“Then you haven’t lived nearly long enough.”

The lady shot Ares a glare loaded with venom.

“Don’t mind Ares. He missed the lessons on civility.” Kai held out his arm to her. “Shall I show you to the meeting chamber, Virginia?”

She took his arm, looking appeased. No, not just appeased. She was fluttering her eyelashes at Kai.

“I guess the rumor about her is true then,” Ares whispered to Sera, winking. Then he followed Kai and the old lady into the meeting chamber.

“Kai is getting a lot of mileage out of that cover,” Callum laughed.

“I wonder if that means he’ll ever forgive us for it,” said Dal.

Tony shook his head. “No way. He was so sure he’d win that bet.”

Sera looked at them with surprise. “You? You’re the ones responsible for Kai posing on the cover of Mages Illustrated?”

Callum grinned at her. “You’re welcome.”

Sera grinned back. “Who needs a magazine when I’ve got the real thing?”

“I don’t know,” said Dal. “You and Kai sometimes go hours without seeing each other.”

“Oh, the torment of being apart.” Callum set his hand over his heart. “That magazine with his picture is all that’s holding you over until you see each other once again.”

Sera rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that sounds just like me.”

Tony set his hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok to admit you have a problem, Sera.”

“L-o-v-e.” Dal made kissing noises.

“How often do you peek at his picture, Sera?” Callum asked. “How often?”

“I’m too busy killing monsters to flip through magazines.”

“There is, of course, one simple solution to this problem,” Tony told her.

“Let me guess? I come work with all of you?” she said drily.

“She’s smarter than she looks,” Tony said to the others, much to their amusement.

Sera stuck her tongue out at them. “Right back at you, commandos.”

Callum batted his eyelashes at her. They were surprisingly long for a man. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“Only action,” Dal added.

“Come on, Sera. Come work with us. You already promised you would,” Tony reminded her.

“I didn’t say when, though.”

“She’s devious,” Dal said. “She could string us along for years.”

“I swore you to secrecy. You’re not to tell Kai yet.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t,” Tony assured her. “If you follow through with your end of the bargain.”

“When will you start?” Callum asked her.

“I’m thinking about it.”

“You know you want to. Think of the possibilities.”

“Escaped monsters neutralized.”

“Supernatural masterminds thwarted.”

“An apocalypse averted.”

“Pizzas ordered.”

“Hmm, you might have to sweeten the deal,” Sera told them.

“We moved furniture for you. We arranged girly scented candles and oils,” Callum protested.

Sera smiled at them. “And you did a fine job of it. The whole apartment smells like buttercups and daffodils.”

Tony turned to the others. “Boys, I think we’re being played.”

“Ok. All joking aside, guys. I will do it. Just not yet. I’m…”

“Freaking out?” Tony asked.

“No. I am most certainly not freaking out.”

Tony gave her a serious look. “Kai is a patient man. And so are we. Take your time, Sera.”

“Just not too long,” said Callum. “We really want someone to boss around.”

Dal nodded with enthusiasm. “And someone to order us pizza.”

“That’s the rule on the team, you know. The newbie has to listen to whatever the more senior members say for six months,” Tony told her.

“Including listen to Kai?”

“Oh, you always have to listen to Kai, even after the first six months,” said Callum. “I’m pretty sure it’s written into all our contracts.”

“It is,” Tony confirmed.

“I’m starting to understand why he’s been so insistent on me coming to work for him,” Sera muttered.

“Kai is a cutthroat businessman,” said Callum. “Didn’t you know that already?”

“He’s looking forward to ordering you to fetch his coffee,” Dal said.

“If he tries to pull that stunt, I’ll fetch my sword.”

Callum’s eyes twinkled. “I call front row seats to that conversation.”

They all looked at her like Christmas had come early this year.

Sera pouted out her lips at them. “I will get back at all of you.”

Truth be told, it wasn’t their doing. She was going to agree to Kai’s offer anyway, but threatening them while glaring and sliding her hands down her knife made her look badass.

They were laughing so hard that she decided she would get back at them anyway. Something small. Something funny. She’d have to find just the right thing.

With that decided, she grabbed a donut. “One crisis at at time, boys. Let’s get to work.”

As though a switch had been flipped, they all shifted into serious work mode. That was true professionalism for you. Callum went off to the tech guys, while Sera patrolled with Dal and Tony.