Working Bitch

working bitch

L ucas and I spent the next couple of hours cleaning up the kitchen mess, and by the time we finished, it was less awkward. He was quiet and despite my penchant for frankness, I couldn’t bring myself to ask what the hell he’d meant by ‘we’re in trouble.’ It was obvious the situation rattled him, but Magnus and his antics left my self-esteem in tatters. My fear mightily outweighed the need to know if I’d done something wrong—after all, what the fuck did I know about polar bears or their sexual habits?

I’m not inexperienced, but I didn’t spend three hundred years getting dipped by every species out there, either.

When everything was righted, he walked over, pressed a kiss to my forehead and told me he’d see me later. Not the worst brush off ever, but also not the kindest ‘thanks for the good time’ I’ve received. I gathered my clothes up and headed to the first floor bathroom for a shower. That lasted far longer than it should have because I kept drifting off into space and the only thing that pulled me out of the trance was the water turning cold. I dried off and headed for the nest on the couch, tucking myself in with numb limbs and a heavy heart.

Getting up this morning wasn’t easy, but I packed up my breakfast, snacks, and a huge tumbler of coffee so I’d be able to stay in my office as much as possible. Since I had no idea if my indiscretion was all over the campus, I wanted to make certain I could hide out. Plus, that plan had a bonus of preventing me from running into my one night fuck-up. Staying busy with work and putting Lucas Wolfberg in my rear-view mirror is for the best.

That decided, I finished getting dressed in my sharpest black pinstripe Zegna suit, a killer pair of heels, and a high ponytail that said ‘all business’ before I left for the comfort of my cloistered office.

Hopefully, Channing beat me here, and she’s already cleaning up the mess that is my fucking calendar.

I was right to assume my new assistant would have things well underway when I arrived. Coming in at nine is late for me, but when I saw the progress made in the office, I knew Channing had arrived hours earlier. She cleaned out the desk of Magnus’ old gatekeeper, reorganized the waiting area, and had neatly stacked papers waiting on my desk. I peeked at them for a moment before looking for the efficient elemental in the copy room next to her office. She was humming under her breath as she made collated copies of what looked to be various forms, stacking them cross-wise as they spit out of the heavy duty machine.

“Channing?”

Jumping a foot in the air, she turned and pushed her glasses up with a surprised expression. “Oh! Dean! I didn’t hear you come in over this thing. Good morning.”

Smiling to myself, I lean against the door frame, nodding at the papers. “What are those?”

“The assistant previous to me didn’t have a recognizable filing system. As I went through her files, it appeared protocols for most things weren’t being followed and I’m sure that contributed to the situation they sent you here to address. I’m setting up the system so that going forward, we do everything legitimately.” She pauses for a moment and tilts her head. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is! I’m grateful that you are familiar with the correct procedure, to be honest. Having someone who can execute and monitor the paper trail is significant going forward. Fixing the mess left by those who didn’t, intentionally or unknowingly, will be a nightmare for me. Speaking of which, what are the stacks on my desk?”

Channing presses a button on the machine, stopping its progress. She turns on her heel, gesturing for me to follow, and we head into my office. Picking up the stack on my desk, she lays them out one by one as she explains. “These are expenditures already approved for review, these are additional requests, these are parental communications I will respond to after you make notes, and the last one is personnel files for the remaining admin staff in this office. Once you review their information and give your opinion, I’ll decide who stays and who goes. That will allow me to build a new team.”

I blink as she fires off the different paperwork. This isn’t even a dent in what she has for me, I’ll bet, but it’s what she wants me to look at first. “Okay. I’ll settle in and focus on these tasks until lunch. If you need me, just pop in and I’ll pause. Does that work?”

“Of course! That’s exactly how it should work, in fact.” She looks at me for a moment, squinting. “Are you okay this morning? Something seems… off. Did you sleep poorly? Shall I order more coffee?”

“I’ll always accept coffee, Channing. However, you’re right—my night was fitful and I’m still debugging my hard drive, so to speak. Don’t worry; I’ll be okay once I get enough caffeine in me.”

“I’ll go order a delivery and make sure it’s strong.” She gives me a mock salute, and I chuckle as she heads out quickly.

Well, at least one decision I’ve made since I arrived isn’t a disaster.

