Chapter 26

Rowena

“Ouch!” Eric held his head where I bumped it, rubbing it in an exaggerated manner. “Manager, I think I need to be treated for a concussion now.”

As he spoke, I saw the hint of a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He wasn’t hurt at all. I felt a blush creep into my cheeks, however, and I quickly jumped away from Eric as Adrian stepped into the room.

“Adrian,” I breathed, whirling around to face him. “Can I help you with anything?”

Adrian smiled slightly and held up something in his hand—one of my flyers. “I saw these hanging around the school,” he said, glancing around the small utility closet that I now called my office. “I didn’t realize you had a new office now.”

My cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red, and I stammered out, “I, uh… Yeah, I decided to move to my own office.” I didn’t want to reveal that it was Heather who actually got me kicked out, of course. Not to Adrian, at least.

Suddenly, Eric’s smirk grew into a grin. He practically leaped down off of the exam table and walked over to me, looping his arm around my waist. I felt my breath leave my body as he yanked me close and held me tight up against him.

“Rowena got kicked out of the main office.”

My blood ran cold at Eric’s words. God, why did he have to expose me like that? In front of Adrian, no less?

Adrian blinked at us in surprise. “Oh… Why?”

I swallowed, struggling against Eric’s firm grip. His body was sturdy and warm pressed up against me; far too close for comfort, but I couldn’t seem to wriggle free.

“It’s a… long story,” I finally said once I managed to pry Eric’s arm off of my waist. I gasped for breath and smoothed down my shirt, feeling flustered now as the sensation of his fingers on my skin seemed to linger longer than it should.

“Just Heather being Heather,” Eric said, ruffling my hair while I was still trying to steady myself. “Rowena didn’t stand up for herself, and now she’s here.”

“I like it here.” I scrunched up my nose slightly at Eric before turning back to Adrian. “It’s nice having my own office.”

Adrian nodded slowly as he looked around at the little closet. “Well, I guess having your own office is pretty cool,” he said. “But Rowena, you should stand up for yourself more.”

I felt my cheeks flush even more, but instead of answering, I simply nodded at the flyer that Adrian was still holding. “So,” I said, “what did you need? A physical, or…?”

“I could use a physical,” Adrian said.

I let out a small sigh of relief and gestured for him to hop up on the exam table. He did, and I began studying his musculature.

“Everything looks nice and proportional,” I said quietly as I worked. I put on my stethoscope and pressed it against Adrian’s back, feeling his taut muscles beneath his shirt. It made me shiver. “Take in a deep breath so I can listen to your lungs. Okay, and let it out…”

As I worked, Eric lingered. He sank down into the chair behind my small ‘desk’ and leaned back, folding his arms across his chest.

“Eric,” I said, glancing at him, “if there’s nothing else that you need me to look at, you know you don’t have to stay.”

He shrugged. “I know.”

I paused my exam to blink at my brother. “You—” I began, but he quickly cut me off.

“So, Adrian,” he said coolly, kicking back in the chair and putting his feet up on my desk. “With Rowena in this new office, it must have been difficult for you to find her here. I’m sure you had to actively seek her out.”

Adrian merely shrugged. “The flyers made it pretty clear, although the space is small.” He turned to me then. “Are you getting a lot of patients?”

I blanched slightly at his words. “Not really,” I muttered. “No one really knows I’m here, and with Heather now in the head manager’s office, people are going to her.”

Adrian paused for a moment, looking at me, before an idea suddenly seemed to come to him. “I could help you get new patients, you know.”

My eyebrows shot up of their own accord. “You could?” I asked. “Really? Even with this tiny office?”

“Yeah, of course.” Adrian nodded, causing his raven black hair to catch a bit of the light shining in through the open door. Just seeing it made my heart skip a little. “Your office doesn’t matter as much as the quality of service.”

“Rowena has the best bedside manners with everyone except for me,” Eric teased in that signature way of his. “She just gives me concussions and then tells me to leave.”

I frowned, even though part of me wanted to laugh.

“I think I offer an excellent service,” I responded confidently. And it was true; not having my wolf, and thus falling behind on physical pursuits, made me have to work extra hard in my academics to succeed and gain respect. I think it really improved my quality of service.

“I agree,” Adrian said, flashing me another handsome smile. “You know what? I’ll let some of my followers know about you. I can guarantee you’ll wind up with more than a few return customers.”

My heart skipped at his words. I couldn’t believe that Adrian, my biggest crush, was actually going out of his way to help me with this.

But before I could respond, Eric stood from his seat and strode over to us.

“I’ve got more followers than you, Adrian,” he said coolly, tucking a strand of blond hair behind his ear before sticking his hands in his pockets. “Maybe I should handle it instead.”

Adrian quirked an eyebrow. “Is that so?” he asked. He hopped down from the exam table as well, and now they were standing just inches apart. Eric was a little taller than Adrian, though. “You may have more followers, Eric, but what makes you think that a bunch of playboys would turn into repeat customers?”

Eric simply scoffed. “You mistake some of the best warriors in the camp for common playboys.”

“I don’t deny that they’re good warriors,” Adrian said slowly. “And maybe that’s the issue. Rowena could be helping lower tier warriors who actually need the guidance; these playboys of yours would only have sexual ulterior motives anyway.”

As the two of them spoke, I saw them slowly inching closer together, their upper lips curling back to reveal sneers. Quickly, I cleared my throat and stepped in the way.

“There’s no need to argue,” I said firmly. “But if you both really want to help…”

“I propose a competition,” Eric announced before I could finish. “Whoever can get the most patients to visit Rowena and get them to sign off as return customers gets…”

His voice trailed off. Adrian, however, seemed prepared.

“A date with Rowena,” Adrian grinned.

My jaw dropped. “A date?” I hissed. “Eric is my brother.” Even as I spoke, I felt a heat creep up into my face at the memory of that uncalled-for kiss at the homecoming dance.

“All the more reason for me to win, I guess,” Adrian said. “What do you say, Rowena?”

Eric suddenly turned to face me, and those blue eyes of his seemed to catch the sunlight streaming in through the door in an even more dazzling way, somehow, than Adrian’s raven black hair.

“Yeah, Rowena,” he said. “We just need you to accept.”