Chapter 8

Monroe didn't answer his phone the next morning. I left him a voicemail rambling about how sorry I was again, and that I would call him on lunch. Work dragged on by, and the few hours of sleep I'd gotten weren't cutting it. Every little sound outside had me up last night. Between that and dreams of beating up Reapers with baseball bats, I'd barely kept my eyes closed.

My itinerary was jam-packed for a Friday; three trainings were scheduled in one day before noon. Fortunately the tight schedule caught me up for last week. I was running on sheer willpower through each PowerPoint. For lunch I snuck over to Starbucks to recharge my batteries, since I had a meeting about the bank merger at two. Triple espresso to the rescue.

I braved my fears and picked up a Veggie Guacamole sandwich at Quizno's then sat at Holiday Park on a bench under one of the canopies. It was warm and dry out considering the storm last night. There was even a peek of the sun from behind the clouds. Laughter of toddlers and dogs barking rang out from the park. A few couples were taking in a picnic in one of the sunny spots. It had to be a rarity for the natives to get a nice day. Spring was less than two weeks away. Spring was going to be so much better.

My eyes kept watch for anything out of the ordinary. I was guarded, but I needed to sit outside and renew myself. Reapers couldn't keep me terrified of doing the things I enjoyed. So there I sat, exposed to the world with my veggie sandwich and espresso. I pulled out my cell and called Monroe again. At least having him on the phone while I sat here would be reassuring.

"Hey, Renée," he said in a hurried voice.

"How's that shoulder?" I asked. "Any better?"

"Well, there's a good size bruise, but I'll survive. The Mariners may need to recruit you this season." He chuckled. Thank goodness he was making jokes about it.

"Oh, Monroe, I'm really sorry…"

"Don't be," he cut me off. "You were protecting yourself. I'll heal."

"There were no issues last night, so whatever you did must have worked."

"Good, glad to hear it. Renée, I hate to cut our conversation short, but right now I'm, like, deep in the middle of a Bulova skeleton clock and this movement is giving me fits. It's an intricate process."

"No, that's fine. I just wanted to check on you."

"Come over tonight and you can kiss it better."

I grinned. "That I can do."

After we hung up, I was back to people watching as I munched on my sandwich. Well, people scrutinizing was more like it. I shook off my fears, taking in the practiced calm. What did I expect? That Mr. Reaper would come out of the park and chop my head off right in the middle of the afternoon? If that were the case, the Pinstripe Duo would've just done me in at the funeral. No, they were more organized than that. I would be fine out here in public.

The outside was what I needed today. Being a hermit was no way to be. For the next hour as people passed me by, no person or Wesen stopped to try to murder me. Apparently I didn't have a big target plastered on my back today. Granted, I wasn't completely safe, but for now I was free to go outside without dying.

I made it back to work in time to grab my steno pad and laptop for the meeting. Most of the first hour was talk of things that had nothing to do with my department, but I listened intently regardless.

"As we work toward this acquisition, we'll have over two-hundred employees that will need to go through training," my boss said, and my ears perked up. This was where I came in. "We'd like a quick process, so we'll be dividing the classes into four groups. Renée Davenport and Daniel Wilder will be dual training these groups in June." My eyes widened. Both of us? This was supposed to be my project. I turned quickly to Daniel, who was already smiling big my way. Crap! I'd rather walk on hot coals than have to spend one minute working with Daniel. I kept my face smooth and held in my groan.

The rest of the meeting was a blur as I spent my time writing down every reason why I should be doing this training solo. I needed to talk with my boss.

As the meeting ended, Daniel caught me before I could leave.

"Looks like you and I are going to be spending some time together after all." His boy next door smile permeated off his face.

"Professionally, yes," I replied. Unless I could convince the boss I was more than capable of doing this on my own, which was where I was headed as soon as Tall, Dark, and Arrogant would let me pass.

"This merger is an important one," he said, "so we may need to schedule some dinner appointments to work on the presentations."

"There's plenty of time to prepare during business hours," I assured him.

His lips curved up into a smirk. "We'll see about that."

Instead of giving him a snarky reply, I pushed past Daniel and headed directly to my boss's office. I knocked lightly on the open door.

"Renée." My boss smiled, motioning me in. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, it's about the merger trainings," I said. "I thought it was decided I would be facilitating." My boss and I had discussed the acquisition the Tuesday I'd returned to work, and he had shared the good news of my new project. That was only a few days ago. What the hell had made him change his mind so quickly?

"It's a big task," he replied, gesturing toward a chair. "Have a seat."

I sat, but only on the edge as I kept my back straight. "This is something I'm more than capable of handling on my own." I began my speech as I reviewed my notes. I had some excellent points to stress. "Back in 2010 I took on the…"

"Renée, I realize you're capable." He continued to smile as he cut me off. "That's not up for debate. But by adding Daniel to this project we can get though it so much faster."

"If speed is what you're expecting, then let me remind you about my time in Nashville during the…"

My boss shook his head at me before I could finish my next point. "Daniel came to me, specifically asking if he could help you with this project. He has some great ideas about this merger." That stopped my train of thought to a dead halt. He'd asked to help me? My boss picked up a folder. "He prepped a mock-up on the itinerary which was very impressive. Such a go-getter."

'Go-getter' my ass. Try 'go-getting my job' if I wasn't careful.

"Sir, with all due respect, I've already done the preliminary work on this acquisition, and I feel it would…"

"Renée, you're an excellent employee, but having both you and Daniel together will make a dynamic team. With your communication skills and Daniel's organizational strategy, it's a perfect fit. We need that kind of positive teamwork to show our new employees what our establishment has to offer." It was as much as if he'd said, 'Shut up, Renée. Daniel is working with you, so get over it.'

I nodded slowly as I stood, forgoing my other points. "Okay, sir. You know best."

"I'm expecting a great merger, and you two are the foundation." He clicked his tongue twice as he gave me a thumbs up and a wink. Did people really give thumbs up anymore? Apparently my boss did. I gave him an awkward thumbs up in return and feigned a smile.

As I exited, I had a dip in my overall… well, everything. Teamwork? Organizational strategy? That man was devious. I walked slowly down the hall and back to my office, slumping down into my chair. My presentation for the merger was still up on my screen. I closed my eyes briefly, allowing the calm to flow. It was fine. Daniel could share in my success. The work I'd done so far wouldn't go to waste. I'd make the best of this. I reopened my eyes. No, he was still a devious asshole.

The clock on my computer gave me hope since there was only a half of an hour left of my day. I didn't have any work to do this weekend, and I was planning on kissing certain parts of my boyfriend's body in just a short amount of time. Ah, silver linings.

A/N: Thanks for all the comments! I'm posting a few more chapters today!