Chapter Four: Master Jason
1420 Words
Chapter Four: Master JasonShe does not cross paths with Master Jason the day after, nor a few days beyond that. There is simply too much to do.
When he first showed her into the office, where the paperwork is supposed to be handled, she thought they had been burgled. Piles of correspondence stacks everywhere and the large, capacious drawers are full to overflowing.
She has never seen an office in such a state of disarray before, bills forgotten and ignored, half of the staff's pay delayed for weeks with no explanation. It is only due to their impeccable sense of loyalty towards a Master who is no longer alive that they have stayed at all, continuing to tend to their duties.
Alpha Castle, as he had instructed her to address him, had abandoned her half a day into her new duties, quoting a work emergency in the city. She had seen, rather than heard, the plane setting off behind her, the open windows behind her letting enough light in that she doesn't need to be distracted shifting positions throughout the day.
It is both easier and harder to cope without the Alpha Werewolf around her. There is something about him that sets her off in the worst ways and she thinks it is the same for him, seeing as how often he enjoys frustrating her.
"Do you plan to ever leave the office, Miss Tina?" Katie asks after the third day of frazzled work. She feels like she might well have been glued to the office chair with her whole life revolving around the laptop she had the foresight to bring with her. It is a lifesaver now, allowing her to key in all the necessary details and sort out everything that would require Alpha Castle's attention once he returns, the forefront of which would be to ensure that the bills are paid so they won't be deprived of water and electricity if both continues to be ignored.
"Once I'm caught up," she murmurs, ears folding back. She doesn't peer up from the accounting work she is trying to figure out. She is beginning to feel like a jack of all trades rather than just a secretary. "There's so much to do," she laments.
"The work can wait a little. Why don't you come down and join us for dinner?" she asks.
Tina finally looks up and has to blink numbers away from the corner of her eyes. "It's dinnertime already?" she murmurs. Someone must have come in and turned on the lights for her. Her eyes stray and she finds a single log smoldering in a massive stone fireplace. She imagines throwing all the unopened letters that she hasn't gotten through into that fire.
"The sooner I'm caught up, the faster I can process these and maybe I can pay you guys from the excess fund instead of waiting for Alpha Castle to return," she murmurs. It is not, technically, allowed, but she has grown rather fond of the staff in the castle over the past few days. They've been kind to her even though there is no need for them to be, seeing as in their heads, she might be here to just settle matters so that the whole operation can be closed down or sold off.
There are people sending letters offering to buy the land here, build a resort for the rich and famous, turn the Castle into a charming getaway. She puts those in the same pile as where she places the junk mail, though there are a few of those offers that she puts aside.
"As much as I'd like to be paid, I imagine Mr. Castle would not be happy if he were to return and find that our secretary has turned into husk from dehydration and hunger," she says sharply, noting her pale cheeks with some concern. "The evenings are nice now and you ought to take a walk occasionally, not sit in here burying your head in work. You need the fresh air."
"I do go out sometimes," she protests, glancing at the woman and smiling. She opens the window in the mornings and poke her head out for a breath of fresh air. That should count. "And it's night already?" she turns her gaze to the window mournfully. She feels like she has hardly gotten any work done.
"Evening," Katie says. "Come. You would enjoy a walk in the vineyards, or the beach, perhaps? The grapes should be ripe for the picking now. You could have some after dinner," she suggests.
Tina brushes her hand over her Cat ears self consciously. "Grapes are uh- they're toxic to me. I can't eat them," she divulges. It's always a little awkward, sharing details that would remind them she's less than human, but the woman merely nods and apologizes.
"I'll see to it that the chef be more careful about your diet. You should have told us. Does this mean you can't have onions and garlics?"
She shakes her head. "Only in large quantities!" she says. "You've been too kind to me already. I didn't want to impose."
Katie makes an indignant noise and then she's hurrying away with the onion sandwich that she had brought in with her, her original plan to have Tina join them for dinner forgotten.
Tina laments the loss of her dinner for a few seconds before burying her head back into the work. There's so much to do.
She is in the middle of tallying up August's numbers when she feels a prickle at the back of her neck, as if she's being watched. She looks up and sees Mr. Castle leaning against the door frame, smiling at her in a way that is rather unlike him.
She blinks and realizes that it's not Mr. Castle that she's looking at. The man is obviously younger, with long hair that he has tied behind his head in a messy ponytail. While he has the same dark eyes and powerful cheekbone, there is a youthfulness about him.
"You must be the new secretary I've been hearing so much about," he says, letting himself in.
She bristles despite herself. Here is a stranger invading a space that she has claimed as her own. He pauses in his steps while she slowly gathers her wits about her. "I'm sorry. I don't think we've met," she says, being purposefully obtuse.
"We haven't. I'm Jason," he says, his eyes touching her lightly. "Is my cousin keeping you busy, then?" he hums. "I haven't seen him in a few days. I guess I know why. I wouldn't leave the room either if I had someone like you to keep my company all day long," he grins, eyes full of mirth, leaping to conclusions he has no right jumping to, seeing as she knows he hasn't been on castle grounds in the past several days either.
"Would you please take a seat, Mr. Jason?" she says in leu of a response. "I have some matters here that involve you directly." She keeps her tone professional, recognizing that he's the sort to take advantage if any kind of weakness is shown.
He seems uncertain. Like his cousin, he is unused to being told what to do, but when she continues looking at him expectantly, he forgets to be obstinate and makes his way in front of her.
Once he settles, he leans back and manages an easy grin, showing off too many teeth. "Is this some sort of roleplaying thing you and my cousin does? I'm into it." He leans forward, his gaze hungry. "Are you going to make me show you my bum and s***k me for being bad?"
It is clear that he means to rile her up. How unfortunate for him that his cousin does a better job of that. She merely arcs her brow at him and asks, "Would that make you answer my questions faster?"
He startles and leans away from her. "You um- you have questions for me?" he asks.
She nods. She hadn't made that up. "Your uncle has left quite a bit of a mess and without Alpha Castle here, I was hoping you can help clear some matters up." She pauses and looks up. He looks a little dazed already and she hasn't even gotten started with him yet.
Good.
Alpha Castle did say he wanted her to distract his wayward cousin and she needs all the help she can get cleaning up the mess here.
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