Chapter 54

Grace

After the meeting, I pulled my assistant aside and braced myself to ask her a question I had been thinking about for a while.

“I know you were probably wondering why on Earth and in the name of the moon you were in there.”

She smiled. “It was… enlightening.”

I bit my lip. “In a good way?”

“In the best way.”

I nodded. “Great. I've been thinking with everything that's been happening lately, I could really use some help. And you've been doing an amazing job as my assistant for Wolfe Medical. What do you think about being my PA for the pack as well?”

Her eyes widened.

“You do great work, and honestly, I could use the help. I’d increase your pay, of course. I haven’t figured out the numbers yet. I wanted to ask you first and then figure out what you might want to add to the contract.” I paused. “Do you need housing?”

She chuckled. “I renewed my lease already.”

I winced. “Right. You did tell me that.”

“It’s okay. You have Mom-Brain,” she smiled. “My mom’s the same way.”

I nodded. “Thanks for being understanding. Let me know however you decide.”

She nodded and headed to her desk before pausing and turning back. “Actually, Alpha Wolfe… could we talk about it now?”

I grinned and nodded, gesturing her back into the conference room. She looked nervous as she sat down. I met her gaze and pulled out a pen.

“What do you need to make it worth it?”

“Did you mean what you said?” She asked. “About lycans?”

“I did. All of it.”

She nodded. “The truth is that… my boyfriend and I are looking for a place together… He’s an Enforcer.”

I smiled at her. “Go on.”

Her face flushed. “I renewed my lease here because he’s on an assignment here for a while, but it’s a short-term lease. I’d like to either stay here with him or…”

“Move to the Clan territories?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“And your family?”

She winced. “Well, my mom and I don’t see eye-to-eye about a lot of things, but she’s happy that I’m happy.”

I nodded and took note. “So, if I offered you housing that you and your boyfriend could live in comfortably, that would make it worth it? That’s all?”

“I’ll be honest and say I don’t know what else to ask for…”

I blinked at her, and for a moment, I tried to imagine what she’d gone through to get this job when Devin was in control. I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone.

“I’ll send you an old contract that my dad used to hire his assistant. We’ll adjust it for what you need and expand it to include your duties for Wolfe Medical.”

I forwarded her the contract, having found it in the old archives.

“Why don’t you mark it up, ask your boyfriend and your mom for some feedback, and we’ll talk about it further?” I took a deep breath. “I’ve never had to negotiate my own salary and terms before, so I have no idea what you’re feeling, but I think it’s a good first step. What do you think?”

Her eyes brightened. “Thanks, Alpha Wolfe.”

I parted ways with her at her desk and stopped off at my office to find Charles seated on the couch typing on his laptop.

“I’m headed to the lab.”

He grinned. “You seem beyond relieved for that fact.”

I beamed back at him. “If I’m causing wars, I might as well start with one I know.”

He chuckled. “You’re learning.”

“Could we chat a bit? Maybe tomorrow? Employee contract.”

“You’re hiring her as your De Facto Beta?”

I blinked at him. “How did you know that?”

“It’s a smart move,” Charles said, and he tapped his ear. “And I heard you.”

“You did not hear me through that wall!” I gawked at him and the wall. “I know lycan hearing is good, but it can’t be that good.”

“I most certainly did. I’ll even take a look into which unit her boyfriend is in if you want. Though, I have a pretty good idea already.” He grinned. “I’ll make sure he has plenty of reason to be home at decent hours. I hear a happy assistant does better work.”

I shook my head. “I learn more and more about lycans by the second. Will Richard and Cecil be able to hear like that one day?”

“Exciting, isn’t it.” He nodded. “And maybe. Richard will get closer. Cecil is a beta, but her hearing will likely still be better than yours.”

I shook my head. “I’m going to have to soundproof the house… Though I wonder now why my mom pretended to not hear me sneaking in when I was a teen.”

He snorted. “Probably because she was more worried that you were coming home, not when you were coming home. Go on. I’ll be here when you’re done.”

My heart clenched. “Oh, but that might be hours…”

Our gazes met. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”

I bit my lip as my face heated. I nodded, unsure of what else to say and feeling ridiculously girlish and young. I headed downstairs towards the labs. I couldn't help but feel a sense of determination and comfort welling up within me. I knew the days following the press conference would be a whirlwind of media scrutiny and mixed public reactions, but I was grateful to just be able to go to the labs and do what I know how to do.

Do what you can now…

I smiled at the memory. Returning to the heart of my professional world made me feel more in control. I didn’t know a damn thing about running a company or a pack, but I knew how to run experiments. I knew how to manage a lab on my own.

I knew what I had to do, and that was all I had to focus on at the moment.

Dr. Thompson was walking into the building as I reached the ground floor with a cup of coffee in hand and a rolling briefcase.

She cocked an eyebrow at me and paused. “Quite a show you put on this morning.”

I nodded. “Necessary.”

“Are they really alright?”

“Shaken, but they seemed better when the Enforcer Unit came to get them.”

She nodded. “Good. Poor things. I hate most werewolves. Shall we?”

I laughed as we entered the elevator. “Don’t say that.”

“Most werewolves hate me for being even part-lycan. I can say what I want.”

I laughed again and hit the button for the lab. The electricity hummed around us as the cold of the lab wrapped around us. The sound of our footsteps seemed to echo as we walked through the sterile corridors.

"Grace," Dr. Thompson began, "I've reviewed the project's documentation, and it's clear we've got some work to do.”

I chuckled. “I’m not surprised. I couldn’t find the notes, so—“

“That’s because there are none.”

My eyes bulged. “What?”

“After you left, the rest of the team was disbanded within a few weeks,” she smiled coldly. “The progress came to a halt when I left, which was the day you announced you were leaving."

My gut plummeted. “The same day?”

“Why would I stay on a project that the originator abandoned?”

I winced as we reached the working tables. All the lab equipment was a bit dusty, as if no one had come to clean anything in a while. Test tubes and beakers were missing. I hadn’t realized it was in such a bad state the last time we were down here. All the equipment looked just the way it had been before.

I sat down, pulling the records from the shelf and huffing, realizing that I’d left my own binder upstairs in my office when there was a buzzing of an intercom.

I pressed the button. Charles' voice came through, and my heart did a little flip at the sound.

"Grace, you left your big science binder in your office," he said. "What's the quickest way to get it to you?"

I couldn’t help but smile. “My big science binder?”

“With the faded stickers, yes.”

I flushed, and Dr. Thompson snorted. “You still have that thing?”

I huffed. "I'll come up and grab it.”

"I'm in the lobby," he continued, "about to head out to a clinic to meet with Enforcers running the black market investigation. Can you give me directions to the lab elevator, and I’ll meet you there?"

My stomach was full of butterflies as I slipped from my seat.

"Of course," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. I quickly provided him with the directions he needed.

Dr. Thompson watched me over the rim of my cup as I hurried to the elevator and rode it up. Charles was standing on the other side with my giant, old, messy binder in his arm. It looked just as ridiculous as ever, but he carried it like it was precious and didn’t clash with the picture he made in his three-piece suit.

He looked absolutely delicious.