Page 15 of The Vampire's Receptionist
“Nope.” He shook his head, annoyed. His good mood from earlier was entirely gone now. “Nevermind that. Let’s get youupstairs and settled. I want that asshole who freaked Morgan out to know you’ve got my support no matter what.”
She grinned and threw an arm around Kian’s shoulders, leading the way. She was taller than him, as most harpies were pretty tall, but he didn’t mind. She was one of the few who approached him easily, without a hint of distrust. She was so confident that she could face any problem put in front of her that she didn’t fear him for a second.
“Sounds like fun. How is Morgan, by the way? I know he’s a little dramatic, but he’s never switched jobs before. I figured it had to be a lot for him to jump ship.”
“He had a good reason.” Kian wrinkled his nose, swiping his badge at the turnstile and waiting for her to do the same and follow him through. The line for the elevators for the medical division was significantly shorter than the main building, so they didn't have to wait long for one to show up. The building was also shorter, so there weren’t as many stops along the way. They got off on the marketing floor together.
Morgan said there were only three workers from the original team. They were a subdivision of the marketing team in the main building, focused specifically on medical marketing, so the team was smaller, but even Kian knew three people weren’t nearly enough. Two were there already, drinking coffee and chatting. They looked curious when Kian approached and only slightly apprehensive when they noticed his eyes.
“Hello. Can we help you?”
“Yes. My name is Kian. I’m the liaison for the temps during this transition period. Morgan, unfortunately, was needed elsewhere, so I came to introduce his replacement. This is Poppy.” He gestured to the harpy beside him. “She’s got extensive experience in marketing and should be a good fit here until you can hire new employees.”
The satyr on the right frowned at them. “Did something happen to Morgan? I liked him.”
He shook his head. “No, nothing happened. He was just requested elsewhere.”
They exchanged looks, and Kian could see the silent conversation there. He assumed they knew about the werewolf’s behavior. He was curious to know if they ignored it or felt they weren’t in a position to do anything about it. Either way, it wasn’t okay to let Morgan suffer alone.
Like thinking of him made him appear, the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open, revealing a werewolf in a cheap suit, his eyes already scanning the room like a predator searching for prey. He didn't look happy when Morgan didn't appear out of thin air, but his demeanor changed when he noticed the newcomers to the office. He strutted over with an air of cockiness, flashing them both a little too much fang with his smarmy grin.
“Good morning. And who might you be?”
Kian didn’t even pretend to be polite. He kept his expression cold while introducing himself. “I’m Kian, the liaison of Charmed Away’s temps here at Spellbound. I’m here to introduce Morgan’s replacement.”
The smile fell, and he looked as though he was fighting back a scowl when he asked, “Morgan left? Why? He liked it here.”
Kian knew to be careful how he approached the situation. If werewolves thought their prey was running away, they would chase them. He didn’t want this creep to go looking for Morgan.
“I asked him to switch with Poppy. As liaison, I have the discretion to move employees when I feel they’re a better fit elsewhere. His talents were needed at another company.”
The werewolf wasn’t happy about it, and Kian exchanged a look with Poppy. She would need to keep an eye on this one. Ifhe showed any signs of going after Morgan, they had every right to report it.
Kian stayed long enough to get Poppy settled at her desk. He gave her his direct line to reach him, like he did with every other temp, and told her to call if there were any problems. She dismissed his concern with a wave, already starting on her work, so he left her to do her thing. He wasn’t worried about her. If the werewolf decided to try and mess with a harpy, he’d be lucky to come out of the situation unscathed.
CHAPTER TEN
Kian had barely sat down at his desk when Dorian poked his head out of his office. “Kian? Can I speak with you for a moment?”
He bit back a sigh. He’d hoped the vampire wouldn’t make things awkward by continually bringing up what happened. That hope seemed to be in vain. Snagging his coffee, he joined Dorian in his office, doing his best to keep his expression neutral. His eyes narrowed when he took Dorian in. He’d thought after meeting with his feeder, the vampire would look less run down. If anything, he was edging close to how he’d looked when they first met.
“Did you not meet with your feeder?”
He was aware he wasn’t supposed to ask, but he ignored that little rule. He’d gone to bat for Dorian with SR. He thought he would put in the effort to take care of himself after their meeting.
Dorian’s cheeks flushed a little at the question, and he didn’t answer right away, gesturing to the chair across from him. “Please sit.”
Confused, he did as asked, sitting across from the man. “What’s going on?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
His frown deepened. “Tell you about what?”
The vampire studied him with more suspicion than he had the day before. Kian felt his hackles go up automatically. He didn’t think Dorian was the type to discriminate, but apparently, he was wrong.
“I don’t know what you think I did, but I didn’t do shit. Aside from helping you, which I’m seriously regretting right now.”
That seemed to startle Dorian, and he put his hands up in a calming gesture. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m merely trying to understand.”
