North Peak Shifters Box Set

by Haley Weir

  “Mason Sinclair speaking,” he answered.

  “Mr. Sinclair, it’s a surprise hearing from you so soon,” Henrietta said calmly. “Have things been going well with you and Ms. Daniels?”

  “Actually, that’s why I’m calling. I want to undo our deal. You can keep the money. It was a mistake to deny Ms. Daniels the opportunity to work for your company. I was greedy, and I shouldn’t have manipulated the situation.” He sat back down in his chair. “You should hire Ms. Daniels. You said that she was a highly talented person that your company needed to have.”

  Henrietta sighed into the phone. “Mr. Sinclair, the deal is done. You got what you wanted. I can’t take back what has already been done.”

  “And why is that?” he growled. “You seemed eager to hire Ms. Daniels before. What changed?”

  “The rules have already been broken. Ms. Prince has seen other applications, and I’ve explained that Ms. Daniels found another position. Besides, we have hired someone else to fill the position.” She cleared her throat. “If this gets out, I could lose my job. Perhaps you should have thought about what Ms. Daniels might be going through before you decided to do what you did. This is on you.”

  Anger boiled Mason’s blood. She was right, but it wasn’t just on him. What they’d done was a two-way street. Perhaps the situation should come to light. Ms. Price should know how little convincing it took for her employees to make backhanded deals with clients.

  “And what position did Ms. Daniels apply for?” he asked.

  “What are you going to do? Hire her yourself? If she knows the truth, then it’s doubtful she’ll want anything to do with you,” she huffed at him. “Since you’re so curious, she applied for a marketing department position. With her experience, she was definitely overqualified, but these are the things you’ll do when you’re desperate, I suppose. Anyway, good-bye, Mr. Sinclair. Please contact your dating consultant next time you need to speak with us here at Prince Dating Agency.” Without another word, she hung up the phone.

  Mason squeezed the phone, hearing it crack slightly under his grip before setting it down. Henrietta’s words bothered him. Ava hadn’t called or texted. Even if he did offer her a job, she’d probably turn him down. He could always hand the task off to his human resources department, but if she found out that he had a hand in getting her hired, things would only get worse.

  He looked at the open Marketing positions at his company. They’d been looking for a senior director of marketing for some time now, but none of the applicants caught the eye of upper management. He looked at the empty desk outside the window of his office. He hadn’t found a new executive administrative assistant yet either, but he doubted she wanted such an entry-level position with her experience.

  He couldn’t just sit back and ignore his wrongdoing, especially when the need for her skillset was clearly there. He headed down to human resources, talked with them about the positions, and had them write up an offer letter with a generous hiring bonus, if she chose to accept the job.

  He contacted a friend and fellow pack member who worked as a private investigator. “Hey, Alec. It’s been awhile, and I know that’s my fault. But can I ask a favor of you?”

  “Sure you can, Mason. Do I get to ask one back eventually?” Alec chuckled. “What’s the favor?”

  “I need to get in touch with a woman I met named Ava Daniels. I’d really appreciate it if you could find out her address for me?” He needed to talk with Ava directly. She had to know how sorry he was.

  “Hmm… Is this connected to what I’ve heard through the grapevine?” Alec asked, humor still warming his tone.

  What could he possibly have heard? How much of a screw up he was? He was going to do whatever he could to work things out with Ava, but if that didn’t happen…he wasn’t sure what he would do. He’d likely be handed some lower position within the company, neatly tucked away so his father wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. His jaw hurt from clenching his teeth.

  “Not sure what you’re talking about, buddy.” There. That was the truth.

  “Don’t play coy. You know. I’ve heard you have a mysterious lady now. Your brother said you’re dating again. Let me guess. You have a big surprise planned, and you’re too scared to ask her for her address?”

  “Right. I’ve gone out on a couple dates with her. I have something special for her, and you’re right, I’m too scared to ask.” He knew Alec would be able to sense if Mason were lying, so he kept things vague. “When do you think you’ll be able to look up her address for me?”

