Wolf with Benefits
Page 60
Yeah, but . . . Malones gaze suddenly moved off and then she grinned. As a matter of fact, I do have a staff.
Ricky was sitting on the stairs by one of the exit doors with Reece when Rory came up.
Well? their brother asked.
Humans have been all over here, Reece said.
Did they get in?
Nah, Ricky said around a yawn. But tightening security really couldnt hurt.
Oh, Im sorry, little brother, Rory sneered. Is this boring you?
A little. When Rorys eyes narrowed on him, Ricky quickly held up his hands. There wasnt a lot of space in this stairwell, and that made it harder to fight his brother.
Rory looked off. What about cameras?
They dont have any in the stairwells, but Id suggest we tell them to put some in here.
And full-time monitoring, Reece added.
Twenty-four-seven and guards trained by us. Right now the Center only has a couple of old leopards watching the place after hours.
Yeah. That sounds good. Ill write the report.
Nodding, Ricky and Reece got to their feet. Rorys phone went off and he pulled it out of the back pocket of his jeans. He answered it and was quiet for a moment; then his eyes suddenly locked on Ricky.
Ill ask him, Rory said.
Ask me what?
Its Ronnie Lee on the phone. Laura Jane is running around telling the other She-wolves that you were so disturbed by her very presence yesterday, you ran off after some jackal. Ronnie wants to know if there were really tears in your eyes when you made a break for it.
While Reece laughed so hard he was bent over at the waist, his hands resting on his knees, Ricky took off his Tennessee Titans cap and scratched his head. Because his day had just gotten crappier.
Livy held up a color print of Bo Novikov trying to force a smile. This is what nightmares are made of.
I know, Toni agreed while she licked her spoon free of Greek yogurt. Thats why we need you.
This isnt really my thing, Toni. I
If you say youre an artist, I will hit you.
Chuckling, Livy tossed the picture back onto Tonis desk and ate more of the French fries she had purchased. After spending some time catching up, theyd gone to the Sports Center food court and had picked up their lunches. Fish and chips for Livy. Yogurt, salad, and a burger big enough to choke a rhino for Toni. Shed bypassed the fries, but now she was regretting it while she watched Livy eating hers.
I was not going to say that. At least not to you. Livy shrugged. But I hate sports. I hate sports guys. I hate people. I hate dealingwith them. Talking to them. And portrait photography means talking to people. I also hate
Yes, Livy. I know. You hate . . . pretty much everything.
Pretty much.
But this will be good money. Clean money, Liv. And God knows you cant even think about trying to do another office job.
Why? Im a fast typist.
Yes. But then you throw the computer at the office manager and Im bailing you out of jail . . . again.
He was rude.
You think everyone is rude. But with shifters, youll be right and they can fight back. At the very least theyll be fast enough to duck a flying PC.
That hard drive did ram right into his head. He was out for, like, ten minutes.
Is that restraining order still in effect?
I think it expired last year. But I wasnt planning on going back to Utah anytime soon. Livy took a handful of her fries out of the newspaper they were nestled in and dropped them on the plate with Tonis burger. Honestly, though, how much money could this really get me?
A lot.
Really?
You should think about it. Youd be able to live some place youre paying for rather than just crashing on someones couch . . . like the couches of people you dont know.
Its called squatting and it has its place in society. And one paycheck isnt going to
I realized that. So I talked to a few of the other teams promotions people here and in Jersey.
Which means what?
Ive got you other jobs with the local shifter teams.
Livy smirked. So youre my agent now?
If I have to be. Clearly your agent doesnt understand your true needs and skills.
Livy thought a moment. Well . . . it would be nice having a place of my own eventually.
Where are you living now?
Some guy left his window open on Thirty-Second Street and Fifth, so I
Okay. Thats enough. Toni shook her head to remove the image of her best friend climbing into some guys temporarily vacant home so she had a place to sleep for the night. It was in Livys nature, Toni understood that. But it was in Tonis nature to put her siblings in burrows . . . she didnt actually do that, though, now did she? The family is in Manhattan for the summer, so you can stay with us. But come end of August, youd better have your own, rented apartment, Olivia. You cant keep living this way. Its not right, especially when you dont have to be homeless!
