Alaskan Alpha: 3-Book Bundle (Books 1-3)

by Hart, Melissa F.

  Slam put the bags in the back of the SUV and then he held open the passenger door for Selena. After she was in, he closed the door and went around and jumped in his side. “You’ll probably want to put your seatbelt on.”

  Selena pulled the belt across her, hoping that wasn’t a warning about Slam’s driving skills. She realized as they got well on their way that it was probably more a testament to the road they were driving. It was a nice, wide four-lane highway but it was quite windy and seemed to be all uphill. Slam was singing very poorly along with the country music on the radio when suddenly he stopped. “You got here just in time for the Burly Bear Festival.” He was grinning from ear to ear so she figured that must be a good thing, or at least in Slam’s eyes it was.

  “What’s a Burly Bear Festival?” Selena asked just to be polite.

  “It’s a big ol’ all-weekend long thing that the whole community gets involved in and tourists come to. It kicks off on Thursday evening with the Miss Burly Bear pageant, held over at the Kodiak High School.”

  Selena tried not to sound like a snob as she said, “Miss Burly Bear? Does she go on to the Miss Alaska pageant after that?”

  He looked like he was thinking about it. , then he said,

  “Nah, I think they mostly do it for the scholarships and rewards. There’s also a best costume contest, and a Burly Bear Princess and Miss Congeniality.”

  Selena congratulated herself on not laughing out loud…yet.

  Then, as if just to tempt her, he said, “On Saturday morning after the 5K foot race, there’s a Slippery Salmon Derby and a Stinky Sneaker Competition.”

  “I’m sorry…I don’t mean to disparage your little town, I really don’t, but a Stinky Sneaker Competition? Really?”

  Slam laughed. “I guess that would sound really strange to someone who didn’t grow up around here.”

  “Just a bit,” she said. “I’m just wondering who judges a thing like that?”

  He laughed again. “Brave souls they are, that’s for sure. I got on the panel of the Dog and owner look-alike contest last year. That was interesting.”

  “I’ll bet. What kind of dog was in the couple that won?”

  “He was an English bulldog, and God help me if Miss Patty didn’t look just like him. I mean they could be blood relatives.”

  Selena was cracking up now. Slam may be a bit unorthodox compared to what she was used to, but she thought she might like him. “So, is Conner a judge for any of these contests?”

  “No, ma’am. Conner’s pretty much all business. He’s been a really serious guy since we were in diapers.”

  “Wow, so you’ve know him a long time?”

  “Yeah, I’ve known him my whole life. Our parents were part of the same…group. So we’ve always spent a lot of time together. Here we are,” he said.

  Selena realized they had been driving for about forty-five minutes, but it didn’t seem like it. Slam had made the windy roads tolerable. She was shocked to find that the company that her boss, an international billionaire, wanted to take over was in a town that looked like it would barely be a blip on the map. The sign they had passed coming into town had said, Welcome to Lazy River. Population 3,657. She had done some research, and she knew the largest city in Alaska held less people than lived in Queens, but she was still a little shocked by it. She did have to admit, however, as she stepped out of the SUV that it was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen, and compared to New York it smelled so fresh.

  “Do you need any of your bags out right now, Miss Ortiz?”

  “I’ve got my briefcase, Slam. That’s all I need for now. Thank you, and please, call me Selena.”

  He smiled and looked like he had something else to say, but he looked up toward the door of the office they were in front of. “Oh, hey, Conner. I’d like to introduce Miss Selena Ortiz.”

  Selena followed Slam’s eyes and saw an incredibly handsome man standing there, looking at her with the oddest colored eyes she had ever seen. He was probably around thirty years old, and tall, at least six three or four, and he had blond hair that didn’t look like he combed and could use a trim, but on him, it looked good. His face sported a two or three-day growth of beard, and then there were his eyes. They weren’t any one color that Selena could put her finger on. They seemed to be changing from one color to the next as he stood there looking at her, and they were surrounded by the longest eyelashes Selena had ever seen on someone who hadn’t paid for them. She guessed it was too soon to judge, but he didn’t look like a guy who would pay for eyelashes.

