They’d reached the building and Titus leaned forward, opening the door for Apollo to go through. Apollo’s first impression was “bland,” but he reminded himself that much like Artemis’s office, the building was a place of work.
The smile on the woman’s face who was sitting at the reception desk spoke far more volume than the generic artwork and the beige walls.She’s happy to be working here.
“Mr. Haverland, there are a few messages and a few calls...”
“I’m sure there are.” Titus was smiling as he reached over the desk, taking a pile of paper slips from her hand. “I won’t be available for the rest of the day, so if anybody else gets in touch, please pass them on to Regis, if you wouldn’t mind. By the way, this gentleman is Apollo. You’ll be seeing a lot of him around here.”
An unusual way to introduce your mate,but then Apollo was rarely introduced to anyone in modern times. He smiled at the woman, who was wearing a little name plate that said “Brenda.” “It’s nice to meet you, Brenda,” he said, although he didn’t have a chance to say anything else. Titus was already leading him down the hallway, which appeared to have offices on either side.
“The entrance to the drivers’ area is through another door at the back of the building, but on this side we have payroll, dispatch, our facilities, and Regis’s office.” Titus poked his head around the door. “And he’s not there, so he’s clearly in my office. This way.”
It was obvious which door led to Titus’s office. The discreet gold sign with black lettering spelling out Titus’s name was a biggiveaway. Titus opened the door, ushering Apollo into another functional office.
There wasn’t anything of any comfort there, although Apollo did notice a large picture of what looked like natural wolves racing across a wooded area somewhere remote on the wall above some filing cabinets. Moving closer, he could see it had actually been painted – an original work of art. The brushwork was detailed and beautiful, showcasing a lot of talent. Apollo was keen to know more about the person who’d painted it. The wolves in particular looked as though they were one step from jumping out of the painting.
“Regis, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Titus said.
Apollo jumped. So caught up in the painting, he’d forgotten about the other two men in the room. He turned away from the painting, a half-smile on his face.
“I’m proud to introduce you to Apollo, one of the two owners of Orion Industries.” Titus looked back over his shoulder, perhaps checking the door was closed, or that there was no one in the hallway, and then said in a lower voice, “I was right about the pull I was feeling to Orion Industries. Apollo is my mate.”
“Mate?” Regis swallowed hard, his eyes wide. “That’s just blown out my alpha bingo card for the year.” He was clearly another wolf shifter – a slimmed-down version of Titus, although nowhere near as confident or imposing, which was a look Titus seems to convey without even thinking about it.
“I can’t believe it. An actual ancient god!” Regis was bobbing his head up and down as though he was bowing. “In our office.”
“I’m just like anybody else underneath,” Apollo said, his cheeks heating. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s amazing to meet you. Titus, you’re mated!” Regis was now looking between them. “That’s…I mean. Wow! I mean, congratulations, definitely. I’m sure you’ll both be very happy with each other.”
“We have to get to know each other first,” Titus said with the same amount of firmness and confidence that he had exhibited since Apollo had met him. “What better way to get to know each other than for Apollo and me to take a road trip. I’ll take one of the longer routes, if there are any free. Spending time in a cab together will give us a chance to see how we fit.”
“I could think of a few better ways, but you always did do things your own way. Why should your claiming be any different?” Regis chuckled. “Your truck is fueled, checked, and ready to go. I wasn’t sure where you wanted to go, but there’s a route to Denver transporting non-perishables. If you fancy going any further, there’s a load for pick up there, destination Austin. Although, if you don’t fancy the second leg of the trip, there is another driver finishing up in Denver within a day of your expected arrival, so you can just bring the truck back to Buffalo if you’ve had enough of cab life.”
“That will be an interesting trip, and it will give us a chance to stop at a couple of places along the way.” Titus picked up a clipboard from his desk and quickly flipped through the papers.
“This is good,” he added, tapping the papers. “We’ve got a week on what is effectively a three-day trip, so there’s no chance of being late. That’s all perfect. Thanks. Apollo, do you mind staying here for a few minutes? I need to get changed. There’s no way I’m wearing a suit in the truck, but fortunately, I always carry a set of spare clothes in my office.”
Crossing the room, Titus reached under a small corner couch, pulling out a duffel bag. “I promise I won’t be more than a few minutes.”
Apollo shrugged and smiled. “That’s fine. I’m quite happy here.” He went over and sat on the same couch Titus had pulled the duffel bag out from under. It was almost as though he could see the desire in Titus’s eyes – that need to drag him into the bathroom and… Apollo didn’t need to have the sight to know what Titus wanted to do. But Titus touched his arm briefly, his fingers lingering a few seconds before he left the room.
“I can’t believe you’re an actual god,” Regis said quietly. “I have to admit, I’ve never met one before. Are people expected to bow in your presence, or call you by a specific honorific? None of us here would want to be disrespectful, but we do have to be discreet with non-paranormal staff.”
That’s a first.Apollo couldn’t remember the last time someone on Earth was worried about being respectful in his presence. “I’m guessing you’re the only other paranormal in the building?” Apollo asked.
Regis nodded.
“Well, that’s fine. I’m happy to be treated just like anyone else.” He chuckled, thinking about how life used to be. “There were times, millennia ago, when ancient beings like me or my sister were worshipped or adored. But that was a very long time ago. Now, it’s easier for us to be treated as regular people. I have to live by the non-interference law, the same as any other god…”
“You have laws that govern gods? Who sets them?” Regis perched his butt on the corner of Titus’s desk.
“The non-interference law was created by all of us as a collective. I’m not sure if you can imagine hundreds of gods, all sitting in the one place, hashing out an agreement that gods from allpantheons could live by.” Apollo shook his head. “Just to come to that one agreement took over a week. But all it means is that we had to come to the realization that we couldn’t interfere in mortal affairs. Mortals have free will, and…yep. After that, it was easy for any ancient god to feel superfluous in the general scheme of things.”
“I have never thought about things like that. But then the concept of living forever is mind-boggling on its own. You must’ve seen and done so many things.” Regis shook his head, and while Apollo could see the man had more questions, he wanted to change the subject.
“Do you know anything about that painting? It’s really quite beautiful. Was it done by a known artist?”
Regis shook his head. “No, I think it was done by one of Titus’s old...” His jaw snapped shut so fast, Apollo heard his teeth click together, making Apollo laugh.
