“Yes, mom!” said Andy.
“Oui, oui,” said Noelle.
Gritting her teeth, Juliette stripped off her apron and headed out to give Mr. Wilhelm Sorenson a piece of her mind.
Chapter Two
“Wilhelm?” Gunther, Wilhelm’s beta, knocked as he spoke, then poked his head inside Wilhelm’s office door.
“Yes?”
“Leanne Hendricks has called three more times in the last hour. And Bonnie, the housekeeper, is on hold.” He stood in the open door, a helpless expression on his face. “What would you like me to tell her?”
Wilhelm took a deep breath through his nose. Leanne was his brother’s full-time nanny. He’d spoken to her two hours ago when she’d called complaining that today was to be her day off, but Wilhelm’s brother and his wife hadn’t returned home when they said they’d be there. And Leanne apparently didn’t get paid enough to sacrifice her plans on her day off because Wilhelm’s brother couldn’t stick to a schedule, or so she’d told him at least three times. And then he’d had Gunther screen his calls.
“I tried calling his cell,” Wilhelm said. “I left a couple of messages on both his and Carol’s phones. I’m not sure what else I can do.”
Wilhelm hadn’t been surprised that neither Halgar nor his wife answered his calls. He hadn’t spoken to his brother in more than three years. Wilhelm had tried contacting him when the twins were born to offer his congratulations, to mend things between them, but he’d been forced to leave messages then, too.
He and his brother, Halgar, weren’t on the best terms for a long time—ever since he became the head of the clan. Unlike others, the Wuldercats alpha didn’t inherit his position; he was chosen by the clan members for his strength, personality, and the ability to lead. In their time, Wilhelm and Halgar were both competitive rivals. He’d said some things he shouldn’t have, but Halgar had done some things he shouldn’t have. The night Wilhelm was coronated as alpha, their relationship fractured forever. What could Wilhelm do about any of it if Halgar wouldn’t even hear him out?
Wilhelm rubbed the bridge of his nose and suppressed a growl. A massive headache was lurking not far behind. “What does the housekeeper want?”
“Just to tell us that she’s afraid the nanny might actually leave, and that she’s really concerned that no one’s heard from them. She says it’s not like Carol to ever be late for anything.”
“My brother’s the opposite. Maybe he’s the hold up.”
Someone yelled for Gunther from the next room, so he turned and spoke in hushed tones before facing Wilhelm again.
“Leanne’s on the phone now demanding that someone come to watch the twins. She says she’s leaving in an hour.”
Wilhelm leaned back in his chair. If things were different, he supposed it wouldn’t be much of a hardship to go and stay with the cubs until his brother finally showed up. As it was, Halgar wouldn’t speak to him, let alone think it was fine if he babysat. And Wilhelm didn’t know anything about taking care of babies. He’d never wanted children of his own, and had never been allowed to even meet his niece and nephew. He simply had no business getting involved in his brother’s life now, especially not over something like them being a couple of hours late arriving home.
“Tell her if she leaves those babies alone, I’ll file charges against her.”
“What charges?”
Wilhelm threw his hands up. “I don’t know—abandonment! Reckless endangerment, whatever. If she was left as the responsible party, then no matter how late they are, leaving babies unattended surely breaks some law, doesn’t it?”
Gunther grimaced a little, revealing his incisors. Someone else yelled for him, so he turned. “I’ll take care of it,” he said quickly to Wilhelm before closing the door.
Wilhelm looked at the papers scattered across his desk, and thought maybe he’d go back to Bonbon for some tea before lunch. Maybe there’d even be a pastry or two left from the morning crowd. He thanked the universe for his tiger constitution. If not for that, all the pastries he had for breakfast, and the occasional box of them he bought for the office, would have his six-pack looking more like a gallon jug.
The truth was that even if Juliette Crabtree made the world’s worst food and tea that could make the British gag, he’d still stop there every morning just to start out his day seeing her face and that sly smile she gave him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.
Ah. Juliette. The Subzero Queen.
Juliette’s wavy, auburn hair, usually pulled up into a bun when he saw her, wasn’t half as curvy as her body. He longed to run his hands from her hair to hips and show her how much more delicious he found her body than even the finest delicacies she sold in her shop. She’d always quickly refused his offers of dinner, drinks, even business lunches to discuss her shop and possible expansion. She’d earned the nickname he’d heard some people had given her. When she’d dealt with anyone else on his property management team, she was apparently as cool and businesslike with them as she was with Wilhelm.
But beneath her perfect mask and aloofness, her eyes and the curve of her mouth gave her away. Tigers were creatures of passion. Wilhelm was sure she wanted him as much as he wanted her, but for some reason she wouldn’t allow herself to express it. He had heard about Juliette’s past and thought it might be the reason she was nicknamed as Subzero Queen. He might never get to taste Juliette’s full lips or feel her purr against him, but he was miles away from giving up trying.
Failure wasn’t a word found in his dictionary.
The harder the fight, the sweeter the reward. That was something his father had taught him about business, but Wilhelm believed it applied to love, too.
He stood, ready to tell Gunther he was heading out for lunch, when someone knocked on his door. He remained standing, determined that he was going to leave, no matter what. “Yes? Make it quick, I’m on my way to lunch.”
