"What are you doing here?" Lucian asked with disdain, one would think he wasn't pleased to see his best friends.
"This right here, is why we are the only ones who can stand your ass." Dustin the tallest of them said.
Two plopped on his office couch while Dustin took the seat directly opposite Lucian's. He lifted his legs and gently placed them on the office table. Lucian growled baring his teeth, they transformed a little to show fangs as his teeth tripled in size.
"Easy wolf," Dustin chuckled, taking his legs off the table. Lucian's fangs easily transformed back and Dustin couldn't help his smile. No matter how many times he saw it was always amazing to watch.
This was what set aside the royal family from the rest of the werewolves, the ability to transform whatever part of their body whenever and however they wanted. There was yet to be a limit and they could hold this form for as long as they wanted. However, other werewolves had to transform fully or not at all.
"So, to what do I owe this August visit?" Lucian asked with his eyes glued to his personal computer as he tapped and clicked away.
"Apparently, the King wants your presence at the meeting," Grady said. He was blond with pretty eyes, worthy of being a model, he was the most handsome of their group.
Lucian froze, his fingers on the keyboard stilled. Gently he raised his head to look at them and the air sizzled. "His big idea is to ask my PACK to come get me. What happened to my pack, my freaking rules?"
"It is non-negotiable," Tolvar spoke softly. He was the calm member of their group. The only one who seemed to get to Lucian.
Lucian sighed, "But he promised to stay out of my business like he would leave me out of his."
"The elders are coming," Tolvar announced ever so gently even though the words he spoke were equivalent to a bomb going off.
"The elders? What do they want?" Lucian asked sternly.
"I don't know, nobody knows but your presence is of utmost importance."
Lucian growled again, he hated castle business and he hated that no matter how far away he went, they always found a way to pull him into their business. "When is it?" He hated that he couldn't fight his way out of this, his father was one thing but nobody went against the elders even his father wouldn't be able to protect him.
"In a week," Dustin muttered and braced himself. There was no doubt that Lucian would not like his response.
"A week! I get a week. Unlike the King," Lucina yelled with disgust, making air quotes with his fingers. "I have a business to run. I just can't up and leave in a week."
"I am sure you can Lucian, your business would not come down just because you left in a week," Grady smirked, obviously enjoying Lucian's discomfort.
"Don't patronize me, Grady!" Turning to Dustin and Tolvar he asked, "How long would I be away for?"
They all glared at him, "We are just the messengers, don't bloody interrogate us." Dustin said, smiling. "Take it up with your father or better still, the elders."
"Whatever, I have to get the jet ready in time." He muttered returning to work as he once again hurriedly typed across the keyboard.
"You?" Grady asked with a frown.
"Speaking of which," Dustin interrupted. "Where in heavens' name is your secretary or is she your personal assistant? I can never decide what you call them."
"I fired her," Lucian replied nonchalantly like it was a regular occurrence and indeed it was.
"You what?" They chorused. "I thought you said last time was going to be the last time," Tolvar added.
"I say that every time."
"Don't announce like it is something you should be proud about. Why did you fire her?" Dustin asked.
"She became a thorn in my ass." They waited for more explanation but that was obviously what they were going to get.
"So, you fired her?" Grady asked.
"Are you saying I shouldn't have?" Lucian asked, raising his eyes from his computer to intensely stare at Grady.
"Not particularly but if I'm not wrong you hired her less than two weeks ago. That's the fifth one in less than four months. See what I am trying to hint at here?" Grady asked dryly.
"Did you sleep with her?" Tolvar asked with disgust. He never could understand the concept of a fling. If love wasn't involved, he just couldn't.
"Like you have to ask?" Dustin spun on the seat to look at Tolvar.
"I am a playboy, don't act self-righteous in my case, we all know Dustin is worse." Lucian defended feeling a little embarrassed. He hated talking about his sexual life. He couldn't help his sexual prowess but sticking to one woman just wasn't his style. He didn't believe finding a mate for life was plausible.
"At least I don't mess around with my employees, you have no boundaries, no limit. Don't think you can judge me." As Dustin spoke, he turned around to face Lucian.
"Well I can't help it and I do have a thing for sexy ladies." Lucian defended.
"Are you even listening to yourself?" Tolvar yelled, he was getting pissed off.
