Her father spoke again. “I think you’re overreacting right now, honey. We all are. Everyone’s pointing fingers at everyone else this morning. It’s natural. The blame game has got to stop, starting with you. Sit on this for a few days.” He sounded just like her brother Isaiah. “Let’s see what develops before you accuse your mate of sabotage.”
When her father referred to Alton as her mate, she stopped breathing. Neither of her parents had flinched at the idea. They seemed to be taking it in stride. Their only concern was for the health of her relationship. Not one judgment had been passed over her choice in mates.
In her heart, however, her parents had never been her biggest concern. It was the rest of the pack that worried her. Several aunts and uncles and cousins were determined to badmouth the Tarbens for the rest of their lives. The feud had gotten so out of hand it was ridiculous.
But Joselyn couldn’t do anything about that. She needed to worry about herself from now on. Her happiness. Her sanity.
With or without Alton Tarben at her side, she needed to stop living a lie and face the music. Telling her brother and now her parents was a start. She didn’t need to get carried away today of all days. But soon she needed to come out of hiding and out herself. Even if she never saw Alton again in her life, she wouldn’t go to her grave with this damn secret. To hell with everyone’s stupid quarrel with the Tarbens.
»»•««
Alton picked up his phone for the tenth time in less than an hour.
Nothing. No response from Joselyn.
He’d texted her a blank message the first five times, and then he’d said fuck it and typed actual words at least five times also.
Call me.
Are you okay? That one was a joke.
You’re scaring me.
Jos, please.
Jos?
After several hours, he’d also called several times. The phone went to voicemail every single time. It rang four times and then he heard her sweet, gentle voice. “You’ve reached Jocelyn Arthur with Glacial Brewing Company. I’m sorry I’m not available to take your call. Please leave your name and number after the tone, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
He was close to total panic.
When Austin popped his head in at lunchtime, Alton shot him a glare that would have frozen a mere mortal to stone.
Austin winced. He eased inside, shut the door, and leaned against it. “I take it she isn’t happy.”
Alton narrowed his gaze. “Worse. She isn’t answering my texts or calls.”
“Well, what did you expect? I’m sure she’s busy scrambling around trying to come up with a new business model. She’s the marketing director, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then she’s been in meetings all day planning how to repair the damage and what to do in response.”
“You’re right.” Alton took a deep breath. It made sense. Of course, she was busy. And she’d undoubtedly never had a moment alone.
“I wouldn’t worry. Not for a while, anyway. Maybe tonight. If she hasn’t called by this evening, then you can get concerned. In the meantime, come to the break room. Dad ordered a spread of sandwiches to celebrate.”
Alton nodded. “I’ll be there in a few.” He needed to compose himself. His nerves were wearing on him. He wouldn’t be able to fully relax until he spoke to Joselyn and knew for certain she wasn’t ready to string him up by the balls and light him on fire.
It was business. That’s all it was.
She had to understand that. Right?
It wasn’t like this launch was going to put Glacial Brewing Company out of business. Sure, it might hurt their bottom line while they recuperated in the short run, but that was to be expected. They’d bounce back.
Was he kidding himself? What did he know about the dealings at Glacial Brewing Company? For all he knew, they’d been hanging on by a thread, and this product launch would seal their fate. He had no idea what their bottom line looked like.
Granted, if things had been that bad at work, Joselyn would have said something, wouldn’t she? Maybe not. But she at least would have been worried. She’d never given him any impression business was anything but status quo.
Alton stuffed his concerns to the back of his mind and stood to join his family now celebrating in the break room. None of them, except Austin, had the first clue how detrimental this entire thing could be for him and his mate.
It wasn’t until later that night that Alton really freaked out.
Several more calls had gone to voicemail and still not a single peep from Jos. Was she that mad?
He sat in the living room of his lonely apartment and flipped the remote around in his hand, not caring that he hadn’t turned on the television.
He debated getting in his Explorer and going straight to her parents’ house. To hell with what anyone thought. He needed to see her. Touch her.
Instead, he talked himself out of it. Who knew how her parents would ultimately react to them binding on a good day? But today was not the day to throw Joselyn under the bus in front of her family.
Maybe Jos was still at the office. It was possible. However, no matter what, it wasn’t reasonable that by now she hadn’t seen all his texts and heard his messages.
She might have been extremely busy the entire day. He didn’t doubt that. But at this hour, almost nine o’clock, there was no way to avoid admitting she was ignoring him.
He lifted the remote in the air and threw it hard against the far wall.
If this damn launch ruined his relationship with Joselyn, he would never forgive himself.
If he had never agreed to return to Silvertip after university in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. The two of them would be living blissfully happy anywhere but here.
Maybe they wouldn’t have their families, but they would have each other, and that was all that mattered in the end.
Chapter Thirteen
Joselyn rolled onto her side, hugging her pillow against her chest, staring at her phone. She’d thumbed through the texts from Alton a hundred times. She’d listened to his messages several times also.
