Chapter 8 In Your Dreams

• I spear the beef on my fork, grimacing. "Why does it look like this?"
• We're in the company's cafeteria during lunch break, and it feels like everyone's eyes are on us. They probably think I'm the boss's new pet project or something.
• Ray snorts, devouring her food without a care in the world. "It always looks like this, girl. You eating that or what?" She shoves her plate towards me, and I slide mine over.
• I'm not particularly hungry. I look at the meat and I see blood. Bile rises to my throat at the thought and I push it out of my head.
• "So, how's it going with lover boy?" Ray winks at me.
• I roll my eyes. "For the umpteenth time, there's nothing going on, and stop doing that. You're embarrassing me!" I snap, pulling the miserable bone from her mouth.
• She shoots me a scathing look that could freeze hell over. "What? Hang with the boss for one day and I'm embarrassing you now? Forgotten how you licked the sauce off the plate--"
• "Shut up!" I yell, laughing before she can complete her sentence.
• "I'd like to hear that story, Ms. Williams."
• I look up, and my smile falters. Sinclair Winchester pulls out the only other free chair on our table.
• Conversations around us quiet down, and everyone's staring. Even the waiters seem nervous as they hurry over to take his order. What the hell is he doing here?
• Even Ray has gone still, fork dangling from her mouth.
• It drops, clang echoing through the hall, and it breaks the spell. Conversations resume, though it is quieter and somewhat strained. Like walking on eggshells, unsure of what the consequences of breaking them might be.
• "The seat's taken," I say, feeling everyone's eyes burning into me.
• He smiles, sapphire orbs dancing with surreal light as he settles into the chair. "I'm sure whoever it is wouldn't mind."
• I lean in, whispering fiercely, "What's your problem? I said no."
• He shrugs. "I wanted to have lunch with you. Your decision in this is inconsequential."
• Seriously, who does this guy think he is?
• Before I can retort, Ray kicks me under the table. Hard. I glare at her, but she's all smiles at Mr. Winchester. "Thank you for joining us, sir. Forgive Gin. She gets shy and uncomfortable when she's in public places."
• He smiles at her, and even if his unholy charm isn't directed at me, I feel hot everywhere. "Thank you, Ms. Williams. I reviewed your application for a raise." He looks to me. "Shall I approve it, Ms. Sullivan?"
• What sort of sick game is he playing? Why would he put me in this sort of situation? Now, Ray's looking at me with shinning eyes, nodding so hard, it looks like her head might come off any second now.
• "I'm afraid that decision isn't mine to make, boss."
• His lips kick up into a smirk. "Yes?"
• I suck in my bottom lip, biting lightly on it as I look between him and Ray. Why does it feel like saying yes means selling my soul to him? "I believe it'd be in the best interest of the company to retain Ms. Williams. She is an exceptional worker, and her services are top-notch."
• I heard that line in a movie.
• "Done."
• I blink. Ray's jaw drops. Mr. Winchester smiles and it is feral. Wolfish. It says, "Got you."
• I smile in turn. It says, "In your dreams."
• ************
• The gentle hum of machines is the only sound in the office as I work. He's watching me. I can't tell how I know this, seeing as I have not looked in his direction for the past hour. I just feel it.
• He hasn't said a word to me since we returned from the Cafeteria, after making me feel so uncomfortable by flirting very openly with Ray, just to get under my skin.
• It did, but I played it cool, pretending to be busy on my cellphone.
• It hadn't entirely been faked. I'd been looking Elijah Coleman up. Regardless of how much I would like to pretend that this morning didn't happen, it did, and I can't get it out of my head.
• The separation of the the races wasn't just to protect the humans from us. It was also to protect us from their inquisitive nature. They craved knowledge, and it didn't matter what lengths they had to go to obtain it. If Elijah somehow got his hands on Wolfblood, it means there is a wolf in need of saving.
• Or a dead one.
• Either way, it means I am not safe in this realm.
• I found little. He's a multimillionaire business owner into Pharmaceuticals. I'd already put that together myself. There is not much else on him, except the fact that he has two foster daughters. Eliana and Vivian, and I can't seem to find anything on them either. If I even hope to find anything on him, I'd need to get to the streets.
• A knock on the door jars me from my thoughts and my gaze snaps to the door as it comes open.
• A brunette walks in and I hold my breath as I recognize the female. She is El. The fiancée who fainted.
• I look away quickly, but not before our eyes meet and she stops abruptly. "You..." Her tiny voice trails off, and her gaze shifts to Mr. Winchester who is strolling across to meet her. "Why is she here, Sinclair?"
• At this point, I really shouldn't go by Ginevra anymore. The Other Woman seems like the perfect fit for me.
• "You weren't supposed to be out of bed yet, El," Sinclair mutters, and for some reason, my entire being zeroes in on his fingers as they curve around her slender neck and tug gently, so that her head rests on his chest.
• She lets out a shaky breath, arms encircling his torso. "I missed you. Father wouldn't let me leave, but I had to see you."
• She buries her head in his chest, so she can't see that Mr. Winchester's gaze is locked fiercely on mine. Those sapphire eyes search mine rather intimately, and I don't know what to make of the warmth I feel inside.
• Something snaps and I feel a sharp sting in my palm. I peer down to find the ball pen I had been holding broken.
• Goddess. What is all of this? Is this my life? Watching men that should be mine in the arms of other women?
• I let the shards fall from my hands and wipe the blood from my already healed skin before he can get a whiff of it and get it into his head that it affects me.
• "We need to send out invitations again," his fiancée says, pulling back to stare at him and he breaks eye contact. "Father says a month might be too long to wait to have the wedding, but everything has to be perfect. Is the timing fine with you, Sinclair?"
• His eyes brighten, and the corner of his lips rise into a small smile as he responds with no small amount of corniness, "Whatever you want, my love."
• Fucking gigolo.
• "I do not want women in your office. I want you to have a male assistant. Let her off," El whispers, unaware of how keen my hearing is.
• Expression blank, I fix my gaze on the computer, eyes unseeing as I scroll through spreadsheet after spreadsheet, information passing me by as I wait for his response.
• He chuckles, leaning in to nuzzle her neck and a jolt of jealousy runs through me, making me grit my teeth. "I believe we have other things to worry about, none of which concern my worthless assistant."
• Worthless.
• A sharp sigh escapes her, and I can smell her arousal, peaking with every second that passes and she reaches up to fist his hair, moaning as he flicks his tongue over her neck.
• I can hear every moment. Feel it in my very bones and soul. The lapping of his tongue over her human neck where it doesn't belong, the tight grip of his hands around her average sized rump, her sharp, shallow breaths...
• Panting, she draws back from Mr. Winchester and I feel her gaze on me as she says, "Find somewhere else to be."