  Alec flipped through a few pages on his desk. “Ava Daniels, was it? I’m working on something right now, but I’ll get back to you with her address in about an hour or so. Does that sound all right?”

  Mason still had a few hours of work left to complete, so an hour was fine with him. “Yes, thank you, Alec. Maybe we can get together at the yacht over the weekend? Toss back a few beers?”

  Alec chuckled. “Hmm…that does sound like a fair trade to me. I’ll let you buy the beer. You always pick out the good stuff.”

  After they said their goodbyes, Mason felt some of the tension radiating through his body start to evaporate. He smirked; relieved at least something was going right. Things at work went well for Mason throughout the rest of the day. Before grabbing some lunch, Mason popped into Liam’s office to chat.

  “So, how did things go last night with your new girlfriend? I told you to give the dating agency a shot.” Liam leaned forward, and waggled his eyebrows.

  Mason shook his head. “Come on. Liam, let’s not talk about that now. We’re at work. We should focus on work.” Besides, he knew he couldn’t lie to his brother. If Liam spread the word to their dad, it would be the beginning of the end for him. His father could decide to just cut him loose and disown Mason.

  “You should open up to me, big brother.” Liam looked around conspiratorially. “Last time I heard, we’re in charge of this company. I think it’d be okay if we talked about your personal life for a second. It’s not like we’re going to get fired,” He gave Mason a goofy grin.

  “I know it’s okay to talk about our personal lives occasionally, but I’m not ready to discuss this with you. Did you need my notes about the fourth quarter plans?” He stood up, looking briefly at his phone—nothing yet from Alec—before returning his attention back to his brother. “I’ll talk to you later tonight.” He turned away from Liam, but waited for his brother’s response.

  “No, I’m all good. I think that’s about it.” He sighed. “I know you’re probably not comfortable talking about this kind of thing, especially with Dad being so hard on you. Just know that if you need to talk with someone, I’m here, you know? But later tonight isn’t good. I’m going to be spending the night at my girlfriend’s house. We’re going to watch that new Netflix movie with Paul Rudd. Maybe tomorrow?”

  Mason turned back to his brother and nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate it. We’ll catch up soon. Have fun tonight.” He waved to Liam and headed back to his office, and felt his phone buzz when he closed the door. Alec sent him the address.

  Determined not to waste any more time, he headed out to his SUV. The drive to Ava’s house was fairly long, and he was starting to wonder if he was going in the right direction. The houses in this area weren’t the greatest, but from what Henrietta said about Ava, and what Ava said herself, it seemed like she was going through a rough patch.

  He pulled up, doubled checked the address, and looked at her house. It was a little rundown, but it looked like she took care of the place. The curtains moved in the window, and he saw her peek through. He stepped out of his car and walked up to the front door.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The rumble of an engine outside drew Ava’s attention to the window. It was a little late to be the mailman. Besides, how many more Past Due notices she could get before they would shut off the lights on her and carried her out of her house kicking and screaming? Still, the sound was worth investigating. She cou
ldn’t believe her eyes when she saw a shiny, black SUV pulling up in front of her house. Who in the world was that...?

  The darkly tinted windows made it hard to make out the driver, but her heart skipped a beat when Mason got out of the car. What was he doing here? She didn’t know how to feel. It had been yet another day of applications, follow up calls, and no success. It wasn’t exactly the perfect ‘tomorrow will be a new day’ shtick she’d told herself last night. Part of her was happy to see Mason walking up to her front door, even if the other part thought she was crazy to care about him at all after what he’d done.

  Then again, she had spoken with Isabella Grace about what happened and had received a return call from Ms. Prince herself. Apparently, Henrietta was no longer working for the company. Ms. Prince said she planned to speak with Mason about removing his profile. She was no longer interested in doing business with him.

