I took a deep breath and dug for hard-to-find patience. How did anyone handle dealing with the odious man long term? I needed and wanted the job, but I might have to rethink things and soon. I’d get the GED and then… find something else.
He was going to be tiresome.
I blinked.Such a strange word for me to think. I would say assholish or exhausting or something. Oh well, I needed to stay present. What did he want?Oh yes, I’m leaving.
“The schedule said I could leave.” I pointed toward the clock. “I signed out on the tablet, and it’s ten minutes past when I’m supposed to be here.”
He shook his head. “You need to check with me first.”
That had absolutelynotbeen part of the orientation, but I’d only been at the job for several days. It might really be part of it. My last job I’d been entirely on my own most of the time. Truth was that I wasn’t used to having to check in with people. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that I had to tell him before I left. Of course, I was leaving whether he liked it or not. The sun was setting around me and I needed to get home before the vampires came back to roost, so to speak.
“Sorry about that. I’ll remember that tomorrow.”
Chills rushed up my back as he regarded me. Maybe it was one of those things leftover in women’s genes from all eternity, but I sensed the presence of a predator in him, one that wanted to hurt me. Maybe my own instincts were heightened from my year of being an unpaid servant to the vampires who fed off of me completely without my consent, but I knew Stan wished me harm. I hadn’t done anything to him, certainly nothing to warrant the evil that his seemingly bland gaze threw my way, which meant something was wrong with him, something that made him want to hurt, regardless of the person.
He put out his arms. “Give me a hug to apologize.”
Give him a hug?I might be frightened, but not enough to do whatever someone wanted just to try to avoid making things worse.
I absolutely did not need the job that much.
“I’m not going to give you a hug.” I shook my head. “Whatever it is that you think you’re doing here, you can knock it off. I’m not interested, and I’m not going to kowtow to you because you’re my boss. You can just fuck off.”
His eyes flared. “How dare you speak to me like that? You’re…”
“Maci,” Rowan’s voice stopped the conversation. He walked toward us, dressed like he was just any other young human man that happened to want to discount shop at the store. He was beautiful and, for a second, relief flooded me. He had been my protector for the few weeks we’d known each other, made sure I ate, and taken care of not just me but every one of his friends. Maybe it was cognitive dissonance, but I forgot what he was now for just seconds, and they were beautiful, blissful moments that I wanted to roll around in. But then the truth flooded in fast.
Rowan was the leader of the vampires, set up to take over for the elders, and it appeared he slid into the role with ease. He’d banned me from getting what I’d needed, but it didn’t seem he’d really understood what he was doing.
In this case, his gaze was focused, Rowan knew exactly what he was about to do.
I swallowed. “Rowan…” I hated Stan because he fit into the box I’d been warned about—just another man who wanted to take what he could that I didn’t want to give. It was different with my vampires—I actually wanted to give them blood. Maybe it was a chemical thing, and I was being manipulated by my own body, but fuck it, I really loved it.
I didn’t want it to go away because they got caught by humans who would talk too much—like Stan.
I stepped forward but it didn’t seem to stop Rowan at all.
“What’s your name?” Rowan’s voice was low, predatory, and Stan didn’t miss the threat. His body visibly vibrated. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he pissed himself in a second. The image made me smile inside.Just how sick in the head am I?I forced my attention back to the moment. Rowan really might hurt him.
“Stanley,” my boss whispered, all of his gumption gone.
“Stanley,” Rowan touched his shoulder. “You’re working with Maci?” Rowan’s voice took on a seductive purr, something I’d seen other vampires do in the year I lived as a servant. The compulsion of their tone could convince someone to let them feed despite their actual desire to not be food. They liked to act as if humans ran to them, always ready and willing to serve as food, but that wasn’t always the case. It certainly hadn’t been for me during that time, although no one ever bothered to seduce me by using voice tricks.
“I’m her boss.” Stanley sounded downright zoned out.
I crossed my arms over my chest and walked closer to Rowan.
“Anyone could see you.” I didn’t try to lower my voice. “We’re in public.”
He didn’t look at me, keeping his gaze locked on Stan’s. “And there’s nothing to see but a conversation. I’m not floating him in the air or even drinking from his neck. Stanley and I are just talking, aren’t we, Stanley?”
“Yes,” the other man visibly swallowed. He might sound calm, but behind his eyes, I saw fear. He didn’t know what was happening and I’d seen—and felt—that myself many times. The man was a problem, but I didn’t want him harmed. Truthfully, I didn’t want anyone to ever be hurt because of me. While this might fall under thehe did it to himselfcategory, I couldn’t let Rowan hurt him just because Stan aggravated me. I’d quit. There were human alternatives to solve the problem of Stan.
The guys got rid of a teacher who had been mean when they’d still been human by having the vampires take her on. I didn’t need a repeat.
“Rowan, enough.” I hoped he would listen, because pulling on his arm would be fruitless and frustrating. I had no idea what my next move would be after that.
“You’re going to treat this woman with respect at work, do you understand, Stan? Say yes if you do and no if you don’t, so I can make myself even more clear should your answer be no.”