Taken by the Ruthless Wolf

2.

Oh, I’d half expected to be told to get lost. But he spotted me and just a beat or two later, sat down across from me.

“Jessica tells me that you’re looking for work?”

“Yes! I know the job market is pretty tough, so I just wanted to introduce myself. Make an impression, you know?”

“I see. And what hours are you looking to work?”

“During the day, mostly. I’m doing online school at night, and as a young woman, I don’t really want to walk around the city on my own at night.”

“You don’t have a car?”

I could hear the apprehension in his voice instantly, my stomach twisting. “No, but I live just down the road! Less than a five-minute walk. That’s one of the reasons I thought this would be a great place to work.”

“I see. Well, we’ve gotten away from paper applications, but there is a way for me to flag applications that come through our online portal as a priority. I just need your phone number.”

“Would an email work? Mine’s pretty unique.”

“Uh, sure.”

Whew. Thank goodness he didn’t call me on that. Sure, my email was some cutesy thing from when I was a freshman, but that wasn’t why I used it. I’d learned after my first three failed interviews that possible employers didn’t like when someone didn’t have a phone. In fact, for a lot of them, it was an automatic disqualification.

“Great!”

I spelled out my email for him, and he wrote it down, my heart pounding in my chest. Maybe it was stupid to be so concerned about something as simple as an informal meeting with a possible boss, but I really wanted a job.

“All right, well, if that’s it, that’ll be all, Miss….”

“Lyssa!” I said quickly. “Lyssa Clarence.”

“Right, I’ll be in contact soon, Miss Clarence.”

Goodness, I could only hope that he was telling the truth and not just gassing me up.

“Thanks! You have a good day now!”

“You too.”

With that, we shook hands and I headed out, feeling a little more hopeful. But I wasn’t the type to put all my eggs in one basket, so I headed right to the next place.

And then the next place.

And then the place after that.

By the time I hit up every restaurant and place with a hiring sign out, my back was killing me. It turned out hauling everything that was in my locker home was a pretty intense workout. But I kept going nonetheless, my drive pushing me until I’d spoken with every manager I could.

Most of the meetings went pretty well, enough for me to not feel like the entire trip was a dud, and I finally headed home.

It wasn’t the longest walk, thankfully. Certainly longer than I’d told the first manager, but not more than fifteen minutes. By the time I arrived, I was exhausted through and through. Goodness, I just wanted to lie down until it was time to go out again with my friends.

“Hey there, Lyssa! You look beat!”

I managed to flash the doorman a genuine smile. He was a sweet bean, for all that he was kind of nosy.

“Hey there, Mr. Connors. I’ve just had a crazy day. I can’t believe I’m graduating!” It was more conversation than I wanted, but I needed to stay on friendly terms with the guy.

“It’s an important time of your life. Are you excited to spread your wings and leave the nest?”

Goodness, excited was probably not the word I would use. Endlessly terrified had a much more honest ring to it.

Naturally, I didn’t say as much.

“For sure! I can’t wait to live out my own!” Not like I hadn’t been doing that for several years already…

“Ho, ho! And what about your parents? Are they as excited as you?”

“Oh, ya know, they’re coping. My mom sobs over my baby clothes while my dad pretends nothing is happening.”

More lies, but at least they were cute ones. And ones I had to keep up, considering the doorman had seen me walk in with a family and assumed they were mine. In reality, they’d just been holding the door open for me since my hands were full with the one box of possessions I’d had at the time. Naturally, I let his assumption keep up, and I had no idea how the family hadn’t corrected him. I was sure that he must have said something about me to them. Maybe they had social anxiety or just thought the doorman was a little off his rocker, however, because he still seemed none the wiser.

“Aww, how sweet. Many people would give anything to have parents who cared for them like that.”

Oof, if that wasn’t an arrow right through my heart. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

With a vaguely awkward goodbye, I made my way to the mailroom where I managed to rent a PO box. It hadn’t been easy, but luckily a six-month contract was surprisingly cheap. It took me about three full days to peruse as much of the city as possible, collecting bottles and cans to recycle, but it was most definitely worth it.

While I was able to skirt rules and obstacles pretty consistently, I’d found that I couldn’t get around needing somewhere to receive mail reliably. Whether it was official documents, school stuff, or aid requests, having a place all of that could go had considerably improved my life.

Usually, there wasn’t a ton in it, but considering the big milestone I was approaching in life, there had been at least one thing in it every day. Unlocking my little box, I pulled the three or so letters out and sorted them while I headed to the elevator.

It turned out none of it was important. Just junk mail and ads for stores that I never could hope to afford.

But I sure have stolen from them.

The thought made me giggle, and I placed a hand over my mouth even though I was alone as I walked out of the mailroom. I didn’t like that I had to steal, per se, but the adrenaline rush of it could sometimes be kind of fun. Probably not the best attitude to have, but I liked to think of it as looking on the bright side of life.

I paused at the exit to throw away the junk mail, only to have my attention drawn by something… peculiar.

I couldn’t say what made me look up, but I did, my eyes connecting with a man who had just walked into the lobby. He was a tall, uptown-looking fellow heading for the far too fancy restaurant below the lobby. His hair was a deep, royal brown like the earth itself and his eyes were an intense, foreboding umber. With his broad shoulders, strong features, and impeccable outfit, he would fit right into the expensive bistro. It was the kind of place I would never be allowed, where I imagined sirens sounding if I dared to even step onto the premises.

And for a moment, just a moment, I felt inexplicably drawn to him. For some strange reason, I was reminded of science class in sixth grade, when the teacher had put two strong magnets at either end of his desk and let them inevitably pull towards each other. I couldn’t explain it; I didn't have words for it. All I knew was that my entire mind was suddenly honing in on the handsome stranger across the room.

His eyes sparkled with an intensity that had me frozen, and I swore I could smell his cologne from where I was standing.