Page 4 of The Shapeshifter’s Secretary (Charmed Away Temp Agency #3)

CHAPTER FOUR

“You’d better behave for your new assistant. I’m not wasting my mate’s time finding you another one,” Ozen growled.

Taron watched them go, his eyes locked on the man hobbling towards the turnstiles. Avery told him the other day that his new assistant needed a few accommodations. That didn’t bother Taron in the slightest. What bothered him were the pain lines around the man’s eyes and mouth. He masked it pretty well, but he was obviously uncomfortable. He couldn’t see much of the injury, the man was wearing a long-sleeved button up and a tie, but there was scarring on his cheek and down his neck, and a little on his hand too. Whatever happened to him, Taron got the feeling it was extensive, and he was suffering because of it.

“Taron,” Ozen snapped. “Are you listening to me?”

Taron blinked, looking up at his friend. “Huh? Oh. Yes, I promise. I appreciate the trouble Avery went through. When will Maverick be here?”

His changing subjects randomly wasn’t unusual, and Ozen didn’t even question it. He checked his watch for the time. “He should be here already. He and Isaac fly here every morning, so if you need to speak with him, he’s probably in his office.”

Yeah, no. Taron wasn’t suicidal. He only entered the dragon’s territory when he absolutely had to, especially now that he was mated. If he thought Ozen was bad, Maverick was so much worse with the territorial posturing.

“I’ll call later.”

Ozen snorted, and Taron shot him a scowl.

“Shut up. He nearly bit my head off the last time I visited unannounced. How is he worse than you are?”

“He’s a dragon,” Ozen said simply, leading the way to the gate near the turnstiles. Taron normally didn’t head straight to his office. He thought better on his feet, so he actually wandered more than he was ever in his office, but today was special. He was curious about his new assistant and wanted to get a better feel for the man.

“When does the first product testing for the thunderbird project begin?” Ozen asked as they waited for the gold elevator. It went straight to the top floor without stopping as often as the others did. Taron’s office was only one floor below Ozen’s, so it was easier to take the gold one and just use the stairs one floor down.

“Next week. I’ve been working with the research team on the concept, and it looks good to me. They’re doing in-house testing this week. And next week, we’ll start testing it with our lovely volunteers.” Who the research team was refusing to name. Apparently, they didn’t want Taron causing trouble before they could sign their contracts. Rude.

Ozen nodded, his expression relaxed and his posture loose. Taron’s friend had changed a lot since he mated. He didn’t grit his teeth all the time and hunch a little from constant hunger pains. Taron had worried about him for a little while. He even considered volunteering to supplement the incubus for a period until they could find a better feeder. Luckily, Avery showed up just in time. It wasn’t that Taron thought Ozen was unattractive. But they’d known each other for years, and he never screwed with his friendships by adding sex. Not after the first time.

“You look good,” Taron commented. People didn’t compliment each other enough. It was a travesty. His friends deserved all the compliments.

A smile tugged at Ozen’s lips. “Thank you. I like what you’ve done this week. Is that an angelic glow?”

He preened a little. “It is! I ran into my cousin and her fiancé last weekend. Her glow was so pretty, I had to emulate it. It’s a real conversation starter, you know.”

The doors to the elevator slid open, and they stepped inside, talking about nothing important. Once the work day began, Ozen was all business, but he took the time to catch up with Taron before they started. They separated at the elevators and Taron took a moment to say hello to the secretary pool before heading downstairs. There was still the hope that one of them would volunteer to take Avanna’s place full time, but so far, none were up to the task.

He wasn’t that bad.

Maybe.

Anyway, it was irrelevant right now. He had an assistant, and he was curious to get to know the man in question. He whistled as he walked to his office, beaming at the two in the outer office connected to his. It looked depressing ever since Avanna left and took all her decorations with her. He hadn’t realized how much he enjoyed that until it was gone.

“So that’s what Morana meant about not chasing him?” Tony asked.

Avery shot Taron an exasperated look. “Yes. He’s prone to wandering. It’s easier to just text him. He’ll come back. It might take a minute depending on where he is in the building, but he doesn’t ignore his job. It’s one of his good qualities.”

Taron chuckled, moving to the other side of the desk so he could lean against it and join their little huddle. “I think better on my feet. Moving around helps me focus. Avanna learned that chasing me was a waste of energy. Unless I’m in a meeting, I keep my phone on me so I don’t miss messages. I’ll come back when summoned.”

Tony nodded slowly. “Okay. That’s good. I couldn’t chase you if I wanted to.” He said it offhandedly, like a joke, but the grimace that came along with it said he was trying to make light of something that was too heavy to accomplish the levity. He didn't have to try that hard with Taron. He wasn’t going to bring it up unless Tony wanted to talk about it.

“Give me your phone. I’ll put in my number in case you need to tell me something and I’m not at my desk.” He made gimme hands at Tony, who handed over his phone without complaint. Huh. Trusting guy, wasn’t he?

