Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Rule Number 20 - A feeder should treat people with respect independent of their status or despite disagreement with them, especially with those in close contact with their clients.

Avery left his desk long enough to get copies printed for Ozen’s meeting with finance that afternoon. Projections for the costs of Taron’s project, from what it looked like. Avery had never seen numbers that large attached to money before. The company really was worth billions. He was counting out the copies to make sure he didn’t miss one when he stepped back into his office and collided with a massive figure. Avery startled hard and would have landed on his butt if the person he’d collided with hadn’t steadied him with strong hands around his biceps.

“Do you always walk around without looking?”

Avery had to tip his chin up to look the enormous man in the eyes. Silky jet black hair, wide shoulders, and a deep scowl on his face. He was the one who Ozen was meeting with before. Avery had only gotten a brief look at him when he came in earlier. The man didn't even stop to acknowledge him, heading straight into Ozen’s office without a word.

Realizing he’d yet to answer the man’s question, Avery stepped back to give them some breathing room. “Not often, no. I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention. Are you alright?”

The man’s dark eyebrows twitched slightly, like he was surprised Avery was asking. He didn’t answer the question, asking one of his own instead.

“You’re the new feeder?”

Avery’s gaze flicked momentarily to Ozen’s office door and back to the man. Ozen hadn’t mentioned in the contract or out loud about keeping things under wraps. If the man was asking, Ozen must’ve told him already.

“Yes... I’m Avery Whitman. And you are?”

The man stared at him long and hard for a few painstaking moments before he responded. “Maverick Van Buren. I’m Ozen’s friend. And his lawyer.”

That last sentence was said a little ominously and Avery had to wonder if he’d done something wrong. He shifted uneasily, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. For some reason, this man made him nervous, which meant he probably wasn’t a man at all. Shifters looked human, but if their animals were dangerous, humans often felt a little like prey in their presence.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Maverick’s stare continued to bore into Avery. His pauses were long and made Avery nervous. The door to Ozen’s office opened and Avery nearly sagged with relief when Ozen came out and frowned at them. He sighed.

“Maverick, stop intimidating him. If you make him change his mind about the contract, I’ll make you my feeder instead.”

A sharp grin cut across the stoic man’s face for a split second as he looked over his shoulder, which only made him look more intimidating in Avery’s opinion.

“We’ve done that before. You didn’t like it.”

Ozen scoffed, crossing his arms. “It has nothing to do with like. And you were so pissed about my needing help that the smoke filling the room was oppressive. Who could enjoy themselves like that? Back up. You’re making him nervous.”

Maverick did as Ozen asked and Avery was quick to dart past him. He didn’t like being intimidated, and he liked feeling like prey even less. He was going to put his desk between him and the glaring man, but Ozen took his arm before he could pass and put a hand on his cheek.

“Deep breath. You’re safe here.”

A small amount of Ozen’s magic tickled Avery’s senses. Not enough to arouse him, just to relax him. Avery did as Ozen asked, taking a few deep breaths, and once the panic receded a little, Ozen moved until he was in front of Avery and between him and Maverick.

“You like him,” Maverick commented gruffly.

Avery couldn’t see Ozen’s face, but he could hear the exasperation in his voice. “We have a good working relationship, and I don’t want you to ruin that. Did you want to ask him something, or were you just planning to intimidate him?”

“I want to see the contract,” was the terse reply.

Glancing over his shoulder, Ozen’s scowl softened. “Do you have a copy of our contract, Avery?”

“Yes. I keep it in my bag. Why?”

“Maverick is my lawyer. He just wants to check it. Do you mind?”

Avery shook his head, but hesitated to move. He was uncomfortable leaving the safety of Ozen’s back, but he didn’t want to keep Ozen waiting. His eyes darted to his bag, which was on the coat rack. Behind Maverick. Right now would be a perfect time to have magical abilities. Summoning spells would help immensely.

“Maverick, hand me that bag behind you, please,” Ozen asked politely. He must’ve seen what Avery was looking at.

Maverick did as Ozen asked, handing over Avery’s bag with a grunt. It became a weird game of pass along, where Maverick handed over the bag to Ozen, who handed it to Avery, who then gave the contract to Ozen to give to Maverick. It was a little ridiculous, and the fact that Ozen looked like he was trying not to smile eased some of the tightness in Avery’s chest.

While Maverick read through the contract, Ozen turned to face Avery. “I’m going to need you to write down everything that happened the weeks after Calvin started. Spare no details about my behavior. It’s important. Can you do that?”

Avery nodded quickly. “Yes. Is something wrong?”

“No. Calvin is just causing trouble. If you can think of anyone else who might have witnessed the effects of Calvin’s behavior on me, I’d like them to do the same.”

Avery thought about it before replying. “The secretary pool could probably describe a little. Everyone could feel the energy up here when it got bad. They were avoiding your office like the plague.”

A muscle in Ozen’s jaw twitched. “Well, I’ll need to apologize for that. Thank you for letting me know. Please ask them to write down what they can. It will help. I’ll need Collette to give her account on hiring him. Did she say anything before she left?”