  “Hi.” She moved toward him with her hand extended. Instead of shaking it, or even saying hello back, he turned back toward the office. “We can talk in here.”

  For a few moments, Selena just stood there, stunned. She glanced over at Slam, who didn’t seem surprised at all.

  Conner opened the door to the office and then turned back toward her. “Are you coming?”

  She shot him a look that was intended to let him know exactly how rude she thought he was, but she followed him in, having to catch the door that he practically let close in her face. What the hell is this guy’s deal?

  He went over to a nondescript desk in a nondescript office and sat down in the chair behind it. Selena, not waiting to be asked since the rude man wasn’t likely to anyway, took the one on the other side.

  “So,” he said. “What’s the plan?”

  “Excuse me, are you serious? This is how you conduct business, really?”

  Conner glanced around the bare office that was little more than a finished cabin. “I’m sure this is not what you’re used to, but you’re not in Manhattan any longer, Toto.”

  “I’m not even talking about your…office, if that’s what you call this. I’m speaking more to the fact that you’re rude and abrupt. I just got off of a nearly eight-hour flight to meet with a man who is….I don’t even have words for it. You’re just rude. I want to make it clear that I won’t tolerate being treated that way.”

  He had the audacity to look amused. “I’m sorry. I had no idea that you wouldn’t tolerate it. Furthermore, I had no idea at all that this was all about you.”

  Selena stood up. She didn’t care if she was in bum-you-know-where-Egypt, she was not going to be treated this way.

  “Where are you going?” Conner asked, still looking amused.

  “I’m going to my hotel, and then I’m taking the first available flight out of here in the morning. This is a joke. I’m not transplanting my entire life for this…fiasco.” She picked up her briefcase and slammed out the door. Conner didn’t move from behind his desk. She was relieved to find Slam was still waiting outside and found it odd that there seemed to be a line of people forming to the side of the wooden porch. “Would you please take me to my hotel, Slam?”

  He looked confused. “Sure Miss…um, Selena. If it’s not my business, you’re welcome to say so but did you and Conner not hit it off?”

  Selena laughed. “I’m sorry, Slam, I know he’s your friend, but that is the rudest man I’ve ever met in my life.” She got in the car and looked out the window just as Conner opened the door and one of the people, an elderly man, went inside.

  “He don’t really mean to be that way,” Slam said, defending his friend. “He’s just got so much responsibility…”

  “Responsibility, huh?” she said. “I didn’t even see a phone in that office. How could he possibly run a business this way? Who are all of those people waiting to see him?”

  “The townspeople. They come to him if they need help, or advice.”

  Selena found that hard to imagine. She could only hope he treated them better than he did her, and she told Slam so.

  “Conner don’t want to sell the business. It’s been in his family for a really long time,” he said in defense of his boss.

  “Then why is he?” Selena asked. She hadn’t read anything in the business documents Daniel gave her that indicated a hostile takeover.

  “The economy is bad,
and just selling local ain’t enough anymore to keep the community running. Mr. Westley, he was good friends with Conner’s parents. He approached him about buying the business three years ago, and Conner said no. Mr. Westley don’t seem like he’s used to being told no, and…well, Conner thinks he had something to do with the decline of his business over the past few years. So, he’s angry, yes. But, he ain’t really got no other choices right now.”

  Selena didn’t respond to that. She wouldn’t put shady business past Lloyd. But she still didn’t think that excused Conner’s bad behavior toward her. They drove in silence the rest of their way to the hotel. Selena was looking out at the town, thinking that although it was so small Manhattan could carry it in her pocket, it was quaint. The people strolling down the sidewalks actually looked happy, and greeted each other when they came face to face. That wasn’t something you saw often on the streets of New York. Then there were the views of the river and the snow-capped mountains, which were really breathtaking. She probably could have gotten used to being here, if the climate had been warmer. She didn’t mean the weather, either.

