Harold had never had to sell himself before, especially not to anyone that knew who he was. He had never had to sell himself to a woman, ever. They just looked at him and knew that he was worth their time. Harold was a little unnerved that Sarah wasn’t falling all over him like he was used to. What was so different about her? Why was he feeling the way he was about her?
“So, is this how you usually get yourself new recruits?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean, this is no coincidence, is it?”
Harold almost told her that it was. She didn’t need to know that he had tracked her down in the way that he had. Harold didn’t think that it was something that she would necessarily appreciate. What was the alternative, though? She was going to see right through him if he tried to lie about it, Harold just knew it. There was too much truth to her statement. It wasn’t a coincidence that had brought them together, though there was a lot of patience on his part that had been involved, patience that he no longer had.
“No, I guess you can say that it’s not. When you took off and I had to get updates from your boss Greg, I knew that you were a good one. It wasn’t until I saw the extent of your work, the stuff that they didn’t bother with, that I knew I had to hire you.”
“You bought the company months ago.”
“Yeah, it took that long to figure out where you were.”
“So, when you found out, why didn’t you just call me or come see me then? Why here? Why now?”
Harold didn’t have an answer for that, not one that made much sense. He wanted it all to be done so easily and for her to not know what he had gone through to find her. He didn’t want her to know that he had threatened people and then bought a company that he didn’t really want, just so he could get her information to find her. She didn’t need to know the lengths that he was willing to go through, though she knew enough.
“This seemed like as good of a place as any. I didn’t want to get you in trouble at work. I get noticed wherever I am, if you can believe that.”
Sarah nodded, saying that she could. He asked her again if she wanted to get some coffee and this time she agreed, though there had to be some food thrown in.
“Good, it’s a date.”
The look Sarah gave him was priceless. Maybe that was the wrong word to use, though it was the exact one that he would continue to use. It was what Harold truly wanted and like everything else that he wanted, Harold knew that he would have Sarah, too. It was just meant to be.
Chapter 9
Harold
He wasn’t used to waiting. He had waited six months to find Sarah and offer her a job in his company. He wanted to believe that she wouldn’t be able to refuse it, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, she hadn’t called, and it had been a week since they’d met at the conference.
Harold didn’t like what Sarah had turned him into. He didn’t like the needy feeling that he had every time he thought about her, or the way that he had felt when she was near. It was the sort of feeling that he’d never had before, and Harold wasn’t sure why he felt that way with her. What was it about Sarah? He had thought about her nonstop since they’d started talking on the phone, but there was now an even stronger desire to be around her, now that he had done so in person. Meeting her and seeing how beautiful she was had been his downfall.
Her heart had slammed in her chest when they had first met and didn’t slow down the whole time that they were together. He liked to think of it as a good thing. With any other woman, he would have taken advantage of the obvious attraction that Sarah had, but with her, it didn’t seem right. Something was holding him back, mainly because he knew that she wasn’t the same. She was different and he wanted different badly. Different was what made his own heart race and brought him feelings of love that he hadn’t felt in so long.
Sarah, strangely, reminded him of the goodness that was in his mom. She was gone, had been for a while, and Sarah brought all of those emotions back. Sarah brought back emotions of all sorts. She awakened feelings he thought were gone in him but weren’t. They were right there under the surface and Sarah had brought it all back to him.
Harold didn’t want to think of it all. He didn’t want to think about the death of his mother, because of his father. Harold didn't want to think about any of those things. It wasn't going to help anything. He had cut off his emotions a long time ago because one always led to the other. Harold had to pause and wonder if bringing Sarah on was a good thing. What if she was only going to bring back those salty tears of the past?
It was hard to wait. Harold knew that he could track her down again if he wanted to. That's what he had done the first time. Of course, he wanted her to come to him because she wanted to, not because she was coerced into it. Harold knew that there were ways to make her see things his way. He could always use a little bit of magic.
Harold had to push that thought from his mind. It was against the Canon. His people were not supposed to abuse humans like that. But then again, Harold had to wonder why it mattered. It wasn't like he hadn’t already been expelled from his pride anyway. He went from next in line for alpha, to enemy of his people. It wasn't all true, but Harold had made mistakes, so it was hard for him to blame anybody else but himself.
About ten days after the first initial meeting, Harold finally got the call he was waiting for. He was at work, sorely distracted but as soon as he heard her voice, he knew what he needed to do, what he wanted to do. It had all been worth it, and she was finally going to agree to his terms.
“Sarah, it’s good to hear from you. I was starting to think that you wouldn't call me back.”
“Well, I figured I'd have to call you. If not, you would just track me down again, wouldn’t you?”
Harold clicked his tongue, and he didn't deny it or disagree. That probably was exactly what he would have done and it most likely wasn't something that she would find very complementary. Harold didn't want to come across as a stalker or anything. He did kind of feel that way. Obviously, he thought about her far more than he should have.
“So, have you come to a decision?”
Sarah was quiet for a moment and then she said that she had come to a conclusion. Harold wasn’t sure what it was, hoping that she would agree to work for him. Harold did believe that she was talented, but he would be lying to himself if he didn't admit a little bit of it was personal. Sarah had piqued his attention and he wanted to know more. It was that simple.
“I have. I would like to take your offer for a position in your company. I have looked into it and there is definitely some potential and some ways that I could help you.”
