Read Online Beauty Dates the Beast by Jessica Sims - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jessica Sims
Ads: Link
on the hip. “I only met Mr. Russell to tell him that I wouldn’t be going out with him. I tried calling, but you were unavailable.”
Giselle pulled out her cell phone, flicked the screen a few times with her thumb, then offered the phone to me.
I looked at the picture she’d pulled up. Beau and me, sitting at the restaurant table. My eyes were closed, the look on my face rapturous as Beau fed me something.
Whoops.
She leaned over and snatched the phone out of my hand. “Isn’t the first rule of working here that you cannot date the clients? Haven’t I explained to you that humans and Alliance do not mix? Ever?”
I swallowed hard. “I know.” Oh, God, I was going to lose my job.
“And yet you disobeyed my rules.” She pointed at me. “His mark is all over your neck. Do you know how I heard about this?”
“No.” I touched my neck and blushed. The spot where he’d bit me didn’t have a visible mark, though it felt hot to me. Did sirens have X-ray vision?
She crossed her arms. “I had no less than four—four!—calls last night. The werewolf community is quite upset and they’re threatening to boycott my service if I fix up more humans. They’ve madecalls to several other important leaders, and I’ve already had one VIP pull his account. Not only is the entire Alliance upset, but they’re furious that
I
”—she stabbed her finger at her chest—“have given an authorized visa to a
human
. Even worse, I have not extended the same offer to other leaders as I have to the leader of the Russell clan.”
I put my hands to my forehead and slowly went over everything she’d spouted at me. “Could you repeat that?”
“If one clan of weres can date a human,
all
can date a human, or so I’m being told. As you can see, I have a problem.” Giselle gave me a look of disgust. “A big problem that you have created. My best clients with the biggest accounts want to know why the were-cougars are so special that they get exclusive treatment over my regular clients. Exclusive access to a papered, pedigreed human virgin—”
“Wait,” I interrupted. She made me sound like a dog. “Pedigreed human virgin?”
She gave me a look that said I should be quiet, then continued. “Rights to a human woman who has been cleared and declared fit for the Alliance. What am I supposed to tell these very important men?” Her eyes narrowed into slits.
I wrung my hands in my lap and hoped she didn’t notice. “I only met him because …”
“Because?”
Could I tell her the truth? That Sara had been freaking out and I’d been distracted by another customer and the answer had blurted out of my mouth before I’d thought about it? Finally, I admitted the truth.
“I tried calling you, but I got your voice mail and knew you didn’t want to be disturbed, so I had to make a decision. He asked me to go out with him, and I thought maybe one teeny date wouldn’t hurt.”
Giselle’s mouth formed a hard line. “You thought wrong. I should toss you out on the street, along with your sister.”
My heart sank. Giselle paid us both very well. If we were fired, it’d be hellish trying to find jobs that paid as much as working here. And here we were safe, because we knew where the packs were and what they were up to. We knew that the were-cougars lived up in Little Paradise on the edge of Fort Worth. We knew that the wolf packs lived on the far side of the Metroplex. We had tabs on every single shifter in the area who used the service, which made Sara safer, knowing who and where to avoid.
If we were fired we’d have to leave the city and start all over again. We had some money, but not enough for a move cross-country into blind territory.What if we moved to Portland or San Diego and the weres were thicker there than here?
“Please don’t fire me or Sara,” I begged. “We need this job.”
Her eyes were hard as they focused on me. “Are you loyal to me and my company?”
“Yes.” Anything to keep my
Giselle pulled out her cell phone, flicked the screen a few times with her thumb, then offered the phone to me.
I looked at the picture she’d pulled up. Beau and me, sitting at the restaurant table. My eyes were closed, the look on my face rapturous as Beau fed me something.
Whoops.
She leaned over and snatched the phone out of my hand. “Isn’t the first rule of working here that you cannot date the clients? Haven’t I explained to you that humans and Alliance do not mix? Ever?”
I swallowed hard. “I know.” Oh, God, I was going to lose my job.
“And yet you disobeyed my rules.” She pointed at me. “His mark is all over your neck. Do you know how I heard about this?”
“No.” I touched my neck and blushed. The spot where he’d bit me didn’t have a visible mark, though it felt hot to me. Did sirens have X-ray vision?
She crossed her arms. “I had no less than four—four!—calls last night. The werewolf community is quite upset and they’re threatening to boycott my service if I fix up more humans. They’ve madecalls to several other important leaders, and I’ve already had one VIP pull his account. Not only is the entire Alliance upset, but they’re furious that
I
”—she stabbed her finger at her chest—“have given an authorized visa to a
human
. Even worse, I have not extended the same offer to other leaders as I have to the leader of the Russell clan.”
I put my hands to my forehead and slowly went over everything she’d spouted at me. “Could you repeat that?”
“If one clan of weres can date a human,
all
can date a human, or so I’m being told. As you can see, I have a problem.” Giselle gave me a look of disgust. “A big problem that you have created. My best clients with the biggest accounts want to know why the were-cougars are so special that they get exclusive treatment over my regular clients. Exclusive access to a papered, pedigreed human virgin—”
“Wait,” I interrupted. She made me sound like a dog. “Pedigreed human virgin?”
She gave me a look that said I should be quiet, then continued. “Rights to a human woman who has been cleared and declared fit for the Alliance. What am I supposed to tell these very important men?” Her eyes narrowed into slits.
I wrung my hands in my lap and hoped she didn’t notice. “I only met him because …”
“Because?”
Could I tell her the truth? That Sara had been freaking out and I’d been distracted by another customer and the answer had blurted out of my mouth before I’d thought about it? Finally, I admitted the truth.
“I tried calling you, but I got your voice mail and knew you didn’t want to be disturbed, so I had to make a decision. He asked me to go out with him, and I thought maybe one teeny date wouldn’t hurt.”
Giselle’s mouth formed a hard line. “You thought wrong. I should toss you out on the street, along with your sister.”
My heart sank. Giselle paid us both very well. If we were fired, it’d be hellish trying to find jobs that paid as much as working here. And here we were safe, because we knew where the packs were and what they were up to. We knew that the were-cougars lived up in Little Paradise on the edge of Fort Worth. We knew that the wolf packs lived on the far side of the Metroplex. We had tabs on every single shifter in the area who used the service, which made Sara safer, knowing who and where to avoid.
If we were fired we’d have to leave the city and start all over again. We had some money, but not enough for a move cross-country into blind territory.What if we moved to Portland or San Diego and the weres were thicker there than here?
“Please don’t fire me or Sara,” I begged. “We need this job.”
Her eyes were hard as they focused on me. “Are you loyal to me and my company?”
“Yes.” Anything to keep my
Similar Books
