Wolf On the Job

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I don’t know what to do.” Zoe stared hard at Sami. “I guess I can cancel my meeting. That means they’ll probably drop me, though.”

  I considered the statement for a long beat. I would be fine if the publisher dropped her. We were hardly hurting for money. But it would affect her, and not in a positive manner. “No.” I immediately started shaking my head. “I’ll take her.” I would somehow make it work. “I’ll make sure things don’t get out of hand. Go to your meeting.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.” I flashed a smile for her benefit and leaned closer. “You’re going to have to take a day off work with me later in the week to make up for it.”

  She returned the smile. “I think that can be arranged.”

  “Ugh!” Sami stomped her foot. “You’re talking about gross stuff again. I can tell because you turn all mushy. I hate it!”

  “Yeah?” I slid my eyes to her. “Get used to it, because we’re never going to change. Speaking of changing, you need to get dressed in different clothes if you’re spending the day at the lumberyard with me.”

  “What if I don’t want to change my clothes?”

  “I’m not giving you a choice.”

  “And that’s why parents suck.” She turned on her heel and stomped toward her room. “I can’t wait until I have some little kid to boss around. You guys make it look so fun.”

  I pursed my lips as Zoe shifted her eyes to me and we spoke at the same time.

  “She gets that from you.”

  Two

  I helped Sami pack a backpack for her day at the lumberyard. All the workers knew her — she even had her own hard hat — but she had to stay close to me for the duration of the day ... and only part of the reason had to do with the dangers associated with a working environment such as the one I ran. The other part was that Zoe and I were always on the lookout for someone coming after our child. She was something of a magical prize, but we wanted to make sure that she was valued for who she was, not what she was.

  “Do you want to set up in my office or the lounge?” I asked Sami when we hit the parking lot. I helped her out of my truck and grabbed her backpack.

  She shrugged, her eyes immediately moving toward the busy yard. At least forty workers flitted to and fro, arranging planks and readying shipments for delivery. I understood what she saw, recognized the longing on her face. As a wolf, the yard seemed the greatest playground imaginable. She probably had high hopes for jumping off the top of the stacks and playing with the heavy machinery — things she’d done previously — but I wasn’t sure it was in the cards today.

  “You can’t be out here,” I said quietly, hating the way her smile slipped. “Sami, I need you to stay close to me, and that means being inside ... at least until the council reps leave. If I can hurry them out, I will. Then we’ll go for a walk, have some lunch and I’ll get you some ice cream.”

  “I don’t know why they’re even coming here,” Sami lamented. She’d pulled her long hair back into a ponytail so it wouldn’t get in her face. It grew fast — also part of her wolf heritage — and Zoe was constantly complaining that she needed a haircut every two weeks. “Mom says all they do is sit around and thump their chests all day while making gorilla sounds.”

  I frowned. Zoe’s disdain of the wolf hierarchy was well known. They’d stepped in and helped several times when we needed it. They’d also interfered. They’d forced me to make a choice in college that I regretted to this day, one that put her in danger and separated us for almost a full year. I was aware of the way they operated and accepted that the right thing to do was to distance ourselves from them. Zoe held a grudge, though, and I couldn’t blame her. Still, she shouldn’t be saying things like that in front of Sami. When she was old enough, I wanted my daughter to have all the facts and then make her own choice.

  “Sami, they’re not necessarily bad men,” I hedged, slowing my pace. “They’re just ... not who we choose to spend our time with.”

  She slid me a sidelong look. “So, they don’t make gorilla noises?”

  “No. I can’t believe your mother told you that.”

  “She didn’t tell me about the noises. I just assumed that because you make those noises when you think I’m sleeping and you’re in the hot tub.”

  Ah, well, crud. Life was so much easier when she slept twenty hours a day like a cat. “Forget the noises in the hot tub. And, for right now, forget what your mother said about the wolf council. They’re not bad men.”

  “So ... we should like them?”

