Chapter Three – Surprise My Father Is Moving His Corporate Office Next to Alpha Brock

Alpha Brock –

Greyson, were you able to follow the crazy lady that recently left my office?”

Looking at me like I was crazy, he laughed, “Alpha, why would you want to find a crazy person? Do we not have enough of those already?”

“Yeah, I know that crazy people follow us every day, but my wolf wants this crazy woman. Don't ever ask me if she's my mate. I didn't smell the wonderful scent we learned about when we first started learning about the effects of mate bonds. There was no scent at all on that woman. My gut tells me there's more to her, and for some reason she's hiding it."

"It's possible you're right, Alpha. She suddenly turned as I was following her, and I could swear she was sniffing after me. Her fingers were fumbling for her keys when she suddenly stopped and flagged down a taxi, pushing a man almost on his behind away from the cab. As I was following her, I got a cab, but her driver was much more experienced with losing people. Before we had barely begun to follow her taxi, I lost her. There is no doubt in my mind that I saw her smelling the air. There's no way she can be anything but a wolf."

"Grayson, let's put this aside for now. The alpha from the Silverton pack that borders our boundaries wants to buy the building next door to move his corporate offices. In order to avoid stepping on our toes, he is checking with me before making the purchase.”

"Alpha, not to divert the conversation, but did you know that Alpha has eight children, seven of which are now adults, one of which is a teenager, not to mention the pup his mate is expecting. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? From what I've heard, he's a nice guy, and he's good with his pack. The fact that they are next door does not bother me, as it is not like he is a competitor, and he might be able to give us some discounts at one of his luxury hotels. That's a win in my book. Ultimately, Alpha, the decision is yours."

After airing my grievances to Grayson, I complained, "Despite my best efforts, I have not convinced the Silverton Alpha to conjoin with our pack. There are only 5,000 wolves in his pack, including the elderly and children."

Thinking about the possibility of merging our packs if Silverton Alpha purchased the building next door, I pondered. Having been pleased, I asked Grayson, "Please schedule a meeting between me and the Alpha of Silverton. Let's welcome him and his corporate office to our neighborhood together."

Stephanie –

Mildred, our cook, served me Shredded Beef with a side of dumplings and brown gravy as I sat at the table. It was wonderful to smell the aroma of her cooking teasing my delicate palate as I waited to consume these delectable dishes slowly. Oh, how much I missed her cooking. As a matter of fact, I scarfed down the food almost immediately.

Of course, Stephan had to ruin my love fest with my food. He tells all the girls to say his name like this (Stefan), sounding more French. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

“Stephanie, what are you doing here? You are hogging all the food. Don’t you eat at your dormitories?”

“Whatever! Stefan, I have my own apartment, employment and, yes, I do eat. It is just that I missed Mildred’s cooking so much. I don’t suppose I could steal her and take her home with me.”

“You are lying, Stephanie. We know you hate coming home. Something is up! What is it?”

Pointing to myself, feigning ignorance, “Moi? Stefan, surely you do not think I don’t miss your snarky ways. Come on Brother, you know how much I enjoy my family.”

My father laughs while my mother looks disapproving at me. I can never get one past mom.

My father stares straight at me, “As much as we are happy you have joined us for dinner tonight, it is unlike you to not be forcibly made to come home and spend dinner with us. Would you like to speak with me in the office after dinner?”

I started to fidget with my fingers, replying sheepishly, “Yes dad.”

Of course, Stefan had to take my wanting to talk to dad to a whole different level.

“OMG! Are you pregnant Steph? That is, it, huh?”

“Stephan, I will beat the living daylights out of you, so that even your own mother won’t recognize you. No, I am not pregnant. I am not like mom and dad who had to do the bump as soon as they met, stupid head!”

I walked over to where Stefan sat and slapped him on the back of the head.

Every parent and child speaks their own language. A furrowed brow means you're in trouble, a cough means you'd better stop it.

When my mother saw Stefan and I, she coughed in that ever so famous way. As Stefan and I grumbled under our breaths, we stopped bickering.

As I loaded more shredded beef onto my plate, I smirked at Stefan, acting like I was going to devour every last bite.

It was at this point that my mother gave me the furrowed death glare. Putting my hands up in resignation, I stuffed my face with the delectable food, moaning for Stefan's benefit.

Then he growled, excused himself from the table, gave me one last glare, then went to his room. Laughing inwardly, I smiled.

My father stood up, excused himself from the table, and gave me the hurried-up look, where his shoulders crunch up, his arms are folded, and his eyes are squinting at me. As I nodded at his look, I realized he was urging me to hurry; that's when I gobbled the rest of my food hurriedly. Honestly, to tell you the truth, I rarely ate like a lady at home.

After wiping my mouth with a napkin, I ran upstairs to my dad's office. There are three offices for him, one here, one at the packhouse, and one at his corporate office.