After plugging in his number, Taron called himself so he could save Tony’s number in his phone. He was curious if Tony would let him text outside of business hours. Avanna wouldn’t let him, but his friends were fine with it. Even Isaac, who found him ‘exhausting’.

Tony accepted the phone back, his focus on Avery, who was showing him how to use the scheduling system. That’d be important for his assistant, since Taron couldn’t remember what he ate for dinner, much less if he had a meeting coming up. And since he was always wandering around, he was never at his computer long enough to get an alert for anything. He never remembered to plug the information into his phone, either. That’s what an assistant was for. To be his external memory so he could focus on more important things. Like Project Thunderchicken.

“Are you afraid of lightning?” he asked suddenly. He’d intended to have his assistant join him to take notes, but he wouldn’t cart Tony out there unless he had a place to sit and rest–and if he wasn’t afraid of lightning.

Tony’s brows furrowed a little. “I mean, I don’t go outside during a storm, but I’m not hiding under the covers either. Why?”

“I’m working on a project involving thunderbirds, and I’ll need you to come take notes. It’s got a spot for us to safely hunker down during the tests, but I didn’t want to frighten you.”

Tony’s lips pursed thoughtfully, drawing Taron’s attention. He had the most plump, kissable looking lips. The man wasn’t model handsome, especially with the scarring, but he was good looking, with rugged features and thick muscles. He was built a little like a tank. Wide shoulders, enormous arms that strained against his button up, and massive hands. He wasn’t the tallest human Taron had ever met, though he was taller than Avery by a lot. Maybe a little shorter than Maverick, but not by much. Taron felt his form stretch a little to better match the human’s height. He wasn’t a fan of making his muscles that thick, but they looked good on Tony. Everything looked good on Tony as far as he could see. Short, spiky black hair, olive-toned skin, and soulful brown eyes that watched Taron with a little accusation. Maybe a hint of embarrassment. Wait. Did he miss something?

“I’m sorry. What?”

“You’re staring,” Avery hissed, glaring at him. “Don’t be rude.”

Blinking, Taron turned to face Tony again. “Apologies. I was trying to figure out if you were wider than Maverick. Not many humans are built like you are.”

His comment obviously surprised his new assistant. He must’ve been thinking Taron was looking at his scars. He’d have to make sure the man knew Taron was staring because of how handsome he was, not because of an injury.

“I don’t often shift to have large muscles myself, but they look good on you,” he continued, hoping to soothe his assistant’s worries a little. “Do you work out? Humans aren’t naturally that built, are they?”

Avery smacked a palm against his forehead, which looked painful, to be honest. Tony looked a little confused, but the corners of his mouth twitched like he was fighting back a smile.

“Uh… Yeah, I work out pretty regularly. Or… I used to…” He frowned, glancing down at his leg for a moment before shaking his head. “Mostly upper body stuff to work my energy out. I can’t exactly go for a run.”

Taron nodded sagely. “Smart. Well, keep it up. You look fantastic. I’m going to make a phone call. Text me if you need anything. I’ll be back before lunch. I think lunch together to get to know one another will be good. Yes?”

Tony took his random comments easier than the last few temps had, agreeing with a bemused nod. Taron had high hopes for him. They hadn’t known each other long, but there was just something about the larger man that made Taron want to keep him.

Leaving Avery to get his new assistant situated, Taron pulled out his phone and wandered off. Normally, he’d get into the elevator and see where his feet took him, but he didn’t want to wander far. Avery would only be around long enough to get Tony comfortable. What if he needed help?

Putting his phone to his ear, he wandered around the cubicles on the same floor. He got a few curious looks, but mostly everyone was used to his wandering. They just weren’t used to him wandering on this floor.

“Mr. Van Buren’s office, Isaac speaking.”

“Good morning, Isaac. Is our favorite grump busy? I have a few questions for him.” He paused before adding, “Work related questions. I promise.”

“Mhmm.” Isaac’s tone said he didn’t believe him. Seriously, why were people so rude lately? “He has a minute, but if you piss him off, I’m going to hurt you.”

Taron mock gasped, hand clutching imaginary pearls. “How could you accuse me of such a thing? I’m a joy to work with. Everyone says so.”

“Everyone is lying,” Isaac muttered. “Hold on. I’ll transfer you.”

He transferred the call quickly, and Maverick’s growling tone answered a moment later. “What do you want, Taron?”

“I had questions about the site for Operation Thunderchicken.”

“It’s not called that,” Maverick growled.

Okay, technically no, it wasn’t. But every epic life changing project needed a secret code name. Taron chose Operation Thunderchicken. What? It was funny.

“No need to quibble, my dear grump. We all know the code name is amazing. I’m sure the volunteers will tell you so themselves.”

“Don’t call it that in front of the volunteers!” Maverick demanded, his voice raising a few levels. The phone clicked over, and Isaac’s voice joined the conversation again.

“Taron, what did I just tell you?”

“It’s cruel to gang up on me,” Taron pouted. “I just had some work related questions, and you’re treating me so horribly. What did I do to deserve this?”

He may have cringed a little when Isaac started listing things off. His friends were so mean.