"Don't worry, there aren't," said Sasha in a reassuring manner. "We would have investigated a claim like that as soon as it came out. You are special in that regard, so special that we never even saw you coming," he continued with a smile on his face.
Hell, even I didn't see me coming.
I looked over at General Greyson and indicated to one of the chairs in front of me. "Let's pretend that I am somewhat official," I said sarcastically. With a chuckle, Greyson went to sit down in one of the guest chairs in my office with the two soldiers, pulled Jackson between them, and sat down on the couches offered behind the chairs at my desk.
"Of course, Head. Let me offer you my services," purred Sasha as he went to stand behind my left shoulder.
"You have gotten a lot flirty," I said with a raised eyebrow as I looked at the man standing behind me. He simply shrugged his shoulders in reply. "I couldn't do anything as the Head's assistant, but my brother is back in that position, so I am free to do what I want. I can stop it if it makes you feel uncomfortable."
That was my problem; I wasn't feeling uncomfortable at all. Not with him and not with Greyson. Viktor and I … if there was a Viktor and I, weren't official. But all of that was a problem for another day.
Once again, there was a knock on my door, and I called out for them to come in.
"Head, General Richards is here for your 2 pm meeting," said Stephanie as she walked into my office with an older man walking in right after. Dear god, was it only 2 pm? It felt like it had been days since I first walked into my office.
"I guess I don't need to invite you in," I said as I looked at the man who had shouldered his way past Stephanie to come sit down in the chair beside Greyson. However, the taint coming off of the man was so much that I couldn't stomach it.
Taking a sip of my hot chocolate, I cleared my throat. "Please go sit down on the couches; I am sure that you will be much more comfortable there," said Sasha as he walked over to the window of my office and opened it. It was still the middle of winter, but the cold air seemed to be exactly what I needed.
'Thank you,' I mouthed to Sasha as he came back to his position behind me. He just smiled in return. Viktor definitely knew how to train them, apparently.
"What do you need?" I asked as I stared at the man who hadn't moved from the chair. The taint on him was so bad that it was almost a tangible smell. Trying to take small, little breaths of fresh air so I didn't puke all over the place, I waited for him to speak.
"I need to know if you are going to honor the contracts that Jenny had," he said, and I tried to understand what he was saying.
"What contracts?" I asked, curious. I mean, I was sure that I was missing things; however, I didn't see any contracts anywhere in House Gypsy. Not unless you were talking about blood contracts with demons. But even then, as soon as Jenny's blood stopped flowing, they were no longer valid.
The man turned around to look around the room, and his eyes landed on Jackson for just a second longer than anyone else. He turned back around and faced me again. "I don't think that you understood the importance of House Gypsy to the government before taking it over."
"And I don't think that you understand how any of this works," I replied with a smile, not at all put out that he was trying to explain my own job to me. "My House doesn't have a partnership with this government or any other government. We are our own… state… that obeys the rules and obligations of the ruling nation. But don't misunderstand. We have our own rules and obligations, and if those are broken, well… let's just say that we don't end up in jail."
As soon as I finished speaking, the phone on my desk rang. Taking a breath to prevent myself from losing my temper, I picked up the receiver.
"I know this isn't a good time, but a hunt has been called," said Viktor, and I could hear the slamming of car doors before there was quiet. "Can you put Sasha on the phone?"
I hummed as I passed the receiver to the man standing behind me. Sasha answered the phone but, after a few minutes, passed it back to me. "He wants to talk to you now."
"Sasha will be stepping in as the Beta in charge while I am gone. Use him as you need to. I'll talk to you as soon as I get back. I can't guarantee that if the call gets bad that I will remember to phone you. Looked after yourself," he said quickly to me, and I could tell that the call of the hunt was starting to pull him away.
"Understood; take care of yourself, too," I said. He grunted before hanging up the phone.
"Must be a bad one," I said with a frown as I looked up at Sasha. He hummed, and General Richard loudly cleared his throat, forcing my attention back to him.
"I'm sorry," I said with a smile. "Was I not paying attention to you for a moment, and you couldn't handle it?" Apparently, my bitchy was slipping the leash with Richards in the room with me.
"You are nothing like Jenny," he sneered at me like that was the greatest insult he could come up with. I could feel Sasha stiffen behind me.
"Do you know anything about this House?" I asked, not bothering with his comment. He was right. I was nothing like Jenny. She was nothing more than a human playing in a monster's world.
Me? I was a monster.