Four

Blair

Huge…

The single word echoed in my head as the gorgeous, dark haired, viking built like a tank, barged into the office. I auto switched into defense mode as my instinct reacted to the presence of what it considered an alpha male.

I shrank back against my seat with a gasp, trying to put some distance between us. My fingers gripped the armrests until my knuckles turned white as every nerve inside me screamed to escape.

“What the bloody fuck am I hearing about a new employee, Lucy?” His voice, deep and gravelly, came out in a growl and made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

I was put in mind of a predator, a large, formidable one and the thought only served to ratchet my anxiety several notches up. Now, I couldn't help but wonder if Mac Walsh was Lorekind. Humans didn't breed them that massive.

I wanted to bolt, but his large frame was between me and the door.

Shit.

“I thought we agreed at the last meeting about not hiring more staff?” Mac crossed his arms across his chest. “And why am I just finding out about it, today?”

“Mac,” Lucy said in a calm tone. “I’m in the middle of a meeting with the new employee. Can we talk later?”

He whipped his head to the side, finally noticing me and I stifled a flinch at the sudden movement. I wasn’t the best at dealing with large, furious men and irrational fear crawled its way up my spine but I tamped it down and forced myself to sit up straight, lifting my gaze to his face.

Glossy dark hair lay in expertly styled waves, high on top, tapered to a fade at the sides and back. Thick brows framed shrewd obsidian eyes, a nose that looked like it had seen a few fistfights in its lifetime and a soft, sensual mouth currently pulled into a frown.

Despite the irritation clearly written in his expression, any one would be hard pressed to deny the fact that Mac Walsh had been blessed by Hermatta, the goddess of beauty. He wasn’t just tall. Underneath the navy sweatshirt and jeans, it was evident he had a well proportioned, muscled body.

Resse, my mate, was also well built, thanks to a strict fitness and diet regimen, but even he didn’t hold a candle to Mac. Now, I knew firsthand how strong Resse was, and that made me even more terrified of Mac, who could swat me away with less effort.

Those obsidian eyes pierced me with a look from head to toe, and from the downward turn of his mouth, it wasn’t hard to guess he found me less than impressive.

“We’ll talk about this now.” He took his eyes from me to glare at Lucy. “We don’t need a new fucking employee, and certainly not one that looks like she should still be in high school.

I winced at the insult. I knew I looked a lot younger than my twenty-three years, but calling me a teenager? Granted, I had become even skinnier over the last month, and the fact that my hair was dyed almost black instead of my natural tawny brunette (and the dark eyeliner I’d taken to wearing) did give me a bit of a grungy edge, but still…

“Mac!” Lucy looked aghast, her eyes flitting to me, full of silent apology before she glowered at her boss. “There’s no need to be rude. And the reason I didn’t mention it was because I didn’t want to bother you while you were away at the conference.”

“Well, I’m here now and I’m saying we don’t need the extra staff.” He looked downright belligerent. I waited for some form of an apology but as the seconds ticked by, it was clear he wasn’t going to offer one.

If my job wasn’t already in a precarious position, I would have responded with something snarky. But pissing him off further wasn’t going to help, so I remained silent.

“Well, I think we do.” I marveled at Lucy’s calm manner. “We need someone to proofread and decipher the mess that’s your research notes, which - if I may point out - you always grouse about doing. And maybe we can finally have the supplies put away on time rather than having boxes sit for weeks in storage or the used lab equipment put back in their proper places because no one in this company can be assed to clean up after themselves, or how about the million other things that need to be done but aren't because everyone is busy?”

“We can manage just fine. We’ll set up a roster for the extra duties and I’m not about to have some stranger nosing around in my notes.”

“We’re already paying for overtime, too much in my opinion and that’s money that can be used elsewhere.”

“You’ve got your argument all figured out, huh?” Mac threw her an accusing scowl. “But you forget, that it’s still my fucking company and what I say, goes.”

“And you bloody well put me in charge of managing what you called ‘the aspects you couldn't give a fuck about,” and that, you bloody ass, is exactly what I’m trying to do, so butt the fuck out.”

My mouth fell open and I’m sure my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. The cool, collected Lucy was gone and replaced by this ballsy woman swearing like a sailor on a stormy night and did she actually call him an ass? I seriously doubted my hearing.

My eyes flew to Mac, and I waited, tense, for the explosion I was sure was imminent. If any woman… or man had dared talk to Resse like this, he would have ripped out their throats in a heartbeat.

Mac smirked.

I blinked.

Had he lost his mind…or had I?

“Well, it just so happens that I do give a fuck when its my pocket in jeopardy.” Mac huffed and threw up his hands and I flinched - goddess, I was doing that a lot around this man and it wasn’t helping my mental health in any way. “I just had to spend a bloody week schmoozing with those assholes in Washington trying to get secure funding without planting my fist in their pompous, overstuffed faces. And that money is not to be wasted on frivolities.”

I released the breath I'd been holding while waiting for the explosion that never came.

He huffed and threw his large frame into the chair beside me, then pinned me with a look, his lips rising in another smirk. “No offense.”

This was it. I was going to be fired in less than an hour. I took a deep breath and summoned up a bit of courage.

“I…I can do whatever you need,” I whispered, and then cleared my throat, willing my voice to be stronger. “You can cut down my wages, if that helps, but -”

“Have you told her how much she’ll be paid?” Mac asked, his eyebrows going up and his gaze flicking from me to Lucy.

“Not yet, we hadn’t quite gotten to the employment contract yet.” Lucy threw him a look filled with accusation. “That’s part of the paperwork we were looking over before you came in.”

Mac ignored her and turned back to me, eyes narrowed. “So, how do you know you’d be comfortable if we decided to cut the pay?”

I felt heat rise to my cheeks and wrung my hands. If I told him I was willing to take any amount, then I’d look too desperate and probably raise more questions than I could answer. And that could lead to them finding out about how I’d spent the last three nights in a homeless shelter and in an abandoned building four nights ago, or that my worldly possessions were stashed in the backpack at my feet or that I couldn’t afford three meals a day, sometimes even one if the food ran out at the soup kitchen that day.

I’d intended to put in a fake address on my employment form and lie that I had lost my mobile phone to escape putting down a contact number.

“Uh…I…” I looked down at my hands and saw they were shaking. I clasped them together and inhaled too deeply because my ribs protested. “I have experience with SAS. Do you use that here?”

SAS or Specimen Analysis System, was a revolutionary computer program that was capable of running virtual tests in a matter of seconds, cutting down the wait times for lab tests by eliminating the need to wait for bacteria cultures to grow in petri dishes. These days, most modern research facilities have adopted the use of it and couldn’t praise the system enough.

But from the sour look on Mac’s face, he was not one of those scientists.

“I hate SAS.” Mac muttered, mouth curling in disgust and my heart sank.

“You only say that because you haven’t been able to figure out how to use the damn thing.” Lucy quipped, a wry smile playing on her lips. Her gaze fell on me, eyes lit with excitement. “We recently got the program, but Mac hates it because he’s been unable to use it. If you’re proficient at it, that would be a great start.”

“I am,” Grabbing onto this lifeline with both hands, I scooted to the edge of my seat. “I attended the seminar that the creators gave last year, and I have used it at my previous workplace.”

“Bloody waste of time. We can manage without the damn thing.” Mac looked unconvinced.

This was it. The moment when I had to let go of the last shreds of my pride. To be honest, it was surprising that I still had any left at this point.

“Please…” I whispered, keeping my gaze lowered. “I’m willing to do anything, but please, don’t fire me. I really need this job.”