Chapter 2 #2
“Huh. I wonder if the rumors about him going feral were true…”
Jena looked up at that. “I’m sorry, what?”
Aggie tensed, a sheen of opalescence flitting over her irises. She shuttered, and Jena rushed to her side as she crumpled in on herself.
“What was it? What did you see?” Damn it, the last thing Aggie needed right now was a barrage of visions. They always took a toll on her, and she didn’t have the strength to spare.
The older woman waved her away. “N-nothing…”
“Bullshit.” Jena glowered. “Come on, back into bed.” She hauled her up and helped her into the next room. “What was it?” she asked again as she got Aggie settled.
“Me going to take a crap and ending up in the basement,” she snapped. “The floor in my bathroom’s soft, and the plywood over it’s not cutting the mustard anymore.”
Anymore? That bathroom had been a death trap well before Jena had left. “I thought you were using the one down the hall.”
“I was but…” Aggie coughed, her jaw working like she’d tasted something bad. “That one’s closer. Do—do you think we could find someone to fix it on the cheap?”
What Jena was about to say died on her tongue. “Yeah, I’ll go make some calls now.”
Aggie nodded, and the teapot began to scream in the other room. Jena turned away from the frail woman, willing herself not to cry. However she had to do it, she’d get the bathroom repaired. It wasn’t going to cost her nearly as much as it’d just cost Aggie to admit she needed it.
Chase stomped through Caldwick and Sons’ bustling lumberyard far past the time he should’ve been at his desk, workers scattering from his path.
Business was booming and the yard at full capacity.
They were slammed now that it was the off season, and he’d had to move everyone to a six-day work week to keep up.
He riffled a hand over his stubble, cursing his father yet again for screwing up relations with the pack in Fayet. The power-hungry bastard had been eyeing their territory for years. In his mind, co-existing wasn’t an option, but they weren’t about to bend a knee.
And the situation was spiraling. Just last week, one of the Havers’s pack had been attacked on his way through Fayet.
The neighboring town had officially become off limits, and both packs were patrolling borders.
Like not being able to access the east side of town wasn’t bad enough.
Now they had pissed off packs sandwiching them in.
It sucked. Chase wasn’t privy to the details and had no desire to be—his brother Patrick had stepped up and stayed there after Chase’s little lapse in humanity—but Fayet had a perfect location for him to expand to, with twice as much space as this one.
Unfortunately, they refused to deal with anyone from his pack.
Didn’t matter that Chase had more than enough capital to get it off the ground, or that he easily could hire a dozen plus locals to start.
And the worst part was, he couldn’t blame them for stonewalling.
Making any kind of deal with Wallace Montgomery always felt like putting on a leash then handing him the other end, and Chase’s father was not a man you wanted to be beholden to.
Which was why the east side of town was also off limits.
But at the moment, Chase could give a flying fuck about any of it. He ripped open the door to his work trailer and stormed inside, muttering as he tipped up his hat to run a hand through his messy waves.
Goddamn it.
The look on Jena’s face when he’d walked into her store had made his wolf want to curl up and die. God, he’d wanted to curl up and die. She really hated him. Not that she didn’t have just cause to feel that way, but how the hell was he gonna prove himself to her?
“So who is she?”
He stopped to look at Lucy, his office manager.
She was one of the few people in this town who didn’t care who his family was, or flinch every time he raised his voice.
Probably because she wasn’t from around here.
He was sure she’d heard about him losing his shit, but she hadn’t been here for it.
The little tattooed were had transferred from a pack across the bay after a messy divorce a couple of months ago. “Pardon?”
She brushed her brunette bob from her eyes and sat back in her chair, failing to hide a smile. “You’re a half hour late, and smell like a serious case of unrequited love.”
Double fuck.
He slipped his hat back on, pulling it low. “I dunno what you’re talking about,” he muttered. “Messages?”
She just looked at him, waiting for it. Goddamn it. He’d hired her because she didn’t buy into people’s bullshit, but he sure as hell didn’t appreciate the trait right now, and she wasn’t gonna let it go.
He sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Usually.” She handed him a pink slip of paper. “This came in fifteen minutes ago, but I doubt you’ll be interested. That witch everyone hates wants a quote on a bathroom remodel.”
Chase perked up and snagged the slip. “She does?”
Lucy narrowed her eyes, abruptly way too interested in his reaction. “She does.”
He grunted, looking over the brief rundown of what Jena thought she needed.
Without even seeing it, he could tell it was going to be a bigger project than she thought—or could probably afford after losing her job, especially with the rush she’d requested.
Christ, on a building that age? Pulling the permits alone was gonna take months without seriously greasing some wheels, and every contractor in the area would add a hefty charge on top of it for the headache.
Gorman Howe, the town’s building inspector, was a dick…
but he just happened to owe Chase a favor…
God, this was perfect.
