And that’s how I ended up crouched beneath a co-worker’s desk on Friday and seated across from my boss in his corner office the following Monday morning.
Gordon looked grumpy on the other side of his glass desk. Probably because I’d emailed him a letter of resignation over the weekend. Friday’s unannounced visit from Magnus had been far too close for comfort and I decided I had to get the heck out of dodge, with or without a job transfer.
“Why are you so keen to move to Ireland anyways?” Gordon whined before I could even fully settle into his office guest chair.
Well, it was definitely against International Lupine Law for me to tell my human boss that a) I was a shifter and b) the father of my unborn baby happened to be an alpha king masquerading as a much-admired rugby player with absolute monarch privileges in Scotland which c) meant I had to get out of Auld Reekie while I still could.
So, I gave him a modified version of the truth. “As I said in my resignation letter, I’m ready for a change.”
Gordon harrumphed. “Don’t see why you’re so hell-bent on this particular change unless it’s about that rugby player of yours. According to the office gossips, the two of you were secretly dating but then he went off and cheated on you and now you’re so heartbroken you’re willing to endure Stench’s bowfing odor rather than speak to the fellow.”
“Wait, what?” I jutted my chin forward in disbelief.
“Even worse, you’re moving to a city without a professional rugby team!” Gordon regarded me with pitying eyes as if I’d signed myself up for a fate worse than death. “Look here, Glamour—there’s no reason to let your pride take you north. You can lick your wounds right here in our Technology department where you’re needed and much appreciated.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself against the overly dramatic—not to mention completely fictitious!—version of why I had to leave Scotland. But then I closed it.
No, reason to look a gift horse cover story in the mouth, I thought before soberly answering, “Thanks, Gordo. I appreciate your advice. But I’ve given this a lot of thought and I don’t think I can live in the same city as that man.”
Which was true enough, just not for the reasons Gordon and my office mates had concluded.
“But the fellow doesn’t even live here!” Gordon pointed out. “He has his own village in the Highlands. Owns the land and merely drives into town for practice, matches, and bird hunting.” He snickered suggestively. “Ye see, Glamour, when I say bird hunting, I don’t mean the kind you find in the trees … well, not unless they’re truly out their face.”
“Yep, I get it, Gordo,” I said before he could over-explain the joke any further. “He’s a huge man whore. Copy that.”
“So, then you see why you don’t have to move cities at all!” Gordon said, spreading his arms wide as if he’d just proven his point with pure science. “He doesn’t even live here.”
“Edinburgh may not be his primary residence but he’s here more than you think,” I insisted, carefully crafting the lie as I went along. “And that’s more than enough reason for me to leave.”
“Aye, suppose you’re right,” Gordon agreed, bowing his head in defeat. “And since Dublin doesn’t have a professional rugby team. You’d never have to see him unless he was in town for Six Nations.”
I had no clue what Six Nations was, but I made a sound of agreement just to end the line of conversation. “Anyway, I am sorry about resigning. I just can’t wait any longer for the transfer to go through.”
“And I suppose there’s no chance you’ll forgive him for cheating on you?” Gordon asked with a hopeful note in his voice.
I suppressed an eye roll. “No, I’m afraid not.”
Gordon gave in with a heavy sigh. “Aye, you’re probably right not to forgive him. He may be close to 100 caps but from what I hear, there’s barely a bonnie lass left in the city who he hasn’t had his way with. You’re better off meeting a like-minded person in Ireland and living out a nice, uncomplicated life there.”
I made a non-committal sound. Even with the move, my life was going to get way more complicated from here on out.
I’d eventually have to tell Magnus the truth. I understood that. He had a right to know, and keeping the existence of a baby he’d fathered from him wouldn’t be right.
I simply wanted to make sure I was a long, long—like, an entire ocean channel—away from his kingdom and its antiquated laws when I did so.
“I refuse to accept your resignation.”
Gordon’s declaration jolted me away from my thoughts of escaping to Ireland.
But he held up a hand to stop my protest before I could make it. “Hold on, now. I’ll admit I was taking my own sweet time with the transfer request because you’ve been such an asset to us. But I can see you’ve made up your mind. Tomorrow I’ll call over to RSB Dublin and make sure they expedite the approval process. If you’re that set on moving to Catholic Country, I won’t be the cause of your destitution. You’ll have your transfer papers by tomorrow, end of day.”
“Oh, wow!” My chest filled with relief. “Thank you, Gordo! Thank you so much!”
If he hadn’t been sitting on the other side of a glass desk, I would have hugged him. “Off with you, now,” Gordon answered gruffly. “Get out before I change my mind.”
I quickly did as I was told, but I thanked him all the way out of the office.
I went to my desk and happily spent the rest of the day closing out and reassigning my biggest projects.
My life was complicated, for sure. But at least a move to Ireland would give me some breathing room to plan my next move. For the first time since I realized I was pregnant, I finally felt as if I was in control of my life.
“Want to come out for a couple?” Daphne, one of my cubicle neighbors, asked near the end of the day.
“Oh, I’d love to, but I can’t. I’ve got that weekly call with my parents,” I replied, glad for the excuse. Here was yet another good reason for me to transfer. My human co-workers would soon become suspicious if I went from being a social butterfly to a complete recluse.
“Oh, that’s right! Forgot it’s Monday,” Daphne said with a smile. She leaned in towards me and whispered, “Just don’t tell my mum what a good daughter you are. I barely manage once a month and she’s only as far as Glasgow.”
“Ooh, that’s so bad!” I replied, making my tone extra judgy. “I’m definitely going to have to tell your mom.”
“Please don’t! I’ll never hear the end of it. And she’s already after me to start dressing like you.” Daphne rolled her eyes and launched into an exaggerated Glaswegian accent. “Och, why cannae you dress lovely like that Black lass in your photos? Ask her for tips is what you need to do, so boys dunnae think you’re only interested in their sisters.”
“Ouch!” I gave her a sympathetic wince. “If it makes you feel any better, my parents don’t like how I dress either.”
Daphne scoffed. “You see the way of it there, don’t you? Parents! Can’t be born without ‘em. Can’t punch ‘em in the nose like you would a cheeky bastard, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, laughing as I grabbed my pale yellow Strathberry bag off the purse hook I’d attached to my desk when I first started working at RSB.
I would genuinely miss it here. And I’d miss the people even more. Daphne, and the rest of my human friends. It had been a real pleasure to live among them without a care to what other wolves did.
As I rode down in the elevator, I wondered if blowing up my life would really solve my problem with the arrogant alpha I’d accidentally done the nasty with when my wolf was in the driver’s seat.
However, my musings came to a screeching halt as soon as I stepped into the parking garage.
I froze and cautiously sniffed the air.
A wolf. There was a male wolf in the garage.
Lurking in the shadows and waiting for me.