Instead of looking at the Alpha, Ayden directs all his anger at me. He doesn’t use his words, but he shakes his head slowly and the half grin on his face is clear enough.
“Tick, tock,” the Alpha draws Ayden’s attention back to him. “Get the fuck out.”
Ayden throws his hand up, laughing as he opens the car door. Without a word, he gets out and shuts it. Quietly too. It’s such an aggressive move but before anyone comments the driver floors it, and Ayden eats dust.
“Thank you,” I whisper before dropping my head back against the headrest and letting my headache consume me. Even more adrenaline rushes through my body, making me jittery. I’m going to crash pretty soon but before I do, I need to say something. “So, you want to join my security team permanently? I pay above industry, will add benefits, and you can tell me what weapons you want.”
I sit up and turn to look at him, waiting anxiously for his response.
“You for real?” the man asks. “I didn’t do that for a job, Heidi. I did it because he really is a cunt. I’ll jump at the offer of proper work though if you’re serious. I just need to work around being on probation.”
“Easily done.” I hold out my hand, waiting for him to shake on our deal. He gives me a side-eye and doesn’t look like he believes me. I roll my eyes. “I’ll throw in cash bonuses, extra leave time, and if you’ve got kids, I’ll pay their tuition at the school of your choice in the area you live.”
“Sign me the fuck up.” He laughs as he swoops in and nearly snaps all the bones in my hand. “Ronnie’s the name.”
“Anyone else?”
I get two other quick replies.
“We can sort it all out when we’re at the office next.”
“No shit?” the driver says.
“No shit,” I confirm, feeling pretty thrilled with the turn of events. I feel crazy safe with these guys. “And I need someone to help me learn to drive, please.”
I remember being woken up when we got to the landing strip and making urgent calls to my girls. I speak to each of them, promising to catch up. I talk with Puck a few times, hoping to talk with Raney. He lets me know over and over again that she’s okay, and I believe him. I just wish I heard her voice as confirmation.
And then I pass out.
ChapterThirty-Four
HEIDI
Of course, after being away for a couple of days it’s a different kind of chaos when I get into the office.
After driving myself to work.
Ronnie sat in the passenger seat, the rest of my team encouraging me from the back. And even though it took three times longer to get here, making me late, I was pretty chuffed with myself. Not enough to override the lack of sleep or feeling like crap but there’s no way I’d stay away now I’ve fought to be back in Verdune.
I have a mid-morning meeting with Douglas and we work through an endless pile of documentation that needs initialling and signing.
A marketing meeting runs overtime because Graham and Joseph prattle on and on. All they do is repeat themselves and their ideas; it’s an endless loop with little creativity. I watch quietly from the back of the room as they continually shut down anyone who has the smallest kernel of an idea before they delve back into the same marketing strategy they used when I first started interning.
At the first chance, I, along with everyone else attending, make a dash for the door.
“Ms. Holmes, your next appointment is waiting in your office,” Gracey, my assistant, says as she follows me to my next meeting. “I asked if he wanted coffee; he said he’d wait for you.”
“That’s fine. And yes,” I smile at her. “I’d love a coffee too please. Any chance you could find me some fruit or something small to eat, I’m getting a headache.”
“Of course,” she answers.
“What was his name again?” I ask, trying to balance my scheduler to check what I wrote down, while we walk from marketing to my office.
“Mr. Denali. He’s a shareholder, the one that has been stock-piling his investments. The information on his recent activity is mentioned in the report prepared by finance on the recent shareholder activity.”
I hum a response already thinking of the report she’s referring to. It was interesting reading, and highlighted an increasing trend where long-time investors were offloading minimal numbers of shares to a collection of investors. Nothing too untoward, the number of transactions was interesting, not concerning.
Gracey opens the door to my office, and I slam to a stop. God knows how I manage not to trip over my own two feet. His orange scent is so potent and powerful in the way it rips through my barriers. And if a scent could feel, I’d be sobbing with the press of his deep worry and concern.
