2. Nico #3
I stayed late to rebuild the family's system and add a few extra restrictions so it would be easier for them to manage. I'd even cancelled something I was supposed to be doing that night so I could finish it.
The family had been grateful. Everything had worked out perfectly well in the end. That hadn't stopped Tony from spending the next morning reminding me that I wasn't personally responsible for fixing every problem that crossed my desk.
“That was different,” I muttered. “They needed the help.”
“They needed some help.” Tony's expression softened slightly, but his tone remained firm. “You decided they needed you.”
I looked away. Tony sighed, and I could tell he knew he'd hit the point he was trying to make.
“And then there was the tracker.”
I grimaced. That one was worse. One of our trackers had been on a mission outside the usual patrol routes when his communications system started malfunctioning.
I had been monitoring things from the packhouse, and the moment I realised the connection was becoming unstable, I'd overridden part of the normal protocol to keep him connected.
I'd rerouted resources being used elsewhere and stayed glued to the system until he was safely back on pack territory.
I knew he had a family waiting for him at home, and somewhere along the way, I'd convinced myself that the risk of disrupting another system was worth it.
The scout had made it home safely, and Tony had managed to keep everything else from falling apart, but I'd also missed two other tasks that night and ended up working through most of the following morning to catch up.
“You got lucky,” Tony said.
“I was right.”
Tony gave me a look that told me he wasn't going to let me get away with that. “Fine. But if I hadn't been there to pick up the pieces, that tracker’s situation could have turned out very differently.”
I swallowed, but didn't look away.
His voice softened, although his expression remained serious. “I know you care. That's not the problem. It's one of the things that makes you good at what you do. You actually care about the people you're helping.”
I waited, already knowing there was a but coming.
“But sometimes you care too much.”
The words stung. I knew Tony wasn't saying them to hurt me, which somehow made them worse.
“There can't be another situation where you make a decision based on how you feel about someone instead of what's objectively safest.”
I wanted to tell Tony that my instincts were usually right for a reason, that I wasn't just making reckless decisions because I cared too much. But I kept my mouth shut.
It didn't feel like the best argument to make when he was counting on me to handle something this important.
Instead, I said, “I promise I'll keep my head.”
Tony studied me for a moment before finally nodding. “Good.”
I wasn't entirely sure he believed me. But he trusted me enough to let me take this project on, and for now, that was enough.
“Now, as for the actual job...”
I listened as he explained that we'd be handling security for the movie while they were filming here.
I'd be responsible for the IT and network side of things, as well as coordinating with their production team whenever necessary.
“The other wolf you met in there, Isaac, is Logan's bodyguard,” Tony continued. “The meeting earlier was just an initial introduction. I'll send you the full brief later, along with everything else you need.”
“Okay.”
There were about a hundred things I wanted to ask. Some were about the movie, a few were definitely about Logan, and several were probably about Isaac.
I decided to save them for later. I'd already pushed my luck enough for one afternoon. Tony headed toward the door, then stopped with his hand on the handle and glanced back at me.
“You're buying dinner tonight.”
I smiled. “Deal.”
Cooper and Isaac were in the middle of a conversation when we returned, and from the looks of things, they were surprisingly comfortable with each other.
I wondered if they knew each other already. They certainly seemed familiar enough, although I couldn't imagine what either of them had been talking about while we were gone.
Then Isaac smiled. It was the first time I'd seen him do it, and, annoyingly, he looked even better when he did. Much better.
The thought had barely registered before Isaac turned his attention toward us, and his eyes landed on me. His expression shifted.
It was an odd look, not quite suspicion and not quite annoyance, and I couldn't put my finger on what it was. A strange little flip went through my stomach. My wolf stirred deep inside me.
I blinked, momentarily distracted by the unfamiliar reaction.
It was probably just excitement. This was a huge opportunity. I was going to be working on the movie, after all. It had to be that.
I pushed the feeling aside and stepped forward, holding out my hand as I tried my best to look like a proper, professional IT specialist rather than someone who had just barged into a meeting wearing a Shadowfall T-shirt and nearly fainted over Logan Lawrence.
“I'm Nico,” I said, giving Isaac my most professional smile. “I'm the new lead IT specialist. Shall we set up a security briefing?”