Page 9 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

The soft sound of crying greeted my human ears as we neared the desks on Bennett’s side of the floor. When I slowed to see what was going on, he caught my arm and led me to his office suite, where a scattered trail of papers created a path from my desk to his.

“I have a meeting for the next hour. Clean up this mess, and wipe everything down to remove her scent. She sat on the couch. Figure out a way to get rid of her scent from there, too.”

He turned on his heel and left without his laptop or anything else, including an explanation of who “she” was.

With a sigh, I started picking up papers.

Rather than sorting them right away, I placed the stack on my desk and searched his private bathroom for cleaning supplies.

Wiping off the surfaces she’d likely touched didn’t take long.

Debating how to remove a scent from a cloth-upholstered couch did.

His cleaning supplies were natural and not heavily scented for obvious reasons.

That meant using any of the sprays was out, even if they were fabric-safe. What options did that leave me?

Mentally shrugging, I closed the door and blinds and started doing jumping jacks.

When I felt suitably warm, I kicked off my shoes and sprawled on his napping couch.

In theory, my scent would smother hers. It wasn’t like Bennett would have let her sit on his couch for long, and I highly doubted she would have gotten away with lying on it.

Would Bennett like my scent on his couch?

Probably not. But if he was fine brushing his lips against mine to find out what I drank and dragging me from the park by my hand, I didn’t think he’d have a violent reaction to my scent like he had to whoever’d been in his office.

And if he did throw another fit, the worst-case scenario was that I’d lose my job.

Oh, darn…

Smiling to myself, I glanced at the time on my phone and wiggled around on the couch, trying to spread my scent around as much as possible.

* * *

Light, rhythmic tapping wormed its way into my brain and slowly woke me. I heard a quiet buzz, Bennett’s softly spoken “later,” and knew I was in trouble.

I’d fallen asleep on his couch.

The tapping resumed. Typing. He was working while I was napping. What did it mean that he hadn’t woken me up?

Deciding not to put off whatever consequence he had planned for me, I opened my eyes and sat up. His jacket fell off my shoulders, and I quickly picked it up from the floor.

He’d covered me?

“It’s a comfortable couch, isn't it?” Bennett said.

I looked up at him and managed a weak smile. “Yep.”

“Are you ready to get back to work? I have a call I need to make.”

I draped his jacket over the back of the couch before fleeing.

The stack of papers was missing from my desk, and when I glanced back at the closed office door, I saw the note I’d written the day before.

Knock and DIE!!!

Had he actually let me sleep on purpose? I snorted. Of course he had. I’d acted like a scent sponge. Now his napping couch didn’t smell like random hoe anymore. Just me. At least I knew he didn’t hate me, despite all of the times he’d refused to acknowledge me as family.

Idly, I wondered which woman had been daring enough to sit uninvited. The one who’d delivered lunch seemed unlikely. She’d been too timid to knock.

Too curious to let it go, I got up and slowly made my way to the bathroom, trying to listen for office gossip. However, everyone was quietly focused.

Disappointed, I used the bathroom. Two women entered before I finished.

“If he would just pick already, the rest of us could move on. How is it Lily’s fault that Olivia already interrupted him? And it wasn’t like some made-up reason. She was just bringing him his lunch that the normie ordered.”

“You mean the normie who set this all up? She knew what was going to happen when Lily brought his lunch.”

I recognized the voice and rolled my eyes before opening my stall door. Neither woman looked surprised to see me, which made sense since they’d probably known who was in the bathroom the moment they entered.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Milena, but this normie did not set anyone up. Lily wanted a reason to interact with Bennett, and I offered the lunch delivery option after warning her that he was in an extra insane mood. She took the chance anyway. How is that my fault?” I turned on the water to wash my hands.

“And neither is the fact that Olivia interrupted him first. You’ve all worked with him longer than I have and know he doesn’t want anyone around him. Yet, you keep trying.”

The other girl crossed her arms and glared at me. “How can he be okay being around you but not the rest of us?”

“Gee, maybe because I’m not trying to molest him every chance I get.”

I saw her reach for me from the corner of my eye. Reacting instead of thinking, I had her arm twisted around her back before either of us knew what I intended. Our gazes met in the mirror as I stood behind her.