  When the got to the lovely little inn where she would be staying, Slam unloaded her bags and insisted on carrying them inside for her. She registered, and then he continued to insist on carrying them to her room. She wondered if she should tip him.

  “Slam, what exactly is your job title with Wolves Eat Fish?” She had thought that a strange name at first, but then she had looked at one of her own business cards from I Dream of Fishing, and thought, who am I to throw stones?

  He shrugged. “I don’t really have a title. I’m just Conner’s right hand man. The truth is, a guy like me was born to be an omega, but Conner has made me a beta and for that I will always be grateful.”

  “You guys take your wolf metaphors seriously around here, huh?” she said.

  “You have no idea, Miss Selena.” He took out a business card. “Please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything else, okay?”

  “Sure, Slam,” she said. “Thanks a lot for everything.”

  He grinned again and tipped his lopsided cap at her and then left. Selena went to her purse and got out her own cell phone. She was going to call Daniel and tell him he needed to get her out of here. She had just pressed the call button when there was a knock at her door. Thinking Slam must have forgotten something, she pressed end and went over and pulled it open. It wasn’t Slam, it was Conner.

  “You should really ask who it is. You never know when a wolf will come knocking on the door,” he said, with an actual smile.

  “You’re right,” she said. “But then I’d not have opened the door and let him in.”

  He laughed at that. “Touché. May I come in?”

  She stepped back and let him pass through the door. She found herself wishing that he was as ugly on the outside as he obviously was on the inside. It would be easier to outright dislike him if he wasn’t so pretty. She found herself staring at his lips. She snapped out of it suddenly when he turned to look around the room.

  “What is it I can do for you?” She also wondered how he had made it here so quickly. He had just let someone into his office, and Slam’s vehicle had been the only one parked outside. She supposed his could have been parked out back. Then she realized something else. “Did you change clothes?”

  He grinned at her. His teeth were big and white and perfectly even. “She’s noticing my wardrobe. She does like me,” he said, avoiding the question.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” She doubted that she would ever like this man, although her body was feeling things just looking at him that made her wish she had her “locked-box” with her.

  “I’m here to apologize for my bad behavior.”

  She didn’t say anything, she just held the contact she had with those weird, color-changing eyes of his.

  After several seconds, he said, “Well?”

  “Well what?” she asked.

  “Do you accept my apology, or not?”

  “Oh, you said you came here to give me one. I don’t believe I’ve gotten it just yet.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry if I was…a bit insensitive earlier.”

  “You weren’t “insensitive,” you were rude,” she said.

  “So now we’re going to mince words?” he asked.

  “If you’re going to apologize for something, shouldn’t you apologize for what you actually did?”

  “I’m sorry I was rude. Can we drop it now and talk business?”

  “That was so heartfelt,” she said. “Give me a minute, I’m all choked up.”

  He rolled his eyes again. “Look, this business has been in my family for decades. It supports this entire community. This man…your boss was my father’s friend, supposedly. Now that my father is gone, he respects his memory by a takeover of my company. I get a little angry when I think about it. I am sorry that I took that out on you, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said. “Sit and tell me why you think this is some kind of hostile takeover. I understand it to be our company helping out a smaller company who is struggling to stay alive. You still hold controlling stock in the company, and you will retain your job, as will most of your employees.”

  Conner sat down in one of the wing-backed chairs by the bed. “I went to Lloyd as the son of his deceased friend and asked for help. Taking over my company was his solution.”

  “What were you looking for, Conner? Did you want him to loan you money or give it to you?” Selena asked.

