His eyes, though. They were narrowed with concern. “Your mother led me to your office.” His voice was low. Deep. Sad. And he reached behind himself to shut the door.
The snick made her flinch, and she pulled her cardigan around her shoulders and crossed her arms as if she were cold. Maybe she was. The chill she felt toward him was real, but it was slowly dissipating the longer he stood yards from her.
“You didn’t return my calls. Or my texts.” He rubbed his forehead with three fingers and his thumb as if trying to solve a mystery.
Her breath hitched.
He stepped closer.
Her body betrayed her by reacting to his proximity the way it always did—knees going weak, desire flooding her system. It would seem that no matter what he did, she would still find herself attracted to him. How much sense did that make? If he were a knife-wielding serial killer, would she still feel the urge to jump into his arms?
He was in her space now. So close she had to tip her head back to meet his gaze. “Did you know about this?” Above all else, the one thing driving her insane was thinking he maliciously set out to hurt her family.
He cocked his head to one side, his gaze narrowing further.
Her voice rose as she took a step backward, pressing into the window. The cold surface was welcoming. Grounding. It seeped through her jeans, making her clench her butt muscles. “Did you know?” she repeated.
He licked his lips. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking. I’m the head of engineering. Almost nothing happens inside the brewery without my knowledge. Let alone a new product launch. Of course, I knew. And I was worried about how you’d react, but I have to say I wasn’t half as concerned as I obviously should have been. It’s business, Jos. Nothing else.”
“Business? Are you fucking kidding me?” She tried to keep her voice soft so no one in the hallway would hear her but probably failed.
He winced. “We agreed not to discuss business. Ever. That was our arrangement. What was I supposed to do? Tell my family not to create a new product because it might piss off my secret girlfriend?”
She felt the heat rush up her face. What was happening? How had things gone so wrong between them that he seemed like a total stranger all the sudden?
Alton spun around, running a hand through his hair. With his back to her, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Was he nervous? Good.
Suddenly he froze, his head turning to the left toward the small conference table where all her hard work from the last few months lay spread out. The pile of papers and ads and posters that had glistened with hope and excitement two days ago now appeared to mock her as if it was old news. Useless. Trash. Out of style. Not keeping with the times.
Alton lurched forward and grabbed the ad on the top of the pile. He held it up, grasping it with both hands. As he faced to the side, she could read his expression. His eyes were wide. His hands shook. His mouth hung open. The scent of shock and confusion filled her office.
This was the first time since they’d left U of C he’d ever seen her work up close, she realized. Maybe he was stunned by her skills?
The bright yellows and oranges that dripped from glistening clear bottles, bubbling with promise, made her glance away.
He spun back to face her, holding the page in the air and shaking it. “What’s this?”
She frowned, glancing at him only fleetingly. And then she turned back toward the window, putting her back to him, saying nothing.
“Joselyn, did you do this?”
“Of course I did. I’m the marketing manager. It’s my job.” What the hell was wrong with him? He acted like he didn’t expect to find ads lying around in the marketing office of his competitor a week before a launch. Was he insane?
“But…” his voice trailed off. A slight rustling followed by the sound of chair legs scraping across the floor told her he had undoubtedly taken a seat. “Fuck.”
The one word made her jump in her skin. Why was he acting so strange?
Papers shuffled against each other on the table. He was riffling through her work. Ordinarily, this would infuriate her. He had no business looking at trade secrets.
But her months of hard work were hardly trade secrets, were they?
“These are dated next Monday,” he pointed out as if by chance she was unaware of her own launch—the one so callously ruined by his brewery. After all, to quote him, it was just business.
“You have an excellent grasp of the modern calendar and days of the week. Congrats.”
Before the last words dripped sarcastically from her lips, he was up and moving quickly across the floor. She braced herself for the impact his touch would have on her. Because she knew for certain he was about to set his hands on her.
He grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around so quickly she almost lost her balance. But he didn’t let her fall. He pinned her to the window, his sad eyes searching hers. “Shit, Jos.”
It was at that moment the puzzle pieces fell into place. “You didn’t know.”
His face jerked back. “No. Of course not. I knew my family was developing a new product. I hated keeping that from you. But I certainly didn’t realize your brewery was doing essentially the same thing.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Seriously?”
“Jesus, Jos. Is that why you wouldn’t take my calls? Because you thought I stole company secrets from you and rushed to slam a baseball bat to the backs of your knees?”
She lifted her face to his. “I didn’t know what else to think. It wasn’t that I thought you personally rummaged through my stuff and emulated it, but someone in your pack did. It’s a little hard to believe you didn’t know. How is that possible?” Something didn’t add up. “Obviously someone in my pack leaked our release to someone in your family. There’s no other explanation. The product and all the marketing are nearly identical. It’s like someone hacked my computer and shared every detail of our planned launch.”
“It would certainly appear that way, but you have to believe it wasn’t me. I’ve never once touched your phone or computer. Ever. I swear.” His eyes searched hers. “And, whoever did this never told anyone inside my brewery that the product development was stolen. I didn’t know. I’m telling you there’s no way my immediate family is aware of this. They aren’t that vindictive.”
