Page 46 of Talk About… Secrets
“Gracie?” Drew asked as he stepped outside, arms immediately pulling me close. “What’s wrong? I could smell your stress from in there.”
“Red tape bullshit,” Cade said, filling him in without hesitation. I should love that they were being open with him, including him, but I was seconds away from losing it.
“Check in when you know more,” I said in a fake cheerful face that had Cade’s concern flaring stronger. His eyebrows crinkled and his eyes narrowed. “I’m exhausted and we have to get back. Talk soon!”
I ended the call then immediately broke down. Drew didn’t judge me, just pulled me close and whispered reassurance.
“Is this how you felt when I left?” His broken whisper held pain and I didn’t want to lie, so I simply nodded.
“I lived then, I’ll live now,” I managed to choke out.
“You’ve got me and they will come back,” he promised. It was a dark vow, one that said he’d drag them back himself if he had to.
I didn’t want that. My mates needed to want to be close to me.
“It’s fine,” I lied again. “Just need food and sleep. Are you heading back to Hailey’s with me?”
“Of course,” he said. “Never leaving your side again, omega.”
I had a feeling Drew would remind me that every chance he got.
Cade
Grace’s painfilled eyes and forced smile had a growl escaping me. It could rival any alpha’s and I was ready to eviscerate every one of the old assholes on the board.
They weren’t the founders here, and honestly, let them pull their fucking investments.
When I walked in, Cade and Spencer were alone and it reeked of defeat.
“What the fuck?” I demanded.
“More bullshit,” Spencer cursed, a bitter sneer on his face I’d never seen before. “We own this fucking company but they have their hands in so many aspects that its going to take work to get this new office approved.”
“I’ll fire them all,” Beck vowed.
“You can’t,” I argued. Even I knew that. We’d allowed ourselves to bring in investors, which became shareholders. They did hold power.
We held more, though. And had plenty of resources at our fingertips.
“Why are they fighting back?” I demanded. “They’ve never done this before.”
“Politics,” Beck bit out. “They want us here, the face of the company, not hidden from the public eye hours away.”
“We’ll be coming back here when we need to,” I growled. “We’ve been more than accommodating.”
“They can’t truly shut it down,” Beck said, taking a calming breath. “But red tape means we’re delayed.”
“I just told Grace,” I admitted as I sank down into the chair. This fucking boardroom made me twitch. It was suffocating in here.
“How was she?” Beck asked, deflating.
“She nearly cried when I said it would take longer,” I admitted. “Looked like I kicked her while she was down. I think she’s feeling rejected.”
“Never,” Spencer spit out. “I’ll leave right now. Fuck this company.”
“We can’t provide for her if we’re jobless,” Beck said, calm as ever and pissing me off even more. “We do what we have to and go home.”
It wasn’t a bark, but a direct order from our alpha. One that would tear our pack apart if we ignored it.
