as a person. It was just a vibe he got off the man. He seemed ashamed of himself and immediately did what he could to make things right instead of trying to sweep it under the rug. Only people who truly cared to right a mistake would go so far as to report themselves to SR.
Elijah nodded. “I get that impression as well. Dorian has worked with us for a long time. He’s a little overwhelmed right now, but he’s always been an asset to the company. We’ve never had this kind of trouble from him before.”
“Like I said. It was an accident. I overheard him making plans to meet with his feeder, and I’m sure he’s learned his lesson. He doesn’t need any formal reprimand or anything.”
“Goodness, no,” Elijah agreed with a laugh. “This is merely a formality. Supernaturals all have their idiosyncrasies, and we don’t fault them for minor issues like this as long as they are properly remorseful. We just need to document it in case it becomes a recurring issue.”
That made sense, and made Kian feel a little better about this interview. He was worried they were going to punish Dorian for a simple mistake. He’d met vampires with a lot less self control than Dorian. He didn't feel like a punishment was warranted in this instance.
“Now, I understand that Morgan was portaled away for his safety. Will he be returning today, or do I need to catch him tomorrow?”
“Actually,” Kian replied with a grimace. “Morgan is being transferred to another job starting tomorrow. Not because of this incident. He didn’t feel comfortable where he was at, so he asked to switch with someone else.”
That, he knew, could look really bad, but the mage light was still a steady green. Morgan leaving wasn’t because of Dorian. Or at least, not originally. He told Morana that he didn’t want to be around so many unstable supernaturals, but when Kian had offered him the transfer, it was because of the asshole downstairs.
“Oh. Well, that’s unfortunate,” Elijah said slowly. “Do you think he’d be willing to come in for an interview? Just to put this issue to bed?”
“I can ask, but I know he’s starting a new job tomorrow. Can it wait until that contract is through?”
He didn’t have an exact timeline of Poppy’s original contract, but he knew clients got pissed if their temps weren’t there when they were supposed to be. He didn’t want to make things more complicated for Morgan than they already were.
“That should be fine. You’re the liaison for the temps here at Spellbound, correct? So you’ll email me when you have more information?”
“Yep. I sent him home early today, so I should be able to get ahold of him. Once I have a better idea of his next job, I can tell you when he can meet with you.”
The interview wrapped up after that, and Kian felt when the spell broke as Elijah got into the elevator. He sighed with relief. Vows were passive for most fae. He was only half, so it took more magic than the rest of his dad’s side. He was grateful that the spell only lasted about an hour. The day he had to help the dragon’s mate, he’d needed a few days to recover before he could use his magic like that again. But after the chaos of the morning,plus the vow, he was starting to feel the drain. He really hoped the rest of his contract wasn’t this chaotic.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Dorian made it through the rest of his work day without issue, thanks to Kian’s insistence in helping him. He intended to thank him again before he left for the day, but he ended up caught up with a few things and only the alarm on his phone reminding him to meet with Harlem stopped him from working all night. By the time he was ready to leave, the reception desk was empty, and Kian was long gone.
A good deal of guilt sat heavily in his gut during his drive to Harlem’s home. He hadn’t allowed himself to fall into that kind of situation since he was young. It was unfair that Kian had to deal with him. He was only a temp and shouldn’t have been put in that position.
Harlem was waiting for him on his front stoop when Dorian pulled up along the curb. He got out to hold the door open for him, as was their custom. The kitsune didn’t look pleased to see him, which he expected, but his foreboding expression faltered when he took Dorian in.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Dorian replied with a shake of his head, opening the door and gesturing Harlem inside. His feeder obviouslydidn’t believe him but waited until they pulled away from the curb again before he started pestering him.
“Tell the truth. What’s wrong?”
He carefully kept his eyes on the road, mostly to avoid eye contact. “There’s nothing wrong. We haven’t spoken in a while. How was your week? Did you get to go to that concert you were looking forward to?”
Harlem waved that away. “Yes, yes. It was fun. Stop lying to me. You look like you got raked over the coals today. Was the fallout from lunch really that bad? I thought you said the person who helped you volunteered.”
He still didn’t look happy to admit that, but was stubborn enough not to drop the subject even when it made him uncomfortable. Dorian always admired just how stubborn Harlem could be. He saw life’s trials as a challenge and always faced them with his chin held high.
Since he knew better than to think Harlem would let it go and he didn't want to discuss it at the restaurant, he finally admitted, “I feel guilty. He did volunteer, and he was very clear that he wanted to help, but it was his first day. I feel as though I’ve tainted his entire experience there because I was too distracted to think about the consequences of my actions. I apologized, but it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”
Harlem softened a little. “Damn. I kind of hate you right now.”
Startled, he whipped his head around to look at Harlem before forcing his focus back on the traffic in front of him. “What? Do you really? I didn’t mean–”
