Page 29 of Mistletoe and Mayhem
Snickering, he pulled open the door to Ozen’s receptionist’s office. She was on the phone, so she gave them a smile and held up a finger, asking them to wait while she finished. Kian did a magical check of the wards on Dorian’s nap room while he waited. Still undisturbed, so Dorian must still be napping. Good.
“Sorry about that, gentlemen,” Collette said as she put the phone down. “How can I help you?”
“I need five minutes with Mr. Hawksley. I need to inform him of something important.”
Collette pursed her lips, nodding slowly. “Okay… Well, he’s in a meeting right now. He’ll be back in ten minutes. Would you like to sit and wait or–”
“Is Avery in?” Taron interrupted, already heading for Ozen’s office. “He promised he’d share details with me about his next book.”
“He did not,” Collette and Kian said at the same time, then grinned at each other.
Taron pretended not to hear them, sweeping into the office where Avery was sitting behind his desk, eyes glued to his screen and fingers flying over the keyboard. Kian winced when the poor author jumped, his concentration broken. He hadn’t had any intention of interrupting the human while he was busy writing. That was all Taron.
“Good morning, Avery! What are we working on today?”
Since he was already interrupted, Kian didn’t feel bad joining them, wiggling his fingers at Collette, who just sighed and shook her head, giving her focus back to her work. “Giving Taron co-founder status gave him too much power. Troublemakers like him shouldn’t be in charge. It only leads to more mischief,” she muttered under her breath.
Kian found it hilarious.
He was still snickering when he joined Avery and Taron, who was whining and giving Avery those big pouty eyes that could get almost anyone to give in to his whims. Almost.
“No, Taron. I told you, you don’t get to know before it’s finished. Not after last time.”
“But that was an accident!” Taron argued. “He manipulated my good nature!”
“I did not,” Kian replied blandly. “I said, ‘What were you and Avery talking about?’ and you spilled everything.”
“But… but… but…”
Avery didn’t budge, and when Taron craned his neck to see his screen, Avery shut it off and crossed his arms over his chest, the refusal clear in his eyes. He wasn’t budging, and nothing Taron could say would change his mind.
Taron shot a pleading glance at Kian, who shook his head. Nope. He was not part of that little game. He wasn’t obsessed with Avery’s books like everyone else was. However, that might change eventually. Avery had mentioned audiobooks, and those would be a lot easier to tolerate for Kian. He could keep busy while listening instead of being stuck in one spot.
The argument died when Ozen swept into the room, completely unsurprised to find Taron in his office while he was out. He quirked an eyebrow at Kian, as he wasn’t often an addition, and Kian turned to face him, his expression serious when he said, “It’s time.”
Ozen nodded and didn’t argue. “I’ll set things into motion. Have you told him yet?”
“Told who what? Time for what?” Taron asked, practically bouncing at his side. Avery looked curious too as he camearound his desk, taking Ozen’s jacket off him and hanging it on the coat rack like an old habit. Ozen gave his mate an affectionate smile as he explained.
“Kian and I had a discussion after Dorian’s accident when he showed back up to work too soon and overdid it.”
“Again,” Kian interrupted with a scowl.
Ozen dipped his chin to acknowledge him. “Again. We made a plan together to ensure if Dorian was overdoing it, steps would be taken to ensure he gets the rest he needs.” He pulled out his phone, tapping on it for a moment before handing the phone to Kian. “This is my timeshare. You’re free to use it. It’s all-inclusive, and the staff will be alerted that you’re coming by the time you convince Dorian to join you.”
Kian snorted. “That makes it sound like I’ll be asking his permission.”
Chapter Two
Dorian woke up in degrees, his head a foggy mess as sleep tried to drag him back under. He didn’t have much left to do. Just a few more tasks on his list before he was done, and he could officially say the division was where he wanted it to be at this point in time. He just needed to wake up, consume a vat of coffee, and finish things off. Then, afterward, he’d need to figure out how to make things up to his mate. He’d told Kian of his plan, and Kian was on board, but he knew it wasn’t ideal, and he hated not giving Kian the time and attention he deserved.
The reminder that finishing his to-do list meant he could spend more time with his mate roused him enough to sit up. He looked around with a frown, and it took him a long moment to remember where he was. He’d resented the need for a nap room when Kian first mentioned it, but he knew better now. The nap room was entirely necessary and quite nice if Kian was in here with him. Unfortunately, his mate was nowhere to be found. Just as well. He couldn’t get distracted right now.
It took effort to convince himself to leave the comfortable bed, and his eyes were still mostly closed when he opened the door and stepped out of the nap room. He took a few stepsforward, then stopped, confused. Why were his shoes sinking into the carpet? And why did he smell the sea?
Forcing his eyes open fully, he looked around, confusion only mounting as he took in his surroundings. “What the…”
“I warned you.” Kian’s voice spoke somewhere behind him, and when he spun around, he nearly swallowed his tongue. His mate was wearing board shorts and a guayabera that was open in the front, two fruity drinks in his hands and a sunhat on his head. He looked like he belonged on a postcard, and the way the shirt was open was entirely too distracting. It took a long while before Dorian could pull his gaze away from that expanse of skin and pay attention to what Kian had said.