Her pupils exploded wide, and I could feel the tremor running through the arm I gripped. A second later, I was pinned face-first against the bathroom door.

“At some point, the Wulfs will forget about their charity case,” she said. “When that time comes, I’ll find you.”

She pushed me hard into the wood and then released me. I could feel where I’d have bruises from the encounter but didn’t show how much it hurt as I backed up a step so they could leave. Once they did, I leaned against the counter and stared at myself in the mirror.

Eleven weeks, then you’re free, Wrenly.

After splashing some water on my face, I left the bathroom. I could hear the whispers, which meant they wanted me to hear.

“Useless normie.”

“Charity case.”

“Even her real parents didn’t want her.”

“Oh, look,” I said aloud. “I dropped my give-a-fuck.”

The chorus of growls faded behind me as I made my way back to my desk. I waited until I was sitting to rub my shoulder and ear, which had taken the brunt of the door contact. How stupid could I be to use that move on a wolf? How long would it take for me to remember I’m not at that school anymore?

Wolves didn’t hurt humans unless in defense. Humans did that.

I leaned back in my chair and started to close my eyes before I remembered what had happened last time. Sitting up straight, I resisted the urge to look at Bennett’s window and instead focused on the spreadsheets I was working on.

The rest of the afternoon passed in relative silence. I found myself so lost in a spiral of numbers that I didn’t realize Bennett had left his office until he grabbed my chin and turned my face toward him.

“What happened?” The question was more growl than words.

Still thinking of the numbers I’d been working on, I had no idea what he was talking about.

“You’re going to have to give me more context than that. It’s been a long day.”

His gaze narrowed on me, and his thumb whispered over my cheek, which I noted ached more than it should have.

“What happened, Wrenly?”

“What happened?” A disbelieving laugh escaped me, and I jerked out of his hold and stood as I closed my laptop. “Due to someone’s little temper tantrum, I wasn’t paying attention like I should have been, and my face met a door.”

He studied my gaze, and I watched him inhale, searching for the lie, but he wouldn’t find any. I’d been a nosy idiot, and my face had paid the price. I wondered how bruised it was.

Bennett exhaled heavily and clasped my upper arms.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Do better so your co-workers don’t need to walk on eggshells around you. Wulf Enterprises is lucky to have any employees left.”

Something dropped to the floor with a thud, and I turned to look at Andri, who was scrambling to pick up a pile of documents.

“Leave it,” Bennett said without a hint of anger. “I’ll pick it up.”

She straightened, looked from him to me, then fled.

“Go get an ice pack for your cheek,” Bennett said, reclaiming my attention. “I’ll meet you by the elevators.”

I found the first aid kit in the break room. The ice pack against my cheek felt amazing as it cooled.

“I’m telling you what I saw,” I heard someone whisper. “She talked down to him, and he did nothing . If it’d been one of us, our heads would be rolling.”

The voices moved off, and I shook my head that they were jealous over his lack of reaction instead of happy that I’d stood up for them. Were werewolves required to be ridiculous?

Bennett was waiting by the elevator and pulled the ice pack away to check my cheek when I joined him.

“You should have done this right away. I think you’re going to have a bruise for a few days now.”

“I’ll live.”

His finger brushed over my chilled skin. “Keep this off until we reach the car, then put it on again for a few minutes.”

Did he honestly think I didn’t know how to use an ice pack? After my time at school, my skill for nursing bruises was PhD worthy.

We entered the elevator alone and rode it down to the seventh floor, where more people got on. Bennett moved me in front of him like I was some kind of shield. Big baby.

When the elevator stopped on the third floor, everyone made room for the next batch of people getting on, which included Walt. He smiled when he saw me, but the smile quickly vanished when he saw my face.

“What happened? Are you okay? You didn’t have that when I saw you earlier.”

He briefly glanced at Bennett.

Did he think Bennett hit me? That was laughable. If Bennett decided to backhand me, my head wouldn’t be attached anymore.

“I’m fine,” I said. “My face had an untimely meeting with a door, which I know sounds like a cover-up, but it’s not. Bubblewrap might be in my future once my mom sees this.”

Or better yet, maybe she’ll say I should quit.

My thoughts were whirling on how to spin my bruise for the best outcome possible, and I wasn’t thinking of Bennett until his hands closed over my shoulders.

“Wrenly is none of your business.”