Releasing a heavy breath, I close my eyes in relief. “Deal.”
Chapter 21
Scarlett
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This is fine. Everything'sfine.
Walking through the labyrinth of offices a few floors down from the penthouse, I clutch the binder I'm delivering to my chest. Not the most impressive work, but one that requires very little brain power, and with as frazzled as I've been the last week, about all I can mentally handle. Right now, the last thing I want is people coming to me with huge problems that need decisions that I'm absolutely not qualified to make despite Malcolm's blessing, and honestly?
I'm a firm believer in if you have to demand respect, you don't have it.
Malcolm forcing people to bend over backwards trying to kiss my ass because I'm their boss' wife will only breed resentment. I may be familiar with medical claims, so at least I have a little background knowledge on some of this stuff, plus being able to identify some common problems with the system. But that's a tiny branch of a massive enterprise; I'm not even sure what all theydoin this building.
I might be sleeping with the boss, but that doesn't mean I need to flaunt it in the faces of people that actually earned their places here.
"Here you go, Holly.”
She startles in her chair and I mentally curse. While being light on my feet is a blessing in terms of trying to fly under the radar, it’s certainly not putting anyone here at ease. Word spread like wildfire within the upper floors of the building, and no matter the fact I was introduced to everyone on this floor four days ago, it only served to make them jittery. It’s like they’ve all come back from a horror movie marathon and are constantly jumping at shadows, waiting to see where the murderer is going to pop up next.
The shifters at least can smell me coming, but the mages and humans aren’t as fortunate. So instead, I’m stuck shrugging off their reactions like they don’t sting, reminding myself that change doesn’t happen overnight. Trust is earned, and that’ll only come from interacting with me on a regular basis and realizing I’m not a threat, that I can be a productive member of society the same as them.
Shallow breaths. Don’t focus on all of the conflicting scents and sounds. Shrink my territory to my own two feet; only worry about myself. I don’t need to have my guard up despite being in a sea of people because they aren’t a threat.
But... they are. If I catch the wrong person off guard, instinct will have them lashing out in defense before they can even think about it. They might freak out about the consequences after, but that won’t matter in the heat of the moment.
You might get hurt, but they won’t kill you. You’re faster, stronger. Even with a sensory block in full force, your instincts would take care of the rest. You’ll be okay.
And then I’ll have a dead guy at my feet and no one will care if he attacked me first.
Shaking myself out of it, I calmly wait for Holly to collect herself before approaching. Offering up the binder with a smile that doesn’t meet my eyes, I apologize. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’ll clear my throat before getting too close the next time I need to deliver something, okay?”
Without saying a single word, her dark braids swing with her hasty nod as she tentatively takes it, snatching it to her chest and putting her desk between us once more. Keeping that fake smile plastered on my face that likely has me coming across as constipated instead of friendly, I turn to leave. Weaving my way through the offices in this section, I return to the main hallway where I left the cart of mail that needs to be delivered with a cheat sheet map Kasen made me of everyone’s offices. All the while, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It’s not fear, but the instinctual awareness that I’m being watched, and from far too many angles for comfort.
Shallow breaths. Don’t let them see that they get to you.
