Dragon Defying Page 2

  Before he could track her down, though, he had to make it through his first workday at the Advocacy Bureau. He’d been so excited for this internship, but on Monday morning, as he sat in a nondescript conference room and waited for Elliot the panther shifter, all he felt was impatience. He wasn’t interested in learning more about the Wizard Advocates at the moment. All he wanted to do was find Julia. He hoped that he might somehow run into her today, but he told himself not to get his hopes up. The Advocacy Bureau was huge, so the odds were probably not in his favor.

  The conference room door opened and Jasper jumped to his feet, ready to meet Elliot. But the person who entered the room was a woman. A petite wolf shifter, if Jasper’s nose could be trusted. In addition to the scent of wolf, his nose also filled with the scent of coffee and fresh bagels. The wolf shifter was holding a large thermos in one hand, and balancing a tray of bagels on the other.

  “S-sorry to bother you, Mr. Moffatt,” she stammered out, nearly dropping the tray of bagels in her nervousness. Jasper sighed. He hated how everyone acted so on edge around him. Sure, he was a famous dragon. But it wasn’t like he was a real celebrity, like Brad Pitt or something. He tried to give the woman a genuine, disarming smile to put her at ease.

  “No need to apologize. Let me help you with that tray.” He reached to take the tray of bagels from her, and she visibly relaxed as soon as the weight of it was gone from her hands.

  “I’m Whitney,” she said. “Facilities sent me here with some bagels and coffee for you. Elliot is still held up in a meeting, so they thought a bit of food might make you more comfortable while you waited.”

  Jasper glanced at his watch and sighed. Elliot was already thirty minutes late, and there was nothing Jasper hated more than sitting around twiddling his thumbs. But there wasn’t much he could do about it, so he merely grunted and then reached for one of the bagels.

  “Is t-there anything else you need?” Whitney asked.

  Jasper shook his head no. “I’m fine. The bagels and coffee are more than enough.”

  Whitney nodded and turned to leave, but just as she reached the door, Jasper called out her name to stop her. She turned to give him a questioning look and he gestured toward the bagels. “Are you hungry? Feel free to have one. This is more than I’ll eat myself.”

  Whitney looked nervous, so Jasper pushed the tray in her direction, hoping that would help her overcome her hesitation. He had ulterior motives for asking her to stay. He’d suddenly realized that she might be able to give him the inside scoop on the Advocacy Bureau. She seemed to be an administrative assistant of some sort, and people in those positions often knew more than anyone about the inner workings of an organization. Thankfully, she decided to take him up on his invitation for a bagel.

  “If you’re sure you don’t mind?”

  “I don’t. Sit.”

  She sat, and spread cream cheese on a cinnamon raisin bagel before looking up at him gratefully. “I didn’t have time for breakfast this morning. The whole place has been on edge waiting for you to arrive.”

  Jasper grunted. “Really? Could have fooled me. I’ve been here nearly forty-five minutes and all I’ve done is sit and wait in this room.”

  “That’s Elliot’s fault. He should have known better than to schedule a meeting right before you arrived, but he was probably trying to prove a point.”

  Jasper frowned. “And what point would that be?”

  Whitney looked around as though worried someone might be listening in on them, even though the room was empty. She lowered her voice as she spoke. “Just the point that he’s important. He’s a pompous asshole, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

  Jasper chuckled. Seems like Julia wasn’t the only one who wasn’t impressed with Elliot. “Are all of the Advocates like that?”

  Whitney shook her head no. “No, no. The Advocates are all great for the most part. And Elliot’s not an actual Advocate, anyway. He’s an Advocate Support Specialist. Most of them are great, too. He’s just the rotten apple of the bunch.”

  “What’s the difference between an Advocate and an Advocate Support Specialist?” Jasper asked before taking another bite of his bagel. He knew roughly what an Advocate did, but he still wasn’t sure what the point of the support specialists was.

  “Well, for one thing, the Advocates are all wizards, and most of the support specialists are shifters. The Advocates all have years and years of schooling, and are trained to deal with the interpretation of magical laws and handling reports of unauthorized use of magic, things like that. The support specialists mainly act as liaisons between the Advocates and the general public. The Advocates can get caught up in their own heads, if you know what I mean.”

  Jasper frowned. “I actually don’t know what you mean.”

  Whitney shrugged. “They’re so highly educated that they forget what it’s like to be just a normal human sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all very nice. But a lot of them are hard to have a normal conversation with. This was an especially big problem when shifters and wizards first started living together. Shifters didn’t understand the point of Advocates at all. That’s why most of the support specialists are shifters. Shifters are usually the best at communicating with other shifters about what Advocates are doing and why it’s necessary and important.”

  “Usually?”

  “Well, there are always exceptions. Every now and then a wizard will get a support specialist job, too. But the jobs are highly competitive, so you have to be a really smart, outstanding wizard to get the job over a shifter. And most of the really smart wizards just go to Advocacy school and become Advocates.”

  “Huh. Do you have any wizard support specialists right now?”