He slapped the message back onto Lucy’s desk. “Set up a consultation for later today.”
“Are you serious? You’re booked out for consults until after Thanksgiving—”
“I am, but you’re not.”
She sat up straighter, her brown eyes wide behind her glasses “Me?”
“You’ve been wanting to get in on the sales side of things, here’s your chance,” he said, hoping he sounded nonchalant about it. Internally, his wolf was doing cartwheels.
Lucy tapped a pen against the corner of her mouth. “Why do I think you have an ulterior motive?”
“Because I do. This building is a historical property. Restoring it is exactly the kind of press we’ve been looking for.
” And it was, which should be enough to keep his family off his back when they found out he’d taken the job.
He needed to buy time to win over Jena before they caught wind of anything, or they’d ruin it.
“I want this project, and you’re gonna get it for me, but under no circumstances are you to use my name or mention the Montgomerys. ”
Her brow rose. “That the only reason you want this job?”
“Does there need to be another one?” he deadpanned.
“Seems shady.”
Jesus Christ. “So? You got a problem with that?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “You’re the boss.”
Chase grunted. “Take measurements, pictures. Write up a report. I want them all on my desk by end of day.”
“End of day?” Her eyes bugged out. “Are you crazy?”
Not anymore—at least he didn’t think so.
“No, I’m the boss, and if someone else poaches this, I’m gonna be pissed.
” The chance of that happening was slim to none, but Lucy seemed to buy it.
She spun around in her chair and picked up the phone, then paused with her hand over the receiver.
“Just out of curiosity, what do I say when she asks who’s going to do the work? Historical reno is your thing.”
Shit. “Ah…tell her we’ve got a pool of skilled craftsmen to draw from.”
“What, like a kiddie pool?” Lucy cocked her brow. “There’s you and Nuno. Everyone else just slaps up sheetrock.”
“Yeah, like I said, skilled craftsmen. There’s two of us.”
She rolled her eyes and started dialing.
Chase went into his office and made himself sit at his desk, his wolf pacing.
Despite the big window looking over the lumberyard, his eyes went to the light signaling line one was in use.
Everything he’d built, taking over Caldwick and Sons’, it was all so that he could take care of Jena when she came back.
That dream he’d had, the one that had pulled from his madness…
he shook his head. That’d been real. He had to believe it.
God. But what if Jena changed her mind, or had hired someone else?
She was smart enough to call around—No. No way was a job like this coming in under fifty K, and no one would be able to get out there any time soon.
Besides, it was Saturday. Who else was open right now?
Right? Yeah, right. He was good. She just needed to say yes.
Come on Jena…say yes…
The light went out, and Lucy was at his door a moment later. Her brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”
“Hmm? Yeah, why?” he asked, wiping his brow.
“You’re sweating. Like, a lot.”
Chase opened his mouth then closed it again. “You get the appointment?”
“I did, but she’s already meeting someone at two—” A growl rose in his throat, and Lucy pulled back. “Dude.”
Shit. “Sorry. I’m just—”
“Head over heels for this witch, that everyone, especially your family, hates.” She crossed her arms over her breasts and cocked a brow. “I’m assuming the feeling’s mutual, which is why you’re having me meet her. Yeah, I’d say that’s pretty complicated.”
Triple fuck.
His throat bobbed, and she laughed.
“Damn, boy. People are gonna freak.”
“Not if you don’t tell them,” he growled.
She held up her hands. “I’m not gonna say a word, but you might wanna rein it in a bit. Your wolf was about to take someone out.”
He lifted his hat to run a hand through his damp hair, then snugged it back on. “You know who she’s meeting with?” Tryson Corp. was slimy enough to try and sneak someone in there with a lowball price they wouldn’t honor…
“No, but I do know it’s at Snaps.”
Chase’s stomach lurched as he white knuckled the arms of his chair. “She’s going out with someone—to a bar? Like, on a date?” If some asshole thought they could get her drunk—
“Umm…” Lucy’s eyes flicked to his hands. Shit, he’d started to shift. He made a concerted effort to breathe. Calm down. She’s ours. She’s ours…
But maybe he should stop by just to check things out.
“Okay then.” Lucy clucked her tongue. “Our meeting’s for eleven. I was just coming to tell you I gotta beat feet to get there.”
He nodded. “Do it, and if she asks for a ballpark, tell her twenty grand. I don’t care how much it’s actually gonna cost.” He’d gladly eat the overhead to make things right with her.
“You’re the boss.” Lucy gave him a half-assed salute and closed the door after herself.
Christ. Chase pinched across his temples. Lucy had no idea how right she was.
Freak? Best case scenario his pack would disown him. Worst case…he bit back a growl. Worst case wasn’t gonna happen. Especially not to Jena.