“Good afternoon,Miss Larson. How are you?” I tried to maintain my composure.
“Please,follow me to my office. I’ll see if Mr. Taylor can meet with you.” Eleanor spoke coldly,gesturing for me to enter her office. Once we were away from the receptionist’s eyes,she pointed her finger in my face and spoke aggressively,”Look here,Draven,don’t you dare try to harm my friend. Joseph won’t fire her,and if you insist on this nonsense of blocking Carrie’s work,my father’s lawyer will sue you,and you know Alpha Gerald has connections throughout the territory.”
It was the last thing I needed,Caroline’s best friend preventing me from getting close and threatening me with her father’s influence.
I took a deep breath and spoke patiently,”Eleanor,I’m not here to hurt Caroline. I just want to talk to her,but I thought it would be proper to come to Joseph first.”
Eleanor looked at me with eyes flashing in fury.
“Draven,stay away from Carrie. You’ve already crushed her. What more do you want? I won’t let you hurt her again.”
“Eleanor,I was an idiot,and I want to apologize to her. We’ve discovered what happened. I was unfair to Caroline,and I want her to forgive me and come back.”
At that moment,I heard Joseph’s voice behind me. Today wasn’t my day!
“Well,I’d love to hear what nonsense you did to Caroline,Draven. Let me tell you,I barely know her,but I got very solid references about her. I assume you did the same background check when you hired her,so I don’t understand what happened.” Joseph paused with his hands in his pockets,sizing me up. “Let’s go to my office. Eleanor,you too.”
We entered Joseph’s office and sat down. Eleanor’s look toward me was pure hatred,and Joseph,who had been a friend since childhood,looked at me with disapproval.
“So,Draven,I’ve known you for a very long time,and you’ve never been unfair to anyone. What happened?” Joseph asked.
“You don’t know?” I asked,looking at Eleanor.
“No,I don’t. Caroline is very discreet; she only told me that you blamed her for leaking information,which she didn’t do,and I believe her. As for Eleanor,the only thing she told me is that you’re a jerk,an idiot,and a fool. Which I also believe.” Joseph replied with a half-smile.
At this point,Eleanor’s opinion of me was the worst possible,but I couldn’t blame her. I also knew she would move heaven and earth to protect her friend,and that meant keeping me away because I had hurt her.
I ran my hands over my face and tried to explain everything that happened to them both,including the discovery of who had actually planted the messages on Caroline’s computer.
“So that’s what happened. When we discovered the messages,everything pointed to Caroline’s guilt; it was the only possibility at that time. The plan was well orchestrated,and only today did I get confirmation that it wasn’t Caroline but Linda.” I said after explaining everything.
I heard Eleanor’s sarcastic laugh beside me as she spoke mockingly,”Oh,so the mighty Alpha was sure there was no other possibility and that Caroline was the only person in the world who could betray him. He needed proof that it wasn’t her; he couldn’t simply believe the woman he claimed to care about. You’re such a jerk,Draven! You have no idea how much you hurt my friend. You better stay far away from her.”
“Easy,Eleanor. Men are idiots.” Joseph tried to mediate. “But you really did act like a creep with Caroline. Look,Draven,this woman arrived here completely broken,devastated. Those bright emerald eyes I saw when I first met her are dull now. She’s hurt and suffering a lot. You had just started dating,from what I heard,and you didn’t even stop to listen to her.”
“It’s way worse than that,boss. He insulted Carrie,said she’d only find work in the gutter,that he wouldn’t let her work in Harbor Bay again,and many other ridiculous things.”
Joseph looked at me shocked while Eleanor detailed my fight with Caroline. Eleanor told everything as if she had witnessed what I did,and my wolf cowered with shame inside me.
“Draven,I’m not punching you in the face right now because you’re my friend and I know you’re not usually such a jerk,but what you did was incredibly cruel.” Joseph said,reproaching me. “Honestly,I think you should forget about Caroline,she won’t forgive you.”