Making my way to my dad's office slowly, I realize I must learn humility now. When I reached my father's office door, In fact, I didn't even have to knock; my father said, "Come on in, Stephanie." Once I was inside, I waited for permission to sit, since now I couldn't just consider him my father, but also my Alpha.

My father was strict on differentiating the two positions. It was to teach us to respect others for their positions.

I stood there silently, looking at my hands again, playing with my fingers, as I intertwined them, thinking of the game. Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people. My father quickly ruined my fun.

“Stephanie? Do you have something to say?”

“Yes, Alpha, may I take a seat please?”

Sighing with great frustration, my father nodded his head.

“Stephanie, you have always been my levelheaded child. What was that down there between you and Stephan?”

“Dad, I mean Alpha, sometimes even I have to learn to just let loose. Don’t you think I was a little too off standish?”

My father looked perplexed at my answer, and decided to move on from that question he asked.

"Stephanie, I enjoy having you home. Your presence at home, however, is not like your usual routine. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with. I assume you need assistance with something.”

As I stutter and feel ashamed that I didn't wear my big girl pants for the interview earlier, instead running like a pup afraid of its own tail, I regretted not doing so.

"Dad, I messed up my interview today for an internship." I sighed, regretful and hopeful. Could you please offer me an internship at the corporate level, so that I can learn more about the business side of the hotel's operations? My graduation next year depends on this. I mean Alpha."

My father sat in his chair with a straight face, not giving me a clue about his thoughts and what his decision might be.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of silence, “How did you mess up the interview?”

Here comes the humiliating part, minus the mate issue.

“I was so elated to be at this interview, I was even an hour early. Upon walking into the lobby where I was to wait for the interview, there were already 24 previous applicants. I took a seat and, of course, the wait was so long. The err… The President decided in the midst of the interviews to take a break. He doesn’t realize I am a wolf and can see through his tinted glass office windows. I saw him take some woman into an adjoining office. I felt disgusted with him, he was a wolf and clearly she wasn’t his mate. I shouldn’t have felt disgusted. It wasn’t any of my business. Once the interviews began again, I zoned out. I was getting tired and bored, which isn’t usually like me, besides, my wolf was being too chatty. I had to be called into the office multiple times. Once I was aware, I quickly got out of my seat and practically ran into the office. At that point, I almost slipped and fell. Feeling embarrassed, I grabbed my resume and ran out of the office and down the stairs. So, you see, I have humiliated myself as well as lost out on such an important interview.”

My father wasn’t sure what to say, as he stated before I was a levelheaded child. The one that didn’t make mistakes, and yet today I had a plethora of mistakes one right after another.

I didn’t expect my father to be so kind, “Stephi, we all make mistakes, and I am so glad you asked me to help…” This is when the phone rang, and my father checked the caller ID and lifted a finger, meaning to hold on to my thought while he answers the call.

“Hello Beta Grayson, what can we do for you today?”

"Alpha, my Alpha wants to meet with you about purchasing the building next to ours. As far as he is concerned, he is in agreement with such a purchase, and all he wants to do is meet with you. Is there a time when you are available, Alpha?”

That name made me turn green. I recognized it from Alpha Brock's office - this might be Alpha Brock's Beta... Nope, this cannot happen. We cannot move next door to them. What is the purpose of the Moon Goddess interfering with my life this way?

“Well beta, how about we all meet up for lunch tomorrow? I will bring my son, Alpha Jeremy, and my daughter Stephanie, who is majoring in Business Law, and Data security. Just let us know where we will have lunch and we will meet you there.”

I look at my father aghast, shaking my head vigorously NO. He looks at me and ignores my silent pleas.

“Alpha, did you say she is majoring in Business Law and Data security?”

“Yes, beta why?”

“We had been interviewing candidates today, and it was dealing with students in that type of major. Interesting is all. Well, let’s meet at one of the restaurants that my Alpha owns. It is called the Dens’ lair. Just g****e it for directions. Alpha Brock’s schedule is open for lunch tomorrow at around 11:00 a.m.”

“Sounds great beta. I look forward to our meeting. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Glad to welcome you to our little neighborhood, Alpha. See you tomorrow.”

My dad looks over at me laughing, “Let me guess it is them you messed up the interview.”

With a tear in my eye, I nodded. As I played my father, I could see the compassion he showed all over his face.

“Don’t worry, they see lots of candidates as you said, they probably won’t even recognize you. However, we have to face our fears in business head on, and take control of the situation. Not let the situation control us.”

I nodded at my father in agreement. “May I leave now Alpha?”

Chuckling, my father gestured with his hands. It was okay for me to leave his office.

Once, I was barely out of his office, I yelled, “Mom, do you own any wigs and dark sunglasses? Oh, and add a pair of long white gloves to that list as well.”

I heard a sigh from my father and then I heard him laughing heartily.