Dropping into my desk chair with a heavy sigh, I kick my shoes off under the desk and fold myself into a pretzel in the chair. Thinking about last night makes my head and my body throb—for different reasons. I still don’t know what happened with Lucas or why everything came to an abrupt halt. At times like this, I wish I’d dated around more than I did. I was always so focused on my career and rising in the ranks at Swallowtail that I looked at sex more as a physical need than an emotional one. Before Magnus, I only dated seriously a handful of times and most of them were more towards the magical or mythical end of the species spectrum—not the more animalistic shifters—so I’m lost.

It would be easier if every damn supe type didn’t have their own weird sexual habits and behaviors, but I guess that’s not realistic, is it?

I pick up the first pile of papers, hoping to distract my wandering mind with the approved expenditures. I’m sure the things that were approved before I arrived will anger me and maybe it will keep me from thinking about the affair that was supposed to be a fling. Squinting at the first page, I see an outrageous amount of money allocated to new football uniforms. I’m not stupid enough to even consider messing with that budget yet; it’s a hornet’s nest of alumni, coaches, and very involved families that have been around since this place was founded.

That means this page just gets a checkmark in the top right corner and I move on. Gradually, I tackle the pile of invoices, occasionally frowning at a few. Most of it makes sense and though I believe they could save money by exploring different vendors, I can justify a good number of the various expenses. However, a few literally scream ‘something is wrong here,’ and those I set aside to submit to the forensic accountant the board gave me access to. Either the amounts or descriptions tweaked my suspicions, and by the time I read through the details, I knew there was a problem. However, I need experts to verify this before using it against anyone.

I won’t make many friends here by the time I’m done cleaning house.

My brows furrow and I put the papers down, opening the laptop on my desk. Everything about my life now is depressing—I can’t even get laid without it becoming a giant mess. That brings me back to Lucas and the weird behavior and I drop my head to my desk, banging it on the wood in frustration. I am not a clingy, easily attached woman; this has to be a function of the damage my asshole ex did. Never in my life have I been this obsessed with a random person I banged and I can not figure out why it’s happening now. The timing is shit and I have to get myself together.

But how? I’m sure as hell not contacting him first.

With a low growl, I open the browser, ducking under the VPN I installed so I can browse with no trace. Perhaps some research will ease my worries.

The time flies by as I scroll through the various sites looking for information on various supes and their proclivities. I have to pick through the listings so I’m not hitting accidental porn, but it’s a lot to take in even without moaning people on the screen. I suddenly feel sheltered and na?ve, considering my age. My relationships in the past were with a dragon, a warlock, a vampire coven, and twin demi-gods. Nothing they did seemed out of the ordinary for the sex ed I received in school and their kinks were pretty standard.

According to the internet, I’ve been missing out. Animal shifters have widely varied behaviors even before you throw in shifting. Fae are a smorgasbord of species related shit. All that is before I even get to the more rare mythical creatures like sirens, oracles, hounds, or phoenixes. Putting my face in my hands, I feel color rushing to my cheeks as I try to process exactly how stupid I feel at the moment. Worst of all, I’m no closer to finding out why Lucas got wigged out.

Morgana LeCiel, accept there are things you aren’t an expert in and deal with it.

My inner voice of reason is right, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Intelligence was highly valued in the world I grew up in and I feel like the class dunce at the moment. It’s sitting like a stone in my gut and I don’t know what to do with that. My usual method won’t work here. On the surface, it sounds like a fun challenge, but I know it would bring more trouble to my doorstep.

Plus, it wouldn’t change whatever happened last night, even if it helped me understand. I rub my temples as anxiety plagues me, hoping to calm my nerves. My life is in such shambles since the truth about Magnus came out and nothing I do balances it out. It’s like I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. I hate it and I want off this fucking merry-go-round of bullshit.

I need space, and I need it now.

I push the button on the intercom, hoping it’s set up the way it should be. I’ve not used it yet, so hell if I know. “Channing?”

“Yes, Dean?”

“First, call me Morgana. Second, I’m stepping out for a bit. I need some air, but I’ll be back. The stack of reviewed, approved expenses is sitting on the left corner of my desk. The ones next to it are the ones I need to look into.”

“Got it. Have a pleasant break, Morgana.”

I shake my head at her chipper tone and slip my shoes back on. Heading out onto the balcony, I touch my amulet and take off as soon as my wings escape.

The sky is my safety, and that’s where I’m headed for a while.