“What are you wearing? I might have something for you,” Flora asks, her interest spiking. I’m not a dressy woman, but if she can find a dress that my intense sweating won’t destroy, then I will wear whatever she picks.
“Now would be a good time to have a designer as a best friend, now wouldn’t it?” I ask, a smile cracking on my face.
“Willow!” My name is yelled as I hear sneakers hit the title floor. My head whips around to meet Eddie’s eyes. He takes a deep breath, sliding into the booth next to me. His legs press against mine, and his hands turn my face towards him and away from my plate of a burger and fries. His brown eyes search every inch of my face, then my neck and body, before he pulls me into him. His warmth and mix of tobacco and vanilla scent fills my senses. “I was fucking scared, Willow. Goddess. Why was he here?” His heart beats out of his chest under my touch. I cuddle into him despite my friend’s giggles. I let his body practically swallow me up, and I breathe in his smell, helping me calm down from the whole show.
“Felix was here,” I mumble lamely.
“Thank goddess. Are you ladies alright?” he asks, still wrapped around me so tightly, I can’t enjoy my fries.
“Yup. We’re good.” Luxe smiles. She laughs as Flora tries to stuff her mouth with a bite of burger, probably to stop herself from making an inappropriate comment.
19
EDDIE: PRESENTATION DAY
After droppingWillow off at work, the unsettling feeling in my gut intensifies each minute I am away. I knew getting into work today would not be the same as any other day, yet my stomach turns with more acid than I thought it would.
Is it hotter in here than usual?I pull on the collar of my shirt as I head to my office first. My meeting is closer to lunchtime, and I’m hoping that knowing Willow will be safe with Flora, Luxe, and Felix today will settle this need to rush to her.
Even my bear is pacing inside me, and I can’t tell if we are excited or about to shit ourselves. Staring at the light blue walls and ugly-ass brown carpeting of the office isn’t helping my nerves, either. Neither is staring at the slides of my presentation. Today is finally the day. The day I get my chance to change the shifter community as I know it. It’s so surreal, as if the world is going to come crumbling down at my feet.
My phone rings, and I see it’s my mother. I let out a quick breath of relief as I answer the call.
“Mom.” Her name comes out, and I can’t help but smile. I walk over to the window and stare at the town down below me. She’s the reason I’ve worked hard to get this project up andgoing, and I needed her voice as much as I needed Willow’s. The sensation of the bear pin warms in my pocket, and I remember that regardless of what happens here today, I’ve got two strong women standing beside me.
“Hey, baby, I had to call you before your meeting. I just—” I hear her intake a sharp breath, and it settles the nerves in my stomach a bit.
“I’m glad you called.”
“I needed to say how proud of you I am. Even if those dogs don’t take on your project, you’ve made it far, and baby, I’m so sorry,” she says over hiccups and little sobs.
“Why are you sorry? There’s no need?—”
“You shouldn’t have had to deal with your mother during a heat. No kid should, and I am so damn happy that you’re trying to change that.”
“No, mother should have to go through what you did, Mom. It’s not your fault.”
“It is, but you’re fixing it. You’re fixing it, and I love you so much for not blaming me,” she says, and I can practically see her in the window's glass. I kind of wish she was here. I wish she didn’t have this guilt. I’ll have to fix that too. I’m not sure how I’ll fix it, but I will.
It’s 11:25, and I need to walk in and set up my presentation, but my stomach is filled with lead and my limbs are heavy. I tell my mother I love her, and I thank her for everything before I end the call. I have to be the person we needed back then. Someone to care for the women and people in our community.
I’m fucking Eddie Enchanted, bear shifter and member of the Enchanted Pack, and there’s no damn reason to be nervous.
Even if this goes to shit, I don’t need this company to accomplish my dreams.
As much as want to say fuck it and do the damn thing by myself, having a company backing me would eliminate enoughproblems to make this worthwhile. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I finally turn the door handle to the meeting room. The board is there and so are all the managers. They would either reject this project or put it in this year’s schedule to bring to life.
I roll up the sleeves of my white, pressed button-down shirt. I watch the rings on my fingers as I queue up the slides when I remember how Willow loved my rings this morning when she kissed each one as good luck. Maybe I should wear them more often ’cause, damn, I am pretty. The decorative pin Willow gifted me this morning is burning in my pocket, bringing a smile to my face. The bear paw is corny, but I love it. It’s Willow’s favorite pin, and she gave it to me for the day.
11:55 a.m.—it’s time. It’s time to convince the board of Cloud Design that a heat house for the community is a worthwhile project that could put us on the map.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.” I have my laptop hooked up to a projector, my slides appearing on the screen. Taking a quick breath, I smile. Teeth and all, I am ready.
I speak with conviction and grace. I lay out all my points on neat slides and stand strong in front of the board members and managers that make up Cloud Design. Throwing in personal experiences and facts to help persuade my audience, I pray it’s enough. I’m normally a super confident man, and it’s something I pride myself on, but today isn’t the same as any other day. Everything is going right, but my gut is saying something is going to go wrong, terribly wrong, and I hope what goes wrong is not this presentation.
“Thank you for this presentation, Mr. Enchanted, but this is similar to something we heard earlier,” one manager, Lacy, says with a pen twirling in her hand. I can’t stop the twitch of my eyebrow, but I recover quick enough, considering what they are implying.
My innocent, jittery nerves dissolve into budding anger. I move from the podium and lean on both my hands against the front of the table, where everyone is seated. They have to be mistaken, right? I let silence eat at everyone in the room as I stare at each of the members surrounding the table. What the hell did they mean bysimilar? What is my heat house similar to?
