CHAPTER TWO
CONNOR
“Are you listening to a damn thing I’m saying to you, boy?” Ms. Higgins harped from the right side of my desk where she prattled on as I signed the stack of documents she’d placed in front of me ten minutes ago. Fuck, I was tired. It had been six months since that night at the creepy-ass clown motel.
Six months and we had nothing.
None of us were happy about that fact. Dean would damn well be losing his bloody mind if he didn’t have Julie to ground his emotions. God, the prick looked happy. That only upset me even more—that we hadn’t heard anything about Kayne’s whereabouts. There hadn’t even been a whisper, and I wasn’t about to have my new sister put in danger again. Granted, the Order of Decay’s little turd minions had kept us busy, causing messes all over the damn place for us to clean up. This, at least, gave us reason to believe they were up to something bigger. Unfortunately, the pipsqueaks we’d been picking up had zero clearance or information; they’d only been cannon fodder.
A swift smack to the back of the head dragged me back to Ms. Higgins. “What the hell, Ms. H? What was that for?” I asked as I rubbed my poor abused noggin.
“You’re woolgathering while I’m trying to get you to pay attention and finish up. It’s four in the afternoon and I still have a lot to do before I can call it a day. With you out of the office all the damn time tracking that loon brother of yours, I have double the work now. Boy, I’m seventy-three. I should be in Florida perving on cabana boys, not typing memos and taking your conference calls from Guam.”
Mary Louisa Higgins was so darn cute when she ranted. She had been working for me since her early twenties. Like the Order of Decay, we too had a handful of trusted followers to help us keep our Horsemen secret. But our group were family, consisting of a number of descendants from either the last of the Navah or our own mothers. Ms. H. was most likely of my own mother’s line, due to her strong natural resistance to my gift. Though since my mother had done her duty to humanity, popped me out, and moved on, leaving me behind, we couldn’t be sure.
I put my elbow on the desk, my chin in my hand and smiled. “You know, Ms. H, you’re awfully adorable when you get all hot and bothered.”
My efforts only earned me another smack, this time knocking my head right out of my hand. “Don’t try that shit on me, boy. I ain’t buying it. Now concentrate. First, what are we doing about the tabloids?”
I leaned back in my chair and laced my hands behind my neck, with my elbows out and relaxed as I answered, “I spoke to Fallon last night. She said to leave it. I don’t have the time or interest in dating at the moment, and she said tips have never been better for her at work. Apparently, every trust fund baby within one hundred miles has been down to the bar looking to slum it and be the one to steal ‘my girl.’” For Ms. H.’s benefit I made the air quote around my girl. Fallon and I had grown close over the last few months. She filled a bit of the void left by Dean after he found Julie, and I sensed I did the same for her. Not to get me wrong, Fallon was smoking hot with a great personality, but she was more my snarky twin with boobs. Another little sister that I never knew I wanted. The first month or two we hung out as a group, but we since hang on our own and complain about how gross Dulie are—always kissing and humping all over the damn place. Side note: Dean hates the couple nickname Dulie, so we of course—as good friends—use it all the time.
“Well, that brings us to my other issue then. You need to be here at 7:00 a.m. to interview assistants. I can’t keep doing both your job and mine. I need a runner. I don’t run anymore, boy, and you don’t pay me enough to try. Unless George Clooney arrives with white chocolate Lindor Truffles and a marriage proposal, I don’t get above sloth speed. I put an ad on the Craigslist like Julie told me, and we had a shitload of responses. Over twenty-five men and women are due in for fifteen-minute interviews. This needs to be sorted. I want someone starting by Friday morning…. Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Have you lost your bloody mind? Has the dementia finally kicked in? I don’t have time to deal with this. Besides, if they’re not a descendant, they’ll be nothing more than horny, obedient fucking lap dogs,” I tried to explain, disgust filling my tone.
“Okay, I’m failing to see the issue here.” She adjusted her weight to stand a straight four foot eleven and three quarters. Ready for war, she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “Sounds like the ideal assistant, minus the horny part. Connor, I understand that finding your bother and protecting Julie take precedent, but this company is what floats the cost of the Horsemen’s endeavors. It has to continue to run as though nothing has changed, and I don’t mind stepping in for you. You boys are family to me. I would give you my left tit—”
“Dear God, please don’t. Keep that sucker tucked away,” I pleaded.
She continued speaking over me, ignoring my plea, but also kept her top on. Thank fuck. “—if I thought it would help. But I just can’t handle twelve-hour days doing both your work and my own anymore. I need someone to pick up the slack, returning e-mails and calls, setting appointments, maintaining the filing, things of that nature.”
Sighing, I gave in. “Fine. But when tomorrow goes to shit, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
*****
“I have an associate degree in business and management. I was a valued intern for Schumer, Schumer, Schumer, and Wolowitz for six months. I have no pets, and no children, though I do love both and hope to have them once I settle with the right man. I own my own car, but like to switch it up and walk too. I am outgoing, energetic, funny, a Libra, and a true blonde.” Mr. Simons finished his ludicrous list of qualifications with a purr and wink.
Please, someone shoot me and put me out of this misery.
As promised, I was there at seven when Ms. H’s circus began. It was now two in the afternoon and I was done with the bullshit. This was my seventeenth interview. It would have been my twentieth, but three of the overeager candidates had to be removed by security. I had warned Ms. H it’d be a waste of time. Damn stubborn old goat.
“I’m sure you are, Mr. Simons. Your résumé looks great. I will have Ms. Higgins phone you in the next few days giving you an update on the position. Thank you for your time.” I dismissed him and quickly dropped my gaze, but not before catching the look of devastation that crossed his features. You would think I’d run over his puppy, not told him the interview was over. That was one of the things I hated about my gift. Everyone thought charisma was the best gift to have. A power that gave an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people, most would love that, right? To be instantly loved, and respected, to use it however and on whomever you wished. I’d never liked it. It was all fake, never real or pure. The worst of it was times like those where I—or rather my fucking gift—messed with good people’s heads. It caused them to say, feel, or do things they normally would never do, and when I didn’t return the response they were looking for, they felt irrationally emotional, and sometimes physical pain.
“Please tell Ms. Higgins to come in before sending in the next applicant,” I asked, not lifting my eyes from the papers in front of me. Mr. Simons let a cry of sheer anguish break past his lips. I felt it deep in my gut before he swallowed down the rest and ran from the room and past Ms. H’s desk.
“Ms. Higgins,” I barked. My hands painfully bit into the armrests of my chair in order to help rein in my anger and frustration.
She entered quickly, closing the door behind her, and softly began, “Connor—”
My head snapped up at the same time I cut her off. “No, I am fucking done with this farce. You wish for an assistant, you fucking hire one. The next asshole in line gets the goddamn job. I honestly don’t give a shit. Just keep them the fuck away from me. I told you this shit was going to be bad, but you pushed anyway, and for you, I tried. Not anymore. I am done.
“I’ll come into the office after hours to go over the shit from the day, but till Kayne is dealt with and my new sister is safe, I don’t have time for this bullshit.” With that, I stood and walked to the door, but stopped before opening it. Calmer now, I sighed, and without turning said, “I know you were only trying to help, but you forget what a treasure you are to me. There are so few who are able to be themselves in my presence. Please put the applicant who just left on suicide watch till my pheromones work through his system. He had a stronger reaction than most in such a short amount of time. And please, don’t ever make me do something like this again. I don’t like hurting good people.” I left to change and collect my bo staff from my apartment to work out the rest of the shit swirling around in my head in the gym.