"Whose fault is that?" Grady asked, waving a lock of hair away from his eyes. "That's who you always freaking hire every time. The bigger their boobs, the better for Lu."
"Hey! Don't judge, the last thing I need is a lesson from you. I already learned my lesson, I don't need your input. The two million I lost to compensate her was enough lesson." That wasn't the real lesson. He didn't have to pay her a dime.
Dustin rolled his eyes, "Why then do you sound so pissed? It wasn't like it made a dent in your income."
"Yeah but still I felt cheated."
"Cheated? I am sure it is the other way around." Tolvar rolled his eyes.
"How soon would you hire someone else?" Dustin asked suddenly to change the mood.
"Soon enough, I already picked a date for the interview. You don't have to sound so worried about me. It's just a personal assistant, I am sure I can cope without one for a few days without one."
"Yeah right," they said simultaneously.
Lucian was sick of the whole routine, especially now that his business was at its peak. Expanding was a lot harder than it seemed. He needed an assistant who could be on her best at all times. Not one who wanted to ruin his business simply because he wasn't interested anymore.
He knew he could do better and not hit on them but it was usually them doing the hitting, he just went along and tended to detach whenever he got bored but they usually never understood.
Shuffling between assistants between months was beginning to take its toll on him. He was determined to not let it happen again. He was sick of it. Never again.
Andrea woke up with a start, immediately sitting upright. No matter how many times he heard it, her alarm clock was still a shock every time. It was as loud as it was annoying. She stopped it with a loud bang and literally jumped out of bed. She threw her legs to the side and her body immediately followed. She rubbed her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom. A loud shriek immediately followed by a sharp pain woke her up completely. "Ow!" She yelled and bent low to pick her cat who she had accidentally stepped on. "Mikey!" She called the feral monster. "That hurt!" The poor creature looked like it was happy to give her a taste of what it had felt earlier. "It wasn't my fault," she argued. "You know I always come by the way every morning. Why aren't you in your bed? My rug is not for sleeping." The cat me
Lucian was on a short fuse. He was exceedingly irritated. The lady in front of him was leaning too forward, her bosom was on his table in full view. It was like she was offering a dish and one thing was certain, he didn't like what he saw. She didn't even try to hide her intention as if he couldn't already smell it. He felt like sneezing. The instant she had walked through the door, he knew exactly what she wanted and she didn't hide it. She had swayed her way to the seat, moving her hips a little too hard that Lucian was worried she would break something. She finally sat down as noisily as possible, vibrating every inch of her body. If it wasn't that he was in a dire need of a proper assistant he would have taken her offer. Not that he was interested but basically his mind interpreted it as free food and f
Andrea got the email that night, however, she didn't see it until the next morning. No thanks to the fact that she and Tracy had been partying most of the night away drinking and dancing. The activities from the night before had left her with a groggy headache and an increased sensitivity to light.She had kept the drapes down and as she opened them, she wished she had not. Dropping them almost immediately like it had burnt her, led her to roam around the dimly lit room, the bulbs were not an option.Finally, her eyes adjusted and she didn't have to stagger around. Breakfast was her first agenda even though her head was banging like she was hit by a train, her growling stomach was something she could not ignore.She stepped into the kitchen, it was the second smallest room in her little apartment, about half the size of her bed. Aware of the size she tried to make it as spacious as possible. Everything was always in place, it was the one habit she couldn't
She sat on the bed and placed her laptop on her lap, Tracy quickly joined, her eyes bright. One could literally see the excitement oozing out of her skin. "How hard can it be to find?" Tracy squealed, her annoyance apparent.Andrea giggled, totally enjoying Tracy's discomfort even though she was just as curious and couldn't wait to see. As soon as she opened her email, Lucian Lyc popped up on the screen.She smiled a little, it wasn't the company email rather it was his or so she would like to think. "That's it!" Tracy suddenly yelled in her ears. "Click it already.""I am trying, you loud buffoon. Would stop shouting already!"Tracy scoffed, "I know you're just as excited as I am." She rolled her eyes as she spoke but she kept quiet.
