Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Rule Number 36 - It is important to be on time to meet with your client. If being late is consistent, it may be cause for a dropped contract.

Avery made it downstairs thirty minutes late, which irked him. He considered having words with Ozen later for not warning him what quick sessions would do to him. Their first session had been quick, but that was over a month ago, and at the time, Avery had been thrown for a loop as it was just by being mistaken as Ozen’s feeder. Had he known what would happen, he might have asked Ozen to slow down a little, at least enough that Avery could make it to his desk on his own power on time. Avery detested being late.

The research level he was going to be working on was the largest level of the building. It spanned two floors and was the only level that you could get to each tower from without having to go all the way down to the lobby and switching elevators. The reception desk where Avery would be working was close to the elevator bank, and someone was already there waiting for him. He sat behind the desk, a pair of half-moon glasses balanced on his beak. Avery had never seen a griffin use glasses before. He glanced up when Avery approached, and his eyes warmed in greeting. Kind of hard to smile with a beak.

“Good morning, you must be Avery.”

“Yes, good morning to you. Sorry I’m late, I was… feeding Ozen.” Avery slapped his hand over his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say that. His intention was to be more discrete.

The griffin looked amused, dismissing Avery’s embarrassment with a wave of his claw. “Don’t worry. People are compelled to be honest around me. You get used to it. I’m Brennus Brightbeak. I’m the head of Supernatural Resources. Normally, one of my subordinates would be doing this, but I felt it prudent to introduce myself since you’ll be working around the building more often. Because you are a temp, you weren’t hired through me, and I like to get to know the people working in the building before they start.”

Ah. That explained why the head of Supernatural Resources was here to train him for a simple receptionist job. Avery was only originally supposed to be here for a month. Now that they changed things up so that he could be nearby if Ozen needed him, introducing himself to Supernatural Resources wasn’t the worst idea.

“That makes sense. And I promise, I’m not normally late.” He considered his wording carefully so the griffin’s magic wouldn’t make him say anything embarrassing. “I usually react better to sessions, but today was… difficult.”

Brennus frowned, studying him carefully. “Are you well enough to start today?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. I was just tired. Mr. Hawksley didn’t warn me about the effects of quick feedings. Mrs. Sable helped me afterwards, since Mr. Hawksley had a meeting to get to.”

Again, too much information, but Avery was in a hurry to reassure the griffin and didn’t think things through. He pinched his lips together and resisted the urge to cover his mouth again. Brennus seemed understanding, though.

“Ah. Yes, I’ve heard those can be difficult. Not many feeders hold two jobs, since they need rest afterwards. But I’ve been told you continued to work the last month as Mr. Hawksley’s assistant, despite your feeder duties. That went well?”

“Yes, really well. We had a specific time each day that we met for his feedings, set in his calendar like a meeting so we weren’t in a rush. I usually feel fine afterwards and can do my job without issue. Today was a special circumstance. He was in a hurry.”

And starving, but Avery didn’t mention that. He pressed his lips together to stop himself from saying something he shouldn’t. Ozen’s condition wasn’t anyone’s business but Ozen’s and Avery’s.

“Well, alright. I’ve heard good things about you, so I’m sure you can make it work. Your job here is simple. Answer and transfer phone calls, deliver faxes and, on rare occasions, you’ll escort volunteers from the lobby up here for their appointments. They don’t do that every day, so it might not come up. The usual assistant, Dakota, made an emergency booklet with all the extensions and a few notes. She should only be out until the end of the week, but I’ll let you know if that changes. Do you have any questions?”

“No, thank you. I can handle it.”

The griffin studied him before nodding once. “I believe you can. If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to support all the staff, humans included. It may be called Supernatural Resources, but that doesn’t exclude you.”

That was nice to hear. Some companies, despite allowing humans as temps, didn’t much care for them and had no interest in fair treatment. Since this was Ozen’s company, Avery didn’t doubt there would be support, but it was good to know he wasn’t assuming anything.

After Brennus left, Avery settled into his new desk. He never minded not having a desk that was truly his own. Avery was an extrovert by nature and enjoyed meeting new people, so he didn’t have trouble introducing himself to people as they passed the reception desk. Most were curious and polite. A few seemed wary. That was to be expected. Since humans were minorities and often kept to themselves, supernaturals weren’t always sure how to handle them. There were old stories about how humans used to be the majority and started a war with supernaturals to gain control. According to the stories, the humans failed miserably but still managed to cause a lot of damage before they were subdued. Avery wanted to believe those stories were myths, but some supernaturals still believed them.