Something didn’t add up. His voice was strained, but he didn’t sound like he expected them to be over because of this.
She wasn’t ready to face him yet, not even by phone. She was exhausted and wrung out from stress and crying.
Even though she hadn’t come out of her office a single time that day, she’d heard all the news from her family as they scrambled around in meetings, trying to decide what to do. The biggest problem was that someone leaked information to the Tarbens. That wasn’t deniable. The question? Did they do it inadvertently or intentionally?
Joselyn certainly didn’t intentionally share company secrets. She could have done it accidentally if Alton snooped through her phone at some point while she wasn’t paying attention over the last few months, but that idea was so far-fetched that it meant her entire relationship was a farce and had been for years. She couldn’t swallow that anymore twelve hours later than she had this morning.
The passage of time had made her see reason. And her parents had talked her down over dinner, rationalizing that Alton wouldn’t be texting and calling if he truly meant her family harm.
Joselyn set her phone on the nightstand and tried to get comfortable in her bed. No position provided relief from her mental strain, and no amount of tossing and turning permitted sleep. It wasn’t until the early morning hours that she finally slipped into a fitful slumber, and then only to be yanked awake soon after by the same nightmare she always had.
Shaking violently and sweating as if she’d been for a run, she finally gave up and headed for the shower. At the ridiculous hour of eight o’clock, she wandered into the kitchen.
Her mother looked up from the table, shocked. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
Rosanne sighed. “Did you call him?”
“No.” Joselyn grabbed an apple from the counter
and tossed it around in her hand, trying to decide if her stomach would tolerate it. Deciding against the plan, she set it back in the basket.
Hands still shaking, she headed for the coffee pot next, poured herself a mug, and added cream and sugar.
Her mother was staring at her when she joined her at the table. “Hon…”
“Don’t, Mom. I need to do this my way.”
“If he loves you, he didn’t do this. There are so many other possibilities. We employ fifty people, Jos. Any one of them could have caused the leak. We may never even know who it was if it wasn’t intentional. It happened. I don’t want to see you torturing yourself over it.”
Joselyn nodded slowly, twisting her mug around on the table and staring at the contents. “I think the key to everything is the big if. I’m afraid to ask the questions. I realize there’s no way in hell Alton maliciously plotted to destroy our company. But I can’t figure out a plausible way he didn’t at least know about it. I’m just not ready to face it, so I haven’t called him. I’m chicken.”
“And you don’t think the fact that he’s called you several times tells you something?”
“How do I know he isn’t trying to grovel? I don’t think I could take it if he looked me in the eye and told me he knew his brewery was planning to sabotage mine. It would kill me. I’m putting off the confrontation.”
Her mother set her hand on Joselyn’s. “How do any of us ever know for sure what’s in another person’s heart? Faith is all we have. Now, I’m gonna assume you’ve had a serious relationship with Alton Tarben for a while.”
Joselyn’s face heated. “Are you mad I didn’t tell you?”
“No. Not at all. You’re a grown woman. You can make your own decisions. And I know you have a level head and will make the right ones for you. I’m just sorry you didn’t trust me as your mother to love you no matter what.”
Joselyn sighed. “It wasn’t you or Dad I was worried about. It was the entire extended family. I planned on joining the family business my whole life. Alton planned to join his family’s brewery too. So, faced with the possibility it might not happen if people knew we were together, we were too scared to out ourselves.”
Her mother’s face was pained, her eyes watery on her daughter’s behalf. “I’m so sorry, hon. I can’t imagine what the past few years have been like for you, but I want you to know Dad and I love you very much. We only want you to be happy. And we’re reasonable enough to realize this ridiculous feud between the families is just that—ridiculous.
“I’m not saying it won’t be hard, for either of you. Some people will freak out and show their true colors. But let them. It’s time the Arthurs and the Tarbens put their differences to bed, anyway.”
Joselyn smiled. For the first time in twenty-four hours, she felt like she might live. Now she just needed the balls to call Alton.
She vowed to do so later that night. After work. He was undoubtedly already at the office himself, and she had a policy of not contacting him while he was working.
»»•««
Alton was staring unseeing at his computer and had been for the entire morning when someone tapped on the doorframe and caused him to jerk his gaze toward the entrance. His father leaned into the room. “Austin and I are headed to Glacial. Come with us?”
“Why?” He sat up straighter, knowing his face had gone white.
“Bernard called. He’s fit to be tied. I don’t want precarious relations between us to go in the wrong direction over this launch.”
“And you think they’ll permit you to set foot in their building?”
Allister smirked. “I told him we were coming just before he hung up on me.”
Alton blew out a long breath and leaned back in his chair, tipping his head to the ceiling.
Allister stepped all the way inside and shut the door. “What’s going on with you? You haven’t come out of your office more than a few times in the last twenty-four hours. And now I find you looking like death warmed over. Did you even go home last night? Did you sleep?”
