Predator Instincts: A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (Paranormal Games Book 2) by Anna Collins Page A

day. She had been late to the job interview and the position as an architect for one of San Diego’s most reputable firms had been one she’d coveted. She’d planned ahead to be there on time; her parents had drilled the importance of early arrival into her at a young age, and she’d never missed a class day in school. Yet this would be the day a major collision on the freeway would shut down traffic, when she was trying to get from her inland San Diego County community into downtown.
     
    She was still wearing her interview clothing and knowing she was down to her last few dollars until unemployment kicked back in, she’d spent it all on ramen, oatmeal, and low-fat, diet frozen dinners. She knew they weren’t particularly good for her, but she’d wanted something she’d enjoy eating, and that was it.
     
    She pulled one of the meals out of a bag and felt it. No question; it was thawing out. She leaned her back against her apartment door and slowly slid down to the grey carpeted hallway. Lisa brought her knees up towards her face, covered her eyes, and began to sob.
     
    Life was supposed to get easier after college. She’d graduated with honors. Though she knew the job market was competitive, she’d expected to find more interviews. As it stood, there were only two more interviews. After this, she’d need to look outside of southern California entirely. The possibility of leaving her close-knit family behind didn’t excite her.
     
    She wiped her eyes and made herself stop crying. It was pointless, she thought, to feel so sorry for herself. There were people much worse off. While she was barely scraping by, if she had to she could always fall back on her parents for meals and, if the worst came to pass, take up her old bedroom. Except that they were already making plans to turn that into a home office and hadn’t they hinted over the last few months how proud they were that she’d graduated and was out on her own? Yes, she’d lost her paid internship and with no more scholarships to draw from she’d expected she could get by at Harper and Mackham, the first job she’d landed.
     
    The only problem was, of course, she’d been immediately laid off when the firm shut down earlier in the month.
     
    Problem after problem had hit Lisa of late and when she thought about her financial misfortunes, she put her head back in her hands to cry. Her long, dark hair fell forward, covering her face from anyone who’d view her tears. She didn’t hear anyone, though, especially not the maintenance man, so she shut out the world and felt sorry for herself.
     
    “Hey.” The word was spoken so softly she thought she’d imagined it. Lisa startled and looked up into the face of a tall, muscular man in overalls. She couldn’t guess whether he was Latino or Arab, but he was certainly the man who could open her door.
     
    Embarrassed, she wiped her eyes and scrambled to her feet. “Sorry.” She said. “I, well I think my apartment key fell out somewhere downtown. If you could just get me in, I’d appreciate it.” She stepped away from the door to give him room.
     
    The shaggy-haired, bearded man chuckled. “I actually just wanted to see if you were okay.”
     
    Mortified she looked down. “You’re not building maintenance?”
     
    He shook his head and held out his hand. “Let’s try proper introductions. I’m Jerome Wyatt. Just moved in a few weeks ago.”
     
    Undeniably good-looking as he was, she wished he’d just move on and leave her alone. But her parents had raised her to have good manners and she didn’t wish to seem without them, so she accepted his hand. “Lisa Park. I guess I’ve been here about two years.”
     
    “How do you like it here? Not so well today, I imagine.”
     
    That was an understatement. She tried to look away from him, but for some reason she couldn’t explain his presence was making her feel strangely a little more cheerful. “I guess it’s okay. I can tell you they take a