Reluctant Alpha (4 page)

“
She won’t know to ask you about it if you don’t let on like you know anything. Damn woman is driving me insane with all her healthy living crap. ‘You can walk over to the house, it’s not so far. And you’ll save gas too.’ Wouldn’t even let me take the golf cart over here. Isn’t that what it was bought for? For me to ride around now that I’m in my golden years? What’s a man to do, I ask you?” Bradley let him rant. It was an old argument he’d been having with himself for over a month now since Gram had read in some magazine that one was only as young as he or she felt. She apparently felt Grandda needed to feel a lot younger.

The phone rang and he reached over to answer without moving his feet to the floor. If those two had gotten in trouble after leaving his office, he was gonna kill them himself.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“
Hello, Wolff speaking,” he barked into the phone. Okay, that was harsh. Even his grandda raised a bushy eyebrow at him. He didn’t even know if it was them and had nearly taken the ear off the person at the other end.

No one said anything for several seconds, so long in fact that Bradley had thought they had hung up. Just as he was about to ask if anyone was there, she spoke up.

“
Hummm…I…maybe I should call back some other time, like when you’re not around.” The female voice didn’t sound scared, but humored about his tone.

“
Sorry, bad morning. Perhaps I should start over. This is Bradley Wolff, may I help you?” Better, but not quite his usual charming self.

“
Hummm, well, okay. You know my boss is like that too, all snarly and snarky. You two should probably meet sometime. This is Diana Lake, we spoke the other day. At least I think it was you. I didn’t get a first name, and that guy was considerably…politer. I’m calling about the gallery in the Merchant district and the show this weekend.”

Bradley sat up in his chair so quickly that his grandda raised the other brow. “Ms. Lake, yes, this is Bradley. Everything is set here; do you know if the piece count will be what we were promised?” He was so excited about this opening. It was the first visiting artisan for the “Nature’s Eye” and his first grand showing with a professional. Then there was the artisan herself.

He had never met Ms. A. A. Bennett, but he had been collecting her art since before she was famous. He actually had two of her vases. He had gotten one at an estate auction a few years ago, and the other he had purchased at her first show in New York.

When his partners had decided to open an art gallery, he wanted to be in charge of it. It wasn’t much of a fight as his other partners had wanted nothing to do with it. Kyle had taken over the running of the nightclub and hotel combo called the Blood Moon, Aaron had taken the casino, the Golden Glory, and Colin had wanted the grocery stores, both of them. Their company, B.A.C.K. inc., had been doing very well since they had practically purchased an entire city and made it their own little slice of nonhuman heaven. It was mostly run by the vampires and wolves in the combined areas, but there were a few humans mixed in as well.

“
About that, I have great news for you. She actually has had a very good couple of months, so I have more than we agreed upon. And some art, oils on canvas, if you’re interested. Canvases she called them. This is new for her, and if you’re not interested, which I believe would be a major mistake, then I’ll simply put them in another gallery. This isn’t a pressure sell, Mr. Wolff, but I’ve never…these pieces are amazing. I’ve…I can’t tell you how…you must see them before you decide, of course.” He could hear her excitement and her awe.

“
I would, like to see them, I mean. When can we get together? The showing is in eight days, so if we need to make changes to the rooms, then we will need to get them into the gallery as soon as we can.” He had never met this woman either and pictured her as a small tornado.

“
I’m actually driving into the city now…would you hang on a second?” He had heard another voice shriek in the car, but nothing more than that as Ms. Lake had obviously muted the phone from him.

“
Mr. Wolff, I have…Ms. Bennett is here with me and I need to drop her off first. She had quite a few errands to run, it seems. But I can meet you in front of the gallery in say…twenty minutes. The truck has already arrived, I understand, and they are unloading the pottery pieces now. Most of the canvases are with the pottery. I have an additional six with me now that are still wet. Would that be acceptable to you?”

“
Of course, twenty minutes. I’ll see you there.” Bradley hung up the phone and stood.

“
Where you headed? Can I come?”

Bradley didn’t really want to take his grandda, but he had little choice it seemed as he was putting on his coat as he asked. “I’m going to the gallery. I suppose you can come if you can behave yourself. No flirting, and keep your paws to yourself. I’m trying to make a good impression, all right? And as much as I love you, Grandda, I will tell on you about the whiskey if you give me any problems.” Bradley knew it was useless to say these things to him and they both knew the threat was empty, but later, if he had to kill him, it would be as good a defense as any other.

“
See how you are. You’re just jealous because I get more ladies than you do. Maybe you and I should go to the Blood Moon together, leave your grandmother at home. I could show you a few moves that will get you laid if you want.”

Bradley just looked at him with an open mouth. His grandfather had not just said that to him. “You know, I might have to kill you here before we leave instead of doing it when we get back. Have you any idea what it means to behave at all? I am not going to the Blood Moon with you and if I even hear of you going there without Grams, I swear to you I will…I don’t know what I’ll do to you, but it won’t be pleasant for you.” They had made it to the car and he was delivering his threats to the now closed door on the passenger side. Bradley leaned his head against the roof and banged it slowly and repeated over and over to himself,
I will not be like him when I’m old, I will not be like him when I’m old.
He raised his head up when he heard the window crank down.

“
Hey! Pup, we going, or are you gonna nap on your car instead?”

Yeah, I will not be like him when I’m old
.

CHAPTER NINE

“
I don’t know why you think I need to wear a dress to this stupid thing. I have worn pants all my life and no one cared one whit about it.” She had bought a dress over the Internet. Not a smart move in the first place because she had bought the size she had been wearing pre-accident. Airic didn’t even realize she’d lost any weight until Diana had pointed it out. The second was she had stupidly bought one that was puce. Who the hell wore puce? But in her defense, the description had said mauve.

