You're all I need

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I'm in Grant's office, and I know we're supposed to be concentrating on Knox, but all I can think about is her. 

"Tell me about her!" I demand, interrupting whatever he was talking about.

"Okay, I guess you weren't listening to anything I was saying, but I get it. I hired her for our design team when you left. You were taking care of that when you were here, but you were overworked. You had Temps and Emily doing design work that was not in their scope of qualifications. We've expanded a lot in the last year, and we needed more help. We talked about this, though. I met Hailey at a kitchen cabinet distributor after you left. She was designing kitchens, and she made some suggestions that surprised me but looked incredible. She seemed capable, and she didn't hit on me, so I gave her a shot. I explained the scope of work, and she seemed genuinely excited about it. Her passion, combined with her eye for design... I made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She's done incredible things for our remodels, and within months, we stopped relying on the staging company we used. She works her ass off. I made her the head of design and gave her a raise. She deserved it. Trust me," he says. "I had a feeling about her; now it makes sense," he adds, shaking his head in disbelief. 

"You sound like you really like her?" I question, feeling the suspicion bubbling up. His lips curl up, his head tips back, and laughter starts to bubble out. Did I miss something?

"I have a mate, and it isn't Hailey. You remember Ellianna, right?" he chuckles. "You're getting all bent out of shape. I was telling you that your mate is a hard worker."  

"Don't talk about her ass," I grunt.

"When did I mention her ass?" 

"You said she works her ass off!" I answer, and the asshole laughs at me again. I love my brother, but he's pissing me off right now. 

"What do I do?" I interrupt his patronizing laugh. 

"Ask her on a date, I guess? That's what humans do," he shrugs.

"And what about Knox? If he finds out that I have a human mate?"

"It's not just your mate that needs protecting. It's my mate and my babies too. Ell's not a fighter, either. We need to keep them all safe. I've hired security; that's one thing we have on Knox. We've got money. He has no skills besides fighting and being a d**k unless something has changed in the last decade. From what I hear, they haven't, though. Our father had no business to pass on, and I'm sure mom's money is long gone by now. He has no real skill besides being an asshole. His only income is the 'rent' he charges for those living on the packlands. They almost all have jobs outside of the pack or are on government assistance," he states and then we hear a knock at the door.

"It's 10:30… It's Hailey," he warns. I don't know how I will handle this because she doesn't feel it like I do. I can't just drag her to bed with me--like a she-wolf would want. I don't know how old she is. She's younger than me, but she isn't a teenager. She's a woman. A grown woman, with womanly curves, and her scent. f**k.

"Come in," Grant calls. 

I'm seated on the couch in the corner of the office when she walks in. She's oblivious to my presence. How could she not feel me? She sits in one of the two chairs in front of Grant's desk with a folder in her hand.

Hailey's Point of View

I sit down in front of Grant, and I'm a little nervous. I've wanted to have this talk with him for the last few months, but I've put it off, hoping it would get better, but it hasn’t.

"The meeting was fine, but I need to talk to you about something," I say, taking a deep breath. Grant's my boss and also my best friend's husband. In general, I'm comfortable around him, but I hate putting people down or causing s**t.

His brows pinch together, and he leans back and nods.

"I have been trying to be patient with Britney, but honestly… she's late every single day. She doesn't complete the smallest tasks I give her, and I'm constantly babysitting her. Not only can I not count on her, but it makes me look unprofessional when I show up to a meeting and Cara and I have completed 99% of the work, and the one percent Britney is responsible for is missing. Cara is fantastic, and I can't say enough good things about her. Britney, though," I rub my temples and groan. 

"If she's not working out, fire her," he shrugs nonchalantly. 

"FIRE HER?" I scoff.

"Well, did you want to keep her around?" 

"No!" I chuckle.

"I don't want to pay a salary to someone who isn't an asset to this company. Get rid of her," he nods and flicks his hand. "Then go to HR, ask them to pull some resumes we have on file. Tell HR to set up an interview for anyone you like, and you can decide who you want," he states. 

"Thank you. I kinda feel bad, though," I grimace.

"Toughen up," he teases, and I nod. I feel bad about affecting her livelihood, but I can't keep doing her job and mine.

"So before I get to this," I state and lift the folder. "Who's the guy?" I ask.

He smiles wide, "What guy?" and chuckles. The smile tells me that he knows exactly who I'm talking about.

Since he's being cheeky, I decided to do the same.

"The sexy man in the hallway earlier. The Lean Cuisine, the all-you-can-eat buffet, the hunk, the hulk, the magnificent specimen you were talking to earlier?" I ramble on, and laughter starts bubbling from him.

Suddenly, I hear someone clear their throat behind me, and I swear I felt my heart drop out of my v****a.

NO, I mouth quietly. I bite my lips with wide eyes as I stare at Grant. 

"No, tell me that's not him," I squeak quietly. 

He makes eye contact and winces and then nods.

"No!" I groan, and I place my red cheeks in my hand.

"You're an asshole," I manage to get out, and that only causes him to laugh again. "I'm mortified," I cringe. I leave my hands on my cheeks as I slowly turn to see him. He has the tiniest smirk, but his jaw looks so tense. s**t. "I'm so sorry," I managed to get out. His eyes meet mine, and I think he said something to me, but I don't know for sure. I'm hoping he just said it was okay. Or maybe he said nothing? My heart was beating so loud in my ears; I don't even know. 

 I turn to Grant again. "You're an asshole!" I repeat.

"Umm, I forgot something, I'll come back," I kinda chuckle, but also kinda die inside. I stand and start to walk towards the door.

"Do you want me to take that now," Grant asks and points to my folder?

"Oh, right. Yeah." I walk back and hand him the folder.

"You're an asshole..." I whisper, and he can't hold back his smile.

