Page 7 of The Shapeshifter’s Secretary (Charmed Away Temp Agency #3)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Somehow, on his first day, Tony ended up eating lunch not only with his new boss, who was co-owner of the company, but also with the other CEO, their top lawyer, and their mates. It was a little surreal. Just yesterday, he’d gotten fired from a job for knocking down some boxes. Today, he was eating sushi with the rich and famous.

Well… Trying to eat anyway. He didn’t have a clue how to use chopsticks, and it felt rude to eat with his hands. How weird would it be to ask for a fork? Or was that embarrassing?

“I don’t know why you’re asking that. I haven’t done anything,” Taron complained. Tony refocused on his boss just in time to see him push out his bottom lip in a pout. It was cute whenever he did that. And he did it a lot. Especially around his friends. Taron had a dramatic flair that most of his friends didn’t seem to appreciate. Tony thought it was funny watching a grown man who owned half of the most successful company in the country pout like a toddler.

“And yet the files never made it to me,” Ozen said dryly, using his chopsticks like a pro. Tony studied him, trying to figure out how to do it, but he wasn’t sure he could pull it off. It looked complicated.

“I was in a meeting right before lunch,” Taron said primly. He somehow produced a rubber band from somewhere and grabbed the wrapper from the wooden chopsticks, rolling it up and doing something fancy with it and the chopsticks themselves. Tony didn’t catch the whole thing. But when he was finished, Taron handed him the chopsticks, which were now newbie friendly, staying open like tweezers until Tony put a little pressure to grab something. He didn’t even look down while he was making them. Huh. That was a neat trick.

“Tony can back me up. He sent me to the meeting.”

Huh? He glanced up from checking out Taron’s trick with the chopsticks, suddenly aware that everyone was looking at him. He flushed bright red, hiding the chopsticks in his lap.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“There were some files that were supposed to be brought upstairs,” Ozen prompted. “You wouldn’t happen to know where they went?”

His brows drew together tightly. “Oh, they were brought to me. I didn’t know what to do with them, though. They're still in the office.”

He must’ve said something right because Taron beamed at him. He offered back a small smile, still uncomfortable with the motion. It tugged at his scars and he worried it drew attention to them, so he didn’t smile much anymore. Not since the incident.

Taron nudged his hand, tipping his head toward his plate to remind him to eat before turning back to his friends. “See? A simple misunderstanding. I’ll bring them up to your office when we get back.”

“No. You can’t be trusted. I’ll come get them myself,” Ozen said sternly.

Couldn’t be trusted? Why? All he’d done was look at them. Did he mention the files were on Taron’s desk, not Tony’s? He eyed his boss carefully, then thought better of it. Taron was the nicest boss he’d ever had. He wasn’t going to throw the man under the bus.

When everyone was distracted with their food or the conversation, Tony tried again to use the chopsticks. They were a lot easier to use thanks to Taron, and he could actually enjoy his meal without embarrassing himself. No one seemed to notice he needed the modification, or they genuinely didn’t care. Either way, he got to eat sushi for the first time, and it was actually really good. He thought he’d have trouble with raw fish, but he liked it.

After his meal, he excused himself to the restroom, careful to avoid the tables that were a little too close together for someone his size who had trouble walking. He made it there alright, but on the way back, he wasn’t so lucky. A server cut him off, the little kappa bustling past him and bumping him in just the right way to throw off his balance. He sucked in a sharp breath, trying to catch himself on the nearest table, but he was too heavy and the whole thing collapsed, sending him to the ground with a loud thump.

If he hadn’t already had a fall this week, he probably would’ve been fine. At least he didn’t land directly on his bad side. But he was already hurt from falling the other day, and just the impact was enough to send shooting pains up his right side with enough intensity to make him nauseous. His lunch nearly came back up, and he couldn’t move without more pain. Shit. This was bad.

“Tony!”

Taron came out of nowhere, dropping to his knees beside him on the floor. His hand hovered over him, like he was afraid to touch him and make things worse, his face lowered so he could look him in the eye.

“Are you hurt? Don’t move. We’ll call an ambulance.”

Nope. No way. He couldn’t afford that. The panic over another hospital bill got him moving, despite the mind numbing pain. “N-No. I’m okay.”

“You clearly aren’t,” Taron argued. “You really shouldn’t–”

Lifting his head to lock eyes with Taron, he forced himself to mask the pain. “Really. I’m fine. I just need a minute.”

Taron’s eyes shifted back and forth between his, like he was trying to find the lie. It didn’t matter, though. There wasn’t a chance in hell Tony was getting into an ambulance. Human insurance was abysmal. He’d go bankrupt.

Taron must’ve seen the determination in his eyes, because he dipped his chin to acknowledge him. “Okay. I won’t call. Just… Sit there for a second. You look really pale.”

Moving hurt, but being on his hands and knees hurt worse, so he dealt with the shooting pains as he twisted so he could sit up. His hands shook from the pain, and he felt sweat gathering at his temples. He should’ve known the day would end like this. Good things never lasted for him.

