Chapter 4

Logan-

Oh fuck.

That’s all I can hear in my head. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. She’s mine. She’s absolutely my subordinate and I can’t rightfully touch her and she’s beautiful and she’s mine. I can’t decide if I'm ready for this or not– if I want to claim her or send her far away and hope my wolf didn’t notice meeting her. Slim chance of that. Clearly, I have some maneuvering to do. I have to find a way to get the little liar’s information and get her clear of me professionally so that I can have her personally. 

“What does my schedule look like today, Anna?” I ask as I settle behind my desk. It's big, but I keep it clean– one tray for incoming paperwork and another for outgoing paperwork, and my dual monitors. Anna stands in front of me, between the two leather chairs she insisted I get in case anyone visits me here long enough to want to sit. She has her tablet in her hand so she can keep my schedule and her notes in front of her at the same time. The tablet seems half her size, but she packs a lot of power in a small package. 

“Well sir, you have the meeting with Alttech at 9, the debrief for that meeting at 10:30, the budget meeting for the design branch at 11:15, a quick lunch at 11:45, then–” I interrupt before she wastes time on information that I’m about to make obsolete.

“Move everything after lunch. Get in touch with the guys’ secretaries and set up a call with them for this afternoon. Let them know it’s a top priority. Once you have the time for that, rearrange this afternoon in order of importance with two hours set aside for that conference call. Clear out the corner conference room for that time so I can have the screens. Can you get that done? Is there anything you need from me to get working on that or are you good to go?”

“I’ll make it happen, sir.” Anna replies with a decisive nod. Her blonde bob swings gently with the motion. She knows exactly who the guys are, like “The Guys” is a title rather than a description. There’s only one group of guys I go to in times like these.

“Thank you, Anna. Your boss should give you a raise.” I say, grinning wryly at her.

“Well, I’ll tell him, sir, but he’s a slave driving bastard. We’ll see if he agrees.” Anna shoots back teasingly. I know I can always count on her to keep my days organized and on track. I really should give her a raise– Deek has been joking about poaching her from me and I don’t want him making her an offer she can’t refuse. 

Each of my morning meetings feel like they’re eight hours long, but even as the boss I can’t be the asshole that cancels at the last minute. I can’t run a company without the trust of my team, and that only comes when I respect their time as much as I respect my own. I’m waiting impatiently for Anna’s update on the timing of my meeting with the guys, looking forward to hearing their perspective on Emory and what I should do about her. 

The “guys” are really just a group of men that have found themselves in similar situations to mine– alpha wolves that had enough dominant energy to make only leading a pack too easy to keep them occupied. We’re all so dominant that we would run roughshod over our packs and unwillingly set ourselves up as dictators. We’ve all found the business world to be a useful outlet for some of that controlling, detail-obsessed energy and have excelled. We’ve jokingly called ourselves the Alpha Alliance and have become good friends from rubbing elbows– and noses, depending on the form we’re in– as we move through the business world. No matter what business you’re in, once you get to a certain level the crowds start to get very small. Some even get small enough to smell who’s a wolf around you. We all bumped into each other at various conferences, charity events, or black tie dinners, and stayed in touch afterwards when we noticed the difference in DNA. 

There are four of us, counting me, and having the others’ personalities and different perspectives has been invaluable both in my personal and professional life. The minutiae of our different businesses might be completely divergent, but leading people will always be the same. Derek grew up with ties to the music industry and works in entertainment. He uses his business mind to keep artists’ feet on the ground. James makes money in security, as one of the most prestigious personal security businesses in the Americas. Green tech is Oliver's playground– he’s constantly doing things none of the rest of us understand, but we all support him because whatever it is will eventually help the environment. I work in architecture and design. We’ve designed some of the most prestigious business spaces in the world– as well as hotels, spas, and cruise ships– and I know there are bigger and better ones to be leveraged in the future. 

Eventually, the time comes when the guys could clear their schedules to get all of us on a conference call– ordinarily, I would wait to call after business hours, but this is about my mate. My mate. Emory. Obviously, this situation takes precedence over everything else and the guys would know it’s important simply because I asked them to take time out of their busy days. None of us would do that if it weren’t an Alpha Alliance-level emergency. Once I get myself into the conference room and all our various assistants connect us, I am finally able to take a deep breath. It feels like the first time I’ve breathed since I caught Emory’s scent. We’re going to get this figured out.