Chapter 4 Adrian
ADRIAN
Ijust finished emailing the documents I need Beck to sign to approve the latest marketing campaign, focusing on ticket sales for different theme nights, when he walks up to my desk in the small lobby outside of his office and hands me my large iced chocolate almond milk shaken espresso.
I’ve already confirmed everything the marketing department put together after our last meeting with them, and it looks great, so he literally just needs to sign it.
It would be so much easier if I could tell everyone he trusts my judgment, no need for Beck to see it, but for some reason people don’t love that answer.
The actual team president needs to give the approval, not his executive assistant.
Honestly, it’s really annoying, but I guess I’m used to it, even if I do enjoy complaining about it to Beck.
My title sounds kind of basic for what I do.
I don’t know many people with multiple Master’s degrees in Business Administration who are still “assistants,” but my salary reflects my role here, and that’s what really matters.
I love working for the Werewolves. This team is my passion; I wouldn’t want any other job.
Plus, Beck is my best friend, so I like that so much of my job is to make his life easier. Helping people, especially my friends, always makes me happy, so I try to do it whenever I can.
Beck likes to remind me that he would still want to be my friend if I wasn’t always making his life easier at work, and I love that we spend so much time together outside of our jobs, but I can’t seem to completely quiet that voice in my head that’s always worried people wouldn’t want me around if I wasn’t doing things for them.
“Got a minute?” he asks, already continuing into his office. I stand to follow, shut the door behind me, and sit in one of the chairs across from him at his desk.
“What’s up?”
“I’m hoping you can help me out,” he starts with a sigh, taking a large sip of his disgusting plain black coffee.
“Anything,” I respond automatically.
“I’d like to try to help save Linna.”
I immediately perk up; that isn’t at all what I was expecting him to say, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Despite Beckett’s intimidating appearance, covered in tattoos with a great resting bitch face, he’s a really great guy. Obviously, or he wouldn’t be my best friend.
Linna is the small town in Montana where Beckett’s boyfriend, Cody, used to live and work until Beck visited and realized the company Cody worked for was actually a cult, and the two of them—with a little help from me and our other friends, no big deal—helped expose the truth.
The story got enough attention that their leader, Viktor, and some of the other top executives were arrested on racketeering charges, and there are talks of more charges being added as the investigation continues.
“I’d love to help, what can we do?” I ask eagerly.
“Well, all of Viktor’s victims are stuck there now that Kyla has been shut down, and so many people are out of work.
I know some of them have already left, but the majority of ex-Kyla members are still there.
They were so invested and isolated that most of them have nowhere else to go,” he explains, sounding defeated.
“Do you know what’s happening to the giant campus with all the businesses around their headquarters? Are they all shut down?”
“The government seized all of Kyla’s former assets and demanded any of the businesses in town affiliated with the company halt operation as a part of the investigation, but I’ve already expressed interest in purchasing the properties after they’ve concluded.
I’d like to eventually use the campus to help rebuild Linna, turn it into something more positive, and find a way to give all those people employment again. ”
“Beck, that sounds like an amazing idea,” I enthusiastically agree. “What do you need from me?”
“Mostly to cover for me here,” he admits apologetically. “I know you already do so much—”
“Consider it done,” I interrupt with a wave of my hand. “Anything else? Do you need help organizing donations to the victims in the meantime, or researching therapists to hire to help them?”
“The therapist thing would be great. I already talked to Jordan about running another article specifically drawing attention to donation opportunities.” Jordan is one of our other best friends, and it was his investigation and reporting that officially broke the truth about Kyla.
“My family is working on starting a nonprofit in Linna,” he continues.
“We’ve agreed to start with a fifty-million-dollar donation, but we know that will only go so far with the thousands of people out of work, so we’d really like to focus our efforts on rebuilding the economy and infrastructure of the city so people aren’t relying on that for the long run. ”
Beck looks exhausted, and I can’t imagine how stressful the last few months have been for him. I’m so happy he managed to find Cody during all of that. Despite the stress, I know Beck is happier than he ever was before meeting Cody.
He lets out a big sigh, taking another big sip of his drink. “So what’s new with you? I know I’ve been pretty MIA dealing with the investigation. Did Hudson finally move out?”
I let out a little snort laugh. “Nope. My dream man is still very much living with me.”
“Still? Does he need a different realtor?” Beck offers.
I glare at him. “Absolutely not. Hudson can stay in my guest room for as long as he needs. I have no idea why he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to find his own place but we are not questioning my good fortune.”
“So I take it he’s a decent roommate?” he asks with a smirk.
“Ugh, he’s literally perfect. Like, I thought I was in love with this man before when he was just some hot hockey player I got to flirt with at work. But now he’s somehow even better.”
Beck arches a brow. “Better than perfect?”
“He walked me to my car the other night before buying us dinner from my favorite restaurant.”
“The one right next to your place that the rest of us never want to go to because you’ve taken us way too many times?”
“The very same,” I confirm. “Then he suggested we watch design shows while we eat, and we spent the whole night making fun of the couple’s impossible standards and commenting on how we would have made everything look so much better.”
“Wow. Are you sure he’s straight? Because that does sound like a perfect night for you.”
“I knooooow,” I whine. “And yes, unfortunately for me, he has made no declarations of any secret attraction to me, or any other men for that matter. So I will just continue to enjoy the eye candy while he somehow raises my already impossibly high standards for what I want in my partner.” And I’ll continue to blame my high standards on why I’m still single and ignore the fact that there aren’t exactly men lining up to ask me out.
“Sorry, A.”
“Thank you, my life really is so hard,” I tease with an eyeroll. “You’re only exposing cults and rebuilding communities. Meanwhile I have to pretend to ignore how hot the half-naked hockey player walking around my condo in grey sweatpants is every morning.”
“A real modern-day hero,” Beck deadpans.
“You get me,” I say with a dramatic sigh.
“Okay, I’ll look up therapists and cult specialists and get recommendations to you by lunch.
If you can just sign everything I’ve sent over, that should be all I need from you around here, and honestly you can e-sign almost any document these days, so don’t stress if you can’t make it in. ”
“You’re the best,” he replies, sounding relieved. I’m glad I can help alleviate some of his stress, no matter how small.
“I know,” I tease with a shrug and a smirk, earning a slight corner of the mouth lift from him before we both get back to work.
I really do love my job. If only the hot man I’m living with wanted to be with me, then my life would be perfect.