Page 8 of Waste (Legendary Shifters #4)

Drew/Ghoul

H e watched as Shelley served one customer after another.

She was polite and friendly, but not overly so.

To him, it appeared she was diminished. There was a definite vibe of distance she was putting out.

The other woman, who was rather annoying, kept sending Drew flirtatious glances, and he really wasn’t interested.

She seemed cheap to Drew, not that he was a snob.

There was a certain type of female who wanted rich husbands, and she’d clearly marked Drew as having money, or worse, she’d recognised him.

Drew ignored her as he drank his coffee and watched Shelley. She appeared a little pale, and he worried she might be ill. Shelley glanced his way several times, and he saw worry appear on her face. Damn! Drew guessed what Shelley was thinking: was he another stalker?

Drew rose to his feet and walked to the serving counter.

“Was your drink okay?” the annoying woman twittered; her name was Jo.

“Fine. This is forward of me, but I wondered if you’d like my number? I’d ask for yours, but women can’t be too careful nowadays,” Drew stated.

“I’d love your number; how thoughtful of you to consider my safety!” Jo exclaimed and puckered her lips as she batted her eyelashes at him.

“Sorry, that wasn’t for you, but for Shelley,” Drew said, and Jo’s mouth opened in shock.

“Shelley? Oh, Shelley won’t want your digits. She had an incident ,” Jo hissed the last two words. “Shelley won’t date anyone for a good while.”

Shelley blushed, and then the blood leeched from her face.

Drew gave Jo a scathing glare. “It’s okay, you can say no. If something bad happened, it would make even more sense for me to give you mine. After all, anybody could be a stalker.”

Drew watched as Shelley paled further and studied him before she shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I don’t date. Jo does, however.”

Drew hid a smirk as Shelley threw her colleague under the bus. Jo perked up for a few seconds and sent him a flirtatious smile once more.

“It’s not Jo I’m offering my number to, by the way; my name is Drew,” Drew replied and began walking out of the shop.

There was an indignant huff from Jo and an apology from Shelley to her.

That rankled Drew. Why was Shelley apologising for him wanting to give her his phone number? Drew didn’t like that one bit.

Shelley

“Shels, guess what?” Jo mock whispered the following day.

“What?” Shelley murmured, in no mood for drama today. She’d spent a restless night tossing and turning. That guy, Drew, had thrown her off balance, and she’d had a couple of nightmares that jerked her awake.

“What?” Shelley asked, only half listening.

“That customer from yesterday. That was Drew Martin for sure! The country singer—he’s huge at the moment,” Jo squealed.

Shelley turned to glance at Jo and noted the extra special effort Jo had made. “You look very pretty today.”

“Yup, I do,” Jo preened. “If Drew comes back, then I want to be ready to dazzle him.”

“Good luck.”

“And Shelley, make yourself scarce if he does. I don’t want you distracting him like yesterday,” Jo warned.

Shelley turned to Jo, indignant. “The last thing I need is unwanted attention. We both know I did nothing to encourage Mr Martin, so stop right there!”

“You think I’m stupid, but I’ve figured out what you’re doing. That whole victim vibe and the distance gimmick are attracting men. Kudos for finding something that works, but you don’t want to compete with me. I saw Drew first, and I licked him,” Jo stated.

Shelley shook her head. “I can’t believe this. If you’re so desperate for a rich husband, go for it. What you just accused me of is despicable and inappropriate for the workplace. Leave me out of your gold-digging schemes,” Shelley exclaimed.

“Be warned, Shelley.” Jo had to have the last word, and Shelley allowed her it.

It was halfway through her shift when Shelley heard the deep voice belonging to Drew.

She glanced up and saw Jo in full flirt mode and an expression of distaste on Drew’s face as he interacted with her.

Shelley barely refrained from shaking her head as she wanted to avoid encouraging any verbal exchange with Drew.

“I’ll ring Drew up,” Jo simpered and nudged Shelley out of the way with her hip.

“I wish you wouldn’t,” Drew replied clearly, and Jo tittered.

“Don’t be daft, you can’t mean that,” Jo said breathlessly. Shelley nearly laughed as Jo rang Drew up, and he refused to engage in her conversation. It was even funnier when Jo handed Drew his coffee, and her fingers lingered on his. Drew snatched his drink so quickly he almost spilt it.

“You are not welcome to touch me,” Drew spat angrily at Jo, forcing her to hesitate. Then, a bright smile crossed her face.