“She said something about being worried that Calvin was acting during his interview. He acted differently with her than he did when he met you.”

“Different how?” Maverick demanded. He was finally looking up from the contract and he seemed to be exuding some kind of smoke.

“Uh… Well, I’m not sure exactly, she only commented on it for a moment. She said she vetted him before introducing him to Mr. Hawksley, but when he got upstairs, he was a little cold to her.”

Maverick grunted again, his eyes dropping back onto the contract. The smoke hadn’t thinned and it smelled like a smoldering fire while camping. Avery’s eyes burned from it and he blinked rapidly to stop them from watering.

Abruptly, Maverick handed Ozen back the contract. “It’s good. I agree with the changes. Martell has a copy of the old one, correct?”

Ozen nodded, and Maverick left without another word. Avery sighed in relief.

“He’s not that bad, once you get to know him. Fiercely protective, but not a bad man. Once this is settled, I’ll introduce you properly. He can be a good ally if he likes you.”

“What if he doesn’t like me? It kind of seemed like he wanted to hurt me before.”

“I wouldn’t allow that,” Ozen growled. “No harm will come to you while under my care.”

He said it with such intensity that it startled Avery. His heart did a little leap in his chest and Avery felt his cheeks warm. He quickly pushed the feeling aside. Avery wasn’t going to let himself feel anything but professionalism toward his boss. Ozen had enough trouble with feeders making more out of their relationships. Avery wouldn’t be one of them.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Avery started coughing immediately. Ozen sighed, opening the doors to his office and Avery’s to help expel the smoke.

“I apologize. It happens when he’s angry and his dragon is close to the surface. I almost made a rule that we could only meet up on the ground floor where we could open the windows. Unfortunately, I don’t always have time to go down there when I need to meet with him.”

Avery felt like he swallowed his tongue. “D-Dragon?”

Apparently Avery needed to do more research on supernaturals. He didn’t know dragons actually existed.

It was nearing the end of the work day when Avery grew concerned. He and Ozen usually met after lunch for his feeding. That had to be pushed because of his meeting with Maverick, but Ozen was still busy hours later and there didn’t seem to be a break in his schedule coming any time soon. If it were any other day of the week, Avery would let it pass. He’d just feed him the following day. But it was Friday, and Avery wouldn’t see Ozen again until Monday. Three days without feeding sounded awful, and probably not very safe. Avery considered offering to come to his house on the weekend, but then he remembered Ozen’s preference to feed here at the office to keep things professional.

There was only an hour left in the work day, and Avery didn’t want to accidentally work overtime by putting this off for too long. He worried about overstepping, but his worries for Ozen’s wellbeing outweighed his nerves, so he brushed them away and stood, heading into Ozen’s office after a quick knock.

Ozen’s desk was messy, paperwork scattered everywhere. Some days were busier than others. Today just happened to be a busy one, and Avery would probably come to work on Monday and need to spend time cleaning up the mess before starting on his usual tasks.

There was a crease between Ozen’s brow as he read through whatever he was working on. He only looked up when he noticed Avery waiting.

“Avery. Is there something you need?”

Avery considered his words carefully. He didn’t want to come off as needy, or as if his request was about him wanting sex. Avery heard Ozen’s complaints about his previous feeders and he never wanted to act like them.

“I was just wondering if you had a moment? You haven’t fed yet and I don’t want you to go hungry over the weekend because we skipped it.”

Ozen sighed, rubbing at his temples. “I’m afraid not. This needs to get done, and if I don’t want to be here all night, I can’t stop. I’ve gone weekends without feeding before. I’ll be fine.”

Avery wavered between accepting Ozen’s words at face value and arguing his point. He’d never been passive when it came to his work, so he leaned heavily on the latter.

“With all due respect, sir, I think that’s unwise. You were recently hurt pretty severely. I don’t think it's a good idea to test your continence so soon after that event. And a fifteen minute break shouldn’t put you too far behind. Or I can stay late and wait for you to finish. Whichever you prefer.”

Ozen’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re not normally so pushy about this. Why now?”

“I…” Avery frowned down at his feet. His reasoning was probably too emotional. He didn't want Ozen to think it was anything aside from professional. But he didn’t have another excuse available. Avery sighed and decided honesty was best. “I saw how hard it was on you after what Calvin did. I don’t want you to have to experience that again. I’d worry about you all weekend if I went home without feeding you. No one should have to starve themselves that long.”

Ozen took Avery’s hand, drawing his focus off the floor. Avery worried he’d be angry, since Avery was being emotional, but Ozen’s smile was warm and there was no underlying tension.

“I appreciate your concern. You’re right. Fifteen minutes wouldn’t hurt. We’ve stuck to simple things for now. Is there anything you’d like to explore?”

Avery’s stomach flipped and he sucked in a breath. There were a great many things he wanted to explore. He’d spent an embarrassing amount of time on the internet looking up sex between men to get ideas of what he could try with Ozen. It felt safe to try them with someone with so much experience. But most of the things he looked up would probably take more than fifteen minutes. It usually required both men to be fully naked. There was only one thing he could think of that would be quick.

“I… I’d like to suck you, if that’s alright.”