Chapter 5 - Hale

I can’t believe how late I’d been on my phone chatting with EMomma. Other than the uncomfortable parts, like talking about Jen, I enjoyed the conversation and connect with someone I haven’t known my whole life. As much as I love pack life, you run into the fact you don’t meet many new people.

Heading to bed was an adventure and learning exercise for all parties that multiple people are living in this house. As I quickly turned around and covered my eyes, I found myself missing Jason. Not like a day goes by that I don’t miss my wolf. But if I still had him, I would have known Austin and Suzie were home and getting physical in the living room.

“Oh my God! We are so sorry, Hale. We thought you were in bed.” Suzie stammered out an apology.

“Way to cock block, dad.” Austin grumbled. “What are you doing up so late? Don’t you always turn in around ten? Don’t tell me you were busy chatting up all the women on that app.” He taunted.

I rolled my eyes, sidestepping to the stairs, keeping my back to them, not wanting to risk seeing more. While I am happy Austin found his mate and don’t mind them living here, I wish they’d keep their sexcapades to their bedroom.

“Goodnight. And try to keep your sexcapades in your bedroom. Don’t forget you live in my house, and communal spaces shouldn’t be minefields that no parent wants to see.” I sighed.

“Sure, dad. If you keep it in mind when you hook up with someone from that app.” Austin taunted as I headed upstairs.

He is getting ahead of himself. It is doubtful I would have a romantic, let alone an intimate relationship with any of the women on that app. Friendship, sure. But more, I won’t guarantee.

Of course, the subject of the app and me being up late carried over to the morning. I don’t need my wolf to know I’m being watched or that my son has something bubbling inside he wants to say. I sighed, setting my phone down to look at my son as we sat around the kitchen table for breakfast.

“What is it? “I questioned, sipping my coffee. “You’ve got something to say.”

“Well, you’ve been looking at your phone since you sat down. It’s glued there today. And I can’t help but wonder if you are looking through messages from the app. Maybe chatting with someone while you ignore us and half-heartedly eat the bacon and eggs Suzanne made you.” Austin smirked.

“You’re being ridiculous and jumping to conclusions.” I shook my head. “And if I neglected to mention, thank you for making breakfast, Suzie.” I added with a smile to my daughter-in-law.

She’s a good girl. And despite being told she doesn’t have to cook or clean for more than herself, she keeps taking on the chores. Though she still makes Austin wash his clothes and be the one to take out the garbage. But since she moved in, she’s insisted I let her handle things around the house. I still manage to do some chores around the house.

“You’re welcome, Hale. You let us live with you while we save for a place. So, it’s only fair that I pull my weight.” Suzie shrugged.

“Yes, well, you do too much. Remember, you will eventually move out, and if I get too dependent on having you around, I’ll be useless when I’m living alone.” I reminded her.

“If that app works, you might not be living alone.” Austin teased.

“Knock it off. And to your assumptions about why I was looking at my phone. I was sorting my work email. I had several emails sent to me overnight. I wanted a general idea of what shit storm I will be walking into this morning.” I explained.

“But about that app. What made you choose MountHD? Do you know how many inappropriate assumptions about its meaning I received? I understand human women tend to be bolder, but I spent a chunk of time just deleting the propositions I was receiving.” I shuddered.

Austin laughed loudly, slapping the table. Even Suzie was giggling. “I’m glad someone finds it funny.” I shook my head. “I certainly didn’t. It was terrifying. Let’s not forget the only woman I’ve been with was your mother. And your mother, while not holding back in speaking her mind, was not that sort.”

That seemed to get them in line. “I know, dad. But it’s also been eighteen years. I commend you and all, but you need to do more than jerk off the rest of your life.” He wagged his fork at me, bits of egg splattering before he finally shoved the remaining into his mouth.

“What your dumbass son means is it’s been a long time since you had companionship. And you don’t have to accept any advances from those women. It’s on them for jumping to conclusions about the screen name. It just means Mount Hood.” Suzie frowned, kicking Austin under the table and making him yelp.

“You say it means that. I agreed to the screen name because it could be an innuendo. Like Mount Hale Dillon, Mount Hot Dad, Mount Hale’s D…” Austin started to rattle off optional meanings, each one getting worse till I had to cover his mouth not to hear more.

“That is enough, Austin. I got the picture. Now I’m going to finish getting ready for work. I have a meeting with a new hire and emails to address. Make sure Suzie gets to school on time, so no hanky-panky.” I instructed, rising from the table.

“But morning hanky-panky is fun.” Austin smirked.

“Not today. I have a math test first period. So, I cannot be late today. You’ve made me tardy enough since the holiday break ended.” Suzie rolled her eyes, gathering the dishes and plopping them on Austin’s plate. “Now do the dishes. I’m going to get my stuff.” She commanded, walking away, flipping her long braid over her shoulder to hit my son in the head as she did.