He dragged a little through the morning, still recovering from the session with Ozen, but he perked back up after lunch. A decent meal and a cat nap with his head on the table in the break room did him wonders, and he arrived back at his desk energetic and upbeat. He smiled brightly at everyone as they came off the elevator back from their lunch breaks.

He was just finishing up a phone call when a group of supernaturals in suits exited the elevator. Most ignored him, which was fine, but a group of three shifters broke off, the middle one sneering at him.

“Ugh. What’s a human doing here? Have we really fallen that far?”

The friend on his right smirked, enjoying the commentary, but the one on the left elbowed him, shaking his head.

“Don’t. That’s Hawksley’s feeder,” he murmured in warning.

If anything, that only made it worse. The middle one looked downright disgusted, staring at Avery like he was a piece of crap on the bottom of his shoe. “No. That can’t be right. There’s no way Hawksley would sink so low as to feed from one of them .”

It was moments like these where Avery wished he could speak his mind. He didn’t appreciate being belittled, but they were clever. They weren’t speaking directly to him, just about him close enough for him to hear. It wouldn’t quite be considered harassment, since they could say it was his fault for eavesdropping. Avery just had to deal with it until they finally brought him into the conversation or left.

He usually had a thicker skin about these things, but a month working in Ozen’s office under Ozen’s protection left him a little unprepared. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the group as best he could, but apparently they didn’t like that. They got closer, their comments growing harsher and more targeted.

“I’ve heard humans are riddled with diseases. I’m surprised Hawksley hasn’t caught anything.”

“Maybe he has. It’s not like he’d ever admit it. Mighty incubus wouldn’t bother interacting with those beneath him.”

Avery’s fists were clenched tightly on the desk. He could handle people talking about him. Discrimination against humans, unfortunately, wasn’t a rare occurrence. But he couldn’t tolerate people trash talking Ozen. He was a good person. He built an entire company, striving to help marginalized supernaturals. He never acted superior or treated his subordinates poorly. Even when Calvin was starving him, he was careful in his interactions with others and apologized to everyone who felt uncomfortable around him once he was well again.

“Maybe he’s off his rocker. Why else would he stoop so low?”

“Could be. Or the human is manipulating him. I’ve never heard of a human feeder before. He probably is on his knees every night to get that cushy job.”

Cheeks flushed, Avery’s careful control of his tongue was slipping. Any longer and he’d lose his cool. There was only so much he could take.

Thankfully, someone called out to the group, and they wandered away, snickering to themselves. Avery felt tears burn the back of his eyes. He was used to this, but the humiliation was never any easier to bear. He wished often that he had been born a supernatural. Even the weakest supernaturals were respected more than humans were. Avery was belittled and gossiped about merely because of his species, something he had no control of. There were even some who thought themselves so far above him that they made demands and threatened to hurt him if he didn’t obey. In jobs like those, he was quick to report them to Morana and move on to another job, but he couldn’t do that here. He needed to stay close to Ozen. Complaining and causing a ruckus on his first day outside of Ozen’s office wouldn’t look good for him.

The bullies didn't bother him again. They passed by with their group and entered the elevators with only a few sneers in his direction at the end of the day. Avery waited for a while to make sure they weren’t going to bump into each other before heading home on his own. He kept his head down, eyes on his shoes, all the way home. He couldn’t stomach seeing another judgmental supernatural looking down at him.

Usually, he got home and immediately started working on his book. It was a hobby as much as it was a dream for a future job. But he bypassed his desk entirely, dropping face first onto his mattress.

For a little while, he let himself be sad. It wasn’t pleasant when he had run-ins like that, and he hadn’t been expecting it after working upstairs, but he could get over it. It was most likely a one-time event, and he would have a better experience tomorrow.

He did not, in fact, have a better experience the following day. Or the one after that. Most of the week was pretty awful, if he was being honest with himself. He never realized how much protection he was getting by working upstairs with Ozen until he started this new job. The shifters who talked badly about him stopped by at least once a day. Avery got complaints from a few researchers when he had to leave for a session with Ozen and berated him almost constantly for being sluggish afterwards. Ozen didn’t have time to do longer sessions, so Avery was wiped out afterwards every day that week. More than once, he wanted to take Ozen up on his offer to go home for the day, but they had no one else to cover for the receptionist on the research floor, and he didn’t want to cause more trouble for Ozen.

By the time Friday rolled around, he was exhausted to the point of tears and so tense his whole body hurt. He had a sore in his mouth from biting the inside of his cheek so often to keep himself from talking back, and several times he found his lunch tossed in the trash, so he didn’t get to eat as much as he should have been. He hid his upset as best he could from Ozen, who was in too much of a hurry to notice, but after he left, he couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. He wrapped his arms around his middle, choking on sobs. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t this person, to let things like this slide. But what other choice did he have?