Affairs of the Dead Read Free Page A

showcased the fact that six days out of seven, he was at the gym. He also had a smile that could blaze through the murkiest bullshit, steely blue eyes, and dark brown hair that was always perfectly styled.
    In case I had to spell it out, he was sexy.
    Finally, Andrew turned his chair around so he could face me, clasping his hands together on the desk and leaning forward on his forearms. He took the time to let his eyes travel up my legs to my face, where I had a smile waiting for him. He flashed me his pearly whites before his face sobered, which was unusual. There was usually at least ten minutes of flirting and witty banter before we got down to business.
    “You wanted to see me, boss?” I said, picking up one of the paperweights on his desk and idling it in my hands.
    “There are some issues we need to discuss, Selene,” he said.
    I raised an eyebrow. It actually sounded like he'd called me in here for something serious. He reached under a pile and pulled out a recognizable blue folder.
    “You have my appointment folder?” I asked, drawing my feet off his desk and sitting up. “Why the hell did you take it?”
    “Because you’re being taken off appointments and reassigned to track and retrieval.”
    At those words, I was on my feet, with my palms planted on his desk and my face thrust into his. Andrew didn’t bat an eye.
    “You can’t be serious!” I said. “What the hell for?” Surely he was just fucking with me. There was no way he was really putting me on track and retrieval.
    “Sit down, and let’s discuss this calmly,” Andrew said.
    I fumed and huffed but sat back down, crossing my arms tightly over my chest, which only made my cleavage more obvious. Andrew dropped his gaze to have a look before raising his eyes back to mine.
    “Exhibit A,” Andrew began. “Last night you took a ghost to a strip club and paid a stripper five thousand dollars to have sex with her. And instead of using rune stones, you taxed your own energy to accomplish your goal. Do tell, how were you going to word last night’s activities in your write-up?”
    I ground my teeth and looked away from him. I hadn’t actually mapped out the story for this one yet, but it definitely wasn’t going to involve the words “strip club” or the fact that I blew my expense budget to pay a stripper to have sex with a ghost.
    “Selene,” Andrew said, bringing my gaze back to him.
    He was sitting there very calmly. No shouting or screaming over my rule-breaking activities, but Andrew wasn’t the screaming type. It was actually his calmness that people feared. I didn’t, but today could be an exception. To my surprise, Andrew’s lips twitched into a smile.
    “I have to applaud your tenacity,” he said. “But do I really have to remind you that sex with ghosts is one hundred percent illegal? Especially paying for it? I won’t even bother to harp on the fact that you spent five thousand dollars on it, since having an expense budget isn’t going to be an issue for you for a while.”
    I felt like I’d died a little inside. “How do you even know about last night?”
    “I had you followed,” he replied smoothly.
    I balked. “What?”
    “I had every right to,” Andrew said. “Considering last night wasn’t the first time you engaged in excursions you knew were against the rules.” He pulled out another file and started to flip through the pages. “Three weeks ago, you helped a ghost break into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment to steal his dog back since he died without resolving the custody battle over the dog. Then you drove the ghost and dog to North Carolina to leave the dog with the ghost’s parents.” He flicked his eyes to me, then back down to the file. “Last month, you arranged for a ghost to go sky diving and had to use over a dozen rune stones to keep the skydiving equipment strapped on. And last week, you helped a ghost haunt her high school prom as payback for the bullying she’d received from her classmates.