For a brief moment, I could have sworn that I caught Alexander smirking out of the corner
of my eye.
Fiona pursed her lips into a knowing grin and giggled with a fake air of friendliness. “Evelyn, here, is known to be a bit of a ‘wild child’. She’s someone who prefers the company of the staff rather than others of her own station.”
My face flushed a deep shade of pink. I didn’t know why I felt so self-conscious. It certainly wasn’t the first time something like this had been publicly declared. Normally, I would have happily owned up to the title; however, I was hoping to make a rather decent impression on Alexander’s Grandmother and not feel like the social outcast I was made to feel like.
“You see, it’s part of the reason why I was so shocked when I opened up the door before. I hadn’t expected Alexander to settle for…”
I held on to the handles of Alexander’s wheelchair as though they were my only life to remain where I was. The urge to turn on my heels and leave was strong.
Alexander looked as though he were about to speak up but was swiftly cut off by the soft,
elegant sound of his Grandmother.
“Someone who clearly has a leveled head on her shoulders,” she said steadily.
I snapped my head up to gaze in utter astonishment at the woman’s unexpected evaluation. It was obvious that I wasn’t the only one whom she surprised with her sudden remark. The room, in its entirety, had fallen silent. Both Caroline and Fiona shared a look of reprimand.
“
Wendy’s smile never seemed to have left her. Only when she turned to glance at Alexander did she scowl.
“You know, Grandson, it would have been nice to receive an invitation to the wedding,” she said tightly. Her voice grew hoarse and weak. “I would like to, at least, think that you had the place properly decorated.”
Alexander’s features softened with worry. Suddenly, one of the staff members came bustling in with the newest report of the pack’s finances. Alexander was quick to take the file and thanked them.
Caroline merely seized the opportunity to speak her mind. “Wendy, why not give yourself the break you deserve and let someone else handle the financial responsibilities.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Caroline positively lit up with excitement. “Wonderful, I’ll get started right away – “
“I’ll have Evelyn help me,” Wendy interjected while taking my hand.
My mouth fell open. “Me?”
[Evelyn’s POV]
Once more the room fell silent.
I wasn’t even sure Alexander knew what to say. Surely, he was as shocked as me. Between the two of us, I was certain we both thought that it was going to take a lot more than a single conversation for Wendy to feel so obliged to want to work together.
Caroline looked as though someone had the audacity to slap her across the face. For a brief second, I was mildly nervous to turn my head to look at her. But she was quick to recover from her bout of shock.
An amused smile curved her painted lips while a mocking laughter filled the air.
“Grandma Wendy, you can’t possibly place such an important task on someone like Evelyn,” she said briskly. “How could she possibly understand the dynamics of a pack’s financials?”
I hadn’t missed the sharp, bitter tone of her voice as she spoke my name. It was fairly
obvious that whatever line of possible friendship the two of us could have had was just severed due to Wendy’s decision.
Alexander cleared his throat and finally spoke amongst the growing tension. He slightly turned his head to glance at me.
“Evelyn, do you feel comfortable taking on this responsibility with Grandma Wendy?” he asked. “Do you think this is something that you can handle?”
Even though my reputation of being considered a ‘wild child’, they still considered me to be ineligible and uneducated when it comes to matters such as these. This shouldn’t have come as any real surprise. Although I aided Liam in the rebuilding of his pack’s trading networks, it prompted me to work through the pack’s finances as well.
No doubt Liam kept this all hidden, not wanting the world to know that he was incapable of running his own pack’s business.
I knew that if I were to go through the files Alexander was handed just moments ago, I would very likely understand the information listed there.
I lifted my eyes to meet Alexander’s expectant gaze. “May I take a look at the ledger first?”
“Of course.”
Wendy nodded her head and reached into the small table beside her, pulling out a thick leather-bound ledger with the Kingston Family crest stamped on the cover.
Caroline grew quiet and dismissive.
I graciously accepted the book and flipped it open to the latest record. It appeared that one of the surrounding defense walls had been damaged and needed to be replaced. The cost was listed very clearly beside it; however, as I was looking below to see all the necessary charges that were made to cover the damage, I quickly discovered that the totals weren’t adding up.
I went back in the ledger history to find that the same entry had been made, regarding the same costs. Those numbers weren’t adding up either.
How interesting…
It seemed like someone had been siphoning money out of the accounts and hiding it under false projects.
This time, when I had glanced up I noticed that both Caroline and Fiona were doing everything in their power to appear inconspicuous as humanly possible.
“There are a few accounts in here that aren’t adding up,” I said. “It says here that the pack spent a significant amount of money to repair a wall.”
Caroline let out an indignant breath and nearly rolled her eyes. “Yes, general maintenance.v Surely, even coming from a small pack you understand that.”
Fiona cackled under her breath.
“You see, I inquired about the issue myself and was told that only the finest brick and rock were to be used along with the finest craftsmen. The repairs took three months.”
I merely hummed in response to her condescending words.
“That doesn’t excuse the unreasonable prices
that are marked down in here,” I stated. “Even using the finest stone isn’t worth nearly half of the money that’s been spent on these projects. And nor would a 100-meter long wall take three months to repair.”
Alexander and Caroline were practically gaping at my unexpected intel on the situation. Wendy called out for one of the staff members.
“Find Katherine. Bring her here.”
According to Grandma Wendy, Katherine was responsible for revising the ledger. If anyone was able to make sense of the transactions that had been made, it was her. Right as she arrived with a worried look on her face, she was handed the ledger to review her own work.
Her cheeks gradually turned a deep shade of red. “Oh, my…I…I don’t know how these mistakes could have happened. Or at least gone unnoticed.”
Katherine excused herself to take the time to rework the numbers and double-check the receipts. Throughout the whole ordeal, Wendy never lost the enthusiastic glint in her
eyes.
“Evelyn, I have every belief that you’re going to make a wonderful Luna. I could tell from the moment I heard of your so-called reputation,” she said with a smile. “And I am more than prepared to teach you how. Anyone could look beautiful, but understanding and empathizing with the people in this pack is what’s truly important.”
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