  “No, I’m not looking for a handout. What I wanted was some tips, or advice about how to market better…expand outside of Alaska. We sell a lot of equipment here, but it’s not a big enough state to support us in this economy any longer. Lloyd, in his infinite narcissism, told me that my company needed a “steadier hand” and that he would be willing to buy it from me at an exorbitantly high price, I refused. That was three years ago. Since then, every investor or potential client that I’ve put time into wooing outside of Alaska has turned me down in the end. I think Lloyd is paying them off…or something.”

  “Why are you telling me this? I work for Lloyd. What if I decide to go tell him that you’re saying these things about him?” Selena asked, confused.

  “He knows what I think, I’ve told him to his face. He laughs, but he doesn’t deny it. He doesn’t have to; he’s got what he wanted…my father’s company.”

  “Why is this particular company so important to him? I don’t mean any offense, but I looked at your financials. They’re not all that impressive.”

  “How is that not offensive?” he asked, but with a smile. Then he said, “He doesn’t want the company. He wants to be the Alpha.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Conner had changed the subject then and apologized again. He told her he would “work” on his attitude if she decided to stay. He left without ever explaining what “he wants to be the Alpha,” meant. When he was gone, Selena completed her call to Daniel.

  “Hey, Selena!” he said when he picked up the call. “How is it in the freezing wilderness?”

  “It’s seventy degrees, and I’m in a five-star hotel, so it’s hard to tell. Here’s my problem though, Daniel…Conner.”

  “Is he giving you a hard time already?” he asked.

  “He’s angry with Lloyd. He talks about this like it’s a hostile take-over. Conner still owns controlling stock though, so I’m still confused. I think there is a lot more to this that no one is telling me.”

  “He’s just angry about having to sell his business to stay alive, and he’s taking it out on whoever he can. He’s not the executive type if you haven’t noticed, not much of a schmoozer.”

  “I’ve noticed, thanks. Let me ask you a strange question. Conner said something about Lloyd wanting to be the Alpha. What does that mean?”

  “I have no idea.” But something in Daniel’s voice told Selena that he had every idea and was just choosing not to tell her.

  “I don’t want to be in the
middle of a war here, Daniel.”

  “Don’t worry, Selena. Just do what you do best…get that little company up to code and back out of the red and into the black. You will be handsomely rewarded for that, okay?”

  She sighed. She was here, she may as well try. “I’ll do my best, Daniel.”

  “I knew you would. By the way, I’ll text you a phone number. Call it in the morning and talk to Becca about a house.”

  “Okay,” she said. “It better be a nice one.”

  Daniel laughed. “Take care, Selena. Turn those wolves up there into money making machines.”

  “Daniel, what is with all the wolf references? Is it just about the name, or where the company is? These guys talk about things like Alpha, Beta and Omega. It’s weird.”

  “I have no idea,” he said again before hanging up. Selena hung up, irritated. Daniel and Lloyd expected her to do her job, without having all of the information. She made another call then, to Slam.

  “Hello, Miss Selena. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m hungry Slam, and I hate to eat alone. Would you care to join me for dinner?”

  “Sure, I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he told her.

  Selena thought if anyone would crack and tell her what was going on, it would be Slam. She didn’t want to be in the middle of a pissing contest, and it wasn’t fair of them to ask it of her. She showered off quickly and put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. By the time Slam got there, she was ready to go.

  “What would you like to eat, Miss Selena?” he asked.

  “Whatever is good, Slam. I’m hungry.”

  “There’s a café up yonder called the Grey Wolf. Is that okay?”

  Selena smiled. “That’s fine. Is everything in this town named wolf or wolves?”

  Proving that he had a sense of humor, Slam said, “Everything except the McDonalds, they wouldn’t conform.”

  The diner Slam took her to was authentic Alaska. There was a huge stuffed brown bear that stood at the entrance, and the walls were decorated with the heads of big game. The funniest thing Selena noticed was that there wasn’t a single wolf, anywhere. Selena wasn’t sure if she would be able to eat with hundreds of eyes staring at her. She ordered coffee and a turkey sandwich and Slam ordered a “platter” of ribs. While they waited for their food she said,