“Thirteenth floor. It’s a bathroom, I think. Those idiots better hope no one goes in there, otherwise they’ll be in a lot more trouble than they already are.”
Thirteenth…
Oh, no. That was the same floor as Jonah.
Sure enough, the human he’d been talking to wandered into the frame, heading straight for the bathroom. Emmett ripped his phone out of his pocket, sending a quick text to the man while Zed cursed under his breath and picked up his phone, probably to try and call his guys again.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:Not that bathroom. It’s occupied.
He watched Jonah pause just outside the bathroom, looking at his phone screen with a confused frown. He looked around, like Emmett might be around the corner and just messing with him, so Emmett sent another text.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:Look up.
He did, and when he noticed the camera, he cocked his head before sending a text.
Jonah:Are you stalking me? I don’t need a babysitter.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:I’ll explain later. Go to another bathroom unless you want to see something you shouldn’t.
Jonah’s head jerked back as he read Emmett’s message, and he shot a wary glance at the bathroom before stepping away from it. Emmett breathed a sigh of relief, and a moment later, one of the guys picked up the phone, Zed immediately barking at them to get their asses back upstairs.
Emmett watched with avid fascination as the bathroom door ripped open, startling Jonah, who visibly jumped. He pressed himself against the wall to stay out of the way as two security guards wrestled with their uniforms as they ran for the stairs. He was fighting a laugh at poor Jonah, glued to the wall with wide eyes, when he got another message.
Jonah:…
Jonah:Is there another bathroom on this floor?
Emmett:No, but there is one on each floor. Just take the stairs.
He saw Jonah cast a wary glance at the stairs and huffed a small laugh. “Excuse me for a second.”
Zed waved him off, still busy shouting at the phone.
Emmett’s ears flattened to block out the noise, and he hurried out of the room, stepping into the monitor room instead, where the guy watching the screens was texting instead of paying attention. Emmett sighed. He really needed to whip this team into shape.
“I know it’s not busy, but seriously?”
The guy, a gnome with a thick beard, squeaked in surprise and whirled around, gaping at Emmett, who waved him off.“We’ll talk about this in a minute. Can you show me the stairwell between floors twelve and thirteen, as well as floor twelve’s hallway with the bathroom?”
The gnome, realizing he had messed up, hurried to do as asked, pulling up the requested screens. Emmett sent another message to Jonah.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:You’re good if you go now. All clear.
The human must have trusted him because a few seconds later, the stairwell door opened and Jonah poked his head out, rushing down the stairs and down the hallway of the twelfth floor to get to the bathroom. Emmett snickered. He couldn’t tell if Jonah was rushing because he was afraid of bumping into a supe or if he really had to use the restroom.
After keeping an eye out for Jonah and making sure he got back to the server room without bumping into anyone, Emmett jerked his chin towards the main security room. “I’m gonna talk to your boss, then there’s going to be a meeting. Mandatory. Let the rest of the security staff know, will you?”
Nervously, the gnome nodded at him. Emmett left him to it, since his phone was already out, he probably could text them all to meet him just fine. Stepping out of the monitor room again, he came up short when he noticed the door to Zed’s office was closed, and he heard shouting from inside.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” someone drawled, pulling Emmett’s attention away from the noise. One of the guys at a cubicle nearby was leaning back in his chair so it balanced on two legs, his hands tucked behind his head, and a bored look on his face. When Emmett raised an eyebrow, the guy raised an eyebrow back, giving Zed’s door a pointed look.
“He’s yelling at Amil and Rocco. He can’t fire them, they’re in their mating period and protected by law, but that won’t stop him from chewing them out.”
Realization struck Emmett, and he grimaced. “What kind of mating?”
“Rocco’s lizardfolk.”
Ah. That explained it. Lizardfolk matings took a while, long enough that most had to return to work as they couldn’t afford to take that long off. Something about their species dragged out the process even longer than most other supes.