“
You said you’d go, and you’ll wear a dress because it’s the professional way to do it. I can’t keep telling people that you’re sick all the time. Do you want them to think you are sickly and not a reliable person? And you are going shopping with me because you have absolutely no taste in clothes. Just look how you’re dressed. Jogging pants and a sweatshirt are all right in the studio, but out in public, it’s a no-no.” Diana made that noise in her throat again, the one she made every time she was trying to make a point. It sounded snarky to her, but she wasn’t sure.

“
I do not have bad taste in clothes. You liked that thingy I got yesterday.” Airic was getting more nervous the closer they got to the boutique. She didn’t want to admit that she was wearing these clothes, not as a fashion statement, but because the pants had a string in them and she could keep them up around her butt. Underwear didn’t have ties, but she had fixed that problem with a safety pin. The sweatshirt was a necessity because her bras were all way, way too big and she felt as if she’d be “flopping” around and she didn’t want to subject people to that poor sight.

“
Airic! That was pajamas! That so does not count as clothes. This lady, Elaina Spencer, is supposed to be the place to shop for these things. She does all the beading by hand.” Diana consulted the map again.

“
Beading! You didn’t say anything about beading. I’m going to be sick. Pull over, please; I need to throw up again.” Diana ignored her like she had the last three times she had claimed to be sick and wanted to throw up. “Isn’t there some written rule somewhere that you’re supposed to kiss my ass and suck up or something because I sign your paychecks? I could have sworn I saw that somewhere in the ‘How to be a Great Employee’ handbook somewhere.”

“
Well, I’ve had it updated and it now says that if you want to keep said great employee, you kiss her ass and suck up. Besides, I sign your name better than you do. You’ll love this shop. I talked with that guy Bradley Wolff’s assistant and she said that she does all the clothes when there is a big to-do.”

She felt Diana look over at her again. She felt like one of those lab projects where a person had to keep an eye on it or it would blow up or something. She didn’t say anything for a few minutes. She didn’t want to shop, had hated it even before. But this was different; she was going to have to go to her own opening, something she hadn’t done since the very first one. And she was going to have to wear clothes she knew she wouldn’t be comfortable in, and she knew Diana would insist that she wear heels too. Beading, for goodness sake. Who wore beaded clothes?

“
You didn’t get to show him the paintings then?” Diana had mentioned that she hadn’t been able to see Bradley Wolff, the gallery owner, and then when she mentioned shopping, it pushed the fact that she had left her paintings with a stranger.

“
No, he called the gallery and told them that he wasn’t going to make it even before I got there. Mallory, his assistant, said that he was sorry, but he’d had a minor fender bender and his car wouldn’t be serviceable until later. So, he’s going to look them over, including the wet ones, and call me at your house tonight. Are you mad because I left them?”

Actually, she was, but done was done. “No, I’m not mad. I mean, I shouldn’t be, right? I just…they’ve never…” She looked out the window of the car. She didn’t know what she meant or anything right now.

“
He’ll take good care of them, Airic, I swear. I even had them sign a receipt for them.”

Airic didn’t say anything. She was too touchy lately and she knew it.
Nerves,
she thought,
that was all, just nerves.
She’d get over it soon.

They pulled up in front of the beautiful mansion and got out of the car. Elaine’s was painted on the sign in the front yard. There were flowers and rose bushes everywhere. And on the wraparound porch were rocking chairs, several of them, as a matter of fact. And in two of them were two kids, young boys. They looked to be trouble.

“
Hey, pretty ladies! How’s it goin’? Need any help in the changing room, I’ll be more than glad to offer my assistances.”

Yep, trouble all right. Airic was all for leaving, but Diana plowed straight ahead, ignoring them as best she could. When they got to the steps leading up to the shop, the bigger one stepped in front of Airic and sniffed her.

“
What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” It was out of her mouth before she knew it.

“
Well lookee here, I found myself a she-bitch.”

Airic made to move past him, but he grabbed her arm and jerked her hard to him. The other boy had already trapped Diana against the wall. It was over in a matter of seconds.

CHAPTER TEN

At first she was scared, then she saw her friend struggling, and suddenly, she was very…calm. There was no way she was going to let her be hurt again. “You’ll let her go, now.” She didn’t even bother with asking or pleading with them. She didn’t think it would do any good anyway. She just wanted them to let her go.

“
Oh, and who’s gonna stop us? You? I don’t think so. I’m gonna play with you, then my brother Phil is gonna have his turn.” He laughed, turned back to Airic, grabbed her breast, and pinched her hard.

Airic growled. The growl was low, coming from deep within her, deeper than she’d ever felt before. She grabbed his throat with her clawed right hand and lifted him six inches off the ground. She didn’t take the time to analyze what had happened to her hand, but gripped him harder around the neck, nicking him slightly.

“
You’ll back the fuck up or I’ll make sure your own mother won’t recognize you when I’m finished. Let her go. Now! You should have more respect for your betters, boy.” She noticed also that her voice had become deeper, harder than she’d ever heard before. The younger boy must have too, because Phil dropped to the floor and curled into a ball. But her tormentor was trapped; she had him still clutched in her hand. With a slight shake, she dropped him and he too fell to the floor, curling into a tighter ball than his brother had. Okay, she liked this subservient thing. “If you come near me or my friend again, or for that matter, you ever treat another woman like you just did the two of us, I will hunt you down and make you wish you’d never been born. Do I make myself perfectly understood?”

“
Yes, ma’am. Never. We shouldn’t have touched you. We wouldn’t have if we’d have known who you were. Please, we’re sorry. Don’t tell Alpha; it’ll never happen again. I swear.” The older one was begging now, and he was stroking her leg with his neck. She didn’t know why, but that seemed the correct response to her.