Hiraeth [GxG]

Chapter 19

I cannot... put into words... How much I want to pull my hair out right now. Not only do I want to pull my hair out, but I also want to pull my heart out of my chest. From horribly rude people to people with heartbreaking stories, I've had enough. I don't understand why some people are so rude; I feel like I'm in customer service right now.

There is already a pile of applications a mile thick of people requesting to go to Alium. A lot of these people have heartbreaking stories but don't qualify. Then you have the pushy people who call every five minutes demanding their application be accepted.

"Sir, you are a forty-year-old werewolf with no soulmate and no kids. You do not qualify. Now, I'm sorry, but goodbye." As soon as I hung up the phone, it started ringing again.

"Your phone is ringing off the hook too?" I looked up and have never felt so relieved to see Lance in my life.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Yes, it's been non-stop. Have you got calls from shitty people yet? Because I have. Pretty much every damn phone call." He sat down in the chair in front of my desk and casually put his leg up.

"Oh yeah, plenty of those. I muted my phone." I practically shot out of my seat.

"You can do that?" He laughed and got up, heading to my phone. Then pressed a button muting it.

"Finally, peace and quiet." I sighed out in relief.

"I should probably head back now and try to make a dent in those applications." He started walking toward the door but suddenly stopped. "Hey, before I forget. What time is the grand opening for Mila's new work building?" I picked up and went to my reminders.

"It's at seven tonight." He smiled.

"Perfect gives us plenty of time to make it there. I'll see you later, Em. I'll come by and get you around 5:30-6:00" Thank god because I am horrible at keeping track of time. The last thing I need is to be late to Mila's grand opening and be in the dog house.

"Okay, sounds good to me. Have fun." He groaned out.

"Yeah... Right, fun. Don't have too much fun yourself." He shot back at me with an equal amount of sarcasm. Alright, time to dive into these applications.

Mila's POV:

"It's coming together perfectly. Don't you think so?" I looked at Lori, who had just as big of a smile on her face as I did.

"It really is. Between your photographs and Emma's paintings, it looks beautiful." I clapped my hands together and did a small happy dance. I stopped and looked over to Lori, who gave me a weird look, but then she started doing it with me.

"I also love how you're going to hold events for up and coming artists. I feel like a lot of people never give them a chance." I nodded.

"That's how I feel too, which is why I'm doing it. I'm not doing fees to where I get a cut of some of the money they make either; everything will just go back to them." I leaned in towards her. "And just between you and me. No matter what, every piece of art will be bought, even if I have to do it myself." She leaned back with a smile. "I want them to feel like they are truly artists. Selling your first piece is a huge deal." I said this more aloud.

"I like that idea. You're always so sweet, thinking of others and helping others. You have such a big heart, Mila." She put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a little bit of a solemn look. "It's your double-edged sword." I looked at her, a little confused. "It's one of your best traits, but it also is one of your biggest weaknesses. You've definitely been taken advantage of a lot. So make sure to take care of yourself too, okay? You shouldn't be bending over backward till you break for people who won't even bend for you." I never really thought of it like that.