  Another slippery slope. “You should be respectful,” I clarified. “If you don’t like someone, though, I don’t want you to force yourself to be friendly with them. That inner voice you hear, most of the time it’s telling you the right course of action. So, if you don’t like one of them, tell me and I’ll handle it.”

  She was solemn. “Okay. You should know that my inner voice often tells me to have candy for breakfast ... and lunch ... and dinner.”

  I chuckled, genuinely amused. “You can have candy with your lunch if you’re good. You still have to eat something substantial, though.”

  She beamed, happiness radiating off her. “Yay! I love candy. Mom lets me have it for lunch when I’m good.”

  “That’s because your mother is a big softie.”

  “That’s what she says about you.”

  “We do have that in common.”

  I’D BEEN SETTLED AT my desk for a full hour before four vehicles pulled into the parking lot at the same time. I recognized my father’s BMW right away and rolled my neck until it cracked, preparing myself for what I was sure would be an annoying meeting. He’d been purposely vague when it came to explaining why the delegates were making a visit. That meant he was up to something.

  I pushed myself to a standing position and started for the door. Sami had opted to set up shop in the lounge. It had a television and vending machines, so I wasn’t surprised. Still, instead of closing the blinds as I normally would when busy, I kept them open so I could see if she decided to invade the main office and start entertaining the workers.

  In fact, when I strode through the office door to greet our guests, I found her sitting on the floor behind a catalog stand. Mike Torrence, a longtime worker with infinite patience, was updating the catalogs, and she was keeping up a running commentary as he listened.

  “And then they make a lot of animal noises while splashing around,” Sami explained. “I’m supposed to be sleeping, but they’re so loud I can’t help but listen.”

  “I’m sure they’re not playing games without you,” Mike said helpfully. “You probably don’t understand what they’re doing because you’re not old enough yet.”

  “Oh, I know all about sex ... and that’s what they’re doing because they’re naked. I’m not stupid.”

  I cleared my throat to get their attention. Mike had the grace to be abashed. Sami merely met my gaze.

  “What?” She shot me a “what are you going to do about it” look. “I wasn’t doing anything.”

  I had my doubts. “I thought you were supposed to be in the lounge,” I reminded her. “You have your tablet ... and coloring books ... and your Kindle. Why are you out here?”

  Sami shrugged. “I get lonely. I’m sad when I’m lonely.”

  As an only child, Sami was used to entertaining herself. She was generally fine with it. “You’re lonely? You could’ve come in my office with me.”

  “I always get to see you. I don’t ever get to see Mike.”

  In response, Mike winked at her. The way Sami’s smile widened and her return wink told me all I needed to know. She had a crush on him. She was eight and already had a crush. It was not the news I wanted. “Come on.” I extended my hand and pulled her to a standing position. “Your grandfather is here. He’ll want to see you. He doesn’t realize you’ll be spending the day with us.”

  Sami brightened considerably. “Did he bring me a gift?” She forgot all about Mike as she hurried aro
und me. “I bet he brought me something.”

  My parents, big on bribes, always brought Sami gifts when they visited. Sometimes they brought her entire vehicles full of gifts. I very much doubted that would be the case today. “Your grandfather didn’t know you would be with me,” I reminded her.

  “He still brought me something.” So certain was Sami that she raced toward the door when she caught sight of her grandfather’s familiar silhouette. She was on him before he had a chance to register her presence. “Grandpa!”

  Dad caught her in mid-air, smiling delightedly when he realized who he was dealing with. “Hello, sweetie!” He hugged her tightly. “I didn’t know you would be here.”

  “She has the day off school,” I explained, striding forward to greet my father. “Zoe had a thing, so I brought her with me.”

  “Well, it’s a happy surprise.” Dad smacked a loud kiss against her cheek. “I have something for you.”

  Sami shot me an “I told you so” look that had me biting back a laugh as Dad lowered her to the ground and dug in his pocket. He came back with a small pouch that had me curious.

