Page 9 of Fangs with Benefits

She stands and stretches by putting her hands on her lower back and leaning side to side. The action draws to attention the curve of her waist to hips in a way I hadn’t noticed before. I look away and take a long pull of blood through the foldable black straw.

‘I’m off for lunch. We pick back up in say an hour?’

‘Splendid.’

‘Splendid,’ she repeats, though her tone speaks otherwise.

As quickly as she’d appeared, she’s gone, leaving the light scent of grapefruit in her wake.

Teams messages between Devi Jain and Molly Mason on 29 September 2026

Devi: now…

Devi: I’m not crazy, right? New guy is insanely hot?

Molly: If I could assign you sexual harassment training I would

Devi: It is not normal to look that hot. What does he smell like? Is that the catch? He doesn’t wear deodorant?

Molly: don’t be weird

Molly: (He smells great, unfortunately.)

Chapter 4

Molly

I will wither into a husk if I sit in our tomb-like office for another moment, so I grab my backpack and head up to the gym on the eleventh floor. It’s busy at noon, but I take my lunch around 11 a.m. to beat the crowd. It also means I’m back to work when everyone’s gone to eat and can have an hour of peace where no one bothers me.

Elijah is making my blood boil with every thoughtful ‘ah’ and ‘hm’ as he listens when I can see not a single thought behind those eyes.

He’s at least dutifully taken notes, but I don’t think he’s retained a thing. Like if I asked him where to log in to the task manager, he wouldn’t know what I’m talking about. He acts like he’s never used a computer, which is the sort of weaponised incompetence I cannot stand from a man in the workplace. He probably wants to start at the company giving 40 per cent effort so that people don’t start expecting him to push too far out of his precious comfort zone.

I had a moment of weakness when he thanked me and looked at me like a puppy who was grateful I adopted him. He seemed sincere, and a bit overwhelmed, and it made him more endearing. Almost… charming?

He’s like those sad commercials trying to get you to donate money to help abandoned pets and I will not let myself be manipulated by his tactics again.

I’m half a mile in on the treadmill when my phone lights up with an incoming call from Hailey. I consider dodging it; not sure how I’ll pretend that my life in soulless corporate land is just peachy today, but I dodged her last two calls, and I dread the inevitable confrontation of why haven’t you been picking up? Are you depressed again?

Yes, Hailey, I really, really am.

She’s been my best friend since grad school when we were put in the same orientation group. She glommed onto me, said she liked my style and kind of disagreeable disposition, invited me to a High School Musical marathon at her apartment, and the rest is history. When I had a bad day then, she’d recommend something like a movie, an at-home facial, or maybe splurging on bagels. Now, ten years later, her solution to any dips in my mental health is to suggest that I free myself from the shackles of capitalism and submit my writing to competitions and to literary agents.

Hailey’s parents are rich as sin, generous, live part of the year in a big brownstone and the rest of the year in their beach house, thus she doesn’t have to pay rent or require a full-time job to secure health insurance. So of course, her months are spent scheduling auditions, going to rehearsals, and going out for cast drinks on the weekend–only one or two because, Mol, everyone’s so professional here!

‘Hi, Hail,’ I answer on my headphones, slowing the treadmill to a walking pace.

‘You sound like you’re doing Zumba but, like, without the fun music.’

‘It’s called exercising, and yes, I am doing that.’

‘Boring,’ she says, though I know she goes to a 6 a.m. pilates class every morning. Her abs are insane.

Hailey’s whole bag is musical theatre, so not only can she act, she can also act while singing and dancing. Freak of nature type. She’s dragged me to a few evening dance classes over the years, but as one dance instructor so kindly said, my body doesn’t give what it needs to be giving when I try to dance.

‘They let you work out in the middle of the day now? How progressive of them.’

‘It’s my lunch break.’ I take a long sip of water. ‘Lunch breaks are, notably, not progressive, but required by law.’