BXBX NOVEL Chapter 108 - Cornered
In the end, he found a solution. He put all the nodes in a folder and kept the folder in the drawer, safe. That way, he wouldn't need to get rid of her messages. After all, she wrote those especially for him.
He was somewhere halfway through his reading when he received a call from her.
«Yes?» he answered after counting to three. He didn't want to look too desperate by replying immediately.
«Hello, Nate,» her voice said on the other side.
He smiled, leaning back on the chair. He couldn't see her that day, but she had called him with her own free will.
«Hello,» he replied, already lost in happiness.
Only with her following words, did he remember there must have been a reason for her to call.
«I wanted to talk with you about something,» she said. «Do you have time?»
«Oh, yes. I just took a break,» Nate replied, leaving the papers on the desk and getting up to look at the city.
«I'm a little worried,» she sighed. It was just a whisper, and his nerves caught her anxiety.
«About what?»
«I'm working in the CEO's office.»
«Ah, yes... Was anyone impolite? Did they say something you didn't like to hear?»
He started to think, wondering who might have done something as stupid as to even glare at his mate. His team was made of competent people only.
«I noticed that the CEO surrounds himself with competent people. And that they're all men and mostly middle-aged. So, I was wondering what reason could he have to ask for me? Not only that I know nothing about the job, but I am also young and a woman. I guess it has something to do with the wolf society... I wanted to check with you if I'm overthinking.»
«You're not overthinking!» he said as the first thing.
How could she overthink? If something made her worry, he had to remove that something before it could bother her any further.
But... he was that something for once...
«Ehm... The pack has a rigid structure, and wolves can be difficult to manage. That's why we split male and female wolves at least in their early ages. When they mate, their urges become bearable, and they can work in a normal environment... But for the CEO... Well, the problem is that women would be attracted to the power of the Alpha.»
«Power of the Alpha?» she repeated, tilting her head. He couldn't see her, but he knew her expression.
«Yes. The CEO is the Alpha.»
«It doesn't soothe my worries, Nate. I am a human woman, and we are just as attracted by power as female wolves! How can the CEO be sure I won't try anything?»
«Would you try anything?» Nate asked, wondering if it was a good thing.
«No, of course not. But the CEO can't know it. I mean, human women do like CEOs, right?»
«Are you asking me?» he chuckled.
«I would really like to hear it's all my imagination,» she sighed.
«I can ask for you to be moved to another department.»
«Oh, no... That would be so bad! What if they think I'm being needy and spoiled? Just let me do the week here, and I'll be moved to the next department either way.»
«Ah... yes... Returning to women liking CEOs... How much do you think it affects humans?»
«I don't know, Nate. I'm a mother of two children; I don't have time for such calculations.»
«But you'll be in the same office as him.»
«Oh, are you perhaps insinuating...»
«No, never! Just curious.»
«Are we dating?» she asked him, scoffing on the phone. «Is this an act? Like, you play jealous because you want to hear I won't be swayed away by money and power?»
«Ah, no... Not really.» He actually hoped she could be swayed away.
But her principles were too firm for him to have hope.
«Then, what's up? I won't get close with any man while we're dating, Nate. I am a loyal person, and I take things seriously. I'm not asking the same from you, of course. Not just at the beginning of this... And I understand that different people can have different interpretations of the word dating. It's just how I am, and I'm not asking the same from you.»
«I wouldn't date anyone else either,» he sighed, feeling a little discouraged.
Why had things turned out like that? Instead of revealing her weak spots, she was lecturing him about loyalty and dating. Him, who would never date any other woman in the universe. And not just while they were together, but even if Lara chose not to be with him.
His loyalty was hers, even in the case she didn't want it.
«Then, don't assume I'd do that,» Lara pointed out from the other side of the call.
He sighed again. He didn't do that! He was hypothesising a beautiful situation where she would try seducing him just because.
But dreams were for fools.
He had made a mess with his idea to hide things for her. She would find out, sooner or later, and how could he explain that he just forgot to tell her?
Also, he had forgotten that she was human and her priorities were different. To her, being an Alpha meant nothing. Being a CEO, on the other hand... He had taken the wrong approach.
But how to get out of that dark corner?
The events of the day before flashed through his mind, and his smile returned. He could find a solution.
In the end, if things went out of control, he could show her sad ears and say he was so, so guilty and regretful. CEOs could make mistakes sometimes, right?