Page 5 of The Shapeshifter’s Secretary (Charmed Away Temp Agency #3)

CHAPTER FIVE

Tony’s new boss was a curious man. He seemed a little like a troublemaker, and Avery seemed exasperated when he showed up in the office, but Tony didn’t mind him so much. He was upbeat and smiled a lot. That was a lot better reaction than he usually got.

He just wished the guy wouldn’t stare so much. He said he wasn’t looking at the scars, but Tony was self-conscious. He tugged his collar up a little, hoping to hide just a few millimeters more of the scarring, and gave his attention back to Avery.

“It’s pretty self-explanatory, and one of the easier programs I had to learn on the fly, so I’m sure you’ll be okay. If you have any questions, you can feel free to call me. I work out of Ozen’s office, so I’m only one floor away.”

Tony wanted to accept Avery’s kindness as just that, but he couldn’t help but ask, “You aren’t helping me so much because you feel bad for me, are you?”

Startled, Avery’s gaze jerked from the computer screen and back to him. “Goddess, no.” He winced. “Okay, that sounded like you didn’t deserve a little sympathy, but that’s not what I meant. I think everyone needs a little help now and then, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I’m more here for Taron. Or maybe because of Taron. He’s a pain in the neck sometimes, but he’s really a good person, and I want him to get the help he needs. Mostly because I’m afraid if you leave, I’m going to have to step into the role until someone else is hired. I don’t think I have the patience for that, much less the time.”

Oh. Well, he was okay with that. Though the constant warnings about his new boss were a little worrisome.

“Is he really that bad?”

Avery wrinkled his nose. “Not bad… Just… I guess he’s a little scatterbrained sometimes. You should always remind him of a meeting at least twenty minutes beforehand, even if you discussed it that morning. He’ll get lost in his head and forget. And he can sometimes be a troublemaker. Try not to take him too seriously. He likes to have fun and liven the office up. I honestly think this place would be too stiff without him.” He tapped a finger on the booklet he’d first given him when they sat down. “Everything you need to know about how to wrangle Taron is in here. And if he does something unusual you don’t know how to handle, just call me. Ozen and Taron have been friends for hundreds of years. If anyone can figure him out, it’s my mate.”

Tony nodded. It sounded doable. Morana described it as tedious, which babysitting a full-grown adult to make sure he remembered to go to meetings and did his paperwork would qualify, but he could do it all from this desk. He could handle that just fine.

Avery looked at his watch and frowned. “Okay, I’ve gotta go. I’ve got a phone call with my editor in thirty minutes, and if I don’t skim her notes at least once before she calls, she yells at me. I left a list of the most important extensions right here, but if you need someone else, just call down to Alvin, the kraken who works the directory. He’ll direct your call.”

He was as prepared as he could be, so after he said his goodbyes to Avery, he set to work, pulling up the programs that Avery pointed out. The first so he could look over the clock-in system one more time. The second to check Mr. Cunningham’s schedule. He had a free morning, but he got busier later in the day. There was a free hour in the middle of the day so they could have that lunch he’d talked about. Tony brought his own, but it would be fine until tomorrow.

After making sure there was nothing he needed to deal with right away and setting an alarm to send a reminder for Taron’s next meeting on his phone, Tony pulled up his personal email. Morana didn’t want him to have to come back to the office to fill out the paperwork for this job, so she sent it to him in an email instead. He filled it out and sent it back, then started on the report for his abrupt exit from the last job. He didn’t want to get into any trouble for the way things ended, but he didn’t want to lie about what happened, either. In the end, he stuck to the truth. It was an accident. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be held against him.

The phone on his desk rang a few minutes after he finished sending that report to Morana. He picked it up and drew in a deep breath, wincing at the minor tremor in his voice when he said, “Mr. Cunningham’s office, Tony speaking. How can I help you?”

There was a pause, and then a level of amusement when the caller said, “You must be new.”

Tony’s brows furrowed. “Uh… Yes? It’s my first day. Why?”

“Because everyone else knows how much Taron hates being called Mr. Cunningham,” the gruff voice said. He didn’t sound mad, more entertained by his blunder, but Tony felt his face flush. He hadn’t known that.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he would’ve told you eventually. You wouldn’t happen to know what floor he’s on, do you?”

Tony’s gaze flicked up. His office was right outside Taron’s, with a wall of glass between him and the rest of the floor. The last time he saw Taron, he was pacing on the phone between the cubicles. He was still there, leaning against one of the cubicles and chatting with a lamia woman with pretty green scales.

“Yeah, he’s close by, actually. Did you want me to get him?”

“He’s still on his floor? That’s strange. He’s almost never there. If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with him. His recent bill for his company card makes no sense.”

