Eyerolls and Witty Retorts

A Few Days Later

Jordan sat in the conference room of Le Loup Enterprises and tapped his pencil against a notepad. Placing one leg over the other, he listened intensely as Elijah continued his presentation to the board.

Chest out, chin high, Elijah summed up his work. “As you can see, with this new feature, our clients will not only feel confident in our system’s ability to provide protection, but we’re also able to offer it at a lower price than our competitors. This will drive more business to us without an increase in the price of our memberships.” Looking from one board member to the other, Jordan could sense some were still on the fence.

“And what would the additional cost be for us, exactly?” Ralph, the eldest board member, asked.

It’s always about the money.

Jordan thought to himself, causing him to tap his foot incessantly against the carpet. Le Loup was the largest security firm in New York. It was his brainchild, which he’d grown from the ground up. A company he’d originally started to help protect those in the inner city was now bringing in about twenty million in profitable revenue a year. He was beyond rich, and so were the other members of the board, so why must everything always equate to greed?

Humans. No sense of sacrifice or understanding for those outside of themselves.

He leaned forward in his chair, interlocking his fingers. “Our clients need to feel appreciated and protected. We need to show that we have their backs in the same manner that we did in the earlier days. I think Elijah’s plan is excellent and we will move forward with its implementation.”

Ralph shook his head. “With all due respect, Mr. Wolf, as a board, we feel a price increase is the best option. Our marketing team has developed a strategy to promote the importance of safety and the price associated with the assurance of it.”

Jordan’s breath grew ragged. Huffing silently, he willed his wolf to remain calm. “As the CEO, founder, and board member with majority shares, consider this meeting more of a formality than one where votes or opinions are being asked.”

“Jordan…” Elijah linked.

He was pushing it. Pulling rank was something Jordan hated to do. Yet he was irritated. Growing up the way he did, he’d witnessed his share of crime, and would be damned if he would allow greed to impede securing safety for others.

“Ahm, if I could say something please,” Morgan’s small voice carried from the end of the table. Holding her notepad close to her, she pulled a few papers from her hands and placed them on the table. “I had the pleasure of working with Eli—Mr. Montgomery on this project, and he asked me to look into the numbers. Based on the financial projections and conducted focus groups, if we keep our prices the same, offer the upgrades, and discount new member rates, in six months we will have plateaued our losses and, within a year, doubled our revenue.”

Jordan raised his eyebrow and glanced at Elijah, who appeared just as flabbergasted as he felt. Taking a copy of the papers, he reviewed Morgan’s work deeply before raising his head to observe the members around the table.

“This is excellent,” Ralph concluded, with resounding nods of agreement flowing around the room.

Morgan smiled brightly at Elijah as he mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

Jordan watched the interaction curiously. Ralph and the other board members rose from their seats, said their goodbyes, and prepared to leave. “Ms. Pierce, Mr.Montgomery, would you both please stay a moment?” he asked. After everyone left, he motioned for Elijah to shut the door and take a seat. “Explain yourself,” he said to Morgan.

Biting her bottom lip, she cast her eyes in his direction. “Well, as your EA, it’s my job to prepare your presentations. Elijah asked me to have this one loaded and ready to go. When I reviewed it, I noticed he was missing the revenue projections, so I asked accounting to help me get that additional part done, hoping the numbers would be in his favor.” Turning to Elijah, she smiled. “It really is a great idea.”

Jordan sat quietly, listening to her explanation, not wanting to admit that he was impressed.

“Aren’t you glad you kept her around?” Elijah linked to him.

“Just give it a moment.”

Morgan’s eyes traveled from Jordan to Elijah. “You guys are doing that linky thing, aren’t you? Rude as hell considering I just saved your asses.”

Jordan fought to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up. “There it is,” he linked to his Beta. If there was one thing he knew about Morgan, it was that her mouth was as vulgar as her eyes were innocent. No matter how many times he warned her, she still pushed her limits. It had only been a few days, and her being a wolf seemed to only make her fierier than she already was.

“Entitled Assholes.”

He heard her link through the air. “Be careful, Ms. Pierce.”

“Y-you could hear me?”

Elijah nodded his head, his eyes gleaming. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn how to channel it so that only the person you want to hear it can hear it. It will also help you keep your thoughts separate.”

“Had she been studying the rule book as I told her to, you wouldn’t have to tell her that,” Jordan said before leaning back in his chair.

She turned her body to face him, her eyes boring into his stoic face. “Can you hear what I’m thinking now?” she asked, smiling sinisterly. In her peripheral, she saw Elijah almost fall from his chair, clearly picking up her link.

Jordan’s eyes flashed yellow as he slammed his hand on the desk. “Leave, Elijah,” he said. Not wanting to be told twice, Elijah scrambled, leaving his paperwork behind. Morgan stood and backed away from the table. Sweat appeared on her forehead as Jordan’s eyes grew darker in front of her. She knew she’d pushed past her limit, but she couldn’t help it. Lately, everything about Mr. Wolf seemed to piss her off.

Standing, he adjusted his tie, working to regain his composure. “Morgan,” he said in a voice almost unrecognizable as heat permeated his skin. “Have you gotten to the part of the book that identifies who I am?”

“Y-yes. You’re the Alpha of Dark Moon…m-my Alpha,” she sputtered out.

Hearing her call him her Alpha for the first time made his eyes flash again. He tilted his head. “Then I suggest you reread it, memorize it, make it into a damn mantra if you have to, because if you disrespect me that way again, I will show you zero leniency.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.” Jordan smiled a tight smile, his anger slightly absolved. “Not like actual wolves have Alphas or anything, anyway,” she murmured and rolled her eyes.

His wolf stood to attention, and his eyes burned yellow again. Standing in front of her, he locked his arms tightly across his broad chest. His fitted suit did nothing to hide his muscular build, and Morgan could see the large black wolf inside him appear on his face. The smell of leather tickled her nose, and she found it hard to breathe. “What did you say?” he baited her, his chiseled chin flexing in agitation. Her senses heightened, she couldn’t speak, and he flashed her a twisted smile. “Get that under control, too. Pheromones can make you say and do stupid things.”

She huffed, her own wolf’s annoyance seeping through. The smug facial expression, and the taunting inflection of his words, made her skin prickle, and she rolled her eyes again. A beastly growl rose from his throat as he backed her against the wall. Placing one hand to the side of her face, he brought his face within inches of hers.

“Roll your eyes at your Alpha again, Ms. Pierce. Go on. Do it again. I dare you,” he said.