  “What’s that?” I asked, leaning over Sami’s shoulder.

  “It’s an artifact of our people,” Dad replied, grinning as Sami tugged open the pouch and pulled out a strange necklace. It had a leather strap for a chain and what looked to be a clay symbol as a pendant. “That right there is our symbol for strength. They found the clay token in a cave in Spain — and it’s from a long time ago — so I had it restored for you. It will make you strong.”

  I wanted to take the necklace from Sami and give it a better look, but Dad was already fastening it around her neck.

  “Isn’t it pretty?” Sami asked, her eyes sparkling.

  Pretty wasn’t the word I would use. The piece was striking, but it left me with an odd feeling of unease that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with Sami wearing it, although I had no rational reason for the emotion rolling through me. She didn’t appear to be in any danger, but I made a mental note to wrest control of the necklace from Sami later so Zoe could have a look at it. If there was something wrong, she would figure it out.

  “It’s very nice,” I lied, straightening as my attention moved to the men standing behind my father. There were seven of them, all dressed in expensive business suits and looking out of place in a casual work environment, but every set of eyes was on me. “Welcome to Winters Lumber,” I said calmly. “I’m glad you could all make it.”

  “Oh, where are my manners?” My father let loose an embarrassed chuckle. “I’m sorry. You have to forgive me. Sami is my only grandchild and I didn’t know I would be seeing her today. I get excited.”

  “Because I’m exciting,” Sami offered helpfully, beaming.

  While most of the people who worked for me would’ve laughed at her response, none of the men did. In fact, the looks on several of their faces set my teeth on edge. Girls in the wolf world were not treasured as they should be. They were seen as necessary for population growth, but it was the boys who were coveted. I didn’t like that attitude ... and Zoe downright hated it.

  “You’re definitely exciting,” I agreed, sliding my arm around her shoulders in a protective move that I knew would penetrate to the other men. “You’re the most exciting person here ... by a long shot.”

  Sami smiled at me, although it was watery and didn’t make it all the way to her eyes, and then decided to make her escape. “I’m going back to the lounge to play my game. I ... um ... you’ll come get me for lunch, right?”

  I nodded. “I will. It won’t be long.”

  “You can come with us for lunch,” Dad suggested.

  Sami didn’t look thrilled with the suggestion, and I didn’t miss the way she shuddered as a chill that went down her spine. “I think Daddy and I are going to lunch together, just the two of us.”

  That’s what she wanted. It was a nudge. Something about the men made her nervous, and I wanted to encourage her to follow her gut, so I decided to reward her for being polite despite her obvious discomfort. “It is going to be just the two of us,” I agreed, locking gazes with my father. He would argue about the choice, but not in front of his granddaughter. “I promised her we would have special time together this afternoon.”

  “We’re going shopping, too,” Sami announced, causing me to cast her a sidelong look.

  “Don’t push it,” I warned, shaking my head.

  This time the grin she shot me was genuine, and I was glad to see it. “I’ll go in the lounge,” she offered. “Come get me when it’s time for candy.”

  “You’re eating a burger, too.”

  “I’ll put the candy on a burger.”

  “I can live with that.” I waited until she was gone to focus on the other men. “I think introductions are in order,” I prodded my father.

  “Of course.” My father turned serious. “This is Brett Cavendish,” he started. “He sits on the wolf council and has risen through the ranks quite quickly.”

  I studied the man for a long moment. He looked to be about five years older than me, and his exploits were legendary, even making their way down to me despite the fact that I was far removed from the council. I knew what my father was insinuating, although he would never come right out and say it in front of our guests. He wanted to make a point that I could’ve risen through the ranks just as quickly — if not quicker — had I applied myself. If I’d married another wolf and procreated to the point where we were both ready to collapse, I would be where Cavendish was now standing. It wasn’t a position I wanted.

