Down the stairs, on our way to the cafeteria with Negan beside me I was thinking about what happened in my office. John had been added to the current advisors last, endearing himself to me by aiding Greg and Max with a few slightly sensitive situations that had risen during the past few months. He had been quick and willing to do whatever I asked of him, at first, but slowly started to question the status quo.

While he was tall, dark and very very handsome with a body that was a tempting playground, having to go from the occasional reminder about just who was in charge to a near constant repetition of it was becoming as boring as everything else in my life. His insistence that HE should be able to sleep in my bed nightly, that he should be able to be by my side at all times, it had become a pounding drum in my head.

One down, two to go, I thought. A sigh building even as the tension started returning to my body. When had it started getting less relaxing to have variety in the bedroom, office, or wherever I chose to take it? It had worked so well from the moment I took the reins from the dean and president of the school. A few here and there, to take the edge off of the responsibilities of leading and keeping everyone healthy and safe.

First there had been Michael and Aaron. Two professors, Michael taught biology and Aaron creative writing, we worked together to keep sane in the beginning. Building on the agricultural focus that the school already had, working to figure out the best way to assure the fencing would hold, the guarding would work. Justin came along, a history buff who understood strategy better than anyone I'd ever met and he added his own expertise.

Intelligence AND sexual attraction, that was my first round of advisors. Men who actually fit the definition of the word. Michael had met his wife, a woman who came in with two small children and I'd known as soon as I saw his eyes lock on hers that he had fallen hard, and I happily parted with him as friends. He was a member of the council that met bimonthly, the entire community could come, but they voted members onto the board. Aaron, our resident poet and record keeper, had found love with Eric. Which surprised everyone more than me, to be honest. Justin died on a run he insisted he go on, to be certain the runners stayed on task, and the loss was felt still.

I'd never been able to replicate that trio. Whether I had less or more, no one had ever managed to actually give me the same backup or the same advice. At some point I realized that I had better advisors on the council and the term "advisors" where my playmates were concerned was a misnomer. I was having a come to Jesus moment, I knew, a reality check. All because of the asshole walking beside me.

"Hey," his voice broke into my inner monologue, and I flinched, but managed to focus on him. "Could we-" He pulled me into an empty office and then his mouth was on mine. He pressed my back into the wall, his body tight against mine, the crowbar fell from my hands as my fingers slid up his neck. His tongue was tasting my mouth and I was on my tiptoes so I could maintain the connection while his hands were clutching my hips. Tension? I was feeling an entirely NEW feeling and it wasn't the same thing at all.

He finally broke the kiss when we both needed more air, but he didn't pull away, not further than he had to. Foreheads against one another's, my eyes opened to meet his. "I think it's a bit early to say 'goodnight'." It came out breathless, but his chuckle sounded labored too so I wasn't alone.

"I needed to taste you," his nose brushed mine, while his voice stayed quiet. "All fucking day all I wanted to do is fucking taste your mouth again, Megan. And after that scene in your office," he moaned and I sighed.

"You're stopping me from facing my shit, Negan." I needed a breather, from him and the 'scene' in the office. Mimi, tea, and- shit I don't know, tea leaves telling me what to fucking do next. "Here," I pulled away from him and knelt to pick up my weapon and hand it to him. "Before I go see Mimi, I'm going to introduce you to someone, take this and clean it up."

He grinned, those dimples of his teasing me. "Yeah, I guess I did make a mess of it, didn't I?" He took it from me and bit his lip. "You gonna start avoiding me like you avoided Mimi this morning?"

I rolled my eyes and opened the door of the office he'd pulled me into that I hadn't noticed he closed. "I wasn't avoiding her," I explained, leaving the administration building and walking toward our goal. "I simply have a schedule, Negan, and it's time you learned the rest of what we do here."

Ian was our resident greeter. When I said we all did everything, or at least we COULD do every job, I meant it. That didn't mean that some people aren't exceptionally better suited for certain shit than others. Take Ian. Ian was the very first person I met when I arrived on the campus as the MD who was supposed to promote the idea that a community college grad could pursue a medical degree. And he hadn't, through the shit show that went on from that day to the present, changed his hospitable presence.

"Megan!" The ginger giant beckoned as I opened the door to the office off the library. "I thought I'd be seeing you soon." He wasn't speaking to me any longer, and his eyes weren't locked on me either. "You must be our newest resident." Moving from behind his desk, where he was probably rehearsing for this very moment before we got to him, he held out his huge fucking hand. "I'm Ian McGregor, and you are?"

Everyone had seen Negan's arrival, let's say, so Ian's greeting was less than honest, but that's Ian. He likes to pretend that we still live in a world where gentle manners and etiquette count. Negan, for his part, took the large man's hand and offered his name along with gratitude for the welcome.

"Ian," I drew the attention back to me and smiled. "Mimi is requesting my presence," Ian's eyes flicked to Negan and his own smile widened, dear God. "Could you do the honors of starting Negan out?"

"Of course, Megan," I nearly rolled my eyes at the production he forced out of me. "You'd better get going, Mimi will send a search party if you're late to tea." Fucking kill me. "I'll make sure Negan is all set up and raring to go."

"I'm sure you will." I shook my head and said my goodbyes, with a look that I hoped Negan understood that meant we could talk more later. And with a resigned sigh, I walked out of the library and toward the cafeteria hoping the fucking tea leaves had some answers, and baring them, Mimi had some wisdom.