SHE'S TOO IMPORTANT

"What the heck is all of this?!”

Valerian’s booming voice echoed through his sprawling office, his sharp, irritated gaze fixed on Luna. His mood had soured hours ago after his meeting with the Smiths fell through—and now Luna stood before him, a mountain of paperwork in her arms that threatened to bury him alive.

“What else would it be, Mr. Rutherson? It’s your paperwork. Are your eyes failing you? Maybe I should schedule you an appointment with an ophthalmologist to have your vision checked,” Luna said, her tone laced with dry sarcasm.

“Damn it, Luna! I’m not in the fucking mood for your nonsense right now! Didn’t I just finish a pile of paperwork yesterday? So why is there still this much for me to review and sign?!” Valerian snapped, his frustration palpable. Luna saw the anger in his eyes—but she didn’t care.

Valerian Rutherson was the alpha who had forced her into a bond eight years ago, when his rut had overwhelmed him at the hotel she once worked at, and the one who made her the bait to calm an alpha who's in rut. She’d been powerless to resist; he was a wealthy, influential Dominant Alpha, and her hatred for him had since found its outlet in her work as his secretary.

Yet she knew she was good at her job—so good that Valerian’s workload had lightened significantly. No matter how much she talked back, he couldn’t bring himself to fire her.

“I just want to remind you, Mr. Rutherson, that the documents you handled yesterday were only the Financial Performance reports. You’ve finished reviewing the daily/weekly revenue occupancy, the Daily Cash Flow Statements, Weekly Labor Cost Summaries, Profit and Loss Statements, and Budget vs. Actual Variances.”Luna explained, gesturing to the stack on his desk

“What’s on your desk now are the Operational Performance Reports, Sales & Marketing Reports, Guest Feedback & Reputation Management, Compliance & Risk Management, and finally the Strategic & Administrative Documents. Oh! And you also have an upcoming schedule of meetings with the different departments—”

“—Are you trying to kill me with all this work, Luna?!” Valerian cut her off, his voice sharp. Luna smiled faintly and shook her head.

“Of course not, Mr. Rutherson. But you are the CEO. I’m just your secretary helping you as much as I can. Do you want a hot black coffee while you do your duty, Mr. Rutherson?” she asked. Valerian slammed his fist on the desk, then leaned back and massaged his temples.

“Just fucking leave my office.”

“I’ll bring the coff—”

“—I don’t need coffee! Aish! Get out of my face, and reschedule all the meetings I have right now.”

“But Mr. Rutherson—”

“—Just cancel all of them! Do you think I have time for meetings when you’ve dumped all this paperwork on me?! Get out of my office, Luna. You’re making my blood boil,” Valerian growled. Luna smiled and bowed slightly.

“Enjoy your work, Mr. Rutherson. Just buzz once if you want a coffee to calm yourself,” she said, knowing her words would only infuriate him more. She turned and walked out.

The moment the door closed, Valerian grabbed a folder and threw it across the room. Papers scattered everywhere.

“That beta woman! If she weren’t so useful, I’d have strangled her and thrown her in the middle of the ocean! Fuck that! I can find another secretary if I want, but that woman is a better choice since she’s a beta,” he muttered.

He stared at the towering stack of folders before him. Valerian was the leader of the Rutherson family—his father had been bedridden for years, leaving him in charge of their vast hotel chain and the shipping line his father had built and expanded.

Respected by those around him for being a Dominant Alpha, Valerian had worked tirelessly to earn his position, clawing his way to the top under his father’s scrutiny. No one knew the effort it had taken.

“This is frustrating,” he said, glancing up as the door opened again. It wasn’t Luna—instead, his cousin Samuel Forster, a submissive alpha and the son of his father’s half-brother, stepped inside.

“What’s with the papers all over the floor?” Samuel asked with a grin, bending down to pick them up.

“What are you doing here?” Valerian snapped.

“Just visiting, Valerian,” Samuel replied, placing the papers on the desk.

"Mr. Howart is bribing one of the branches on the east coast that you’re eyeing to buy. He knows you want that pier, so he’s using his filthy tactics to get there first.”

Samuel wasn’t just Valerian’s cousin—he was also the vice president of the shipping line, a position Valerian had given him out of trust. Even though Samuel’s father, Hensson Forster, hated Valerian’s dad, their family feud hadn’t come between them.

“That asshole! How dare he betray me by buying what I want?” Valerian said, standing up.

“Let’s go—I need to pay Mr. Howart’s office a visit.”

He and Samuel started toward the door, but it swung open again. Luna stood there, holding two thick folders.

“Are you leaving, Mr. Rutherson?” she asked.

“Yeah, I have things to settle outside,” Valerian replied flatly, moving to step past her. But Luna blocked their way.

“No one is leaving, Mr. Rutherson. You might have forgotten that you have a lot of paperwork to finish,” she said, turning to Samuel and smiling politely.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Forster, but your cousin cannot leave this office.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Samuel said, amused. He’d long admired how Luna could put Valerian—feared and revered by everyone—in his place.

“Are you really pushing my patience, Luna?!” Valerian snarled. Samuel held up a hand, feeling like smoke might start coming out of Valerian’s ears.

“How about you, Mr. Rutherson? Do you want to push my limits as your secretary? Because if you do what you want right now, you’d be better off hiring a new secretary,” Luna shot back. Valerian’s face turned red with rage, but he had no comeback—she was threatening to quit, and he couldn’t let that happen.

“Damn it! Ahhh! Fuck!” he cursed, storming back to his chair. “You handle Mr. Howart, Samuel.”

“Leave it to me,” Samuel said with a smile.

Luna walked over to Valerian’s desk and placed the two thick folders she was holding down—making Valerian’s eyes widen slightly.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Another file to check from the Strategic Planning and Strategy department. If you start now, you might finish early. Make sure you go through all of it, Mr. Rutherson, so we can get home early tonight. Good luck,” Luna said, turning her back on Valerian and walking straight out of his office. Valerian cursed under his breath.

“I’d like to think Ms. Luna has a deep-seated hatred for you,” Samuel commented, looking at Valerian, who looked like he’d been deflated by his secretary.

“I hate that beta!” Valerian growled.

“I can see that, but I can also see that you don’t have the guts to fire her,” Samuel said.

“Tss! She’s too important to this hotel—that’s why she should be fucking grateful,” Valerian snapped, grudgingly starting to go through the files in front of him.