Chapter 3

Three

“Idon’t care who he was fucking, he’s not coming back.” Symon was sick of dealing with this shit. Whoever this Carl guy was, he must be holding something over the heads of half the management. This was the third day in a row some jerk had made an impassioned plea for him to be re-hired.

“Well, I never!”

He bit back the snarl and the, “Yep, that’s your problem,” that wanted to snap out. That was unprofessional of him. So he crossed his arms, leaned against his desk, and stared. Hard. Without speaking.

“I quit.”

“All right.” He grabbed his phone. “Laurel, have security escort—” He glanced at the furious man before him. “What is your name again?”

“Henry Gaines.”

“Henry Gaines to his desk to get his things. Only his, please.” A guy who would be in league with Carl would probably not be above pinching a few things here and there.

“Yes, sir.”

He hung up. “I wish you luck.”

The guy sputtered but left with security when they came, and he blew out a frustrated breath. Then he called his assistant. “I need Helene Jamis up here, please.”

“Of course, sir. I’m on it.” That happy voice proved to him that he’d made the right decision. Someone liked Helene a lot more than the late, unlamented Henry Gaines.

It was a damn minefield, this taking over an established company. This wasn’t the first time he’d done it, but it was his first tech company, where it wasn’t just sales at stake, but innovation.

He also knew this was unquestioningly the most public takeover he’d done. Everyone had an opinion or twelve, and no one—not a single person—was pleased.

But they would be. He would work hard to clean out the deadwood and make it a safe place for his software people to flourish with just the right amount of management.

He wanted to make this a place where people liked to come to work, where they were given a chance to create. And he needed it to be a place where his employees thought he was the epitome of success and professionalism. Because he was civilized. Smart. Not at all wolfy.

The intercom buzzed about ten minutes later. “Helene is here, sir.”

“Send her in, please.”

The door opened, and the sleek fox shifter who managed the app coding team walked in. He rose, then motioned her to a chair.

“Ah, Helene. Thank you for coming up.” He studied her neat, stylish appearance and intelligent face.

“Yes, sir. How can I help?” She didn’t seem the least bit worried.

He sat back down after she did. “So I just lost another manager.”

“Oh? Let me guess. Gaines?” She rolled her eyes. “Gaines had an affair with Carl’s sister-in-law. It was a mess.”

“Ah. Well, yes, not to put too fine a point on it. So does Carl have something on everyone?”

“No. No, not me. Not most of us. He’s just a…a…bad kitty.” She shuddered. “And a mean one. He gathered all the like minds in the company to be his minions too.”

“Is he likely to go after the Pallas cat and the little omega wolf?” He crossed his arms over his chest to hold in his growl at the thought, waiting to hear her opinion.

“Oh… I hadn’t considered that. I’ll have Adrian work from home, but I have no control over Isaac.” She tapped her nails on the arm of the chair, clearly agitated.

“No, and he has to be here to work the mail room… I’ll have someone keep an eye on both of them. That will just be easier for the time being, rather than having them shelter at home or take time off.”

She looked vaguely confused. “So—do I call Adrian in? I’m not sure what you want me to do, exactly.”

“I just wanted to get the lay of the land. If you think Carl might go after him, on the short term at least, I’ll just have someone keep an eye on him. Let him come and go as usual. Working from home might make him more of a target. Someone could get to him easily in an apartment.” He’d looked into where Adrian lived.

“Oh dear…” Helene frowned. “I don’t like the idea of my people getting hurt.”

“No. I don’t either. Anyway, I also have to move someone up…”

“Oh, no. I don’t want anything in sales.” She made a face that spoke of utter distaste. “But I can suggest a few good go-getters who are also decent beings.”

She rose in Symon’s estimation, just like that. “I’d love your recommendations. What are your employment goals?”

Helene smiled. “I love my programmers. Love them. They need reminders to eat and to nap and to, goddess help me, bathe.”

“So you like managing the techies. Are you willing to take on more than one team?” He could really use someone like Helene as they expanded.

“I’ll take on a lot, if you get me help. I don’t want to do a half-assed job.”

“I can do that.” He wanted to fist pump the air, but he held back. “I reward good work, and I never ask more of people than they can give. And if I do, you have to tell me.” He was fair that way. In fact, he was never as hard on anyone else as he was on himself.

Well, maybe his brothers.

“Okay. I’ll go for it.”

He held out a hand to shake again, just to seal the deal, and she grasped his hand firmly.

“So, tell me more about Adrian.”