  “Just one. And she’s definitely a genius. She started off as a low-level customer service employee and worked her way up to support specialist. She’s really inspiring, actually. You might meet her at some point during your internship. Her name’s Julia.”

  “Julia? Julia Nalley?” Jasper felt his heart start pounding again. He’d asked Rachel for Julia’s full name, and he’d looked her up in the Advocacy Bureau directory. But she was listed as a customer service team leader, not a support specialist. Whitney must be talking about a different Julia, unless the directory wasn’t up-to-date.

  But Whitney nodded, and looked surprised. “Yes, Julia Nalley. You know her?”

  “Uh, not very well. We have a few mutual friends. But—”

  Jasper didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. A knock on the door sounded, and after two short raps the door opened. In stepped none other than the woman in question, Julia Nalley. Jasper found himself at a loss for words. She looked totally different today than she had at the bar on Friday night, but she was just as gorgeous. She wore a classic gray suit, and she had done an impressive job of wrangling her wild red hair into a semi-tame bun. She looked polished, professional, and smart. Jasper was smitten.

  Julia did not look pleased, however. She nodded politely to Whitney. “Good morning, Whitney. Thank you for taking care of Jasper. I’ll take it from here.”

  “Oh, okay,” Whitney said, standing up and nervously gathering up her coffee cup and the remainder of her bagel. “I would introduce you two but it sounds like you’ve already met.”

  “We have,” Julia said. Her voice was neutral, but the smile on her face did not reach her eyes. She was pissed about something, and Jasper had the feeling that the “something” involved him somehow. Julia stood still and silent until Whitney was gone and had closed the door behind her. Then she shifted the folders in her hands and gave Jasper a cool look.

  “Elliot has been caught up in a very important meeting. As usual.”

  Jasper leaned back in his chair and grinned. “So they sent you to keep me company until he’s done? Seems a little rude to keep a famous dragon waiting, don’t you think?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I think it’s rude to keep anyone waiting. But Elliot thinks it proves how important he is. Anywa
y, the higher-ups in the Advocacy Bureau are worried now that Elliot is going to be constantly pissing you off, so they’ve decided to assign me to be your internship guide instead.”

  Jasper’s heart leapt. This was the best news he’d had in a long time. Julia was going to be forced to spend time with him for her job. That would explain why she was acting so pissed off. She probably thought he was going to be constantly hitting on her. But Jasper knew how to remain professional. He’d keep things all business, at least during business hours. After quitting time, well, all bets were off. But at least he’d have the chance to get to know Julia better, whether she liked it or not. He smiled at her, warmly, trying to break down a little bit of the wall she’d put up.

  “I don’t bite, you know.”

  “Humph. We’ll see about that. In any case, today’s program has already been delayed long enough. You were supposed to be given a tour of the facility when you first got here, but that will have to wait now. You’re scheduled for a meet and greet with some of the top Advocates in fifteen minutes.”

  Jasper took a slow, lazy sip from his coffee cup. “You never mentioned you were an Advocate Support Specialist.”

  Julia shrugged. “You never asked.”

  “Whitney told me you have to be really smart to be a support specialist. Are you a smarty-pants?”

  Julia blushed. “What kind of a question is that?”

  “A pretty straightforward one, I think.” Jasper swiveled back and forth in the squeaky office chair he was sitting in. He shouldn’t be enjoying Julia’s discomfort so much, but hey, there was nothing unprofessional about giving someone a roundabout compliment, right? And that’s basically what he was doing—complimenting Julia about being smart.

  “It’s not polite to brag about being smart, so I don’t,” Julia said, somewhat indignantly. “Just because Elliot is an ass doesn’t mean that all of the Advocate Support Specialists are.”

  “Really? Because when you abbreviate ‘Advocate Support Specialist’ it spells ASS.”

  Okay, Jasper thought. That comment was maybe a bit unprofessional. But Julia’s reaction was priceless. She glared at him, then looked down at the folders in her arms.

  “Come on, Mr. Moffatt,” she said, her voice tense as she turned briskly on her heel to head for the door. “You’re going to be late for your meeting with the Advocates.”

  Jasper grinned. This internship was going to be a lot of fun.

  Chapter Three

  Julia prided herself on keeping her cool no matter what the situation at work. Her ability to handle whatever task was thrown at her was how she had managed to rise through the ranks from an entry-level customer service agent to secure one of the highly coveted Advocate Support Specialist jobs. It was almost unheard of for a wizard to get a support specialist job, let alone a wizard with no college education. But Julia had done it, and she was damn proud of what she’d done.

  But nothing had prepared her for today’s challenge: showing a famous dragon shifter around the Advocacy Bureau—a famous dragon shifter who had made no secret of his interest in her. She had to admit that she felt a bit flattered by the attention. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t be? And Jasper was undeniably handsome—tall and muscular, with chestnut hair and eyes that were an even deeper shade of green than her own. It didn’t matter what he looked like or how famous he was, though. Julia wasn’t interested in a man. She’d been burned too many times, and she wasn’t interested in suffering another heartache. Every relationship she’d had over the last few years had done nothing except break her heart and distract her from her career. And her career meant everything to her. She’d worked too hard to get where she was to throw it all away because she was too distracted by a man to do good work.