She tried to process everything he said, her face probably going white as all the heat rushed from her cheeks. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” He closed his eyes. “I’m guilty of keeping the launch from you, yes. That’s business. Though it did put a sour taste in my mouth that worried me more every day as we grew closer to the launch. I hated knowing my company was about to do something that would harm the bottom line of yours. Made my skin crawl.
“In fact, I vowed to myself to leave the brewery as soon as this damn launch was over. I thought it was prudent for me to see it through after being in on the development from the beginning, but my plan was to quit this weekend after we told our parents about us.”
“My parents know about us. I told them yesterday,” she admitted.
He gave her the first half smile of the day. “Yeah, I figured that when your mother met me at the front desk and then wordlessly nodded over her shoulder and led me to your office.”
“I was…distraught yesterday. I told them.”
“Mine know too.”
She winced. “Were they mad?”
“Not at all. That doesn’t mean the battle’s over. It’s just beginning, but we will get through it and come out stronger on the other side. I promise.” He kissed her lips gently, the contact making her body come alive. Her breasts tightened. Her breath caught in her throat.
“So there’s a mole, but whoever it is didn’t tell you.”
He chuckled, though she thought he should be angry with her for being so suspicious and accusatory. She cocked her head to one side. “I doubted you.” There was no reason to deny it. What a bitch.
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s gonna
get under my skin when I stop to think about it later, but for now I’m just glad we cleared the air. I can understand why you would think I had to have known, but the answer is no. I didn’t know the entire product launch was stolen from you. I didn’t know until I picked up that ad, noticing how eerily similar it was to ours.”
She believed him. She had to.
His next words were spoken into her mind. “I’m so sorry, baby. This royally sucks.”
She continued out loud. “If you didn’t know, then I guess there are others who didn’t know. How many people knew? Hell, how many people inside my company knew?” She gripped his biceps with both hands and squeezed. “We have to tell my dad.”
He nodded, hesitating only a moment to kiss her lips again, more thoroughly than before. Enough to make her remember who he was to her and vice versa. She’d been so stupid.
“My dad’s with him now. I’ve got to assume he’s as stunned as I am. Lead the way.” He swept out his hand and angled them toward the door.
∙•∙
When Alton stepped into the Glacial boardroom behind his mate, he was shocked to find his father and brother in a shouting match with several of Joselyn’s family members.
Bernard Arthur stood at the head of the table, leaning against the surface with both palms. “You expect me to believe you had nothing to do with this, Allister? You had no knowledge that we were in the middle of launching virtually the same malt beverage?”
“That’s what I’m saying.” Alton’s father stood to one side of the table, totally outnumbered with no one by his side except his other son, Austin.
Meanwhile, six other members of the Arthur family sat lounging around the opposite side of the table looking fit to kill.
Alton didn’t blame them. Until they got to the bottom of things, tensions were going to run high. But he also didn’t want to witness a complete dressing down of his father, either.
“Dad,” Joselyn began, “they didn’t know.”
Bernard jerked his gaze toward his daughter and stared at her. His shoulders slumped as Alton realized her father trusted her, and by default him.
Alton set a hand softly on her lower back, unsure how outed she was willing to be. There was no way to keep their relationship a secret any longer, but it was also possible she didn’t intend to draw attention to herself this very moment in the company boardroom.
He, for one, had a rush of emotion running through him that insisted he put the ridiculous farce to bed. But he wouldn’t make that choice for her.
Joselyn shocked him to death, however, when she leaned into him for support, turned more fully toward his side, and set her palm on his chest. “They didn’t know,” she repeated.
A hush fell over the room. Six sets of wide eyes bore into Alton’s. He cleared his throat, ignoring the looks of shock and outrage. “Obviously someone must have known. Someone in our brewery knew. But keep in mind that means there’s a chance you have a mole.” He glanced at his father, seeing the relief on his face.
Allister stepped forward and tapped his fingertips on the table. “I’ll get to the bottom of this. You have my word.” He held up a hand when Bernard started to interrupt. “Believe me. I know what you’re thinking. Perhaps you’re right. Maybe one of my pack members broke into your brewery and stole company secrets. I’ll grant it’s possible. But do me the favor of considering there’s a possibility the culpability lies inside these walls.” He turned around and nodded toward his sons. “Let’s go.”
Alton followed behind Austin and his father, but he slid his hand into Joselyn’s at the same time, luring her into the hallway.
When they were out of the boardroom, Allister turned around, his eyes going to Joselyn. He gave her a slow smile and a wink but said nothing.
Alton’s heart pounded with relief, and he felt the warmth that spread through Joselyn at the same time, her hand clenching his.
Allister and Austin continued walking, escorted by some member of the Arthur family Alton didn’t know.
Alton halted, though, heedless of the fact that the wall to the boardroom was made of glass and everyone inside was watching at a low growl. He took Joselyn’s face in his hands. “I have to go. I have work to do. You do too. But tonight you’re mine. Got it? My place. Dinner. Seven o’clock.” He closed the distance between them and set his lips on her ear. “Don’t plan on going home.”
