Don’t Poke The Bear

Chapter 4 The Wolf/Francessca

POV The Wolf/Francessca

That weekend he stayed at my place. On the Friday evening I made him dinner and made him come at least 5 times. On the Saturday we lay in bed all day and then we went out to dinner. It was great getting to know him but I explained to him that I had a full life and that I didn’t have time for a relationship. He was so sweet and he said that he understood, but by the Sunday afternoon I couldn’t get rid of him. I had stuff to do and he insisted on coming with me. I waved him off on the Monday morning and although we’d had a lot of fun, I knew that it was only be a fling. But by the Wednesday morning I had received 10 missed calls from him and 25 texts asking me to see him. He said he understood that I was independent but he was beginning to feel a bit needy. When he turned up at my office on the Wednesday evening I was incredibly flattered but I had an awful feeling in my stomach. It was the same feeling I had when I had called off my wedding. My therapist said that I was a self saboteur and that I thought I didn’t deserve to be loved so I could never respect anyone that was interested in me. Although for some strange reason all of a sudden I seemed to have more energy. It was like a light switch. I had went from falling asleep every night at 7.30pm and sleeping until 7am to being able to go out straight from work and stay up late f*****g Ashton. We started to date for a few weeks but he was coming on too strong and it was a turn off. He was a lovely guy but there was no spark and rather than have a conversation so I could let him down gently I buried my head in the sand and I started to pull away. He was a gentleman and a people pleaser, but I needed a real man that would take control. I had so much going on in my life and the last thing I needed was to put someone else’s feelings and needs before myself. I wanted a man that would look after me for a change and Ashton wasn’t that man. I made excuses not to see him but that only made him worse and his neediness made me want to run away even more.