  But damn. It was hard to not be distracted by Jasper. She was relieved when the clock struck five and she was officially free from him for the day. Apparently, he did not share her feelings of relief. As soon as she told him that that was a wrap for the day and bid him goodbye, he seemed to think that was his clue to turn on the charm again.

  “I can’t wait until tomorrow to spend more time with such a lovely ASS,” he said, emphasizing the word ass. He was never going to let that abbreviation die, was he?

  Julia smiled briefly at him. “Very funny. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I—”

  “No, really,” he interrupted. “I can’t wait. What about dinner tonight?”

  Despite her resolve not to react to any of his teasing or romantic advances, Julia couldn’t hold back an exasperated sigh. “I told you I’m not interested.”

  “Not even after spending a whole day with me and seeing how much fun I am?” Jasper struck a dramatic pose and fluttered his eyelashes at her.

  Julia managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She had to admit that he was pretty funny, but that wasn’t enough to sway her. She was determined to remain firm in her decision not to date anyone. “I’m not interested,” she repeated. “And besides, I already have plans tonight.”

  Jasper raised a questioning eyebrow at her, and gave her an overly-dramatic wounded look. “Don’t tell me you’re claiming not to date to get rid of me, and then going on a date.”

  Julia crossed her arms. “If you must know, I’m taking some advanced magical defense classes as part of my long-term career development plan. So no, I’m not going on a date.”

  Jasper suddenly looked even more interested. “Advanced magical defense classes? That sounds really cool. Can I come watch?”

  “No! It’s not a spectator sport.”

  “Oh, come on. It’ll be educational for me. Don’t you want me to learn as much as possible about wizardry? The High Council says that the more I understand about magic and how magic works, the better I’ll be at my job as peacekeeper.”

  “Well then the High Council can educate you on magical defense. Not me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really need to get going.”

  “Aw, come on.” He gave her puppy dog eyes, but that wasn’t going to sway her. She shook her head.

  “Nope. Not happening. See you tomorrow.”

  She walked off without looking back, heading for the women’s locker room of the onsite gym. She would change into athletic clothes and then meet her trainer in one of the fitness studios for her lessons. The Advocacy Bureau offered free magical training to all its employees, but Julia was one of the few who took advantage of it. She never understood how so many people passed up the opportunity to learn for free. The classes were good, and the instructors were masters. Julia had already learned more than she thought possible, and she was well on her way to becoming a junior Advocate Defender. Being a support specialist was an honor, but Julia wasn’t satisfied yet. She wanted to continue advancing through the ranks of the Advocacy Bureau, and the highest position one could obtain without getting a college degree was that of Advocate Defender. The Advocate Defenders went out with the Advocates on missions to investigate reports of unauthorized use of magic. The job was exciting and dangerous—exactly what Julia wanted. The idea of being responsible for the protection of an Advocate thrilled her. She only needed to master a few more magical defense skills and she’d be ready to take the magical defense test that wizards needed to pass before they could apply for the Advocate Defender positions.

  Julia slipped out of her business suit and into her form-fitting black leggings and tank top. She kept her feet bare, which was what her instructor preferred. He said he wanted her to feel a connection with the earth beneath her to keep her grounded. Julia thought that all sounded a little hokey, but she like her instructor so she just went with it. Besides, after wearing dress shoes all day, it felt good to let her feet breathe. She wriggled her toes a few times to stretch them out, and then headed for the fitness studio where she would meet her instructor.

  But she stopped in her tracks when she opened the door and entered the studio. In the middle of the room, talking and laughing with her instructor, stood Jasper. Julia folded her arms across her chest and cleared her
throat loudly. Jasper looked up at her and smiled innocently, as though she hadn’t told him just ten minutes earlier that she didn’t want him coming to her magical lessons.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

  Jasper’s smile widened. “I spoke with the High Council just a few minutes ago. Just to update them on my day, you know? I mentioned that I’d like to learn more about advanced magical defense tactics, and that the support specialist I was working with took classes in the evening. They thought coming to watch you would be a fantastic way for me to learn.”

  Julia glared at Jasper. Her instructor, who seemed completely clueless about the thick tension in the air, clapped his hands excitedly.

  “I think this is just marvelous,” the instructor said. “Come on, Julia, are you ready to begin? Let’s show off to Jasper here everything you’ve learned.”

  Jasper shrugged at Julia, and even though she wasn’t a violent person by nature, she’d never been so tempted to slap someone across the face. She restrained herself, though. Jasper had her cornered, and he knew it. If the High Council thought he should be here, then there was no way for Julia to argue. She couldn’t exactly call up the Council members and tell them that, actually, Jasper had a crush on her and so she didn’t want him to watch her magical defense classes. They’d think she was acting like a ridiculous schoolgirl.

  So Julia gave Jasper a curt nod, and headed for the center of the room. “You’ll want to sit against the far wall, well out of my way,” she called out over her shoulder. Jasper looked amused by this, but he went to sit by the wall as she’d instructed.