[Carmen]I heard the front doors lock, then Gemma and Forrest came in. They both sat on the seats on the other side of my desk. All the furniture in the office was made to hold even the heaviest trolls. I was grateful for that. Gemma was quiet as she passed out our lunches and put bottles on the desk. It was an awkward silence. I took the paper with Viola’s information and put it in the folder with the other applications. Viola said she spent time with a vampire. I wondered what that was like. Echo’s other mate was a vampire, but I only met him once and it was during a party, so we didn’t really get a chance to talk. It seemed like she had an interesting life.“So, Forrest, how are you doing?” Gemma asked. She was avoiding asking about the dark elf. It was hard for Gemma, but I said no work talk during lunch time and everyone agreed. This was our break time and I wasn’t going to let it be taken over by work talk. “Pretty good. I’m in a bind, though.” He sighed. “Is it something we can help with?” I asked. “It’s…. It’s Pyla. I don’t know what to do. I went over to her place because I wanted to talk to her and I didn’t remember her phone number. She was happy to see me and I couldn’t resist. I almost flirted with her and that would have fuсked everything up. Pyla’s different. She’s not like other trolls.” “Pyla’s the troll Elbio brought to the barbecue, right, Carmen?” Gemma asked. “Yeah. She’s the half lizard person I was telling you about. She was raised in the fae realm, but not in the troll village there,” I explained. “She doesn’t know anything about how trolls flirt or act with each other. When I walked her home from the party at Rock’s house, she asked me why Elbio was being mean to her when he was the one who asked to take her there,” Forrest told us. When I was talking to her, it seemed like she’d been raised like I was but with people who were a lot less volatile. Pyla wasn’t the same as other trolls, but she also wasn’t the same as a werewolf. I didn’t think she would be entirely comfortable in either community. Forrest was sweet, but I could hear the struggle in his voice. He wanted to make her comfortable, but his whole education had been in interacting with other trolls. “What did you do?” I asked. “I asked her to go out with me this weekend. Well… I told her I was taking her out. She didn’t balk at it. She asked where and I told her it was a surprise. I have no fuсking clue where to take her or anything like that. I don’t even know what to talk to her about. Everything inside me is telling me to dominate her but I’m afraid she’s going to hate me.” “You need to dominate her gently,” Gemma said before taking a bite of her chicken. I nodded as I picked at my food. She was right. As a half-troll, Pyla would be looking for a dominant male, but being raised outside that community, she would be looking for a male who could connect with her personally. She needed someone who could be both. I didn’t know if Forrest could be both, but I would support him in any way possible. “How the hell do I do that?” he asked. “You already did by telling her you were taking her out and not letting her consult on where it was,” Gemma told him. “What you need to do now is figure out a way to show her you were thinking about her and her needs. She’s half lizard…. I would say something outside in the sun. She likes warm the way you like soft. Most lizards eat birds…. Maybe do a picnic with chicken to eat. Take her to one of your favorite places, bring food, and lay out in the sunshine while you eat and talk,” I explained. “So take a hike, lay around, and eat food.”“And don’t wear a shirt,” Gemma said quickly. I nodded vigorously. He was made of stone and his skin would warm up if he were shirtless. The cold-blooded reptile in Pyla would want to soak in the heat in his skin. “No shirt, take a hike, lay around, and eat food.” “Don’t insult her, take care of her. The harsh dominance of most trolls won’t work with her. You said it yourself. She didn’t know why Elbio was being mean. I knew he was flirting with her, but she didn’t,” I told him. “You can’t be mean to her. The way to dominate her gently is to make all of her decisions for her, without being a diсk about it. If you can, then you might be able to get her. But are you really cool with stealing your friend’s girl?” Gemma asked. Forrest was quiet. I could hear him chewing the chicken bones. Gemma and I continued eating. There was no reason to push him too much. “He had no claim on her as soon as he left her behind and took my date home with him. Trolls aren’t like werewolves. He didn’t like that she didn’t respond the way he wanted her to. I know she’s different. I treated her the way I saw Rock treating Carmen. She let me hug her. She was softer than she looked,” Forrest said softly. “Sounds like you’re softer than you look, too.” Gemma laughed. I giggled. From what Rock told me, Forrest was softer than he looked. He was soft on the inside. Rock said it meant that he was nicer to non-trolls than most trolls would be, but that he acted like a troll otherwise. Forrest started laughing. He seemed to like that we weren’t scared of him. All week, we’d been having lunches like this. I liked it Forrest almost took the place of Ash in our friend lunches. “I guess I am. No other troll would be able to stomach looking at the two of you while eating.” He laughed harder. “Except for Rock,” Gemma added. “He barely counts. He actually thinks things like you are attractive. You’re growing on me, though. Like an invasive moss,” Forrest said. “One that’s obviously eating into your brain,” I told him. “We had better be careful or Forrest will forget he’s a troll altogether and start falling in love with me….” Gemma laughed. “If I ever fall in love with something that looks like you, shoot me. I will obviously be completely insane.” Forrest stuck out his tongue at her. We all ended up laughing throughout the meal. I wanted to find a receptionist who could fit into this type of dynamic. I needed someone who could laugh and joke without getting offended. Someone who could keep secrets and tell stories. I needed to find someone who could be another friend to Forrest and me. We