Page 5

“My name is Sally, and I am the office manager.”

He held out his hand, so she gave him hers, and he turned it over and kissed it. It was hard to deny that she almost melted into a puddle on the floor.

“I catch a hint of other but not enough to determine what it is. I am a wolf. Tyne said I might have to train, even though it's not necessary. Maybe I can train with you?” Renard suggested.

“I don't think so. I am the field manager, and I make those determinations," Xantos clarified.

“I am Renard, and you are?”

“I am Xantos. You will be training with me.”

“That's fine. There is a marvelous aroma here. Is the food available to everyone?” He asked.

“It is.”

Sally rushed around to fix his plate and hand it to him.

She fixed her own and then sat down by him.

Things may be looking up here now. She felt drawn to him, but not in the same way she was drawn to Xantos.

This guy would be fun to talk to, flirt with, and hang out with.

It was amusing that he and Xantos didn't get along, but perhaps that was just two alpha wolves competing for dominance.

She was sure that Xantos would let Renard know that he was in charge in many small ways.

It was just another reason to stay away from Xantos. He was too controlling and too alpha.

Maybe having Renard here would help put him in his place.

It might or it might not. She needed to stop worrying about Xantos and concentrate on her job.

All the crew were gone, and she needed to check supplies.

She checked them daily and ordered them as required.

Some linen and a few small items would be needed soon, especially since more crew members were on their way.

Tomorrow, the next one would arrive. This one was newly trained and may need to work with Xantos for a while.

That wouldn't make him happy. Sally started to hide her smile, but no one was there, so she let it show.

She could hear the door open, but she wasn't expecting anyone right now. Sally made sure both zappers, as she called them, were ready, then headed to the front desk. The girl standing there was pretty but looked shy.

“May I help you?”

"I'm early. My name is Cindy Lou, and Tyne sent me. I thought it would be better to come now and settle in than in the morning just in time to start work.”

“That sounds logical. Let me take you to your room so you can put your stuff away.” Sally offered.

Cindy Lou turned to her as she moved through the door. “Thank you. I'll come down after I get settled in.”

The girl had good manners, and that impressed Sally.

Not everyone she worked with had manners.

It was good to have her new person here and not have to worry about it.

It was always a worry whether they would arrive or if something happened to them before they got here.

As much as working with the girl would annoy Xantos, her being pretty might make up for that.

Sally wouldn't worry about it because she had plenty to do.

Even if they didn't make appointments in the office, they were still available to take them on the phone and online.

Tyne considered canceling any appointments in the offices due to the risk they presented and the extra time they required.

Most people said they preferred making their appointments from home.

Sally had to admit that she preferred not having people constantly coming in and out of the office.

It was difficult enough to deal with specific customers on the phone where at least you could move the phone away from your ears, so they didn't blast it.

Sometimes, their complaints were ridiculous, and she really didn't know what to tell them except by giving them the number to the headquarters.

Moe was good at dealing with these things, and she certainly was getting enough practice since everyone sent their troublemakers to her.

Poor Moe, but she had a great mate that would make her feel better at the end of the day so Sally wouldn't feel sorry for her.

Cindy Lou came into the room around lunchtime. “Why don't you come in and sit down? I will get you something to eat," Sally offered. “Tyne sent some free food until everyone got settled. I've been fixing some.”

“If it's not too much trouble, I would appreciate it. Traveling makes me hungry.”

“It's no trouble at all. The crew doesn't usually arrive here until supper time. They come in one at a time or sometimes two. We can go over some of the rules and some of the information while you eat.” Sally should have said while we ate because she got herself a plate, too.

“Often when you go to a new field office, they will have a booklet for you telling you about the places to eat and other things that you need to know, but this one is too new, and we haven't gotten that yet.

You'll work with Xantos, and he'll tell you what he knows, and eventually, everyone will figure it out.

I've started gathering some of the information, but it's not enough to be of any use to you.

That's another reason that we've been provided food for about a month.

I'm sure you're aware that I am the office manager, and Xantos is the field manager.”

“I am, but I don't know much about either of you," Cindy Lou mentioned.

“You'll just have to make up your mind for yourself as you get to know us and the others at the office. Most of them are new. I can't tell you much. I’ve not even known Xantos for very long.”

“That must be hard working with another manager that you don't know.

Or maybe you're one of those people who just enjoys getting out there in a new crowd and getting to know everyone?

I'm a little too shy to do much of that, and once I'm cleared, I'll only have a partner to work with, and I'll get to know the rest of you a little at a time.”

“That's the best way to get to know people. I do need to warn you that some terrorists are working in this area, and you need to worry about safety above all else," Sally explained.

“Moe filled me in on most of that, and I've had some training in self-defense and even in fighting, but with a partner, someone will have my back, and I'll have theirs. I also have a panic button, and Moe said everyone in the field will be getting one. They may even hand them out to the people in the office since often you guys are in the office alone.”

Sally had to admit that that sounded like a good idea.

There were times when people had been attacked, and they had found them when they hadn't come back, which could give those bad people time to cause a lot of damage.

She did wonder why they hadn't told her that themselves and had left it to Cindy Lou to inform her.

It was true that they were busy at headquarters, just like they were busy here.

There was no point in worrying about it, so she wouldn't. Moe and Tyne had their own way of dealing with things.

They also had super-secret plans in place all the time, and even when a person was part of the plan, they didn't always know about it until the end.

She had to admit that it was nice to have someone to talk to, at least until the others started arriving and it got loud, and everyone was questioning who the new girl was.

Sally just let Cindy Lou handle it as she quietly finished her breakfast. Most of the other people got their own plates, and she didn't have much to do until they all began to leave.

Then she cleaned up the mess, and she and Cindy Lou talked.

After that, the phone started to ring, and half the calls made no sense at all.

Perhaps they were just trying to ensure she was there.

If that was true, an attack was imminent.

She was as prepared as she could be. She would have extra help, and her new friend had a panic button.

Why that would make her feel better, she wasn't sure, but it did.

The calls had been almost nonstop until lunchtime, and she took the phone off the hook so she could sit down and eat lunch with Cindy Lou. That was when there was a knock at the door. Cindy Lou gave her a nod as she went to answer it with her hand on her Taser.

“Hello there. I'm new to this area, and I heard that food was available here.”

“You've been misinformed. We only cook for ourselves, and the boss does not allow us to sell to the public.” Sally informed.

“It's cold out here, so could I come in and warm up?”

“We don't know you, and this office is not open to the public.”

“Aren't you being harsh for a business?” The guy asked.

“I'm just following the rules. I didn't make them. Letting strangers in could make me lose my job, so I'm sure you understand that I'm not going to do that.”

At this point, he had given up being nice and tried to force his way in.

She tasered him. When he fell, it was evident that he was not alone.

She tasered the next guy, too. At this point, Cindy Lou had moved her way up to the door and tasered the third and fourth guy.

It seemed they had enough because the rest of them ran away, leaving their fallen buddies behind.

Not much loyalty in that group. One of them began restraining the guys who had tried to force their way into the building while the other one was on alert with their Tasers.

They were a good form of protection, and the enemy had not yet found a way around them.

Sally knew that they couldn't rely on them entirely and needed to be prepared for the possibility of fighting by hand or some other form of protection if they did find a way around the Tasers.