“You heard the boss scrub those dishes.” I snickered, patting his shoulder as I left the room. I could faintly hear him grumbling before the sound of running water drowned it out. Oh, they will have quite an interesting relationship as the years go on.

My hour commute turned into an hour and a half due to a multi-vehicle accident on 84. It’s a good thing I leave earlier than usually necessary. I was still rushing to my office to prepare for the day. I don’t like being late for anything. My mom would say it’s a Shelton trait, given we are always born before our due date.

So, beyond my natural preference to be early, I knew I couldn’t be late for my meeting with the new hire, Miss Carlisle. It would be unprofessional to be late for an appointment I scheduled. That’s not the sort of first impression I want to give a new member of my staff.

Of course, as the meeting was about to begin, a new email from the production department came. This email required my full attention and had a bearing on the discussion I was about to have. I hope Miss Carlisle isn’t offended that I hadn’t looked away or given her a proper greeting.

I frowned as I reread the email. These changes would mean having to start all over with our campaign for this product. But things like this happen. We can only roll with the punches and make switch changes. It’s just a pain in the ass to start over yet still meet the same deadline.

“My sincerest apologies, Miss Carlisle.” I apologized, turning my attention to the woman in my office. “I know it’s poor manners to not greet someone, especially for a meeting you requested.”

I felt my heart skip for a moment as I looked at her. She’s been in the office for a few weeks. She was hired while I was on leave to watch over my mother. And I’m sure I’ve seen her around the office but never really noticed. I tend to have blinders as I focus on the task.

But even then, I have to wonder how I missed her. Waves of auburn hair hung loose past her shoulders, bright baby blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly at me, plump bottom-heavy lips flattened, giving her round face an annoyed expression. Yeah, she’s annoyed with me. I suppose I can’t blame her.

If Jason were still here, he’d have some comment that even annoyed she’s fuckable. He never was one to pull the punches, always speaking his mind. It was strange to find her attractive. Not anything against the woman, but she’s so different from Jen. Jen had blonde hair and brown eyes and was never very curvy. Miss Carlisle is the epitome of the word curvaceous.

Ugh, where are these thoughts coming from? I’m going to blame Austin and Suzie for enrolling me on that dating app and the conversation this morning. Though I suppose I could take this as a good sign. I haven’t been attracted to anyone since Jen. Of course, it would be someone I’m a supervisor of at work. So, nothing can or will ever come of it.

“It’s fine, Mr. Shelton.” She nodded, trying to be polite in her delivery. I’m sure this woman would rip me a verbal new one under other circumstances. But she’s new here and isn’t ready to tempt fate by saying whatever is really on the tip of her tongue.

“No, it isn’t. It wasn't polite of me. I have a bad habit that everything else gets tuned out if I’m focused on something. That is unfair to you as your time is just as valuable as mine.” I assured her.

“The email I had just received heavily impacted our meeting.” I began to explain gestures to my laptop. “It was from the production department. They have decided to overhaul the product completely.” I sighed.

I saw her eyes widen and the color in her cheeks fade with concern. “And what does that mean for the campaign I’ve been working on? The reason I was asked to have this meeting.” She questioned, gripping her tablet tightly.

“Unfortunately, it means all the work, while appreciated, is no longer relevant. Again, my apologies. These situations can occur, though I assure you it is rare for a product to change to such a degree after being sent to us for a marketing campaign.” I sighed.

“So, I have to start all over? Has the deadline for the campaign launch been moved back?” She questioned.

“Yes, you will have to begin again. I’ll forward you and Andrews the new product info and have the production department give you access to the new product to test and get a feel for to best build a campaign.” I nodded.

“However, despite the changes to the product, the launch date remains the same.” I frowned, delivering the worse news.

“Are you kidding me?!” She shouted, starting to rise before realizing she had just yelled at her boss. “Sorry, sir. It’s just that I put a lot of time into this campaign and had three great ideas to present to you.” She apologized, sitting down and looking at the floor.

“I understand your frustration. I’m not happy about these changes either. I wanted to have this campaign finalized this week and run a trial run before a full-scale campaign launch. But it appears neither of us is getting what we wanted.” I shrugged.

“To not use more time, you can return to your desk. You’ll see the email shortly to be able to start work.” I suggested standing. “And since I haven’t said this formally, welcome to Kinsley Industrial, Miss Carlisle.” I smiled, offering my hand.

“Yeah, no time to spare.” Sighing as she rose from the chair. “And oh… um, thank you, Mr. Shelton.” She blinked at my offered hand cautiously, shaking it. I raised an eyebrow as she momentarily blushed before hurting out of my office.

Shaking my head, I sat back down, forwarded the email, and moved on to the next item on my to-do list.