“But I need to try,Joseph!” I said,my voice cracking with emotion. “Please help me,I can’t lose her.”
Alaric whimpered inside,the thought of never seeing Caroline again sending waves of pain through our bond.
Joseph looked at me as if he understood my desperation. He shook his head and looked at Eleanor.
“You’re worried about your friend,and so am I. But he’s also my friend,and he’s being sincere,believe me.” Joseph said to Eleanor. “I think we should let them talk here because he won’t stop until he speaks with her. This way,if he acts like a jerk,I’ll punch him in the face,and you can comfort Caroline. Let her decide if she wants to talk to him,Eleanor.”
“Fine,better here than at home near Liam.” Eleanor huffed,rolled her eyes,and agreed. “But if you hurt her again,I’ll personally help my father tear you apart during the next full moon!”
“I’ll ask Caroline to come up,” Joseph said,his eyes showing both amusement at Eleanor’s threat and warning directed at me.
Caroline’s POV
“Yes,Mr. Donovan,I understand your concerns about the delivery timeline,” I said into my phone,balancing it between my ear and shoulder while typing rapidly on my keyboard. “I can assure you that we can expedite the order and have it delivered by next Friday at the latest.”
My new cubicle at Puma Global was starting to feel comfortable,with its colorful sticky notes and the small framed photo of Liam I’d placed beside my monitor. The commercial department was an open floor plan with cubicles arranged in groups of four,a refreshing change from the sterile environment at Thorne Enterprises.
“We value your business,and I’d be happy to offer a ten percent discount on your next order as well,” I continued,noticing Reeves hovering near my desk.
Rory stirred within me. “Someone’s waiting for you. “
I held up one finger to Reeves,signaling I needed a moment to finish my call.
“Wonderful. Thank you for your understanding,Mr. Donovan. I’ll email you the confirmation right away. Have a great day.” I hung up and turned to my supervisor with a smile. Mr. Reeves was a short,stocky man with round tortoiseshell glasses who hummed constantly throughout the day. Despite his quirks,he was incredibly kind.
“Miss Caroline,Mr. Taylor wants you to come to his office immediately,” Mr. Reeves said,pushing his glasses up his nose. “You can go up now. Have you finished that list I gave you?”
I handed him several folders,nodding confidently. “Yes,Mr. Reeves,everything is organized here with the reports. Would you like me to explain anything?”
“No,you can go up to talk to the big boss. If I have any questions,I’ll ask you later. But go quickly,he seemed to be in a hurry to see you,” my boss replied,gesturing for me to leave.
“Why would Joseph want to see you so urgently?” Rory asked.
“I don’t know,but I’m worried he might have changed his mind about hiring me.”
I left my cubicle and headed toward Joseph’s office,my stomach knotting with anxiety. In the elevator,soft classical music played as I tried to control my breathing.
When I reached the president’s secretary’s desk,she smiled and gestured toward the door. “Mr. Taylor is expecting you,Miss Bennett.”
I knocked,entered,and closed the door behind me. “You asked to see me,sir? How can I help?”
When I looked up,my heart stopped. The familiar scent of cedarwood and musk filled the air,a scent that had once intoxicated me.
Standing there alongside Joseph and Eleanor was Draven Thorne himself.
“He’s here!” Rory whimpered.
My world seemed to collapse around me. Had he come to destroy what little I had rebuilt? To ensure I couldn’t work anywhere in Harbor Bay? My eyes welled with tears as my body began to tremble involuntarily.
“Caroline,please come closer,” Joseph spoke kindly. “Draven came here to talk to you,so I’d like to know if you want to speak with him.”
I looked at Draven,confusion and hurt flooding my system. His violet eyes,normally so commanding,now seemed pleading,with dark circles beneath them and a haggard appearance that spoke of sleepless nights.
“He looks terrible,” Rory observed. “Like he hasn’t slept in days.”
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