Tony frowned but didn’t ask. Not his business. Instead, he put the caller on hold like Avery showed him and pushed to his feet, making his way slowly out into the main office where Taron was still chatting. He glanced over his shoulder, frowning at Tony, and straightened from where he’d been leaning.

“Tony? Is something wrong?”

Surprised, Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “Huh? Oh, uh, no. Nothing’s wrong. Someone on the phone wants to speak to you.” He winced when he remembered he forgot to ask for a name.

Taron didn’t seem to care. He excused himself from the conversation, moving to hover at Tony’s side. “You should have just texted me. Avery told you not to chase me. You’ll hurt yourself.”

His concern was a little disconcerting. Most people either actively avoided bringing it up or were annoyed about him needing accommodations. There was also pity, which he never liked. Concern wasn’t usually a part of it.

“Uh… It wasn’t far. It’s alright,” he mumbled, a little uncertain about how to react. He was glad his new boss didn’t have a problem with his injury and wanted him to stay in his seat, but he didn’t really know what to do with it.

Taron gestured toward his office, guiding Tony back with a hand on his upper back. “Let’s get you back in your seat. I’ll take the call in my office. And no more chasing me. Even if I’m on the same floor. I don’t need another assistant quitting on me because I’m hard to pin down.”

A smile tugged at Tony’s lips. He really wanted to know more about how Taron went through so many assistants. He seemed nice enough. What would be so bad that it would drive people away?

* * *

The morning went way better than he expected. The person who called, who Tony finally learned was someone named Urk Martell from finance, wasn’t upset about the long delay in getting Taron to answer the phone. Apparently, he was used to that. After that call, Taron disappeared for a while, but he was quick to respond when Tony messaged him about a meeting, and he was heavy-handed with the praise that Tony listened and didn’t come looking for him. Walking out onto the floor they were already on wasn’t really an issue, he could handle that much, but he wasn’t going to argue about it. Besides, the rest he was getting today was really helpful. The chair was a little small for him, but it was better than standing in an assembly line all day.

It was getting close to lunchtime when a satyr in a suit clopped into his office. He had a few files in his hand, and his focus was on his phone. He placed the files in the inbox on Tony’s desk and walked away without looking up once.

“That was weird,” Tony mumbled. He picked up the files, looking through them, but he didn’t really know what to do with them. Instead of playing a guessing game, he took out his phone and texted Taron. His meeting was supposed to be over soon, and Tony figured he’d answer when he was free.

Tony: Got a few files dropped off, but I’m not sure what to do with them. Did you have a preference or should I leave them on your desk?

To his surprise, Taron replied almost right away.

Taron: What kind of files?

Tony looked at them again with a frown. He didn’t know how to answer that.

Tony: Uh…

Taron: *Laughing emoji* Who dropped them off?

Tony: They didn’t give a name.

He didn’t want to get the guy into trouble because he didn’t say anything. He could’ve just been busy. He was glued to his phone, after all.

Taron: I’ll be up in a minute

Tony’s gaze flicked to the clock on his computer. Was the meeting over already? That was fast. But he didn't know how long the meeting was in the first place. He hoped there was a learning curve with this job because he felt a little in over his head. Was he supposed to know how long the meeting was?

Before he could question it any further, Taron appeared in the doorway. He went straight around Tony’s desk, leaning against it and making gimme hands. “What’ve you got?”

Tony fought back a smile, offering the files to Taron. “These were dropped off, but we haven’t talked about what to do with deliveries like that. I don’t think it’s urgent, the guy didn’t say anything like that. I figured you’d get back to me when you were through.”

Taron waved a hand dismissively, flipping open the files. Suddenly a huge grin spread across his face.

“Ohh… I’m guessing they brought this to the wrong office.”

His brows furrowed. “Why do you think that?”

“Because they’ve been purposely keeping me out of the loop on who our volunteers are for Project Thunderchicken. I doubt they changed their minds last minute. These were supposed to go upstairs to Ozen.” He looked giddy, wiggling his butt in a little dance. Tony watched him, bemused.

“Why do they want to keep you out of the loop?”

Taron’s nose wrinkled, his eyes glued to the files as he flipped through them. “They think I’ll offend someone. Which is just plain rude. I’ve never offended…” His voice trailed off and his smile disappeared as he went through the last file. The longer he looked at his, the more pronounced his frown got, which felt a little off. In the little time Tony spent with the guy, he was either smiling or being dramatic. Quiet and frowning didn’t suit him.

“Is everything okay?”

Taron sucked in a breath, snapping the file closed, and forced a smile. “Yep. All good. We should go to lunch soon. I’m starving. Do you like sushi?”