  Strangely enough, Ava had rebuffed that last part. She’d told Ms. Prince that she didn’t want his chance at finding love to be thrown away because of her. The call ended pleasantly, even if the marketing position had already been given to someone else. Ms. Prince said Ava would be considered if another position were to open up.

  Mason pulled a dozen white roses from the car along with a manila folder that he tucked under his arm. He was wearing a suit. This didn’t make any sense. She contemplated pretending she wasn’t home or not, but thought better of it. Hiding hadn’t solved anything for Ava.

  He knocked on the door. Her heart pounded in her chest.

  She looked around her living room, making sure there wasn’t anything there that could embarrass her, like a melted carton of ice cream, or yesterday’s sundress lying in the hallway. She ran around frantically straightening up everything she could.

  “Just a minute!” she called, hoping he could hear her. When she was done picking up, she looked over at her progress. Not bad, all things considered.

  She opened the door and leaned against the frame, trying desperately to hide how flustered she felt. She looked at his face, to the flowers, and then toward the envelope in his hands again. “Hi.”

  “Hi Ava. Sorry for coming by unannounced. You had every right to ignore my texts, but I need to talk to you.” Mason’s nervousness helped strengthen Ava’s wavering confidence.

  “How did you find out where I live? I didn’t give you my address,” she said accusingly, and crossed her arms across her chest.

  “My friend is a private investigator. He helped me out.” He looked down at the roses. “These are for you, by the way.” He glanced back up at her after a few moments.

  Ava sighed, feeling her emotional walls softening a bit. “Thank you.” She accepted the roses he was holding out for her, and stepped aside to invite him in. “Come inside. Let’s not talk on the porch.” She peeked over to see her elderly neighbors craning their necks to get a better look. When she saw them staring, they waved. “My neighbors are pretty chatty, especially when it comes to everyone else’s business.”

  Mason waved to the neighbors as well before walking inside after her. “Let’s not give them anything else to chat about then.” He stood in the doorway, looking around her living room uncomfortably. He was trying to respect her boundaries, both emotionally and physically.

  “Have a seat, if you want. I’m going to put these in water.” She headed for the kitchen, and took a few quiet, deep breaths to help soothe some of her frazzled nerves. She grabbed a vase from under the sink and filled it with water before dropping the flowers in. When she turned around, she nearly dropped the vase. Her heart pounded in her chest at the sight of him leaning against the doorframe, watching her walk around the kitchen. “You scared me! But I guess should’ve anticipated that. You are quite stealthy.”

  A smirk tugged at the corners of Mason’s lips. “Guilty.” The smile faded after a moment. “Anyways, I know it’s probably awkward having me here, but I wanted to try and make things right with you. I couldn’t just let our last conversation be the end of things.” He lowered his gaze for a moment before looking her in the eyes. “I called the Prince Dating Agency earlier today and spoke with Henrietta Douglas. She wouldn’t take back our agreement. She said she didn’t want to get in trouble, and that they’d already hired someone else. Ava, I-”

  Ava held up a hand to stop him. “I spoke with Ms. Prince today. She assured me that Henrietta no longer works for Prince Dating Agency. She already told me the position was filled.” Sadness filled her as she said the words out loud. That made it real. If none of this had happened, she would have a job right now. She could’ve already been working and on her way to paying her bills. Now she didn’t know what she was going to do.

  Mason cocked his head to the side. “I see. Did she say anything else?”

  “She told me she’d speak with you about canceling your service. I told her not to do that. I don’t fully blame you for what happened. I feel betrayed by Henrietta, to be honest. She seemed like the kind of person I could trust. She had no real regard for my feelings or situation. It just isn’t fair.” Her calm façade was cracking under the weight of her emotions. She tried to regain her composure.

  A large hand gently rested on her shoulder, and she felt herself relax a little. “I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am, Ava.” He set the manila envelope on the counter in front of her. “I understand if you need to say no, but Henrietta mentioned you were highly skilled and applying for a marketing position. My company has an opening if you’re interested.”

