The Alpha's Secretary

Chapter Two

First impressions were important, and it was for that very reason that Katherine had been up since 7am trying to perfect every aspect of her outfit. After twenty minutes of sorting through her wardrobe, she finally settled on a dark green woollen top with a lace trim neckline and a plaid pencil skirt. The skirt was made of a somewhat stretchy material that had the dual effect of hugging her hips just right without limiting her movement. A pair of simple black heels, a silver necklace and a watch with a black leather strap set the outfit off nicely. Kat took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t a particularly tall woman, only 5ft4in, but that never bothered her. Her hips were broad, childbearing hips, as her mother called them. Her stomach was not flat, but that didn’t bother her as her waist was tucked in nicely and she often felt that few men stopped between the hips and the chest long enough to notice her stomach. Kat toyed for a minute over her hair. On good days it sat in neat waves, on bad days she felt she looked like she’d stuck her finger in an electrical socket. It was a light auburn colour that, in her opinion, set off her green eyes nicely.

“Perfect.” She nodded and picked up her phone and handbag. There was just enough time to fill a flask with tea before heading for the bus. It was quite a mystery to her how anyone survived without tea or coffee. Caffeine was quite possibly her life source, next to chocolate. The person who invented mochas would forever live in her heart as an angel.

It was a five minute walk to the bus stop from her grandmother's house and the bus took her straight to the road the office building was situated on. As long as she caught the 8am bus, she’d arrive at the office at 8.25, which gave her twenty minutes to get properly situated before her starting time of 8.45.

The Lawson Biotech building stood tall and proud, with large glass windows and a small garden out front. The garden, if you could call it that, consisted of several large planters filled with a single oak tree each and several varieties of flowers. Katherine could see at least eight lining the road in front of the building on her walk in. Upon entering the building, it was obvious this company was one that was run as tightly as a military ship. Several security guards, large as bears, stood by the turnstiles that lead up to the offices. Tall and tasty, she would call them. Katherine observed for a moment before heading over to the reception desk.

“Hello, I’m Miss McArthy, the new secretary. I don’t have my employee card yet but I can show you my drivers licence if you need it,” she made sure to give the older lady her most charming smile, “Do you know where I should report to?”

The woman behind the desk typed for a moment on her computer before motioning one of the guards over.

“Just follow Derrick here. Derrick take Miss McArthy to the Secretarial office on floor five.”

Derrick, or tasty as she had just nicknamed him, gave her a smirk that had wolfish written all over it and motioned to a gate at the end of the turnstiles. Katherine slipped through and followed him over to the lifts.

“First day Miss?” His deep voice made the corner of Katherine's lips turn up. Tasty was just insisting on living up to his name.

“Oh, yes. I guess I left an impression in my interview. Have you worked here long… Derrick was it?” She glanced up at him before looking back at the elevator doors with a smirk.

“A good while… yes. Few years. Started in the mailroom and worked my way up. Are you.. Prepared for your first day? Looking forward to it?” Tasty ran a hand through his dark brown hair, fluffing it up just a little.

“I hope so, I have some experience in these fields but starting somewhere new… you never quite know what is in store, who you’re going to meet…” she trailed off, leaving the hint in the air before turning to face him and holding out her hand to him, “Katherine McArthy, friends call me Kat.” Tasty once more donned his wolfish grin and shook her hand. The energy that resounded against her own screamed werewolf.

“Derrick Allistor. Perhaps we could-” his words were cut off by the ding of the door. A busy corridor stood in front of them, “Perhaps we could continue this conversation after work?”

They stepped out of the elevator into the corridor. To their right was an open workspace with around twenty desks. To their left, a corridor of doors that Kat assumed led to private offices. Tasty led her to the right first.

“Perhaps we could. Is this the secretarial office?” Kat motioned to the open-plan office and Tasty nodded. He motioned to the mousey woman from the interview day, who quickly made her way over.

“Miss McArthy? I’m Jenny Gillespie, Head of Secretarial staff here. It’s lovely to have you. Your desk will be just over here. Thank you Derrick.” Jenny smiled at Tasty, who gave a small bow of his head before heading back to the elevators. Katherine didn’t miss the opportunity to enjoy him walking away, but only for a moment. She turned back to Jenny and followed her to a desk just off the corridor. On it lay a laptop, a planner and a pot of pens. On the corner of the desk was a floral mug with some chocolates in it and a welcome card. The sight of it brought a smile to her face.

“Oh, that’s from those of us here. It’s going to be a dream to have someone in that role again. Heaven knows we needed help. Now, I’ll give you a tour.”

Katherine trailed behind Jenny as she tottered through the halls in her towering heels. She hummed and ahh’d at the right moments, making mental notes of the important rooms.

Truthfully, though, something was distracting her. The energy around her buzzed with something… different. Something that drew her in. The smell of rich coffee and sandalwood filled the air around her. It took her from feeling out of her comfort zone to feeling like she had just sunk into a warm bathtub. There was someone nearby that was having this effect on her. She knew it instinctively. Someone, to use the terms of the creatures she was surrounded by, was her mate.