Free A Plain Jane Book One by Odette C. Bell

obviously lied to get Jane to come in
to work in the first place. Also, even though Jane had never and
would never tell Mandy, the Hoyan was probably the closest thing
Jane had to a friend. A sharp, acerbic friend with a tail, that
was.
    ‘ I mean, Jane, think about it,
something interesting has finally happened to you. You were
attacked by an assassin robot, I am just so proud of you,’ Mandy
said again, looking genuinely enthused. ‘This is just such
fantastic news.’
    Before Jane could process
what it meant that Mandy, who was the primary user of the phrase
'plain Jane', now thought that Jane was interesting, someone
cleared their throat.
    That was when Jane looked
up to see none other than Lucas Stone standing there. She’d
obviously been far too interested in the fact Mandy was now
interested in her to realize that the room had gone solemnly
quiet.
    Lucas stared down, not at
Jane, but at Mandy, with an extremely terse look on his
face.
    ‘ I think you'll find that being
attacked by an assassin robot is not fantastic,’ he said, tone
curt.
    Mandy's eyes lit up again,
and she practically snapped to her feet.
    Jane just sat there,
looking up at Lucas, and then quickly shifting her gaze to the side
as she blinked.
    Lucas opened his mouth to say
something, but before he managed to get it out, there was a
commotion behind him as the general manager practically burst into
the room, running around and through the door so quickly that he
had to hold onto the doorframe so he didn’t fall over and roll into
one of the computer panels. Obviously someone had told him over the
com-line that Lucas Stone was visiting again. ‘Lucas,’ the general
manager boomed, ‘to have you visit twice in two days,’ he shook his
head to the side, ‘is an honor indeed.’
    Lucas turned around to
face the general manager, his expression a confused one.
    The second he did was the
second Mandy bent down to Jane and fanned a hand in front of her
face wildly, her smile very toothy and wide.
    Jane couldn't help but
press her lips together and grin back. Which was strange, really,
as Jane was almost certain she wasn't the kind of girl who would
smile at the fact that Lucas Stone had popped in to see
her.
    ‘ To what do we owe this fantastic
pleasure?’ the general manager asked at once, his eyes glittering
with excitement. ‘Are you here to rally the troops again? I can
assure you that you have our full support. Whatever help we can
give you in order to make sure your mission is a success, is help
we will gladly offer.’ The general manager gave the cheesiest of
smiles.
    Lucas nodded, returning
the smile, though his was far more pained.
    ‘ Thank you very much. The
Galactic Force knows that it can rely . . . on your
support,’ he managed, his words coming out in a choppy manner, his
usually eloquent speech apparently abandoning him. ‘But I have to
admit I'm here on other business.’
    The general manager, cheesy
smile still spreading his lips, clapped his hands together. ‘You
are welcome to drop by any time, Lucas. I can have my secretary
clear my calendar—’ he began.
    Lucas put up a hand. ‘I'm not
here to see you, Yiro, I am here . . . ’ he
trailed off.
    Mandy was practically
dancing around on the spot now, and was pretty much draped over
Jane's shoulder as she tried to fan the both of their
faces.
    ‘ This is so incredible,’
she whispered into Jane's ear, ‘look at him, look at him, he’s awkward,’ she hissed a little bit
louder.
    Jane didn't need to be a
genius to know that with the armor that was built into Lucas' body,
he would be able to hear very clearly what Mandy was saying. Yet
Jane knew enough about Mandy to realize she wasn't the kind of
alien who cared. Mandy was built for intrigue and gossip. While
that had meant that for most of the time Jane had known Mandy,
Mandy hadn't had two seconds for her, that had all changed
now.
    Lucas cleared his throat again
and straightened up a little. ‘I believe you