Then, without even looking at him again, Izzy walked off, leaving him lying there.

“I don’t know why you look so shocked,” a voice said from beside him and he looked up into the face of his cousin Branwen. “What did you expect from her? To drop to her knees and suck your cock right here?”

Well . . . it had crossed his mind.

Don’t miss the newest release in Shelly Laurenston’s Pride series, Wolf with Benefits.

Toni had been waiting forty-five minutes for her interview, but she didn’t mind. She had a book. As long as she had something to read, Toni could self-entertain for hours. It was a gift she had.

Still, she did wonder if there really was some sort of problem going on that kept Ulrich Van Holtz and the hockey team’s coach too busy to meet with her. Or were they just trying to find a way to break it to her nicely that they didn’t even think she could manage the office copier? Not that she blamed them. Except for the occasional volunteer position, she’d never had a real job. Not anything she could put on a résumé.

Then again, she was probably just being paranoid and insecure. They couldn’t all be away trying to figure out what to do with her, and even the snooty bobcat receptionist wasn’t around.

She glanced over to her right.

The wolf, though, was still sitting there. Quietly. Staring at the wall across from them. He didn’t look bored. Or annoyed. Or angry. Just…calm.

She hadn’t said a word to him. Not because she was upset with him but because she was curious to see how long he could go without talking to her. She thought he’d have gotten fed up by now and found a very nice way to leave. She couldn’t see him storming out in a huff. That didn’t seem to be his way. But politely finding an exit strategy? Yeah. That seemed more his style.

She finally had to ask, “You’re not bored?”

“Not at all.”

“Really?”

“I’ve found that if you wait long enough…the entertainment often comes to you. You just have to be patient.”

“Okay, but it may be awhile. I don’t know when—”

“That’s fine. I’ll just keep on sittin’ here…lookin’ pretty.” He grinned at her, showing her his perfect white teeth. “Enticing you with my charm.”

At that point, all Toni could do was cross her eyes and go to her book. But just as she’d settled back in, the bobcat receptionist returned. He charged in through the glass door, barely glancing at her or the wolf as he passed.

Toni sat up straight, not knowing if the receptionist would be part of the hiring process, and said, “Hi. I’m here to see—”

“Yeah, yeah—” He dismissed her with a shake of his head, while he grabbed a messenger bag from under his desk. He had it in his fist and was just movingaround the desk when the glass door was thrown open and the hockey player from the day before, Novikov, stood there. And even though she didn’t know the man very well, Toni could say with great confidence that he was definitely seething.

“What,” Novikov began, spitting out the words through clenched teeth, “do you not understand about a schedule?”

Uh-oh. Toni remembered her brother Troy beginning a conversation with his one-time babysitter in a similar manner. Afterward, the babysitter sued for medical bills and pain and suffering, plus got a restraining order against her brother. In the end the family settled with her out of court.

Denny was only four at the time of that incident and about thirty pounds. Novikov was thirty something and at least four hundred plus pounds…so this situation could easily end up much worse.

Trying to defend himself, the bobcat began, “I did what you ask—”

“No!” Novikov cut the cat off. “You didn’t do what I asked. Because if you’d done what I asked, I’d be surprising my fiancée in Chicago with the wonder that is me. And later tonight, I’d be watching a bout with her and a bunch of other hot girls racing around a banked track in tight shorts and tank tops and pretending it’s a sport. Instead, since last night I’ve ended up in Iowa. Then Kentucky. Then Minnesota. None of which had my fiancée, but they did have grizzlies. Lots and lots of really pissy grizzlies! Who aren’t fans of polar bears or lion males! And I’m both!”

In the face of that roar, the bobcat backed up against the wall behind him, his messenger bag held against his chest. “I just got your schedule confused with Markowitz’s. It was an accident.”

“Wait a minute…you’re telling me that Markowitz is in Chicago? With my fiancée?”

“I doubt he’s with Blayne.”

“Does Blayne know you got the schedules mixed up?”

“Well, she called—”

“Which means,” the hybrid growled, “she probably felt bad for Markowitz and now she’s making sure he’s doing okay. You know how she doesn’t like anyone to be sad. And we all know how Markowitz is a scumbag leopard who’ll take advantage of any do-gooder idiot that comes along. Especially when they have legs as long as my Blayne’s!” The player stalked over to the bobcat’s desk and slammed really big hands onto it, making the thing nearly buckle. “But you know what’s the worst part of this? What really sets my teeth on edge and makes me want to just twist your head around until it pops off your body? The worst part is that because of you I haven’t had my workout today. I haven’t had my swim. I haven’t had my practice. Because of you I’ve missed an entire day of my schedule.”