would all be spending a lot of time together. I felt like it was important that they could be friends with a werewolf and a troll. After the meal, we cleaned up. That mostly consisted of the containers, napkins, and empty bottles from our drinks. Forrest ate all of the leftover carcasses. He told us the first time that the bones were the best part and he’d gladly eat our ‘leftovers’ if we didn’t want them. It made us laugh, but he was serious. Even if there was little to no meat left on the bones, he wanted to eat them. It was just one of the differences between trolls and werewolves. Gemma and I were getting an education in the differences every day. By the time Rock came back, I was sure of what I wanted for the receptionist/assistant we were hiring. She had to be someone we could trust, someone who was familiar with different species, and someone who was comfortable around trolls. Most of all, they had to be someone I could trust. Being unable to see meant that I was going off trust a lot when it came to other people. I needed someone straightforward and honest. The healer told Rock someone would play a prank on me that would backfire and hurt me if we didn’t hire Gray and Cam. I needed to make sure my office help was on the lookout for something like that. “How was your day?” Rock asked as he came into the office. Again, he smelled as if he had been working hard outside. I could smell the scent of a woman on him, though. Not like he had been doing something with someone, but as if a woman had pressed her body against his. “Fine, how was yours?” I asked. He groaned and I heard him flop into his chair. It was cute, but it wouldn’t distract me from the fact that my mate smelled like another woman.“That woman…. I swear to the goddess she only caused problems to get me out there. I never noticed it until I had a mate, but she screeches until I come out, then throws herself at me. Today, she said she wanted to talk to me about our work on the bathroom she had redone last summer….” Rock was growling. “She tried something with you,” I murmured. “She threw herself at me, literally, and pretended that she tripped. I would have believed that she actually tripped, too if she wasn’t fumbling for my zipper when I pulled her away. The Thompsons have been customers for years and she’s always been a little flirty, but I have no idea why she escalated like this.”“Because you have a relationship. Because her relationship isn’t going the way she thinks it should…. Because you’re more commanding and in control than ever before and she realized she had to have you,” I suggested. “Well, this is the last project for them. She’s lucky we’re in the wrapping-up stage, or I would drop their project right now. I’m never taking them on again. I was worried you’d be pissed off at me,” he said. “You’re my mate and you haven’t lied to me. I wasn’t angry, but I was upset. Thank you for telling me the truth.” Rock got up from his chair. I heard him make his way across the room, so I wasn’t startled when he picked me up. I let him hold me for a moment. “I’ll never lie to you. I promise this week is the last time I will go to her house. I have to finish the job we’re too close to quit.” “I understand. I’m not mad, Rock. You can’t control other people. But, if you have some spare clothes, could you please go clean her scent off of you? I don’t like it,” I said. “I’ll go do that right now. Wait for me here.” He set me back in my chair and I heard him rush out of the office. I took a deep breath and worked on controlling my anger at that woman for touching my mate. She was lucky I couldn’t see, or I’d drive down there and kick her ass.She was damned lucky. I growled as I worked on other things. I hated so much about everything he just told me. I could be reasonable and not order him to abandon the job. This wasn’t something that couldn’t be resolved. I realized another need for whoever worked with me in the office. They couldn’t be interested in Rock. I was fine if they liked Forrest or any of the other guys, but not Rock. No flirting, no touching. If he had been single, would Rock have indulged with that woman? The idea of that pissed me off. I was the first and only soft person he slept with. Was it only a matter of luck that he hadn’t slept with anyone else? Was she someone who interested him before he had me? My focus had been completely wrapped up in the woman and the implications that I didn’t notice Rock in the office until he picked me up again. The woman’s scent was gone and all I could smell was soap and Rock. I breathed him in deeply. “I think you weren’t as honest as you seemed, Carmen. I think you’re pissed off about that woman touching me.” “I’m not mad at you, but I’m mad at her. And….” “What, little wolf? You can tell me anything,” Rock insisted. “If she had done that before you marked me… would you have accepted her advances?” I asked quietly. Rock chuckled. “I’m sorry, little wolf. I never realized that was something that could pop into your head. The only reason I agreed to go with you was because you were a werewolf and I was certain you could handle me with your healing. You’re soft and tough. I wouldn’t have slept with her because she was married and human.” “Really? So you wouldn’t have even been tempted?” I asked. “I would have been tempted, but I wouldn’t have done it. That’s not a complication I want in my life. Plus, Mrs. Thompson straddles the uncanny line of not being attractive by human or troll standards. At least, by my troll or human standards. She seems fake and wrong.” He hugged me tightly. I trusted him, but I didn’t trust her. Being turned down may not have made her happy. I’d keep an ear out for her trying something with one of our other guys. Maybe it was because Rock was older and in charge. “Make sure the other guys know that they shouldn’t get involved with homeowners romantically. We don’t need to call out anyone, but a general reminder would be good,” I told him. “Great idea,” Rock replied. We wrapped up the last bits of work and headed home. I was still recovering from the visit to the healer. I was feeling a lot better about everything, though. My reality was starting to stabilize.