Gunther opened the door, and Wilhelm’s hackles rose. He’d never seen his beta so pale. Gunther closed the door behind him and approached the desk.
“Wilhelm …”
“What is it? You look like you saw a ghost.”
“It’s your brother…” For a moment, Gunther seemed lost for words.
Wilhelm sat. His guts told him something was amiss, his hands splayed on top of his desk, and in mere seconds his entire world came crashing down.
Chapter Three
Juliette cursed her decision not to install the joke gift Noelle had given her last Christmas. It was a little plastic console that one mounted on one’s dashboard with three big red buttons that made noises when one pushed them. One was a laser, one was a photon torpedo, and one was for a nuclear warhead. Traffic was so infuriating as she drove to Wilhelm’s office, she could have used a few weapons to blow other drivers out of her way.
“Much road rage, super wow,” Noelle had joked once when they left the shop together for a bit of retail therapy. And then she’d given her the joke weapon as a gift.
Juliette took a few deep breaths, trying not to let the slow crawl of cars get to her. After all, she needed to calm down as much as possible, even while she was still vibrating with anger about the rent hike and the curious timing of that letter and Wilhelm’s latest expansion proposal. If she didn’t get ahold of herself, she’d simply rage at him, and she had a strong suspicion that he wasn’t a tiger who appreciated such displays.
She needed to be logical, collected, and cool. Even when he half-grinned at her and licked his bottom lip like he had a habit of doing.
Juliette growled and shook her head. No, she was not going to let the gorgeous sight of him deter her. She was stronger than that. Yeah. Hardcore.
When she finally got to his office building, she thought she might have a fight on her hands to even be allowed to his floor without an appointment. After all, Wilhelm Sorenson was a big shot. God knew people like him didn’t commingle with commoners. She decided she’d make a scene right then and there that might prompt him to
come down to see her, if necessary.
To her surprise, the receptionist at the first desk gave her a little clip-on badge that read “Guest” and pointed her toward the elevators.
She was thrown after expecting an argument. “I can go up … just like that?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the woman said, typing into her computer as she spoke. “You’re on the list of VIPs who don’t need an appointment to see Mr. Sorenson. You’re to be allowed up at any time.”
Well. This was unexpected. Juliette thanked her and headed for the elevator. Was that because she rented from Wilhelm’s property management company? Or because he was so presumptuous to think she might just show up one day and take him up on one of his many dinner-date offers?
Why that slimy scu—
Chill, Juliette. She calmed herself as she felt her incisors push through her gums. She was quite pissed as she rode up in the elevator, sure it was a case of Wilhelm simply assuming she couldn’t resist him. Calm, cool, collected, Juliette. Stick to the facts.
She’d only ever been to this office once to sign the lease paperwork, but today it was nothing like it was then. Then, it was a noisy place with people bustling to and fro, talking and laughing, and Gunther, Wilhelm’s beta, flirting with her a mile a minute as he showed her to Wilhelm’s door. Today, there was only the sound of shuffling papers and a phone ringing. Gunther sat at the first desk she saw with a person behind it, his handsome face pale and pinched.
He glanced up to see her approaching, his eyes flashing with golden glitter for a split second before they returned to deep reddish-brown. “Ms. Crabtree, how are you?” He smiled and reached for her hand, and even that seemed a strain for him. She wondered if Wilhelm was having some kind of business crisis, because everything about Gunther and the office felt so grim.
“Just Juliette, please. I’m here to see Wilhelm. It’s urgent.”
“I’m sorry, but now is not a good time. Perhaps I can help you instead?”
He looked so downtrodden that she almost gave in, but then she remembered how she’d felt when she’d opened that letter. “I’m afraid I need to speak directly to him.”
“Juliette … today is—”
“I came all the way across town, and I am on his VIP list. The least you could do is let him know I’m here so he can decide whether he can see me?” She didn’t care if there was a business crisis today. She was having an anger crisis over the idea that he might hold doubling her rent over her head to get her to open a new shop.
Gunther sighed and lifted the phone out of its cradle. He pushed a button and waited with his eyes closed. “Wilhelm, Juliette Crabtree is here to see you. I told her it was a bad time, but—yes—yes, I will.” Gunther shook his head. “I’m sorry, Juliette. He wants me to express his regret and promises—”
Juliette hurried around Gunther’s desk and stormed for Wilhelm’s door. She’d worked up her ire and her courage, and she wasn’t going to leave there until she spoke her mind. Rawr!
“Wait,” Gunther said, rushing after her, but she was smaller and faster, and had pushed Wilhelm’s door open before he reached her.
“I’m so sorry, Wilhelm,” Gunther said, taking her arm as if to pull her away. But she was frozen in place at the sight of a baby crib next to Wilhelm’s desk.
A baby crib.
With a baby in it.
“It’s all right. I’ll handle this,” Wilhelm said, the high back of his leather chair facing them. Gunther left, closing the door behind him. Wilhelm didn’t immediately turn, so Juliette took a few steps forward, and a baby’s cry vibrated through the room.
But the baby in the crib was sleeping.
