Chapter 4
Gabriel
“You’re questioning my authority in front of strangers now?” My voice is deadly quiet as I close the heavy oak door of my study behind him. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Have you lost yours?” Tanner’s bulk fills the room, his fighter’s stance unconsciously defensive. “You set that woman up.”
He’s right, of course. I instructed Ms. Peters to invite Kimmie to the house for a meeting without mentioning anything about the dinner—or the fact that the whole pack would be in attendance.
It was a simple tactic to throw her off guard. I use them all the time in business where minor advantages can garner major benefits. But something about this situation has gone sideways. The beta’s collapse wasn’t part of the plan.
“I didn’t hear you objecting when she arrived.” I move behind my desk, a habit born from countless negotiations. “Or during dinner, while she was being deliberately obstinate.”
“Obstinate?” Tanner actually growls the word. “She was defending her business. And you—”
The door opens, and Elliot slips in. Perfect. Just what I need. The voice of reason joining forces with the voice of rebellion.
“How is she?” The question escapes before I can stop it. Showing too much concern now will only encourage them.
“Leo’s with her. Dr. Hilliard says the fever’s continuing to come down.” Elliot’s clinical tone shifts to something harder. “No thanks to your power play, Gabriel.”
“Not you too.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Since when do either of you care about acquisition tactics? You didn’t object when we took over Morton Steel. Or Richards Development.”
“Morton Steel was cooking their books and exploiting workers,” Elliot says. “Richards Development was buying up entire neighborhoods and putting little old ladies on the street. This woman makes waffles, Gabriel. Really good waffles.”
“In a building we need,” I say.
“In her home.” Tanner’s voice could strip paint. “Did you even look into her business before deciding to strongarm her? Her family built it, for fuck’s sake!”
“Corporations don’t run on sentiment.”
“No.” Elliot settles into one of the leather chairs, uninvited. “But packs do.”
It’s a challenge, and he’s right. Damn him. Pack dynamics transcend business logic. And for some inexplicable reason, this beta has triggered every protective instinct in my pack brothers.
“Have you considered,” Elliot continues, “that if she affects us this strongly, maybe we should look for alternative solutions? We could redesign the—”
“No.” The word comes out sharper than intended. “The cost to change plans now would be astronomical. That block is crucial to the new headquarters’ footprint. The whole project hinges on it.”
“Your project,” Tanner corrects. “Not the pack’s. Not really.”
This headquarters is my vision, my legacy. But the pack is my legacy too, and right now my pack brothers are looking at me like I’m a stranger.
A knock interrupts before I can respond. Leo enters without waiting for permission—another sign of how far my authority has slipped tonight.
“She’s come to, and her fever’s down to 102.1,” he reports. “But she’s asking for a Suze? Keeps saying someone needs to open tomorrow.”
She’s worried about her business. Even feverish and half conscious, she’s thinking about responsibilities. About legacy.
Just like me.
I see myself in her stubborn dedication, her fierce protection of what’s hers. It’s…unsettling.
“Have the housekeeper take Kimmie her purse, so she can use her phone,” I say finally. “She needs to contact her staff.”
Three pairs of eyes stare at me like I’ve grown a second head. It’s not like me to concern myself with the day-to-day operations of acquisition targets. Not unless I’m trying to disrupt them. Every missed day of business, every setback, usually works in our favor.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I start to straighten my cuffs and stop mid-motion. It’s a nervous tell I thought I’d eliminated years ago. “The situation’s complicated enough without her trying to leave while she’s ill.”
“Complicated?” Elliot’s voice is too neutral to be genuine. “Or are you finally admitting this isn’t just another acquisition?”
I turn to stare out the window at the manicured grounds. Kimmie has somehow managed to do what a dozen eligible omegas couldn’t—unite my pack around a woman. There are only two problems with that development.
First, she’s a wholly unsuitable beta, and second, their support of her is in opposition to my will.
The question is, what am I going to do about it?