"And I'm telling Ell!" I add, and his smile falls.

"Can you drop whatever it is you're missing off right away? I know you're out of the office this afternoon?" he asks.

"No, it's all there," I responded before I realized he had just caught me in a lie. They both did. f**k! Before Grant has the opportunity to call me out, I hear the most beautiful deep velvety voice.

"Grant," Lean Cuisine warns. 

"I'll just text it to you!" I say, sending him a death glare, and move to get out of there as quickly as I can. 

I am MORTIFIED! I head straight to the ladies' room to splash some water on my face. 

I grab my phone and call Ellianna. I'm not calling her to b***h about her husband, but I will do that too. She's honestly the best friend I have in Denver. We haven't been friends for that long, but she is my closest and most loyal friend here. If I tell her something, she's Fort Knox. She has my back always, and I have hers.

The phone rings, and when she answers, I exhale in relief.

Blake's Point of View

"All-you-can-eat buffet?" Grant chuckles.

"You didn't have to embarrass her," I scold.

"I saw how she looked at you in the hallway earlier. I also saw the look on your face when she walked into the conference room without another look. I thought you should know how she feels about you! It had to feel good, though, right? She's never asked me about a guy before, and I have guys from the pack with me all the time. They're all well-built, and women seem to flock to them. Not that one, though," he says and points towards my mate, and I feel a calming warmth wash over me. I lean back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Why did she say she was telling Ell?" I ask.

"Oh, she and Ell are like best friends," he admits. What? Ell's a she-wolf, and she's best friends with a human?

"Why?" I ask.

"Ellianna says even when women are pretending to be nice to her, it's often fake. They talk to her about me like they know me so well. Like we have a relationship that Ell doesn't know about. It's always about casting doubt in Ell's head and bringing her down. Hailey and Ellianna first bonded over their love of dancing at the Christmas party. When Ell told her who she was married to, instead of casting doubt, she commented how she thought I was a good husband. She also complimented Ell on looking like a goddess or something," he chuckles. "Ell says women always try and bring her down, but Hailey does the opposite, and she trusts her. Even among our people, she has difficulty finding women she can trust. That's why it's actually perfect. Our mates already love each other," he smiles.

"Don't embarrass her like that again. You wouldn't like it if I did that to Ell," I point out. It was nice to hear her ask about me, but I hate the thought of her feeling 'mortified' or embarrassed for my ego boost. 

"You're right," he nods. 

My father would embarrass my mother by flaunting other women around and talking to her with disrespect in front of other people. He knew my mother's love for us would keep her and her money right where he wanted her. I know this is different, and it was playful, but it probably didn't feel playful to my mate. 

I stand up and start to pace. "Call Ell, and have her check on Hailey," I demand. 

He lifts his phone and smiles. "Look," he says and turns the phone to me.

<3 Ell <3 Belle <3: Why did you do that to Hailey?

Ell already knows. "Ell Belle, with three hearts?" I tease.

"Yeah, there wasn't enough room to make it symmetrical and add more," he admits, and there's no embarrassing him. 

He grunts as I hear another text come in, and I smile at my brother's disappointment. A few minutes later, his phone rings. "It's Ellianna," he sighs.

"Put it on speakerphone," I beam. I want to hear him get reamed out.

"Hello!" he tries to say cheerfully.

"Why did you do that to Hailey? You set her up!" she scolds. 

"Baby, I can explain," he starts. His eyes look up to mine, and my smile widens at the way he's getting ready to grovel. 

"They're mates, sweetheart. Blake and Hailey. She doesn't feel it the same way we would, obviously. I wanted Blake to know that she felt something too," he explains.

"I didn't approve of that," I interrupt. 

"WHAT? It was Blake? And they're mates? Oh my gosh. Of course. She's perfect for you, Blake," she gushes, and I think he's off the hook already. That's disappointing. 

"If they weren't mates, that would have been super inappropriate, but one day they'll laugh at it. Plus, you know Hailey… She's got a good sense of humor!" he adds.

"That's true. She was legitimately mortified, but she was still laughing," she admits. Hearing that makes me feel better, but it also intrigues me. I want to know more about her. Who is she? 

"She still doesn't know his name, so she was calling him Lean Cuisine the whole time," Ellianna giggles, and I find myself biting back my laugh. She does have a good sense of humor. "I didn't know who she was talking about either, so I was calling you lean cuisine, too," she adds and continues laughing.

"So what are you going to do? She never said you asked her out. Obviously, she doesn't know about mates. What's the plan?" Ell asks me.

"I don't know. I'm not sure that it's even safe to be with her, given everything going on. She's human. It would be so easy for her to fall victim to Knox," I huff. 

"Are you going to ignore the bond?" she gasps.

"No, not permanently. Maybe waiting to pursue her is what's safest for her, though. You didn't happen to tell her you were a werewolf, did you? 'Cause, that would be helpful." 

"No. I'm sorry," Ellianna says solemnly. If she knew, she would be easier to keep safe. I can't just tell her; it would scare the s**t out of her. I need to build her affection for me before telling her what I am. What we all are.

"Is she single?" I ask.

"Yeah, she's open to the prospect, but she's focused on work, and I know she's not into anything casual. No casual dating. No casual s*x. If she dates, it's with purpose, and she always jokes about being celibate. Well, kinda," she adds.

"What do you mean, kinda?" I ask, feeling my heart rate quicken with dread.

"Don't do anything irrational. She's not sleeping with anyone or even dating anyone… I swear," she adds more convincingly. 

I just need her to give me a little time. I need her to wait for me to make it safe enough for us to be together. I can't lose her, and I can't be with someone else. I would give up everything for her; she’s all I need.

I close my eyes and inhale deeply, enjoying her scent that still lingers in here. It's so calming and delicious.