His father continued into the room slowly. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you aren’t happy about this launch.” He pulled a chair out across from Alton and sat.
Alton looked at his father, not quite sure what he wanted to say. Where to begin.
It was time.
He cleared his throat. “Joselyn Arthur is my mate.”
Allister nodded slowly. “Ah. That explains things.” He didn’t yell or even flinch. “Does she know?”
That made Alton laugh, which felt good in a bizarre way. “Yes.”
“Have you spoken to her?”
He shook his head. “Not since the launch. She’s not taking my calls.”
His father cringed. “I can see how that would be hard. Have you told anyone else?”
“Austin knows. Nuria figured it out.”
“You should be the one to tell your mother.”
Alton nodded. “I’ll do that now. Is she in her office?”
“Yes.”
Alton stood, wiping his palms on his pant legs. He felt like a kid, needing to confess to some crime to his parents. Drugs. Stealing. Something.
Allister stood at the same time. “Take a few minutes. Austin and I will meet you in the truck.”
Alton left the room first. He headed down the hall toward his mother’s office, feeling slightly nauseous. It wasn’t from worrying about her reaction. He knew her to be a reasonable woman who wouldn’t judge him. What he hated most was how long he’d kept this secret from his parents. From the world, really.
When he rounded the corner, she was standing behind her desk shuffling papers together as if she’d either just stepped into the room or was about to leave. “Mom.”
She glanced up, her face falling as she took in his expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” He shook his head. “I need to tell you something.”
She pointed at the entrance. “Shut the door.” And then she rounded the desk and sat on the front edge of it. Her expression was hard to read, but if he wasn’t mistaken, she looked pleased with herself, not concerned. “Go ahead.”
He tipped his head to one side, wondering about her odd behavior. “I’m in love with Joselyn Arthur.”
A smile spread across her face as her shoulders lowered. “I know.”
“What?” He winced.
She smiled broader and shrugged. “I’ve known a long time. I didn’t want to pry into your business. I figured you’d tell us when you were ready. I imagine this launch has put a strain on your relationship? Is she mad?”
He chuckled sardonically. “Who would know? Judging from her total silence, I’m going to assume so.”
Beth scrunched up her face. “I’m so sorry. Go to her.”
He nodded. “I’m going to Glacial with Dad and Austin now. Hopefully, she’ll talk to me.”
His mother pushed off the side of the desk and came to him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. “It’ll work out. This will blow over. I’m sure of it.”
“How did you know?” he asked the top of his mother’s head, returning her hug and absorbing a rare embrace between a mother and grown son.
“When you were a sophomore at U of C, I came to visit you one Saturday early in the year. That would have been the first semester Joselyn was in school. You gave me a tour of your new apartment. As soon as I stepped in, I could scent a woman.”
Alton smiled. Of course.
“I didn’t say anything, and I must have stayed longer than you expected me to because when I left, on the way down the hallway, I passed her. She kept her head down and didn’t make eye contact, rushing briskly to get past me, but I recognized her scent, and I knew who she was.”
“Jesus, Mom. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“It wasn’t my business.” She released her son and stepped back, patting his arm. “I knew you would do the right thing for you when the timing was right.”
“And Dad
? You never told him.”
“Nope. Never told a soul.”
Alton wiped a hand over his face. “Well, the timing is now. I’m not waiting any longer. We’ve put our family loyalty first for too many years. It’s coming between us. I intend to bind her to me at the first opportunity no matter what the consequences are. I just hope it’s not too late.”
Beth smiled again. “The draw to bind is strong. It makes me sad you’ve been keeping it at bay for so many years over a sense of family loyalty, but you know I’ll always love you no matter what you do. And so will your father.”
“Yes. Thanks, Mom.” Alton swallowed back emotion as he backed out of the room.
Why the fuck had he waited to claim his woman for so many years?
Oh, right. Because the reception he was about to encounter from the rest of his pack wouldn’t be as warm and fuzzy as the response he’d gotten that morning from his mother and father and two nights ago from Austin.
Fuck the weekend. By the end of this day, he intended to convince his mate to bind herself to him. They would just have to deal with the fallout as it came at them.
Now he needed to convince her to even speak to him.
Chapter Fourteen
Joselyn was staring out the window of her office when a noise behind her made her flinch. Before she turned her head, she knew he was there. How had she been so preoccupied that she hadn’t sensed him?
He was leaning against the doorframe, but he stepped all the way inside when she turned. She shook herself a little, trying to piece her thoughts together. Alton was there. In her office. In her family’s brewery. Where he most certainly didn’t belong.
She glanced past him, still too confused to speak. His broad frame filled the space though, and she wished that were the only thing she noticed about him. But of course, as usual, when she set her eyes on him, he sucked the air out of her lungs. He was so damn attractive. The way his hair fell over his forehead. The way he licked his full lips. His fingers were tucked in his pockets—just the tips.
Grizzly Secret (Arcadian Bears Book 3) Page 14