“I’ll call you back in half an hour,” the lycanthrope promised before hanging up. “Sorry about that, Joyce. May I come in?”
Well, he got points for being polite. He’d seen the other apartments in the building, and he’d bought out the other tenants already. I clung to my home, and I wondered how he’d work around me when he discovered I refused to move without an eviction notice, and the law sided with me.
For the moment.
“Come on in,” I replied. With a hair over four hundred square feet, the place barely had enough room for me. The kitchen had no counter space, but I did have a full-sized fridge and stove. I sacrificed a lot of room having a kitchen table, but I needed somewhere to make my dinner when I did have enough money to cook.
The only upside was my bathroom, which had a fairly deep tub. Instead of a door, I had a bead curtain.
I missed having a bathroom door. My virus wanted to peep to see if Wayne looked as good out of his clothes as he did in them.
Ignoring my virus took work, and I sat at my kitchen table, which had enough room for two. Wayne closed the door behind him and joined me, skipping the awkward social dance and inviting himself to have a seat. He placed the drink in front of me along with the bulging bag. “My bribe for your time, Miss Gray.”
I thanked him, peeked into the bag, and laughed at the exclusive presence of salads, both of which were my favorites of the lot, as the rest cost less for more calories. “Too manly to enjoy a salad, Wayne?”
“I am absolutely the manliest man in this building.”
“You’re the only man in this building.” Not even the landlord lived in the building anymore, having accepted Wayne’s bribe while wishing the businessman luck on getting me to move out so he could continue his plans to take over the building. I removed the first salad, snagged the packet of dressing, and checked the label in the hopes pixie dust had made its way into the ingredients.
Alas, no dust for me.
I tore into the plastic, added the dressing to the mix of greens and grilled chicken, and began the ritual of stabbing the first bite of my dinner and dipping it into the dressing rather than shaking it or stirring it in like most people did. I took my time enjoying the mix of flavors, careful to keep from sighing at the relief of having something in my stomach after a long day of work. “All right, Wayne. What’s your offer this time?”
“Upon researching your income, your workplace, and your current rent, I’ve come to the conclusion your refusals are purely financial in nature. Most of my offers would put you in a good financial position for a year and only a year, after which you would suffer difficulties. You are a methodical woman, and as such, you are considering the long game. My prior proposals would put you in an unsustainable situation.”
Holy hell. Wayne Barnes had actually researched my situation and income? “You researched me?” I stabbed my salad, glared at him, and chomped, taking my general frustration out on the chicken and greens.
“Yes. I asked a member of my pack to look into your situation, and as he is a frequent consumer of fast food, he noted when you were on shift. I also did some research into the average pay rates of women working in a similar position as yours, and I calculated your hours from the information I have on your schedule. Thirteen day shifts of twelve hours a day is unhealthy.”
My brows shot up at that. Since when did he care about my hours? “Are you serious?”
“Very. As such, I’ve come up with a new proposal, one that would take your realistic financial situation into consideration.”
I snagged the straw, ripped off the paper, and stabbed the lid before taking a sip. There had to be some form of trap, one that would leave me either destitute or in dire straits of some sort after a year. “What’s the catch?”
“Well, you’d have to move out of here, but you’d find your new living accommodations pleasing, especially when you see the terms of your new leasing agreement. As pure monetary incentives aren’t effective on you, I tried to think of what might interest you. This apartment has minimal increases in your yearly rent and very restrictive terms in which you can be evicted, a factor in our current situation.”
Well, well, well. Wayne Barnes had a brain, and he even knew how to use it. Would wonders never cease? I stared at him and took another sip of my tea, opting to wait rather than nibble on his bait and start asking questions.
“You’re stubborn,” he complained.
I nodded and took another bite of my salad before getting up, taking the rest of my bounty to my fridge and stuffing it inside.
His bribe would keep me fed for at least a few days, and while I’d be hungry, I wouldn’t starve. I’d still take a look at the bounty system to see if there were any jobs worth taking to make up the difference in the meantime. Even if presented an offer I couldn’t refuse, I’d make him wait at least a week for an answer.
Nobody else seemed to put the man in his place.
“Are you the alpha of your pack?” I asked, addressing the next concern on my list, returning to the table and resisting the urge to scarf down the rest of my dinner. The rest of my salad needed to be savored.
The last thing I needed in my life was to be involved with a pack of lycanthropes, and a deal with an alpha was no deal at all.
“I’m not. I don’t have the time or the interest to act as an alpha, although I do enjoy a higher position within the pack. Should something happen to my pack’s alpha, I might end up with the job, but I’d rather that not happen. I prefer working as the pack’s accountant and general financial manager. I do have the authority to discipline within the pack, though. That puts me as a pack beta, and our pack is large enough to have several betas.”
“Would this agreement put me into contact with the pack often?”
“As much or as little contact as you want, with an exception.”
“What exception?”
