Chapter 116

My anger kept me awake when I first went to bed that night. There may be some good Alphas, but the party showed me there were none in a position of power willing to change things.

The party reinforced my belief that the present werewolf lawmakers were mostly greedy and selfish individuals who didn’t care about the people they governed.

I was still in a bad mood when William picked me up to go to the office. But it would be quiet there on a Sunday morning for me to learn.

Plus, I was looking forward to spending time with William.

Diana awoke and cheered when he opened the Mustang door for me, and I heard Mark calling her name.

“How was the party last night?” William asked as he slid into the driver's seat.

I made a face and shook my head.

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” William said. “Was it?”

“It was awful,” I replied. “The Alphas of the association are a bunch of greedy, selfish jerks.”

“I thought you already knew that,” William teased. Then he saw how upset I truly was. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I started by telling him about the lustful looks from the host. Then I explained the conversation about the Beta mistress and ended by showing him the fifty-dollar bill.

He wasn’t surprised. “I’ve grown up with this way of thinking. I hate it, and I know it’s unfair, but it’s the way it’s always been.”

“You’re used to it because you grew up as a rich Alpha,” I said.

“Yes. That’s why I’ve always wanted to avoid the association,” William said. “My dad keeps trying to talk me into running for office after I graduate from college, and I always tell him no way.”

“But if you were involved in our government, you could help change things,” I explained. “It takes more than pointing out what’s unfair. You have to be willing to try to change it.”

William made an exasperated sound. “Daisy, I’ve lived with wealthy Alphas all my life. No matter what we do or say, they will not give up their rich lifestyle.”

I felt like he was giving up. Just talking about a problem wouldn’t fix it. I understood William’s frustration, but there must be ways to make a real difference.

Like the charity foundation, it wasn’t a permanent fix, but it helped change lives by providing medical, food, and housing assistance.

I also planned on expanding the scholarship program to help more Betas and Omegas get a better education.

Suddenly, I felt a little better. I would keep using the foundation to help people until real change happened.

When my mood brightened, so did William’s.

“Let’s get busy on this stack of files,” he said. “After we’re done, we’ll go somewhere nice for lunch.”

With William’s help, the paperwork was less complicated, and I understood more than I had the last time.

“The numbers on both forms must match,” I said. “If they don’t, then there is a problem with the original reports from the department heads.”

“That’s right,” William said and put an arm around my shoulders. “You are catching on fast.”

“But I bet doing the paperwork gets boring after a while,” I said.

“It can get tedious,” William said. “It’s not my favorite thing to do, but balancing the books yourself is the only way to ensure your employees are honest.”

“That’s true, but I still prefer the creative stuff,” I told him. “I love working on ad campaigns and brainstorming new products and services.”

I decided to tell him one of my ideas.

“I want to introduce housekeeping services to our apartment buildings. It would help people who have little time for recreation and ensure the buildings are clean and well-maintained.”

“That’s a good idea,” William said. “What about the cost?”

“The salary for a cleaning service would be spread over the rent on all the apartments and cause only a two percent increase in rent.”

“That’s not bad,” William agreed. “A few extra dollars a month would be worth it to most people in exchange for a lot of extra time.”

“People who work full-time should be able to have fun and spend time with their loved ones.”

“Agreed.” William gave me a big smile. “It’s almost one o’clock. Where do you wanna go for lunch?”

“I’m craving a burger and fries,” I admitted. “I only get to eat them at school anymore, and they aren’t very good there.”

“Who do you think has the best burgers and fries around,” William asked.

“There’s a little diner a few blocks from the school,” I replied. “Amy and I went there once in a while. The food was great.”

“I know the place. Their burgers are fantastic,” William agreed. “Let’s go.”

We locked up the office and headed back downstairs to the Mustang.

William drove us across town to the Starlight Diner. We went inside and sat in a corner booth.

“I’m glad you suggested it. This place is great,” William gushed after we ordered quarter-pound burgers with the works and a mountain of fries. “I should come here more often.”

“Burgers are better than fish cooked over a campfire, huh?” I teased.

“Yep,” he chuckled. “Or bunnies. But they don’t have chocolate diamond ice cream.”

“They do have chocolate shakes,” I countered as the waitress brought ours to the table and placed them in front of us.

We each took several slow sips and laughed. I didn’t realize how much I missed simple things like this. Every day shouldn’t be gourmet food and silk gowns.

We had our milkshakes half gone by the time the food arrived.

The burgers and fries were as delicious as I remembered. William and I silently expressed our joy at the moment with smiles and by looking into each other's eyes.

Diana and Mark were thrilled by the deepening of my relationship with William. But sometimes, I wasn’t sure if it was Diana’s feelings or mine that I felt.

But I was relaxing in the moment as I enjoyed being the cause of the smile on William’s handsome face.

We finished eating, and William paid the bill. I was impressed when he left a hefty tip for the waitress, and another that he indicated was for the cook.

We returned to his car, and I settled into the passenger seat a moment before my cell rang. The caller ID told me it was Debbie, my assistant at the charity foundation.

“Sorry, William, I have to take this call.”

He laughed. “You sound like an important executive already.”

I gave him my brightest smile as I answered the phone. But I wasn’t smiling for a very long. I hung up a moment later, fighting back tears of frustration.

“Daisy, what’s wrong?” William asked

Trying not to cry, I silently shook my head. I didn’t feel like an influential executive. I felt like I was screwing everything up.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” William pleaded. “Did something happen to your father?”

I shook my head again. “No. That was my assistant at my mother’s charity calling. She told me one of our biggest donors backed out of a pledge.

“Oh no.” William pulled me into his arms. “Is there anything I can do?”

I buried my face in his shoulder. “Not unless you know somebody who wants to donate a half million dollars.”

William was silent as I cried on his shoulder for a moment. Then I sat up and dried my eyes.

“I think you may be right about what you said back at the office,” I told William. “Most Alphas don’t want to help the poor. They won’t give up anything to make someone else’s life better.”

“Alphas have been running their world unfairly for so long that nothing’s ever going to change,” I added.

William took my hand. “The worst part is it’s impossible to get people who would be more fair into office when the unfair people are the ones who make the rules and laws that put those greedy people in charge.”

I nodded and squeezed his hand. “I need to go home. I want to check on Alex and spend some time by myself in my library.”

“I understand,” William said. “But call me later if you want to talk more. I’m worried about you.”

“I will,” I promised as we started for my home.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I got a text from Benson telling me the nurses called for a doctor to check out Alex. I urged William to go a little faster and fought back more tears.