“He’s a sweetheart. He is the center of the team in charge of speeding up the interface. He’s done amazing work, and his team loves working with him. He works from home quite a bit—he tends to put in way more hours than he charges us for.”

“He seems to be willing to stand up for what’s right.” In fact, watching Adrian throw himself in front of Isaac had made his stomach twist. Carl could really have hurt Adrian, and then Symon feared he would have ripped Carl’s throat out.

That was the last thing on earth he needed to have happen.

He was here to prove that werewolves were suave, debonair. Controlled.

“He totally is. Even if it’s not in his best interest.” She gave him a wry smile. “But then Isaac is even more vulnerable than Adrian, so I can see why he did it. Adrian has a soft spot for those less toothy.”

“Ah. Well, I can see that. So do I.” And he had a soft spot for Adrian, apparently. More like a really hard one. “I appreciate him for it.”

“I’m glad. He’s a brilliant engineer. Such a sweetheart, so long as there’s caffeine, pizza, and Insomnia cookies.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What on earth are those?”

“Oh my god.” She pulled out her phone to open up an app. “Look. You can order cookie delivery all night long. Well, all day too, but warm chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the night? A tech geek’s dream.”

“Oh…they have peanut butter ones.”

“Right? The best.” Helene hummed low in her throat.

“My, my.” He would so order those and devour them on Stan’s night off. Stan would never know, and if he did, well, so be it.

“Yeah. It’s a thing.”

“Well, thanks for that, and for the information.”

“Anytime. Holler if you need me.” She smiled and stood, hand held out to him.

“I will.” He shook her hand one last time, then let her walk out, head held high, before he called his private security manager. Not the one for the building, but his personal guy.

“Hello?”

“Cy. I need your help on a project.”

“Absolutely! Point me and shoot me.”

“I have a Pallas cat and an omega wolf who need eyes on them. They both work at my new company, and they ran afoul of a puma shifter I just fired.”

“Ooh…nummy goodness. Do I protect them or hunt the kitty?” Cy’s joy was ridiculous.

“Well, maybe it would be better to keep an eye on the cat. The puma.” Symon pondered that. “I can watch over the wolf since he works in my area of the office. But the Pallas is in the mail room…”

“I’ll send little Bill down. Give him a job close to the Pallas cat. He needs practice.”

“That sounds great. You hunt the big cat. Keep him off my guys. And I’ll watch the wolf.”

“Perfect. Send the deets. I’ll send Bill your way. He’s a good kid, eager to do a good job.”

“I like that. You know it. Bill me.”

“I will. How’s Quin? I hear he got busted.”

“You hear everything. Rian is working on it.”

“Of course he is. He’ll holler if he needs me.” Cy’s laughter seemed to fill the phone line.

“He will.” Rian was so damn stubborn, but at least he kept his temper, unlike Quincy.

“Anyway, send me the stuff on your former employee and the protection-worthy kitty. I’ll get on it. And if you want me to take the wolf?—”

“No.” He cleared his throat. “No I can do that.”

“Cool. Enjoy.”

Now why would Cy say that?

“Sure. How’s it going otherwise?” He was so not going to ask what Cy meant.

“Good. Normal shit, you know? Just plain old, plain old.”

“Yeah. I mean, no, I don’t know lately. I’ve been doing a corporate takeover.”

“You need a vacay soon, man.”

“Mmm.” Symon kept that noncommittal.

“Seriously. Go for a run under the moon. Dance a little. Skinny dip. I love skinny dipping.”

“I don’t do that, Cy.” No, none of that qualified as controlled. In fact, it all sort of registered as reckless.

“You’d like it though. I know it. I’ll find you a pretty omega to do it with…”

“Shut up.” He had to grin at the idea. Somehow, when he thought about it, however briefly, it was Adrian he saw in his mind’s eye.

“Shutting up, boss. One day, if you don’t let the steam off, you’ll explode.”

“Yep. Kaboom. It’ll be great. Just think how much money Quin and Rian will make selling the story.” That was a terrible joke. His brothers would call up his soul and keep it in a bottle if he left them.

“They’d never let you go. None of us would.”

“I know. That actually makes me feel better about myself.” He blew out a breath. “Okay, I need to get back to work.”

“Good deal. I’ve got your back, boss.”

“I know you do. Talk to you soon. I’ll send those files.” He hung up, then sent Cy the files on all of the main players.

Except Adrian.

Adrian was his.

His body tightened, and he pushed it down, the need. That was ridiculous. Adrian just needed protection. That was all.

And if he wanted to fantasize a little in the deep of the night? Who would care?