Wilhelm spun his chair so that he faced Juliette. He held a small baby in his arms, bawling at the top of her lungs. The infant was actually a werecub: she had small, striped feline ears poking out beneath the wispy clouds of cornsilk hair and her tail whipped out beneath her pink onesie. Other than that, werecub looked just like humans’ babies. At that moment, the cub’s face was splotchy and red from tears. She had healthy lungs. Her screams could induce a migraine in minutes.
Goodness! Juliette blinked. How come I didn’t notice a baby crying earlier? Either Wilhelm’s office is sound-proofed or I’m so totally consumed with a bone to pick with him, I ignored my surroundings.
Juliette’s eyes drifted to the man she was ready to give a good scolding. Usually the Mr. Impeccably-dressed, Wilhelm looked as if he had been put through a wringer. His jacket suit crinkled around the lapels and his tie was undone. There was dampness on one spot that the bawling cub might have used as a napkin. Wilhelm plucked the pacifier that had fallen out of the cub’s mouth and gave it back to her. It quieted her down instantly. She still sniffled and squirmed as if she was upset she couldn’t get comfortable. Wilhelm raised his red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes to Juliette.
“I’m sorry, Juliette. Now is really not a good time.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds, Juliette unsure what to say or do or how to handle seeing Wilhelm so … vulnerable. He looked so different than the man she saw that morning.
The baby in the crib wriggled, took a deep breath, and wailed. Wilhelm jumped up and carefully lay the sleeping baby in the crib next to the crying one, then picked up the baby boy and cradled him the same way he’d held the little girl.
It was clear he wasn’t used to holding babies because he seemed so lost and unsure of what he was doing. He rocked the child a few moments, and it quieted to small sobs and snuffles, until the baby girl in the crib realized she was no longer being held and began to cry too.
My goodness.
Wilhelm looked like he didn’t know what to do. He arranged the boy in one arm as he bent over to attempt to pick up the girl in his other one. Juliette hurried forward and gently lifted the baby girl, a hand supporting her neck and head, the other arm under her body, to help him. “Here,” she said, but instantly the baby stopped crying.
She’d babysat distant cousins as a teen, and had a lot of experience with babies. Experience she’d hoped to use with her own one day.
Juliette pulled the girl close, let her head rest in the crook of her elbow, and held her against her body the way Wilhelm held the baby boy. She breathed deeply, that sweet baby smell making her heart ache and her eyes tear up. It felt so natural, so right, and it ripped open a wound deep inside of her.
“Juliette?” Wilhelm said softly.
She blinked away her tears, feeling foolish. “I’m sorry for intruding, Wilhelm. I didn’t realize you had children, and—”
“I don’t,” he said quickly. “Or … I didn’t. I … I don’t know. These are my brother’s cubs.”
“So you’re babysitting your niece and nephew … at your office?” It felt wrong as the words came out, but she couldn’t imagine what else it could be. The situation was kind of weird. Couldn’t he get one of his employees experienced with babies to look after them?
“I wouldn’t feel right in Halgar’s home, and the office is the place I’m most comfortable, the place I think best. This is the place easiest for me to make plans and figure things out.” He raised his eyes to Juliette, and while he still looked distraught, she could see the strength and determination underneath. “My brother and his wife died in a car crash this morning. And now I have to figure out how I’m going to take care of their babies.”
Chapter Four
Juliette sat in one of the large chairs in front of Wilhelm’s desk and looked at the sweet, sleeping face of the baby in her arms. “Oh, Wilhelm. I’m so sorry.” Now, she felt like a jerk for storming into his office. Her problem seemed minuscule compared to his. The man grieved.
He nodded and sat in the chair next to her. “Thank you. I’m sure I’ll manage. If I can manage a company, I can find a way to raise two babies.” The corner of his mouth tilted as he said it. He looked into her eyes, as if he realized there wasn’t much comparison between the two.
“Of course,” she agreed. The baby in her arms rub
bed its face against her shoulder, then settled down with a sigh. A sob welled up inside her, but she swallowed it and nodded. “I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job.”
Wilhelm patted the back of the baby boy he held and smiled at her. “You’re doing a good job, yourself. This is the longest Leah has been quiet since she was brought here. Seems you’re a natural.”
Leah. Such a pretty name for a pretty girl. Juliette shook her head, because something like that was the last thing she needed to hear. “Maybe their mother and I have a similar scent. Or she’s simply exhausted and needs to be held. I’m sure these babies can pick up on the tension you’re feeling.”
Wilhelm nodded. “Probably. But whatever the reason, thank you.”
Neither of them spoke for a moment, until Wilhelm raised his head with a frown. “Juliette, you came to see me despite being told it wasn’t a good time. I assume it must be important?”
Crap. She’d forgotten all about her ire the moment she saw the babies, and of course with hearing that his brother and sister-in-law were dead, she hadn’t thought about the rent another moment. Now that the babies were both calm and sleeping, annoyance pulled at her again.
“I got your letter about the rent hike a short while ago. And I’d come here to give you a piece of my mind about offering me a spot at your new building the same day. I don’t appreciate—”
Single Weretiger DILF Page 2
