Page 64 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

Kissing her forehead once again, I leave her to dream.

I take a quick shower before putting on my own pajamas and sitting down in my study. My reading glasses on, I open my laptop. It’s time to get to work.

Whatever secrets Acme Intech Corporation is hiding, I’m going to dig them all up.

*****

It doesn’t usually rain in December, but when it does, the weather in Phoenix grows much colder than it normally is. After dropping Mira off at school in her little raincoat and umbrella, I head over to the office. It’s not raining cats and dogs, and neither is it a soft drizzle. This is the kind of rainfall that makes me curse at the weather and try to tell it to make up its damn mind.

I park my car outside and hurry over to the building. As I walk in, I greet Toby, the security guard. “I hate rain.”

He rolls his eyes. “You’re telling me? Car’s in the shop. Umbrella’s in the car. Buses aren’t running today because of the damn union strike. I had to change my uniform when I got here. Not my finest day.”

I give him a sympathetic look. “You win. Want me to drop you off after work? Your house is on my way.”

Toby has been working here since before I joined the firm. He’s in his early seventies, and when I first started here, I didn’t have a car. Sometimes my workload would be heavy, and I would leave late at night. Toby was on second shift at the time, and he would drive me home if it was an ungodly hour. The man is large and brutish looking, but he has the softest heart.

“Don’t you worry about me, Miss Alice. I got my daughter coming to pick me up.”

The meeting with Acme Intech is this afternoon. I have to go over some of the documents before I leave for Katherine’s office. Harry is waiting for me outside my door, chatting lightly with Holly. When he sees me, he smiles.

“Ready to lead your new team? I thought you might be nervous, so I got you breakfast. I know you usually don’t eat in the morning.”

“Old habits die hard,” I admit as I accept the egg sandwich and coffee from him. “Thanks for this, and I’m glad you’re here. If you don’t mind, can I walk you through some things about this collab? I haven’t had the chance to run them by anyone yet, and I think they need to be looked over by a higher-up.”

“Certainly.” He looks delighted.

I don’t waste words when meeting with clients. But I also know how to play with words. Katherine has already outlined the terms of the collaboration, and it’s my job to make sure that there are no legal loopholes and that she doesn’t screw herself over with her conditions. Acme Intech has also sent over their proposed terms.

“There are a few things that I feel Katherine should discuss with them, or at least consider, before agreeing to what they’re saying.” I hand Harry a paper from my briefcase. “Considering Pinnacle Group’s current status in the industry, the demands Acme Intech is making are a little ridiculous. At least a few of them. I’ve highlighted the ones and scribbled my own opinions beside them.”

Harry goes over them and raises his brows. “I think you can leave the second one as is. They have a right to demand a higher cut of the profit if they are the only ones capable of producing the technology. But I do agree with your first point and the other three. They can’t dictate the marketing and to whom their partner company sells the product. Also, they cannot demand a renewed contract once a certain number of sales are made. I think you should head over to Miss Lockhart’s office early and hammer out these details before the meeting.”

I listen to his words attentively. “I was planning to leave in two hours. The others can join me later, but I have to discuss this with Katherine. I just needed your input. I was going to call you last night, but it was quite late.”

Harry’s smile warms. “You can call me any time, Alice. I will always pick up your call, no matter how late it is.”

His words are sweet and inviting, but my heart stays steady. Perhaps seven years ago, when I was more vulnerable, I would have been swayed easily; but now, when a man says nice things to me, neither am I impressed nor does my heart melt. The cynic in me wants to call him a liar.

But Harry is a friend, and he probably meant what he said from the point of view of friendship or as my boss. After all, he has never expressed any feelings for me. It’s just my own assumption that he has them based on how much preferential treatment he gives me.

I choose not to respond to his statement. “But I’m glad I caught you now.”

“I will go talk to the others about this. You have breakfast.” He waves the paper at me before leaving my office.

I sink into my chair. Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to dig up anything on Acme Intech Corporation. Katherine was right; they are very secretive. And their CEO isn’t real. All I had to do was reverse search an image of him to figure out no such man exists. They made up a person out of thin air and put up a fake picture on their website. Why? What are they trying to hide?

It’s true that they only work with a select few companies, and it turns out that those companies are also very selective with their suppliers and distributors. I don’t quite understand. It’s as if there’s an entire network of businesses existing outside of the usual industry networks. They only interact with each other. It makes no sense.

No matter how deep I dug, there was nothing I could uncover about them.

It bothers me. This whole thing bothers me.

I unwrap my sandwich and bite into it before sighing heavily. I’ve already emailed my concerns to Katherine, but going over to her office and discussing them in person is the better option. I know she wants to make an impression, but I don’t want her to be so overeager that she shoots herself in the foot.

I’m draining my coffee by the time Harry returns with more notes scribbled on the paper. I spend the next hour with him as he goes over additional points the partners thought I should consider. By the time we are done, I feel more confident. The truth is that even though I am a good lawyer, I’ve only been in the game for four years. Four years is not enough time to make a mark for yourself in this field. Even if my success rate is indeed high, and I have brought in multiple clients for the firm, I knowthere’s still a lot that I have to learn. Having somebody like Harry watching over my shoulder comforts me.

Katherine’s office is not far from my own. The only problem is that the rain has worsened. There are dark clouds looming in the sky, and a feeling of foreboding washes over me. But I have a job to do, and I’m not going to let superstitious thoughts worry me.

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