After he sent me yet another huge bouquet of roses I decided to bite the bullet and call him. He was genuinely happy to hear from me and I felt awful that I had to let him down. I explained that we couldn’t be together and that I needed some space to concentrate on work and my family. He sounded upset but he said he understood. When I left my office that day he was standing outside waiting for me. By this point I’d had enough so I marched up to him and asked him why he was there and he said he was desperate to see me. I rubbed my face to try and calm myself from totally losing my s**t with him. My life was too full to fit him in and I was becoming impatient with him. I thanked him for the flowers but told him to stop contacting me. Another few weeks passed and by that time Teddy and the Beast were home from Italy. Ashton was still constantly calling my office for a ‘meeting’ and I was scared my brothers would catch wind of Ashton bothering me and that’s when I’d hit my limit so I decided to contact his brother Jack Owen. Although I had never met him before I knew that Ashton worked for him and that if one of my brothers were acting strange I would appreciate someone telling me so I could sort out the situation. My assistant Gill said she had organised a meeting in his office and after lunch I made my way over to meet him. The building was sleek and stylish and I rather liked it. I approached his secretary and she had a smile as fake as her t**s. Her long blonde hair extensions looked cheap and although I hated to judge people on their looks, she brought down the vibe of the place. I introduced myself to her but she wasn’t very friendly. She ushered me towards the two large doors and opened them without knocking, which I found rather rude. I followed her in and there was a tall broad man standing with his back to us and he was on the phone staring out of the floor to ceiling windows. He was wearing a smart suit and his shoulders were wide and I couldn’t help but notice his amazing arse. I had yawned the entire way to his office because I was so tired but seeing this gorgeous man had made me wake up. His assistant seductively walked towards him but he didn’t take any notice until she coughed and he finally turned his head to her. “Your next appointment is here Mr Owen” she said and he glanced at me. He looked away and then quickly looked back and he looked shocked. I gave him a little head nod and he stared at me with his mouth open. His expression changed from serious into a cheeky smile and I couldn’t help but smile too. This guy was gorgeous. He was even more handsome than Ashton if that was possible. He ended his phone call and threw his phone onto his desk “thanks for bringing her in, you can leave now Terry” he said and his secretary frowned “your welcome Mr Owen, but my name is Kerry” she stormed away but he didn’t take any notice. I had expected him to be American too but then I remembered that they had different mothers and that Jack was a Londoner just like myself. He stared at me for a second and then corrected himself. “So I must admit I’m surprised, when your office called and said one of the famous Archer brothers wanted a meeting and not just any brother, but it was Frankie ‘The Wolf’ Archer, I must admit I was intrigued, you lot have a reputation. I’m sorry but from the stories I’ve heard about you , I presumed you were a man.” I hated that people always thought that I would be a man. “Well I am The Wolf, but I’m not like my brothers.. I’m worse” I couldn’t help but smile at my own silly joke and he smiled too. “I’m Francessca Archer but you can call me Frankie” I put out my hand to shake his “it’s nice to meet you, I’m Jack Owen” He gave me a firm hand shake and I noticed that he had the same gorgeous green eyes as Ashton but he was the definition of an alpha male. His confidence and stature was unmatched by his younger brother. “So how can I help you today?” he asked as he gestured to the seat behind me to sit down. He stood at his desk and he looked like he owned the f*****g world. This was the kind of man I had always wanted and I had to remind myself why I was there. “thank you for seeing me today, I wanted to discuss your brother Ashton” He held my stare for a moment longer than he needed to “what about him?” he asked and his stern look reminded me of my English teacher Mr Hughes and that mixed with him standing behind his desk made me wet. “Your brother Ashton came to our office a few weeks ago and sold us a piece of land in Italy” He nodded his head and I could tell that the mention of it made his temper rise “yes and the little s**t gave you a bloody good price for it, his negotiating skills aren’t what they should be” He said with a smirk but I could tell that he wasn’t kidding. “Well I don’t know about that, but since we met at my office we have went out on a few dates” He was still standing behind his desk and he tried to suppress a smile “well his negotiating must be better than I give him credit for if he can pull a beautiful girl like you” This guy was incredibly sexy. I traced my eyes over his expensive suit and I had to snap myself out of my perverted haze because I was there for a reason but I was so turned on that it made it difficult to concentrate “The thing is that although he’s a lovely boy but we aren’t compatible, so I let him know that we wouldn’t be dating any more and ever since then he’s been sending me flowers and calling my office. I’ve asked him to stop but it’s still happening ” His eyebrows were down and he looked like he was in deep thought before he said “Really?” He was obviously surprised that I was there to talk about personal a problem “the thing is Mr Owen..” he immediately interrupted me “please call me Jack” he said and it was kind of a turn off because I had always called my teacher Mr Hughes when he used to f**k me in his office after school. “I’m just concerned about Ashtons behaviour. If you could speak to him I would really appreciate it” He nodded his head “of course I will, but I have to say he’s my brother and I work with him every day and he’s never mentioned you. In fact I think he’s dating a few women” I was overjoyed but embarrassed that it seemed like I had over reacted. I clutched my chest and let out a relieved sigh “oh thank god for that. I thought I might have another stalker on my hands. I’m sorry I’m just sensitive to this sort of thing. And when he was hanging around outside my office building I was afraid my brothers might catch wind of all of this and as I say Ashton is a nice boy I wouldn’t want them to get their hands on him” His eyes narrowed “well as I say you have nothing to worry about.” I could see that the threat of my brothers getting involved hadn’t went over his head. “I hope you don’t mind me coming here to speak to you about it, it’s just that in my family we sort things out amongst ourselves. I made you some cannoli.” I placed the tub on his desk and his whole face lit up “Thanks for seeing me today Jack. I better let you get on with your day” I stood up and walked over to the door. I looked back at him but he looked deep in thought and I wondered why he was suddenly quiet. “Bye Jack” I said and it snapped him out of his thoughts “nice to meet you Francessca” By the time I got to the car I had five missed calls from Ashton and I wondered if Jack had spoke to him already. I day dreamed about Jack for the entire journey because I had always been turned on by hot guys in suits and he was by far the hottest guy I’d ever met. I went back to work and there was another bouquet of flowers but this time there was also I bunch of balloons. My brother Fox stood at my office door “do you have an admirer?” He asked as he leaned against the door frame. “No.. so piss off” I snapped “tell me his name” was all he said and he looked like he wanted to rip someone’s head off “seriously Fox, it’s fine, I’ve sorted it” He gave me a concerned look and he slowly turned and swaggered back to his office. I knew he was being protective, and I couldn’t blame him, after all I was his little sister. As soon as he left I grabbed my phone and lay on the sofa in the corner of my office. I started to google Jack Owen and lots of photos of him accepting awards and cutting the ribbon to his new hotels came up on my screen and then I finally found his personal social media account. I was flicking through photos of him with his friends and family and I was relieved that he didn’t have a girlfriend. I felt my eyes begin to close and before I knew it I woke up on the sofa in my office with my brother Monkey lightly tapping my shoulder. “Hey.. wake up” he said gently and I wasn’t sure where I was for a moment. “What time is it?” I asked as I stretched and he laughed “it’s nearly 9 o’clock” I sat up with a fright “oh no, I have to get home. I haven’t even had dinner yet. I need to get to bed” I tried to get up when he sat next to me and took my hand “Wolfie.. it’s 9 in the morning. Have you been here all night?” I was so surprised that I couldn’t help but giggle but he wasn’t laughing. “I’m worried about you.. you’re burning yourself out. I need to ask.. have you been drinking again or are you taking something. This isn’t normal” I never wanted to burden my family with my worries but I knew I had to be honest with him. “I’ve been seeing a therapist and she tried to put me on some medication for anxiety but I told her that I was fine and then she insisted so I told her to f**k off. You’re right I do too much, I should try and slow down. I think I’ll start taking a couple of hours to myself every other day.” He still didn’t look happy but he tried to give me a fake smile and I could see straight through him. “Honestly Monkey, I’m fine” he shook his head “that’s what mummy used to say when she was sick.” And he was right, she had spent her whole life in denial and so was I because I had a small flask of whiskey in my handbag that I’d poured into my tea before I went to sleep, but I couldn’t admit that I was drinking again to my family.