The day through two PM had not been a particularly easy one. I was away from Terri with the knowledge that I would be beat up by her pack's Alpha tonight and forbidden from being with her in any way again. I also think he might also forbid me from being friendly with Night as well. We all hoped we'd get lucky and Fangton could be divided into two packs, but that didn't seem likely. And there were some odd things that I noticed when I came in, and the two PM phone call seemed to be another of these instances.
"Hello?" I spoke calmly and trying to sound in control of myself.
"Hello, John," said a very firm and authoritative voice came from the other end of the line.
It was my boss. The very man who had made me come in early today. I'd expected to get a tongue lashing from him, but from what I remembered from other instances that I'd either witnessed or heard about through the office rumor mill, I expected the lecture to be given in person. My boss carried the reputation of being very "in your face" when he was crossed by someone that had displeased him or failed him. The story you and Terri told Night was only one of many.
"Hello, sir," I said quickly, sounding nervous, "I did get in early, sir, as you ordered, and I have been at work."
"I know," came my boss's voice, "I saw you come in... and I saw you talk with a man I'd fired."
You gave a gulp. No one in the office thought that Fred Jones deserved what he got after his wife got sick. No one could turn him down when he came around again, mostly trying to get his job back, and when the boss refused, everyone offered to sort of look the other way while letting Fred Jones help out where he could. They'd make sure that any and all paperwork was signed and notarized by those still officially in the firm's employees. It was all grounds to get fired, but no one felt that Fred Jones should have been fired, and no one had felt they could turn him away. Various employees even gave him a portion of their own salaries to ensure that he wasn't living on a wing and a prayer.
No one argued, at least not until a month or two ago. A couple of young women hired as secretaries had begun to toe the boss's line, almost like a robot that can only repeat commands. A lot of that had been fairly suspicious to you for a time, but you weren't paying that close attention. At the time, you had been more preoccupied with what you'd observed in Terri since your relationship with her started again. You didn't tell Terri about the idea to help Fred Jones and cover up the fact that it was being done. That made you somewhat nervous. The two secretaries might have told the boss about the cover up to help Fred Jones, as while the staff had tried to make sure that Fred Jones and the boss didn't cross paths, that didn't mean that the secretaries didn't know about it.
"I'm sure he only wants his job back, sir," I answered nervously.
"He said "we missed you yesterday," I doubt he was just dropping by to beg me for his job back," my boss answered, "he's been here and you've been helping him... helping him slow down my business!"
"No, sir," I said desperately, "You can check my reports, sir. I've been just as efficient as you need, sir."
"But he's been here, hasn't he?" my boss answered.
"Yes," I admitted.
"I want him gone," my boss commanded, "I shirked his work and skipped out... All because "my wife has cancer..." What a load of bull. My wife's never even gotten a sniffle!"
"Some people are healthier then others, sir," I said nervously.
"Yes," my boss answered in an odd sounding way, "I know."
That made me shudder in a odd way.
"Still, I want him gone," my boss continued, returning to his command toned voice, "I fired him. He has no business here. I want him gone. You can be as chummy as you like, but I want him gone, and I want to see you escorting him out the front way. If I don't see that within the next half hour, I'll fire YOU too."
With that the line went dead. I cringed heavily, as it was another thing to be nervous about. My boss had found out about the staff's attempts to help Fred Jones, who never deserved to be fired, but he had heard my conversation with Fred Jones in the morning. Now, the office wasn't the tallest building in the world, but it was tall enough that no one could quote what Fred Jones had said to me the way my boss just had. At least that's what I would have thought before I found out my ex-wife was a werewolf and then allowed her to bite me, turning me. Sights, smells and sounds had all become sharper for me. Much of it was all still new for me, but I'd learned enough to have some good guesses.
And that wasn't the other odd thing that I'd noticed at the office, but that had nothing to do with the phone call. It was something that I noticed when I came in. I didn't pay any real attention to it because it would make me come off as odd, and that could get me caught or put in a position where I'd change... especially with the presence of what I'd come across when I came in. It was a scent, one that smelled both good and exciting, but also one that was powerful and terrifying. And both scents carried the scent of wolf on them.