Monday came faster than Andrea wanted. Although she had gotten more than ten hours of sleep, her body still protested when she heard the alarm. She was going to miss the days when she was jobless. As awful as it sounded it was still refreshing. She could wake up any time she wanted and did have to show up anywhere but all that was gone now and she had a boss to answer to. She sighed and got off the bed, now that Tracy wasn't here she was back to her old routine. She checked the ground to make sure she wasn't about to step on Mikey; she doubted the fat blob would be merciful. She finished in the bathroom as fast she could. It was her first day, she was going to be as early as possible. The first impression was important, she wasn't about to ruin it. She brushed her hair and applied a little bit of make-up, some lipstick, and mascara. She would not dare bother with eyeliner, the chances of her lining forehead was very high. She finished up with a
The boutique Andrea parked her car didn't seem too fancy but by the items on their mannequins, she was certain she would find what she was looking for. She walked up to the door, the sign said pull.The first thing she noticed was the boutique was a lot bigger than she had expected, the outside did nothing to prepare her for the sight she was beholding. "How may I help you?" She heard a voice jolting her from her admiration of the store.She turned to find a lady by the counter looking at her. The lady looked to be around her early twenties and had a look that was somewhere between a smile and scowl. A smile if one looked from her nose down and a scowl if one looked from her nose up."Um, a pair of pants please." She replied. Her eyes found themselves straying again as she looked at the clothes in the sections."Alright, Jenny!" She yelled. Andrea felt herself jerk in shock.A timid petite girl ran out of the sections, she looked to be around the s
She had moved out of the way to avoid blocking others who were coming into the building. The security guard didn't stop until he was two feet away from her. A little bit into her personal space, she subconsciously took a step back."Your tag please?" He said matter-of-factly."What?" She asked, not understanding what he had just asked for."Ma'am, I am going to assume there is nothing wrong with your hearing but you saying 'what' at everything I say is becoming quite annoying."Andrea's brows dipped and she squinted her eyes. She could feel her anger rising. Aside from the fact that she already went through a lot this morning, now she has to face a rude guard.She didn't remember seeing anyone with a tag and Lucian&mdas
Thursday came sooner than expected and Andrea noticed that she was slowly getting used to the pattern. As monotonous as it seemed it was less stressful than her former job and she couldn't help liking it.Dalton was beginning to be a major part of her day. He always came to get her during lunch and waved her goodbye as she left for the day. He was jolly and nice enough that she noticed she was beginning to enjoy his presence.She heard the elevator open. It was break time already, she had hardly observed that time was fast spent. His footsteps hit the floor with a soft tap as he made his way to her. She thought it sounded a bit different but it wasn't enough for it to pique her interest.Still typing away she called out, "Hello Dalton, I didn't think it was lunch already."
Lucian did not take his eyes off her, he did not want to miss any tell in her expression. Andrea was as open as a book though there were a few times he could not guess what was going in her head but one thing he was sure of was she sucked at lying. “I am not going to let it go Andrea and as you know I tend to get what I want.” At first, he had been teasing about wanting to know what she was thinking about but the longer this dragged on, the more curious he became. She had been quiet during the ride and he had wanted to have a conversation. At that moment he had not really cared what he had been thinking about but right now he was completely invested and he knew he would not let it go unless he found out. “Fine, I did promise and unlike you, I keep my word.” Lucian faked a gasp. “What does that even mean?” “You said you want to know what I was thinking about in the car.” “Exactly! So you did know what I was talking about?” “Well, I was thinking about the first time I saw Lillian
“I can be convinced to attend a total of three meetings.”As soon as the words left his mouth, Andrea knew the family was completely sold. She sighed, this was not the first time she had seen him in action but it was still mesmerizing to watch. His confidence was one of the things she loved about him. Not to mention, his quick decision-making. He knew exactly what he wanted and never bent for the other person.“Deal.” Mr. Pattinson yelled out.Andrea could not blame him, Lucian was a busy man and if there was anything he hated, it was meetings. Getting three out of him was unheard of.Lucian grinned and rose to his feet with his hands stretched out. “As soon as you have the contract ready, you may send it.”“Thank you, Lucian,” Felix said as he grabbed Lucian's open palm.“It was nice doing business with you,” Lucian muttered and began walking out, Andrea wasted no time in grabbing her phone and rushing after him.Lucian held the door open for her. “Thank you.” She mumbled and rushed
