Chapter 3
Peter made it to the restaurant well before two. He followed the hostess to his seat and ordered a vodka on the rocks. About fifteen minutes later the Novotech rep showed up.
Stefan Stewart. Peter knew that he was a rising star with Novotech, and more dominant than most corporate alphas. Normally Peter would have been offended by the fact that he wasn’t speaking to the CEO, but from what he knew of Novotech’s executive team, Stewart was the best they had.
Peter watched the young alpha walk toward his table. His stride was determined and angry, his back ramrod straight. Peter hoped he wasn’t about to be challenged. He downed the rest of his drink and let his instincts rise to the surface.
Any alpha that saw him now would know exactly what Peter was and what he was capable of.
Peter could win a fight with Stefan Stewart without even breaking a sweat, but tearing apart the company’s most promising young executive wasn’t likely to win him any favor with their CEO or board.
When Stewart caught sight of Peter, he slowed his angry walk and Peter could see him expend effort to calm down. Looking sharp in a perfectly tailored suit and sporting a five hundred dollar haircut, he looked like any other yuppie alpha working his way up the corporate chain.
Peter wondered if maybe once business was wrapped up Stewart might be persuaded to take a detour to the bathroom for a quick turn on his knees. There was nothing Peter liked better than getting another alpha’s mouth on his cock.
Stewart reached the table and Peter rose from his chair.
“Mr. Stewart, thank you for meeting with me.” Peter shook Stefan’s hand, shooting him a grin that he knew made him look wolfish. He squeezed down just hard enough to establish his dominance.
Stefan winced slightly, but he otherwise maintained impressive control. He must have some experience working with alphas more dominant than himself, and Peter couldn’t help but wonder how he’d handle being fucked and knotted.
“How could I not?” Stefan answered, the words brimming with hostility. Peter let the smile slip off his face and said nothing. After a tense second Stefan ducked his head in submission. Once Peter was sure he was properly cowed, he nodded.
“Watch yourself,” he warned, taking his seat. Stefan followed his lead, still bowing his head and acting chastised.
Peter leaned back in his chair and observed the other alpha. He knew he’d overreacted, but he couldn’t help himself. Disrespect from an alpha less dominant than himself was something he couldn’t bring himself to tolerate.
But now he needed to get things back on track.
It would be unsportsmanlike to bully Stewart into signing a deal with him, not to mention illegal. Stewart had to be able to take the deal back to his superiors and defend his recommendation to hire Tank Security with something other than he made me.
“I can understand why you would be angry with Tank Security for breaching your systems, but the truth is that we did you a favor. Even if you don’t hire us, you’re now aware of the problem and can take appropriate action.”
Stewart swallowed and visibly pulled himself together, lifting his head to look Peter in the eye.
“And if we don’t hire you, what happens to all the data you stole?” his tone was respectful, but hard. Peter was impressed by his quick recovery.
“Nothing. Selling it to the highest bidder would be unethical.”
Peter smirked, and Stewart blinked. Before he could say anything that would get him in trouble, Peter continued.
“But in all seriousness, we were not the first to gain access to your servers and help ourselves to your data. Your security is five years out of date, and that’s being generous. You need us.”
Stewart narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean you’re not the first to gain access to our data?” he demanded.
Peter shrugged. “Just what I said. Our experts detected evidence of three large-scale breaches within the past three years. We know who was behind the last two, and we have a pretty good idea of the one before that. If you were to hire us, we would be happy to discuss retaliatory measures—digital or otherwise—in addition to securing you against future attacks.”
Stewart watched Peter’s face, perhaps searching for some sign that Peter was lying or trying to trick him.
“I’m listening,” he said after a moment. Peter allowed himself a small smile before launching into his pitch, making sure to hit every point Dawn had outlined in her brief. By the end of it, Stewart looked grudgingly impressed.
“I’ll take this to the board, Mr. Tank. I can’t guarantee they’ll hire you, but my recommendation will be that they do.”
Mission accomplished, Peter thought to himself.
“Thank you, Mr. Stewart. I’m sure they’ll come to the right decision.”
“I think they will,” Stewart said. He pushed his chair back like he was going to leave, and Peter debated with himself if he should make an excuse to get him to stay. “I’ll get in touch once I have an answer.”
Peter let him go without protest. The deal was too important to wreck by adding sex to the mix. Maybe once Novotech was a client Peter would make a play for their rising star, but not before.