  “That sounds great for you, Mr. Cavendish,” I said smoothly. “More power to you. I don’t understand how you can deal with the politics associated with the council, but I’m in awe because that’s quite impressive.”

  I felt Dad’s eyes on me but refused to meet his gaze. He was annoyed at my response. I was annoyed at his machinations, so I figured we were even.

  “Call me Brett,” Cavendish insisted. “I have a feeling I’m going to be in this area quite a bit the next year or so. It would be better if we’re friendly.”

  Better for whom? That was the first question that popped into my head. Now was not the time to ask it. “Sure. Call me Aric.” I gestured toward my office. “Let’s head that way so we don’t infringe on business. Also, if Sami sees us out here she’ll be more likely to interrupt.”

  “And we can’t have that.” Cavendish nodded once. “Your office sounds like a lovely choice.”

  At first I thought he was joking about Sami interrupting — he had to be, right? — but the look on his face told me otherwise. “Let’s head into the office and make the other introductions there,” I agreed. I was already uncomfortable with the set-up, and my father and I were going to have words before it was all said and done.

  Once in my office, the door shut, my father continued breezing through names. None of them stuck. Cavendish was clearly the central figure in this operation. He was leading the charge. It was time to find out exactly what he wanted. No matter how much I loved my father, I was willing to put up with only so much.

  “Why are you here?” The question came out more abrupt than I’d intended. “I mean ... you clearly have something on your minds,” I added hurriedly. “Is there something specific you’re looking for?”

  Cavendish nodded without hesitation as the other men exchanged looks. Clearly they were surprised by my reaction. Other people may bow down to Cavendish, but I didn’t live my life according to pack rules. I’d created my own pack, and my allegiance was to Zoe and Sami. It was impossible for me to get worked up about this man deigning to visit me.

  “I like a man who gets right to the point,” Cavendish acknowledged, leaning back in his chair. “You’re a businessman who doesn’t have time to waste playing games.”

  Clearly I had time to waste, because I was talking to him. I didn’t say that, though. “I’m merely curious.”

  “Well, then I’ll put a
n end to your curiosity. We want to build a lodge here. In fact, we’ve already found a tract of land that we’re partial to. It’s very close to your property.”

  My heart skipped a beat. “You want to build a lodge here? A permanent lodge?”

  Cavendish nodded. “We have facilities north and south in the state, but the middle is something of a vacuum. We want to change that.”

  “And what would you do at this lodge?” I asked, working overtime to remain calm. The last thing I wanted was a bunch of council representatives crawling up my backside. I preferred being segregated from them. More importantly, I preferred my wife and child be kept separate.

  “It wouldn’t be a big deal,” Cavendish replied. “It would be more for occasional visits. Our hubs are set. Still, this area offers a lot of the things we cherish ... like open land. Plus, you’re here. A new lodge would allow you to participate more often.”

  Ah, there it is. My father came up with this plan ... or at least played a part in its design. He was always complaining because he didn’t feel I spent enough time with the pack. That was a purposeful choice that he refused to accept.

  “Is there a reason you don’t want a lodge here?” Cavendish asked pointedly.

  Before I could answer, I caught sight of a blur of movement through the window that looked out on the store floor. There, Sami happily tumbled as Mike gaily laughed at her antics. I could see Sami’s mouth moving even as she flipped end over end, and I knew she was having a good time.

  Dad glanced over his shoulder and smirked when he saw what caught my attention. “She is a fireball.”

  “She is,” I agreed, my lips curving. “But she’s not supposed to be tumbling indoors.”

  Cavendish made a noise in the back of his throat that signaled annoyance. “I’m assuming that’s a girl thing. I only have boys, so I don’t recognize the behavior.”

  His tone irked. “I think it’s a child thing,” I replied calmly. “We don’t really term things in that manner in our house. Boy thing. Girl thing. It honestly doesn’t matter. Sami doesn’t have gender roles assigned to her.”