After a few deep breaths, he finally tuned into what was happening around him. The kappa who had tripped him was frantically apologizing, his boss in the chef’s whites standing beside him talking with Ozen and the lawyer, who looked pissed, small plumes of smoke spilling from his nose. Avery and Isaac stood just behind Taron, and Avery clutched his phone like he was ready to call for help any second. He must’ve heard Tony’s request because he didn't put it to his ear. The whole restaurant seemed a little chaotic, with more servers rushing around to clean up the mess Tony had made by knocking down the table, while patrons stood to get a better look at what had happened. Tony felt his cheeks burn bright, and he ducked his head, wincing as the movement tugged at the strained muscles.

“What’s wrong?” Taron murmured. He was still kneeling next to him, one warm hand on Tony’s shoulder to comfort him.

He shook his head a tiny bit and immediately regretted it. He really wished his insurance would’ve lasted through at least a few more PT sessions. Walking shouldn’t be this hard, should it?

“Can we… Can we leave? Please?”

Taron looked him over with a worried frown, and Tony could tell he didn't want him to move, but he didn’t refuse. “Put your arm over my shoulder. I’ll help you up.”

That seemed really unlikely. Taron was about his height, but at least fifty pounds lighter than him and– Oh!

Like he didn’t weigh a thing, Taron helped lift Tony off the ground with the arm around his shoulders and a careful grip on Tony’s hip. It stunned the crap out of him, and he gaped at his boss, barely registering the pain as he got his feet back under him. Taron noticed his surprise and winked at him.

“Shapeshifters are stronger than we look.”

So that was what he was. Tony thought it was rude to ask. Taron was obviously a supe with the way he glowed, but other than that, he looked human enough that Tony couldn’t even begin to guess. Shapeshifter. That was cool.

He flinched when Taron readjusted him a little. The fall twisted his prosthetic enough that it pinched when he put weight on it. Great. That wouldn’t be a massive pain in the ass to fix. He didn’t even know where he could find the privacy to do that. Bathroom maybe?

“I don’t suppose you’d let me carry you to the car, would you?” Taron asked conversationally. He was trying to appear cool and collected, but tension framed his eyes and his attempt at a smile didn’t do much more than make his lips twitch.

“That, uh… wouldn’t be as helpful as you think.” Not with the way his injury affected him. Scrunching himself up like that would only make things worse. Lying flat was best when he got hurt, but when that wasn’t possible, upright was better.

“Well, I’m not about to argue. Lean your weight into me. I can take it.”

After the maneuver of getting him off the floor, Tony believed him. He hobbled out of the restaurant with Taron’s help, biting back a whimper as he lowered himself into the backseat of Mr. Hawksley’s car. No amount of pain cream was going to touch this. He needed to go lay down somewhere.

While the others were still arguing with the restaurant employees, Tony leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. His eyes burned with unshed tears, both from the pain and the humiliation. It was only a matter of time before Taron dismissed him, too. He wasn’t sure what he did to deserve this, but things couldn’t get much worse.

“Taron! Stop!” Ozen barked.

Tony’s eyes snapped back open, and he jerked around to see what was happening, flinching for his effort. Slowly, slowly. He peeked his eyes open again, taking in the scene, and his mouth fell open.

Taron was… not Taron anymore. Or maybe it was his true form. All the features that Tony recognized were gone, and in their place was a form of pure black shaped sort of like a person, but with no discerning features. He looked like a shadow, but solid instead of opaque. And the surrounding air was vibrating. What the–?

Tony couldn’t hear much of what they were saying. Taron had left the door open, so he had fresh air, but they were far enough away to make it difficult to distinguish words. He had to rely on body language, and Taron looked like he was minutes away from ripping someone apart. That’s not good.

Carefully, to minimize as much pain as he could, he turned to get out of the car. It hurt, and he whimpered with the effort, which seemed to catch Taron’s attention. That or someone said something to him. Ozen and Avery were standing between him and the restaurant employees, hands raised like they were soothing a wild horse. When Tony tried to stand, Taron’s head snapped around, and he abandoned whatever he’d been planning to do, striding straight for Tony instead. As he moved, his features slowly reappeared. Eyes, nose, mouth, ears, then finally that beautiful brown skin. There wasn’t a hair out of place, and his suit was perfectly put together. Tony was a little jealous. He was pretty sure he looked like a mess.

“What are you doing? You’ll hurt yourself.” Taron carefully moved him back into the car, leaning over him to buckle him in. It brought him closer to Tony’s face. Taron smelled good. Like fancy cologne and sunshine.

“What’s happening?” he croaked, trying to focus on anything other than how his boss smelled.

“Never you mind,” Taron scolded quietly. “Don’t chase me, Tony. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Before he could storm off again, Tony caught his wrist with his good hand, drawing Taron back to him. “Then don’t go. I won’t have to chase you if you stay here.”

Something like surprise flickered over Taron’s face before it softened, and he stepped back. Squatting beside the car, he took Tony’s good hand, smiling softly.

“Okay, a thaisce. I’ll stay with you.”