Ricky was sitting on the stairs by one of the exit doors with Reece when Rory came up.
Well? their brother asked.
Humans have been all over here, Reece said.
Did they get in?
Nah, Ricky said around a yawn. But tightening security really couldnt hurt.
Oh, Im sorry, little brother, Rory sneered. Is this boring you?
A little. When Rorys eyes narrowed on him, Ricky quickly held up his hands. There wasnt a lot of space in this stairwell, and that made it harder to fight his brother.
Rory looked off. What about cameras?
They dont have any in the stairwells, but Id suggest we tell them to put some in here.
And full-time monitoring, Reece added.
Twenty-four-seven and guards trained by us. Right now the Center only has a couple of old leopards watching the place after hours.
Yeah. That sounds good. Ill write the report.
Nodding, Ricky and Reece got to their feet. Rorys phone went off and he pulled it out of the back pocket of his jeans. He answered it and was quiet for a moment; then his eyes suddenly locked on Ricky.
Ill ask him, Rory said.
Ask me what?
Its Ronnie Lee on the phone. Laura Jane is running around telling the other She-wolves that you were so disturbed by her very presence yesterday, you ran off after some jackal. Ronnie wants to know if there were really tears in your eyes when you made a break for it.
While Reece laughed so hard he was bent over at the waist, his hands resting on his knees, Ricky took off his Tennessee Titans cap and scratched his head. Because his day had just gotten crappier.
Livy held up a color print of Bo Novikov trying to force a smile. This is what nightmares are made of.
I know, Toni agreed while she licked her spoon free of Greek yogurt. Thats why we need you.
This isnt really my thing, Toni. I
If you say youre an artist, I will hit you.
Chuckling, Livy tossed the picture back onto Tonis desk and ate more of the French fries she had purchased. After spending some time catching up, theyd gone to the Sports Center food court and had picked up their lunches. Fish and chips for Livy. Yogurt, salad, and a burger big enough to choke a rhino for Toni. Shed bypassed the fries, but now she was regretting it while she watched Livy eating hers.
I was not going to say that. At least not to you. Livy shrugged. But I hate sports. I hate sports guys. I hate people. I hate dealingwith them. Talking to them. And portrait photography means talking to people. I also hate
Yes, Livy. I know. You hate . . . pretty much everything.
Pretty much.
But this will be good money. Clean money, Liv. And God knows you cant even think about trying to do another office job.
Why? Im a fast typist.
Yes. But then you throw the computer at the office manager and Im bailing you out of jail . . . again.
He was rude.
You think everyone is rude. But with shifters, youll be right and they can fight back. At the very least theyll be fast enough to duck a flying PC.
That hard drive did ram right into his head. He was out for, like, ten minutes.
Is that restraining order still in effect?
I think it expired last year. But I wasnt planning on going back to Utah anytime soon. Livy took a handful of her fries out of the newspaper they were nestled in and dropped them on the plate with Tonis burger. Honestly, though, how much money could this really get me?
A lot.
Really?
You should think about it. Youd be able to live some place youre paying for rather than just crashing on someones couch . . . like the couches of people you dont know.
Its called squatting and it has its place in society. And one paycheck isnt going to
I realized that. So I talked to a few of the other teams promotions people here and in Jersey.
Which means what?
Ive got you other jobs with the local shifter teams.
Livy smirked. So youre my agent now?
If I have to be. Clearly your agent doesnt understand your true needs and skills.
Livy thought a moment. Well . . . it would be nice having a place of my own eventually.
Where are you living now?
Some guy left his window open on Thirty-Second Street and Fifth, so I
Okay. Thats enough. Toni shook her head to remove the image of her best friend climbing into some guys temporarily vacant home so she had a place to sleep for the night. It was in Livys nature, Toni understood that. But it was in Tonis nature to put her siblings in burrows . . . she didnt actually do that, though, now did she? The family is in Manhattan for the summer, so you can stay with us. But come end of August, youd better have your own, rented apartment, Olivia. You cant keep living this way. Its not right, especially when you dont have to be homeless!