She shuddered in his arms. “Seven.”
He smiled, a giant weight lifting off his shoulders.
Someone inside the room roared with unintelligible words.
Alton lifted a brow. “On second thought, maybe I should take you with me?”
She shook her head. “I can handle them. My parents are on my side.” She gave him a strained smile.
He frowned. Leaving her with her angry pack wasn’t something he wanted to do, but his father was probably pacing the lobby waiting for him. There was a lot of work to do. At the very least, someone inside his pack stole or was given trade secrets from the competitor.
∙•∙
“You bitch. You smug bitch.” Joselyn winced at the tone and the words as she stood in the hall, still staring at the spot where Alton had disappeared around the corner. She knew the words were directed at her, just as she also knew her father would lose his marbles over the behavior. With her head held high and her shoulders squared, she reentered the room.
“Not another word, Fletcher,” her father said, his booming voice vibrating through the space. “Sit down and close your lips before I kick your ass out of the building.”
Fletcher was on his feet—everyone in the room was—and he leaned forward, his face every shade of red. “You threatening me, old man?”
“Damn right, I am.” Bernard glanced around the room, meeting the gaze of each person. “I’m the leader of this pack and the CEO of Glacial Brewing Company, and I expect a certain level of respect from my pack members and my employees. If you can’t comply, get out of this building now.”
Joselyn was proud of her father. Not that he had ever been a pushover. He was born to be the leader of the Arthur pack, but she’d never witnessed such a bold smackdown from him before.
Bernard glanced around the room. “I suggest the rest of you hold your tongues too, or you’ll find yourselves standing in the parking lot with a box of belongings from your cleared desks.”
Fletcher opened his big mouth again, but her father stopped him with an outstretched palm.
“Instead of focusing your energy on some perceived slight you’re feeling over the private relationship between my daughter and her mate, I suggest you remember what Allister Tarben so kindly just pointed out. There’s probably a mole inside these walls. So, besides pissing me off and making me doubt your loyalty to the brewery, anyone who spouts a line of bullshit about some ancient family feud moves to the top of the list of possible suspects.”
Joselyn had to lean against the glass pane at her back to keep from falling to the floor. Her father wasn’t only not angry with her for hooking up with a Tarben, but he was totally sticking up for her. She wanted to smile. She instead kept her gaze to the floor and held her emotions at bay.
Fletcher had the balls to speak again. “Seriously, Bernard? Listen to yourself. There’s a mole all right. It’s your fucking daughter. She’s obviously shacking up with Allister Tarben’s goddamn son.” His voice rose. “Are you so blind you can’t see the writing on the wall?”
She flinched. This was exactly what she’d expected.
Bernard lifted a hand and pointed at the door. “Get out.”
Fletcher laughed. “You can’t fire me. I’m a member of your own family. It’s your job that’s in jeopardy, old man. You’ve been colluding with the Tarbens for months now. First when your oldest son went all wackjob and then when your next son got into a bind. Now we find out your daughter is slutting around with Alton Tarben? That’s too much, Bernard. It’s you who should leave. Obviously, your loyalty to the business has been compromised. And I’m pret
ty sure if the board took this to a vote, you would lose.”
Her father looked fit to kill, and for a man who rarely lost his temper, it was impressive. “Fletcher, get out of this room right now before I make decisions you’ll later regret.”
Fletcher shoved off the table, rounded it, and shot Joselyn a piercing look of disgust as he left the room.
The hush that fell in his wake was deafening.
Joselyn didn’t move or breathe. She thought she might faint. All her worst nightmares coming to life. She’d worried for years that several members of her pack wouldn’t take her binding to a Tarben well, but this was so much worse. Could they actually kick her parents and siblings out of the company over her actions?
The answer made her shudder. How many people, when up against the wall, would side with some fucked-up old feud over love?
Chapter Fifteen
At seven o’clock Joselyn stood outside the door to Alton’s apartment—a place she’d never been to even though he’d lived there two years. She lifted her hand to knock before the door swung open, and she found herself tugged into the warm embrace of the man she loved.
She flinched when he kicked the door shut and plastered her to it, threading his fingers in her hair until the ponytail dislodged. And then he sealed his lips to hers. She dropped her purse to the floor and wrapped her arms around his waist.
This was her lifeline. This man was her story. Nothing else mattered.
His hands were everywhere at once, shoving her cardigan off her shoulders and then worming their way under her shirt without breaking the kiss.
She moaned into his mouth when his huge palms flattened on her back. Her eyes slid closed as her body ceased belonging to her and melded with his. The passion was still steaming hot between them. When they came together, they always seemed to become a third separate entity, unified somehow, though she didn’t know how to describe that in words.
“Alton…” she mumbled against his lips.
“Mmm.” He nibbled at her top lip and then bit it gently between his teeth, giving it a tug.
Grizzly Secret (Arcadian Bears Book 3) Page 15