Andrea squinted her eyes, here she thought she would finally get some time to rest before the jarring schedule of the day. She knew she had no excuse and even if there was any she could think of, the fact that Lucian wanted her to join the meeting was enough to scrap all her excuses.“Can I say no?”He shook his head, “Don’t be a sourpuss.” He muttered and threw the door open. “After you, miss.” He gave a mock bow as he held the door open.Andrea swore to the heavens but she took the step towards the conference room. What other option did she have? She walked past him through the open door and made her way into the conference room.“I heard you,” Lucian whispered directly into her ears as he walked past her towards the table.The room was mostly empty and the only occupants were two gentlemen, one looked relatively older than the other and they both stared at them as they walked in.“My apologies for keeping you waiting,” Lucian announced.“It is no problem,” the older of the gentleme
Andrea was grateful she was not the one driving; she would have been too edgy. However, getting a ride to the meeting also meant she would have to come back to get her car but it was better this way. She did not trust that Lucian would not ask the driver to take him elsewhere. It would not be the first time."Whatever memory you are thinking of, staring at me like that would not change it," Lucian said suddenly, his smirk wide.She raised her upper lips, sneering at him then scoffed and turned her face away. She wished the car would move even faster but she had already told the driver to speed up, any more speed and it would be illegal.She wondered what joy he got out of making this difficult for both of them. It was exhausting. A lot of times she had thought of giving up but the pay was too good and not to talk about the convention that was coming up in less than a month. No matter what happened, she had to make sure she attended. Lucian was a sure ticket to attend the convention s
She slowly made her way back to the room, worried that Lucian would still be in the same state that she left him. They were already twenty minutes late, she wondered how they were going to make it to the meeting without finding all the investors gone.She had told the Manager to try to stall long enough for her to get him to the company but she wondered how long he would be able to stall. She got to the door and carefully turned the knob, her heart in her throat.The sight before her left her stunned that all she could do was close the door as quietly as she could. She didn't want to make too much noise. The bed had been empty and there was only one reason for that, Lucian had gotten out of bed.She heaved a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall. Her legs slowly began to lose their grip and she sank to her butt
The bedroom, like all rooms in the house, was huge with an even bigger bed. Everything was in place, only the bed and a few littered clothes were the only things out of place.Andrea tried hard not to think about the reason why clothes laid on the floor and tried to focus on the reason why she was in Lucian's house when should be having a peaceful time at the office, away from his antics."No?" She yelled back, her anger slightly sipping out. "You don't exactly have a choice in the matter. You're the one who set up the meeting, you can't just not show up.""No, I don't want to. I am sure you can make an excuse as to my absence." He mumbled and rolled on his front, planting his head sideways against the bed as he tried to cover his eyes with his hand."Oh no, you don't. G
It has been over three months since she started working for Lucian and it has been her worst time ever. From cleaning after him to making sure he attended meetings, to getting rid of the numerous girls he never seemed to run out of. The only moments of peace she had ever gotten were the first days she started working when he wasn't around.She sighed as she honked, barking curses at the driver who had abruptly stopped for no reason and she had almost hit him. He didn't even apologize as he drove away, flipping her off. "Ugh!" She yelled.She should be in her office typing away as usual but no, here she was driving through the freaking highway because some maniac had refused to show up for a meeting they had single-handedly set up.Less than five minutes to the meeting and she had not been able to reach him. His inco
Thursday came sooner than expected and Andrea noticed that she was slowly getting used to the pattern. As monotonous as it seemed it was less stressful than her former job and she couldn't help liking it.Dalton was beginning to be a major part of her day. He always came to get her during lunch and waved her goodbye as she left for the day. He was jolly and nice enough that she noticed she was beginning to enjoy his presence.She heard the elevator open. It was break time already, she had hardly observed that time was fast spent. His footsteps hit the floor with a soft tap as he made his way to her. She thought it sounded a bit different but it wasn't enough for it to pique her interest.Still typing away she called out, "Hello Dalton, I didn't think it was lunch already."
She had moved out of the way to avoid blocking others who were coming into the building. The security guard didn't stop until he was two feet away from her. A little bit into her personal space, she subconsciously took a step back."Your tag please?" He said matter-of-factly."What?" She asked, not understanding what he had just asked for."Ma'am, I am going to assume there is nothing wrong with your hearing but you saying 'what' at everything I say is becoming quite annoying."Andrea's brows dipped and she squinted her eyes. She could feel her anger rising. Aside from the fact that she already went through a lot this morning, now she has to face a rude guard.She didn't remember seeing anyone with a tag and Lucian&mdas