“You’ll invite me to, one day,” she said confidently, and Drew offered her a scathing glare that made Jo falter again.

“Highly unlikely,” Drew replied and headed for a table.

Shelley squirmed as his eyes focused on her, as if he was concerned, before he ducked his head and read his phone. Shelley ignored Jo as she continued serving customers until Jo straightened, pushed her chest out, and fluffed her hair.

“Was your coffee okay?” she queried, and Shelley looked up. In front of her stood Drew.

“Have you considered taking my number yet?” Drew murmured with a kind smile.

“Oh. No! Look, I’m flattered, but honestly, I don’t date right now. As I said, Jo is free.” Shelley tried directing him back to Jo, but distaste crossed his face. Shelley felt rather than saw Jo flinch.

“Jo is too overdone for my liking and too pushy. I like quiet and calm; I like you,” Drew replied, causing Shelley to blush.

“Shelley is a huge drama queen. She was attacked two months ago and continues to play the victim. You don’t want to be involved with Shelley. Even worse, the police still come around asking questions, like how her attacker was killed. Shelley claims to know nothing about it,” Jo said nastily.

With that spiteful comment, Jo sealed her fate. “That was uncalled for,” Shelley retorted as hurt stabbed at her.

“How ignorant of you!” Drew stated coldly, his eyes holding Jo’s. “A victim doesn’t recover from a violent attack in the blink of an eye. Two months is nothing. Not when you’re battling fear and panic. Is your head office aware of how you talk about your staff?”

Shelley recognised a threat when she heard one, and so did Jo.

Jo’s anger faded, and she became fawning. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yeah, you did. That was cruel and uncalled for. Shelley, are you okay?” Drew asked in concern.

“I’m fine. Excuse me, I need a few minutes,” she said and hustled away.

Tears were welling in her eyes, and a scream was lodged in her throat.

She swallowed hard as she headed for the small staff area, where they had their lunches and their lockers were.

Minutes ticked past as Shelley tried to control her emotions.

The door banged open, and Jo entered looking thoroughly riled. She glared at Shelley.

“What are you playing at?” Jo demanded.

“Not now, Jo,” Shelley choked out.

“No. You know I want Drew, and you keep interfering—”

“ Not now, Jo ,” Shelley screamed at her, and Jo blinked and took in Shelley’s condition.

“Damn, you’re having a panic attack,” Jo stated.

No shit, Sherlock, Shelley thought as she wound her fingers together. Tears streamed down her face, and she panted for breath. Black spots appeared, making her feel like she was going to pass out.

Jo shoved Shelley’s head down. “Head between your knees, Shelley,” Jo ordered. Jo left her for a few moments before coming back with a brown paper bag. “Breathe into that.”

Shelley put the bag to her mouth and did as Jo dictated. Slowly, her breathing calmed down, and Shelley seemed more in control.

“I need to go home,” Shelley muttered.

“Totally agree; don’t worry about clocking out. I’ll make sure you’re paid for the rest of your shift,” Jo said.

For a moment, Shelley wondered if Jo felt guilty, but when she looked up, she saw that it wasn’t the case. Jo was worried that Shelley might lodge a complaint, and rightfully so. Jo had overstepped professional boundaries and knew it.

Shelley rose shakily to her feet and collected her purse and bag before leaving through the back exit. She didn’t wish to face her other colleagues right now. Shelley escaped to her car and headed home.

Drew/Ghoul

What a vile piece of work Shelley’s co-worker was. Pushy, rude, in your face and self-serving. What Jo had said about Shelley had rankled him. Anyone who’d treat someone so cruelly was somebody Drew didn’t want to know.

He recognised Jo’s type—out for herself.

She’d trap a man with money and have fun spending it until it was all gone or she found herself with divorce papers.

Nothing was redeeming about Jo. The world centred around her in Jo’s eyes.

Drew had no need for narcissistic idiots in his life, and neither did Shelley.

Drew didn’t understand why Shelley was occupying his thoughts.

She wasn’t the first person he’d saved over the years, nor was she the only innocent.

Rare, and few and far between, Drew had encountered people that the Sins had barely touched.

Shelley was one of them. Strangely, Emmaline, Willow, and Mac were the same.

Goodness radiated from them, just as it did from Shelley. But that didn’t mean they were mates!

Drew shook his head. The look on Shelley’s face had worried him when Jo said her nasty words. They’d struck deep in Shelley, and Drew understood Shelley wasn’t anywhere near over the attack. Guilt hit him a little as he realised he might have frightened her when Ghoul had delivered his warning.