Page 37 of The Werewolf's Deputy
Miguel feigned knuckling a tear from his eye, squeezing Emmett’s shoulder. “You’re a good friend, man.”
Jonah snorted, shaking his head at their antics. Those two were like brothers, even though they were technically cousins, and it was always hilarious to see what kind of stuff they’d come up with in a conversation.
“You two are ridiculous,” Kian pointed out.
“You have no idea,” Tasha agreed as she strode into the room. “They were worse when they were younger if you can believe it. Kian, your mate is on his way up. He got waylaid by the CEO.”
Kian rolled his eyes. “I’m not surprised. I’d be more annoyed if I had to wait to eat.”
“You don’t want to wait for him?” Jonah asked, taking one of the chairs as Emmett handed him a sandwich.
Kian shook his head. “He’s a vampire. He doesn’t eat solid food. His joining us is just because I want to make sure he doesn’t work through his breaks.”
Jonah’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Vampires don’t eat solid food?”
That sounded awful. There were so many good foods in the city alone that Jonah wanted to try. He couldn’t afford it, but on his dates with Emmett, he looked forward to trying new things.
“Neither do liches,” Roz commented. She’d chosen a spot near the wall so she could see everyone and keep up with the conversation. It seemed like Tasha hadn’t seen her before because she did a doubletake when she noticed Roz, and her tail swished slightly when she noticed her.
A slow grin passed over Jonah’s face, and he shot a sidelong look at Emmett to see if he’d noticed. He hadn’t, he was already halfway done with his sandwich, and he cocked his head curiously when he noticed Jonah’s attention on him.
Chuckling, he shook his head. He wasn’t going to say anything if Tasha didn’t. She was nice to him. He’d give her the same courtesy.
As they ate their food, Jonah couldn’t help but compare the meal to the dinner he’d had with his family. That had been fraught with tension, everyone giving him dirty looks or sneers, and they all had something negative to say, especially when he was the main topic. In comparison, lunch with his friends was… easy. Relaxed. No one made any disdainful remarks or judged people’s choices. Even when Kian scolded his mate for showing up late, it was said with love and affection and his mate didn’t take it any other way. No one made any comments about Jonah being the only human in the room, nor did they judge him when someone said something about supe behavior and he asked for clarification. They accepted him as he was. It was both a relief and disheartening at the same time because he couldn’t even imagine his family treating him like his friends did.
A warm hand on his shoulder drew him out of his melancholy. Emmett’s concern was written on his face and Jonah smiled softly at the werewolf to reassure him. “I’m alright. Just thinking.”
“Well, stop thinking so hard,” Roz sassed. “You’ll burn out and then who will help me? Do you have any idea how much I dreaded a temp being around until you showed up?” She turned to Kian and pointed at him. “He’s mine until I say otherwise. In exchange, I’ll make Medical Innovations’ cyber security my priority after the research floor.”
“Deal,” Kian agreed immediately.
Jonah felt his heart rate pick up, a smile stretching across his face. Becoming a temp at Charmed Away really was the best decision he’d ever made.
Every day that week, Emmett made sure their entire friend group joined him for lunch, and every day that week he had to convince himself to go home. He wanted to stay later, to hang out with his friends and with Emmett and keep the good times coming, but to avoid arguments with his parents and the potential of ending up sleeping on the porch, he left when the rest of the company did, arriving home before dinner. He spent each drive talking to Emmett on the phone and came inside with a smile on his face, the good mood holding him through the night until he could get back to where he was most happy.
His parents were in the kitchen like they were most nights when he got home, his mom at the stove cooking while his dad scrolled on his phone and grumbled under his breath about things Jonah didn’t care to listen to. Since he had contributed money to groceries, he had access to the fridge again, and he was pulling out ingredients to make himself a sandwich when James marched into the room, a pile of papers held triumphantly over his head.
“You’ll never get what I’ve got!” he crowed, then jabbed a finger at Jonah. “You’re a dead man.”
Jonah felt his chest tighten as he looked between his brother and the papers in his hand. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about your so-called job. Stonewell Technologies?”
Jonah’s stomach sank. He couldn’t have figured out that it was a lie. Right?
“What about it?” Dad demanded, shooting Jonah a suspicious look.
“It’s complete bullshit.” He slapped the pictures onto the table in front of their dad, the top most being the abandoned building Jonah had chosen for the location of the fake company. “The address on the website? It led to an abandoned building. I had a friend who works in the city look into it for me. He’s not working at a human owned company. He’s working at Spellbound Corps. The biggest supe company in the world.”
“W-Wait. That’s not–”
“Oh, that’s not even the best part,” James said, cutting him off with a manic grin. Jonah’s heart hammered in his chest, and he felt a little like the rug was being ripped out from underneath him. He was terrified of what else James had to share.
“Not only is he working at a supe company, his little boyfriend isn’t human either. Is he, Jonah?”
He didn’t wait for Jonah to answer, swiping the printed pictures across the table so the ones on the bottom of the pile were exposed. Several pictures of him and Emmett holding hands as they walked into the building, as they stood hugging in the parking lot, including the most damning one of him pressed up against his truck as Emmett kissed him. There was no way he could talk his way out of that. He’d thought to tell his parents about his job and his life slowly so they might not freak out and let him explain himself. Now he wouldn’t get the chance.
His breath froze in his lungs as his dad stared at the picture, his wide eyed stare full of fury as he slowly turned to look at Jonah. “Out… Get out of my house! Now!”
