Makayla eyed her staff, waiting for someone to have the courage to speak first. Living with a shapeshifter for a week had taught her a thing or two about intimidation, and she used everything she knew to sling daggers into her disloyal staff. She saw them gulp, the sweat break on their brows. She saw their eyes dilate.

Makayla licked her lips. She almost felt like a predator. Maybe Ronan had rubbed off on her more than she realized.

“Isn’t anyone going to speak?” she demanded.

“Makayla, we made a decision and went with it. Just like you always tell us to do,” said Lorna with a haughty tone in her voice.

Makayla stared at Lorna, waiting a beat before speaking. “And what caused this particular decision to be made? The magazine edition was nearly complete before I went missing. You changed the entire thing. I should fire every last one of you for this insubordination. What exactly were you trying to accomplish here?”

“We wanted to make this edition reflect the current culture in Portland, it…”

“Who’s current culture? This does not reflect our demographic at all. I’ve been over the numbers, and I can only see the slightest percentage of greater approval in a demographic that hasn’t even historically read this magazine. This is a disaster. Whatever anecdotal evidence you have to support your claim, the numbers don’t lie.”

Lorna stood and walked down the conference table toward Makayla. Lorna put a stack of printouts in front of Makayla and walked back to her chair. “Those are articles from local bloggers, endorsing the magazine to their readers. This is an audience that is estimated in the tens of thousands. It will translate into a wider readership within a month. I’d bet my career on it.”

“And you just may have. This meeting is over. Everyone back to work. Lorna, you stay.”

The staff filed out, and Lorna sat at the other end of the conference table looking snotty as hell. Makayla wanted to pounce on the table and rip the look off the girl’s face.

“Why shouldn’t I fire you right now, Lorna?”

“I’ve pleaded my case. What else can I say?”

Makayla sighed. She hated being the bad guy. In her six years as editor, she’d never had to do anything remotely like this. Sure, she’d had to fire people before, but it had never been over such an act of disloyalty. But maybe Lorna had a point, the bloggers were really advocating the magazine.

Makayla squeezed the bridge of her nose and pressed her eyes shut for a brief moment. She opened her eyes and tapped her fingertips on the table as she read over the blogs about the magazine.

“Alright, Lorna. You are hereby on trial. No paid vacation days, and we cut your benefits until such time that you can prove you have the magazine’s best interest at heart. This stunt was unacceptable. But I do see that you have a point here. That is the only reason I’m not firing you. You had better keep your nose clean. If I even smell a hint of another conspiracy like this, you will be out of here so fast, you won’t know what hit you. And you can forget a reference. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Thank you Makayla. I wanted to go over more of the new demographic information with you…”

“Not now. We’ll put together an alternative lifestyle section. Nothing too racy. It has to be whitewashed for our normal readers. Nothing else is going to make it through, but I am willing to add the section. That is all you’re going to get from me right now. Now get back to work before I change my mind.”

Lorna gathered her things with a smile and left the room. Makayla leaned back in her chair and sighed. The girl reminded her of herself in a lot of ways. She had guts that was for sure. But going behind Makayla’s back was not the right way to go about doing things. She thought maybe she was making a mistake by keeping Lorna on, but she’d made the decision and would live with it.

Makayla stood from her chair and went back to her office. The rest of the day she spent doing damage control and fielding angry phone calls from advertisers. By the end of the day, she was exhausted. Her mind flitted to the simple life she’d lived with Ronan in the woods.

What she wouldn’t give to be with him now. But there was no way she could leave the career she’d spent the last fifteen years of her life building to go live like a hermit in the woods.

As night descended and Makayla realized it was already after nine, she grabbed her purse and coat and left the building. She walked down the street to a high class bar where many of the local business people unwound and ordered a Cosmo.

As she took her first sip of her drink, she spied her ex “friends with benefits,” Mark. Before she could pull away to hide in the shadows at the back of the bar, he spotted her and quickly crossed the room.

“Makayla,” he said happily before kissing her cheek.

She smiled up at him as they greeted each other. She felt awkward but wouldn’t show it. It still burned her that he threw her over for a skinny twenty-year-old.

“Come join me,” he said as he pulled her to his table. She didn’t resist when she noticed that he was alone. “How have you been? I heard you’d gone missing. What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” she said, taking another sip of her Cosmo.

“Didn’t you get rescued by some mountain man recluse or something?”

“Something along those lines. He was a good person though.”

“I’m sure he was. Salt of the earth and all that.”

“Yes,” Makayla hissed. She didn’t want to discuss Ronan with Mark of all people. “And how have you been? How is…” She snapped her fingers. “What was her name? That recent college grad intern of yours?”

“Tiffany. And Tiffany and I aren’t together anymore. She went back to grad school and boys her own age. I was never fond of playing ‘daddy’ anyway. At least, not like that. I remember playing daddy with you was quite pleasurable.”

“Mark, please…”

“You’re looking lovely, Makayla. I can’t help but remember the good times we shared.”

“It wasn’t me who broke it off. If I remember correctly.”

“My mistake. I was distracted by a piece of candy. Can you forgive me?”

Mark’s manicured good looks had once been enticingly attractive to Makayla. After being with Ronan, Mark just looked fake and plastic.

“I could forgive you, Mark, if you hadn’t rubbed it in my face.”

“I never meant to rub it in your face, Mak. You know you’re my girl. We’ve been friends for years. Our extracurricular activities never came between us before.”

Makayla took another sip of her drink and looked past Mark at the wall. The dim lights of the bar twinkled on the glittering mini-dress of a woman walking by as a man in a tailored suit followed her outside.

This was Makayla’s life. The life in the woods was like a dream. She couldn’t let it change her so much. She looked at Mark and examined his broad shoulders and perfectly straight, white teeth. His brown eyes twinkled at her as he flashed her a million dollar smile and unbuttoned his jacket.

She sighed and put her hand on his. “Maybe another time, Mark. I appreciate the invitation, but I’m still shell shocked from the car accident. No hard feelings.”

Makayla stood from her chair and gave Mark a passing peck on the cheek before she picked up her things and left.