Chapter 19

IRIS POV:

Monday came faster than I was ready for.

I stood in front of my mirror that morning in my navy blouse and fitted black trousers and stared at myself, recalling all that had just happened in the past few days.

“Do you think all this wouldn't be happening if we stayed at the altar?” my wolf asked.

I sighed. “Yes, I do. I really do.”

“Let’s look at the bright side. We got to meet the most powerful creature on earth, and somehow there's something that interests him so much about us,” she stated.

She was right. We indeed got to meet one of the most powerful people in the world.

I picked up my bag and went down.

My mother was already downstairs. She was at the kitchen table with both hands around her mug, looking out at the garden.

She looked up when I walked in.

“You look nice,” she said softly.

“Thank you, Mum.”

She watched my face for a moment. “Are you sure about this job?”

“No,” I said. “But I'm doing it anyway.”

She looked at me with proud eyes.

She reached out and squeezed my hand as I passed.

I squeezed back and kept moving because if I stopped, I wouldn't start again.

Sarah was waiting outside in her car.

She looked me over the moment I got in.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I really don't know. Ask me at the end of the day,” I said.

“It's okay.” She nodded and pulled away from the curb.

The office building came into view twenty minutes later. Clean lines. Glass front. Everything about it was quiet and expensive.

I took a slow breath.

“Hey.” Sarah touched my arm before I could open the door. “Take a deep breath. You're going to be alright. Okay?”

I looked at her.

“Okay,” I said.

She gave me a look.

“I'll be alright,” I corrected.

She smiled and pushed the door open.

We entered the building.

The secretary at the entrance looked at me, and in an instant her eyes lit up.

She must have recognized my face from the wedding videos. I tried to ignore it, but another eye stared at me, then another and another, until half the people at the entrance had their eyes on me.

I walked past them like I didn't feel uncomfortable.

“Her office is just by the left,” Sarah said as we turned left.

Knock. Knock.

“Come in,” a voice came from inside.

Sarah pushed the door open, and we both stepped in.

Vera was already at her desk when Sarah brought me in.

She looked up slowly. Her eyes moved over me once, head to toe.

“Iris Calloway,” Sarah said. “The one I told you about.”

“I know who she is.” Vera stood and extended her hand across the desk. “Vera.”

“Iris,” I said, shaking it.

“Good posture,” she said, already turning back to her desk. “Clients notice that. Sit.”

I sat.

She slid a tablet toward me without looking up.

“Scheduling system. Learn it today, not tomorrow. Every client has a preference profile. Things they like. Things they absolutely cannot stand. You read those before you open your mouth to any of them.”

“Yes,” I said.

She glanced up briefly. Something shifted in her expression.

“Confidentiality agreement is on there too. Read it properly before you sign.”

I pulled the tablet closer and went through everything carefully. The office moved quietly around us. Phones. Keyboards.

Sarah had taken her seat across the room and was already working, glancing over at me occasionally with small, encouraging looks.

When I finished reading, I signed and slid the tablet back.

Vera checked the time stamp. “Fast reader.”

“Yes,” I said.

“You'll shadow Sarah this week. After that, you take your own client list.” She picked up her pen. “We have people waiting, so the work won't be slow. Don't make me regret this.”

“You won't,” I said.

She went back to her work without another word.

I crossed the room to Sarah's desk and sat beside her.

Sarah leaned forward immediately. “That went really well,” she whispered.

“She told me not to say okay,” I whispered back.

“She told me the same thing on my first day,” Sarah said. “I still say it sometimes just to watch her face.”

I looked across at Vera, bent efficiently over her desk.

Something small moved through my chest, something warm.

The morning passed in the careful business of learning.

Sarah walked me through the system patiently. Client profiles. Scheduling preferences. How to handle last-minute changes without letting the panic reach your voice. I absorbed everything quickly.

It was during a quiet moment just before lunch that one of the other assistants, a girl named Pemi with neat locs and sharp eyes, leaned across from her desk.

“You're new,” she said.

“First day,” I said.

She studied me for a second. “You look familiar, actually. What family are you from?”