  Ava wasn’t sure what to think about that. Was he doing this out of pity? He sounded genuine. She looked him in the eyes, and his sincerity made her heart feel like it was being squeezed. She wanted so badly to give him a hug, but her gaze rested on the envelope once more. “You haven’t even seen my resume. You don’t know if she was making that up or not.”

  “I doubt it. You are an incredible woman, Ava. Go ahead and open the envelope.” He stood behind her so close she could almost feel his body heat. It warmed her, and gave her the courage to forge ahead.

  She stared down at the papers inside, and her eyes widened. Was this real? Were her eyes playing tricks on her? She chewed on her lower lip as she read through the offer letter line by line. He wanted her to be the senior director of marketing? She’d been on track for that position at her old company. She flipped to the next page to see that there was a sign-on bonus if she chose to accept. Her eyes widened even more when she saw how generous it was.

  He placed a check on the counter. “All you need to do say yes and drive to the bank. I’m doing this because I care and I think you have what it takes, not because of any ulterior motives. If you never want to see me again, I’d understand and respect that.”

  What he’d given her was more than just a job. This was a chance for her to rebuild her life. She wasn’t about to shut him out of her life completely after he’d done this for her. “I wasn’t happy with what you did. But I know you didn’t do it because you were trying to be a jerk. You just made a bad decision because you wanted to get to know me. From the moment we met, I wanted to know you too. Thank you for coming by and apologizing. I...” She looked down at his chest, gathering the words to say. “I forgive you, and yes, I’d be happy to work for you.” She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and met his gaze.

  “It was wrong of me to manipulate the situation like that. I should’ve asked for your number rather than being stubborn and costing you the job. Thank you for agreeing to work at my family’s company,” he continued. After a beat, he shuffled his feet, unsure what he should do next. “I...suppose I should be going now?”

  “Actually, could I ask a small favor?” she said. Regardless of everything, she didn’t want him to go. And he could help her start getting her life back together, starting now.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Sure, anything. Tell me what I can do.”

  “My car was repossessed last night when I came home. Do you mind taking me by the bank so I can deposit it?
Maybe we can grab some lunch too?”

  “I’d be happy to. And if you need any help getting your car back, I can help you. I’m actually…on vacation from work for a while. Whatever you need, I’ll do what I can to help you.” He pulled her in for a gentle hug. Having his arms around her was so comforting. It was as if she didn’t have to worry about danger, and Mason would keep all the predators away.

  “Thank you. Sounds like a date,” she said, smiling up at him.

  He grinned back, but then his face became deadly serious again. “There’s one more thing I should tell you since we’re…clearing the air.”

  Ava’s heart sank. That didn’t sound good. What if he was married, or a criminal? “Go on. Tell me. The suspense is killing me,” she said.

  “I’m a werebear. You know, like a werewolf, except a bear...” He watched her as if expecting her to start struggling and running away. But Ava knew he was joking. He had to be joking. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “I...” She laughed, unable to hold it in. “No, not really. Werewolves aren’t real. They’re the stuff of folklore and horror movies. You scared me, you weirdo,” she said, and rested her head against his chest. After a few seconds, she realized Mason wasn’t laughing along with her. “Wait, you’re serious?” She leaned back to look up at him.

  “I’m serious. I don’t want to hide anything else from you, especially something this important. If you want, I can introduce you to my bear. He’s liked you ever since I first met you. That’s pretty rare.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek.

  “Um, yeah. Okay,” she responded skeptically.

  He cupped her cheek. “I’m serious, okay? You can’t tell anyone else about this. That’s really important. Do you understand?”

  Either he was the best actor in the world, or Mason was telling her the truth. She had never seen him act this intense before, even when it seemed like he would never see her again. This was a big secret, and trusted her with it. Still, she needed to see it to believe him. To trust that he wasn’t just trying to pull some very elaborate prank on her. But that did not seem like Mason. She decided to take the plunge.