The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 95

Fiona

Nina got the full scoop on Iris by the time I arrived at the office.

Usually, I optimized my downtime during the half-hour car ride by reading the morning's market indexes. I had more pressing business today though. I texted Nina every detail of what had happened the night prior, describing both the short, painful scene with Iris and all the stuff Alexander told me about her afterward.

It was a relief to see how she reacted.

Her very first response was: WTF?????

Alexander's statements about Iris had been rather perplexing. I couldn't tell if he really understood or not that the woman had an obvious and serious romantic interest in him. Either way, he seemed to trust the stranger with inexplicable certainty. His defense of her didn't shake my faith in my own intuition at all, but it did confuse me.

My best friend, though, echoed and validated all the same thoughts and feelings that I'd had. It gave me some reassurance of my sanity.

Nina had a slew of questions. I had answers to none of them.

I told her: Trust me - I will be asking him more questions tonight.

She replied: Lmk how it goes. And keep your eyes open, Fi. You know that bitch is up to something.

I texted Alexander in the afternoon and set a time for our dinner date.

He replied immediately: I'll be waiting. And daydreaming about you till then. X

I resolved then to leave the office on time tonight whether or not all my tasks were wrapped up. This ran contrary to my perfectionist impulses, of course. But other impulses were winning out right now.

I needed more of the good feeling I'd gotten back since my Alpha's return.

I was craving it.

Anxious to see him and proud of myself for sticking to my goal - I'd left the office only a few minutes after five p.m., a new record for me - I was smiling and distracted as I walked from the car to our bedroom.

So when Iris popped up from around the corner, coming down a palace hallway headed straight for me, I jumped.

"Hey!" she called. "Hey, Fiona! Oh dear, did I surprise you? Sorry!"

I stopped in my tracks. "Hello, Iris. Yes, you did." I took a second to catch my breath.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. But I was looking for you, actually. I'm so glad I caught you!"

I, for one, was not glad for that.

I shifted my grip on my purse and briefcase uncomfortably, very eager to get inside and set all my things down. "Is there something I can help you with, Iris?" I asked very patiently.

"No, no. I just wanted to see what you were doing tonight. Maybe we could have dinner together, you and me and Alexander." She grinned.

There was something troubling in that big, toothy smile.

The syrupy-sweet tenor of her voice rang false, too. She was putting on an act with the friendliness, and she was a bad actor. An over-actor.

"I'm afraid not, Iris. That would not be appropriate." I gave her a moderately stern look to be sure she understood.

"Oh," she said quietly, dropping the smile. "Why's that?"

"I dine with my fiancé alone in the evenings. Our time together is limited and very valuable."

"Oh, okay, okay, I understand." The sarcastic tone Iris adopted, though, demonstrated that she did not. "Well, how about tomorrow then? It's your weekend now, right? Alexander told me all about your big fancy job." Her mouth spread back out into the toothy grin. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

My wolf was ready to fight.

It was one of those moments that would be difficult to explain to anyone who wasn't present to experience it for themselves. Iris's energy was simply unsettling. She bored holes into me with her big, dark eyes, hardly blinking.

My briefcase was too heavy to keep holding. I had several books in it today, along with my tablet.

I sighed, bent slightly to set it down on the marble floor, and said to Iris as gently as I could muster, "I apologize, but I will be quite busy with my fiancé over the weekend as well, Iris. Now if you don't mind, I really need to be getting inside. I have been working all day and need to get off my feet."

Her smile melted into a grimace. She looked down at my briefcase, back up at me, then back down again. Then she cried, "Oh, I'm so sorry! Here, let me take that for you, and I'll go with you."

"Stop." I held my hand out flat in front of me just as Iris lurched for my bag. "Please, stop. I do not need you to do that."

I, for one, was not glad for that.

I shifted my grip on my purse and briefcase uncomfortably, very eager to get inside and set all my things down. "Is there something I can help you with, Iris?" I asked very patiently.

She reacted by flying back, as if my open palm had been a live firehose. "I'm so sorry Fiona. I didn't mean to offend you. Gosh, I'm really bothering, you aren't I?" She shook her head and pouted, sticking out her bottom lip like a clown. "I just thought maybe you could use some help, since you look so tired."

It was going to be even more difficult than I'd expected to make nice with this bitch.

I was down to the last fraying thread of my patience.

"I'm fine, thank you, Iris."

"Come on," she persisted, forcing that smile again. "Just let me help you out. I'll go with you to your room, it's no big deal."

She made another move for my briefcase, but froze when I said, "No, thank you," with just a tiny sliver of the firmness I really wanted to use. I was trying very, very hard to be nice, but her act was becoming infuriating.

I wanted to clench my jaw. Bare my teeth. The effort it took to do nothing of the sort was colossal.

She gave me a blank, willfully obtuse look.

"We must have some boundaries, Iris. Please do not invite yourself to my and Alexander's bedroom again. That is a private space for me and my fiancé."

At this, Iris cowered away from me dramatically. She acted as if I was a monster that had just viciously attacked her.

I was done.

"I'll thank you now for understanding and be on my way," I said with a level of calm patience that merited a medal. "Good night."

And with that I picked up my briefcase, fixed my eyes forward and walked away without another glance in her direction.

The pace of my steps was deliberate. I knew Iris would stand there and watch me walk away. I was not going to give her the satisfaction of storming off in a huff and letting her see that she'd gotten under my skin. I walked at exactly the same, slightly-faster-than- average city dweller walking speed that I always do.

I reached the door and turned my key in it calmly. I did not turn around.

But I faintly heard a "boo-hoo" sound ringing out from down the hall that told me Iris had left our interaction doing another new bit. A crying act with comically over-exaggerated sobs.

There was something very wrong with that woman.