APEX

Ch. 3: The New Boss

Rhys

The remaining forgotten hours passed by without notice. I thought that after my father dished out his cruel punishment, I would be too troubled to sleep. Calla in charge of me as though I was a newly orphaned child and she my governess—how could I rest when that was to be my fate for the foreseeable future?

Luckily for me, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I imagined Calla working under me instead of over me, and the pleasant imagery was enough to lull me into an erotic dreamscape. When I woke up, the day was over, my mind was refreshed, and my libido was back to its pre-full moon levels.

It was time to show Apex's newest employee how infinitesimally better our headquarters were compared to Crown's.

Entering the lobby, I flashed a confident smile at Lilly and Tonya in reception. "Nice to see you're feeling better," Tonya said in that breathy voice of hers that had led me to make a bad decision a few months back. Lucky for me, Tonya was into collecting werewolf men like trophies. We'd both gotten what we'd wanted out of the situation, even if I did have to endure a lecture from my father when he found out.

I rode up the elevator with Jordan from accounting and Susan from finance. They got off at their respective floors without saying more than the usual pleasantries to me. Both, in my opinion, were not a little bit intimidated—I was the Alpha, after all, and although they were both shifters, pecking order dictated they remain cordial and stay in their lanes. I appreciated that about them and would doubly so five minutes later when I was forced to endure the presence of the most overstepping person—werewolf or not—that I'd ever met.

Calla, once again steeped in a cosmetic perfection that would make any supermodel envious, was waiting for me in my office, even though I'd come in a half hour earlier to beat her here. What's more, she was sitting behind my desk, using my computer.

"Um, hello and...what the hell?" I asked.

She clicked out of something and swiveled her chair in my direction. "Do you always come in this late?"

"Excuse me? It's eight-thirty."

"She reached into her briefcase and took out a pad of paper and an expensive looking pen. "I see. So, your start time will now be an hour earlier."

"You want me to come in at eight o'clock?"

"Are you unable to tell time? Your start time is seven-thirty beginning tomorrow."

My skin grew hot, and not in the fun way it had during my dream the night before. I needed those ninety minutes in the morning for things like sleep and manscaping. I was a werewolf, after all. I had needs. "Why are you sitting at my desk in my office?"

"You mean my desk in my office."

"I do not mean that."

"Mr. Rawlings said differently."

"Mr. Rawlings was mistaken."

She raised an eyebrow as she looked past me. "You sure about that?"

A moment too late, I realized my father had been standing in the doorway, overhearing everything. "Good morning, Father. You're looking quite dapper. Would you care to tell Calla that she has another office waiting for her?"

"If that were true, I would." He brushed past me. "I told Miss Bardot she could set up in here. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not for me." Calla said, offering him a smile as she tilted her head in deference to him.

"Great," he replied, not waiting for my response. "I'll have Maintenance move in a second desk later today."

Her smile fell. "What now?"