To Color Your Life

They say that people are our mirrors. If you want to see yourself, look at the one next to you.

"Hello Alpha! Hello Miss Joyce!"

"Alpha, Kat, hi there!"

As soon as Emily went inside, a shower of greetings fell on her from all sides. The last days she felt like a real star. Only her colleagues acted as paparazzi.

"Hi Jena. Hello Rebecca." She knew by heart the names of all the girls working in the department, and even the guys from the men's department often came to visit them for joint dinner parties.

At the previous work place Emily communicated with a very narrow circle of colleagues, as she spent most of her working day alone, bending over her next scientific work or research design.

In Pharaoh, she sometimes did even more work in a day, but at the same time she still managed to have a walk, eat several times and chat with the girls from the department. It was so weird and amazing at the same time! Emily loved the feeling. If she wanted another job, it would be exactly the same.

"Alpha, we have decided where we will all go together in the evening! The Aztec room in the Pharaoh restaurant will be free!" one of the editors flew up to her, "Ben asked me to tell you that Mr. Barkens agreed to arrange dinner at the expense of the department! So party rock is in the house tonightl! Will the boss join us?"

Emily was confused for a second. She was not fully accustomed to being treated in this way. Strangely enough, she gave up the job, but the job didn't give up on its plans for her. And now every employee of the department seems to have set a goal, to address to her using her "highest title" at least once a day.

Come on, this title was like the one of the werewolf queen! They began to report all the cases to her, as if she really were the head of this pack of overgrown teenagers 25+. Such an authority would be the envy of any shadow eminence who rules the kingdom instead of the king. An intern for a month is reported about everything as if she's the head of the department!

Oh, Hayes, apparently that long-standing threat to the boss, which was said without a second thought, did have an effect. They say that thoughts are material. When Stephanie spread the gossip that Emily was going to wrestle Evans' chair, she hardly expected such a result.

"I didn't ask, but I think Mr. Evans will be able to attend," Emily replied, feeling slightly embarrassed. Only Kelly threw parties in her honor, and then, there was no one but the two of them. And here she was about to have a farewell party prepared by the entire department especially for her! Fifty people were involoved!

When Justin heard about this idea, his comment, "Well, that's enough for the beginning," shocked Emily. By that non-beginning, he apparently meant a wedding? The girl mentally resigned herself to the fact that the whole Pharaoh would already appear there.

"The guys from IT department said there's a temporary power outage planned for the building today, some kind of check-up," added another colleague, "What if it's in the evening? The restaurant may not work."

"Oh, if they turn it off there, then it will be for half an hour the most. That's absolutely not fatal," Joyce reassured everyone and clapped her hands, "So, beauties, the break's over! Back to work everyone! Said, the break is over! Have you forgotten that we need to overtake the men's department in the final issue of the magazine?"

Under a friendly cry, something in between "Girls rule the world!" and "BTS rules!" everyone returned to their places. Emily still didn't understand how the fame of some (apparently popular) Korean pop group influenced the motivation of employees, but it did so well.

She sat down at her desk and turned on the computer. She sent the last articles that she had on deadlines to Barkens yesterday. Therefore, the most rewarding thing she could do at the moment was... Right! Reading a love story! There was one about werewolves lying here.

I'll study the terminology as well, Emily decided. You never know what else is required from these Alphas.

An incoming phone call distracted her from the scene where the alpha of the silver moon pack came to a neighboring clan to demand that some mate be given to him. Maybe that mate owed him money?

"Hello?" The number of the caller was not in Emily's address book.

"Emy, dear! This is Teresa Evans!"

"Hello Mrs. Evans. I mean,Teresa." Emily immediately sat up straight in her chair, as if the boss's mom had appeared in front of her in person. "Is everything all right? Can I help you?"

"Everything is wonderful, dear! I decided to practice baking and made two huge baking trays. Roger had to give you some, or we won't eat that much. Remind him or he might forget. Kisses and hugs, bye!"

Well, the boss's mom was as quick to resolve issues as everyone in his family. Easy to say, remind him. So, should  she like call the head of the entire publishing house in the middle of the day and say, "Hey, where are my cakes? You forgot to deliver them."

Well, no, she has not yet grown to such a level of shamelessness. She'll have to do without sweets.

An incoming call to her work phone quickly resolved this problem.

"Department Thirty, Pharaoh Magazine. Emily Hayes here."

"Miss Hayes, this is Fiona Parkenson," the secretary of the main boss introduced herself, "Mr. Evans asks you to come up to his office. Mr. Roger Evans," the woman added just in case.

"Got it," Emily replied and, after a satisfied "we are waiting" on that end of the line, hung up.

See? No way I'm leaving without my treat! My little cakes, wait for me, here I come!

Emily checked the time, her official working day did not begin until an hour and a half later. So she could, with a clear conscience, take the treat which she was so kindly offered to her and enjoy it somewhere in the park on a bench.

No, it's better in the office. Hmm... Who knows how many other relatives of the boss are roaming about in the park, waiting for her to accompany them to the office! It is better to get to know the Evans family members step by step.

The girl easily navigated the corridors, got to the secret elevator, and pressed the call button. From the last time she had sworn not to use it anymore, but the banal counting of time gave out one thing: even taking into account its turtle speed, it took this elevator to get to the top floor faster than taking the elevator in the main building, which still had to be reached.

This time the trip went off without incident. Emily didn't press any extra buttons and calmly waited for the elevator doors to open when it finally got to the top.

The long-awaited "ding" and she is there! Emily looked around, no one was in the hallway. So, the first turn to the left, two passages straight ahead, then to the right, she mentally spoke the way to the door of the main boss's office.

But around the first corner, her clear plan collided with a solid wall of reality.

Reality also did not expect that a nimble dragon would appear from around the corner and knock it down.. Again.