Objectively, he did look good and his black horns were very nice, but he wasn’t some alien monster god that had descended on Earth. At least that’s what Alissia kept telling herself whenever she and Rynar got into one of their disagreements.They were both stubborn and had the gift of using words as weapons. Hers were sharper, his more efficient.
Alissia narrowed her eyes at the photocopier. It simply sat there, infuriatingly silent. Mocking her.
She took out the papers and inserted them again. If this didn’t work, nothing would. Andnothingwasn’t good enough. For Rynar or Alissia.
“What’s so important about these files that he didn’t want to have them in the system?” Lily asked, watching Alissia with increasing concern.
“I don’t know, he said they were some personal legal documents. They’re written in the Deruzian language, too.”
“You can speak Deruzian.”
“Sort of. But if it’s personal business, I don’t need to read them–and he asked me not to.”
Alissia was big on privacy, for herself and everyone else, and she always kept her word. There was one single promise she hadn’t accomplished–yet–and it was to herself.
She kept pressing the photocopier buttons, hoping for a miracle; some of them were stuck, either with time, grime, or dust, she couldn’t tell.
“I think this machine wants to get me fired,” she said.
“Rynar isn’t going to fire you over something like this,” Lily said, always the voice of reason. “I think you could set the company on fire and the worst he would do was dock your pay for a week.”
That was bad, too. Alissia needed this job and every single penny it provided.
She wanted to become a lawyer. She’d sworn she would save the money, take the bar exam and pass it. But then, in her last year of law school, her parents had died and she became the sole provider for herself and her little brother, Damian. Sometimes, she wondered how she’d managed to get throughthat lost, broken period. How she was still standing today. And she wondered how Lily had a much more positive view on life than Alissia.
They’d both lost their parents, it was one of the things they had first bonded over. Alissia had officially been an adult when it had happened, Lily had been in highschool. Yet, she still smiled more than Alissia and saw the world in a lovely shade of pink. Which had intensified since she’d become the fated mate of Zaryn.
The whole Alien Inc. company had been shocked to find out about their union. Not only had the rules back then explicitly prohibited office romances, but nobody had ever heard of a Deruzian-human bond.
But the rules had changed and Lily and Zaryn were happy–and Alissia was happy for them. They were both nice people. Well, person and Deruzian.
Alissia swiped her palm on the buttons once more, banging the big one at the end out of frustration. “Okay, this doesn’t look–”
Some kind of magic must have been at work in this tiny, dingy room, because the machine began to light up and buzz.
Alissia sighed in relief. “Thank God.”
“You showed it.” Lily laughed. “Nobody messes with Alissia Adami.”
“Tell that to Rynar.” Alissia smiled her friend’s way; it wasn’t something she did as often as she should have. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Being on my side and talking me off the ledge when I need it.”
Lily’s face lit up with a smile of her own. “Legend has it that’s what friends do.”
“Well…I’m glad you’remyfriend,” Alissia mumbled. She really did have a way with words, honestly. But not when it came to feelings.
With a stack of freshly copied documents in her arms–which were curiously warm against her purple blouse, the heat seeping into her skin–Alissia made the long way back to Rynar’s office, at the end of the hall.
Unlike other departments, the twenty-third floor had gone all out on the decor. No marble floors here–the legal department had mahogany parquet and plush carpets. The couches were red velvet, flanked by tall, luscious plants in huge pots that self-watered. The desks were black, with gold trimmings.
It looked like a fancy hotel reception area combined with a lush jungle. But just like in the beautiful wilderness, danger lurked behind every snake plant.
The legal department was the most competitive in the entire company. Lawyers fought for every little merger and due diligence.
They didn’t understand they were on the same team–and they all wanted to impress Rynar.
