The Alpha in her Dreams

Henry Meets Shepherd

Laurel slid her hand from his grasp and felt his grip tighten lightly before releasing her. “Gentleman, please,” her arm waved to the table. “Have a seat. You’re a little early, but the others will be joining us shortly. Can I offer you any coffee or pastries?”

“I would love some,” Matthius said excitedly as he sat down.

Shepherd grabbed his forearm and spoke gruffly, “Then you’ll get it yourself, Matthius.”

“Oh no, I don’t mind. It’s part of my job,” Laurel assured, but Shepherd’s expression was unrelenting.

“You will not serve him his food.”

Alrighty, Laurel thought, glancing around awkwardly as she took her seat. This isn’t strange at all. Why would he not want me to get them refreshments? Is he a clean freak? Does he not trust me? Maybe he doesn’t want anyone touching their food.

Matthius stood and good-naturedly offered, “You want a coffee, boss?” He was piling pastries on his plate as Shepherd chuckled.

“No thanks, Matty.”

Matthius then turned to Laurel with a charming grin, “Can I get you anything, Ms. Davis?”

“No thank you. I’m drinking my breakfast,” Laurel responded while lifting her mostly full coffee cup towards him.

The door to the conference room opened and saved her from any further awkwardness. Her boss, Jim, came in followed by four more suits. The meeting revolved around a site that the firm was selling. The business acumen of Shepherd and Matthius impressed Laurel. They were intelligent and confident, nimbly turning the conversation to their liking at every point. She was surprised, though, when they disclosed that they had no immediate plans for the facility on site but were more interested in the land as a future investment.

Why would they spend so much money on land? she wondered.

“Although we have no current plans for the building, we own several businesses and would like to tour the location for potential use. Would you be able to set that up, Jim?” Shepherd asked.

“Of course, Mr. Ryan. We can arrange that at your convenience. When would you like it scheduled?”

“As quickly as possible. We’ll be in town for a little while.” Shepherd glanced at Laurel before continuing, “I’m not sure how long, so it would be convenient to schedule it soon.”

“Absolutely, we will set up everything as quickly as possible. Laurel can accompany you. She knows the specs of the property well and can answer any questions you may have.”

Laurel was flustered. She often managed the needs of their clients, but it rarely required travel. And now she would find herself alone with dream man for a full day! She couldn’t even control herself during a simple introduction. She tried not to show her distress but saw an amused expression cross Shepherd’s face as he tried to hide a smile.

“We’ve already met Ms. Davis and would be delighted to have her with us,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Jim looked between them with suspicion, making Laurel groan inwardly. As everyone rose from the table, she caught Shepherd’s eyes and knew by his intense look that he wanted to talk more. While Jim was monopolizing Shepherd’s time, she slipped past him. It was lunchtime, and Henry would be waiting for her. Letting the conference room door shut behind her, she headed towards the elevator with a sigh of relief.

She didn’t know what to make of her physical and mental reaction to Shepherd’s presence. She’d never been “boy crazy” as Aunt Lucy called it, but she’d been in several relationships. None of her love interests, including Henry, had elicited this reaction. It embarrassed her. She was a grown woman! A professional! And in a committed relationship!

As she was about to push the elevator button, she heard Shepherd’s deep voice call her name. His voice brought a delicious sensation all the way down her spine, and she loved the way her name sounded on his lips. It took all of her effort to remain professional.

“Yes, Mr. Ryan?” She hoped her face didn’t betray the myriad of emotions that she was having.

“Please, call me Shepherd. I was hoping that you’d have lunch with me,” he asked softly but confidently as he grabbed one of her hands.

The effect of his touch was immediate. Why is my body such a traitor?! she thought as her face reddened. She stopped herself from immediately yelling, “YES!” as if she were some crazed schoolgirl, and the pause was long enough to be rescued by Henry, who slid his left arm around her waist as he stepped beside her. He extended his other hand to Shepherd, whose jaw visibly clenched as he slowly grasped Henry’s hand.

“Henry Butler, Laurel’s boyfriend. Pleased to meet you. And you are?”

“Shepherd Ryan.”

Laurel could tell that Shepherd used more strength than was necessary during the handshake by the way Henry’s grasp tightened involuntarily on her waist.

“I’m afraid that Laurel and I have plans. But I’m sure you can find another lunch partner,” Henry said as he turned her away from Shepherd, releasing her waist to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear as they waited for the elevator doors to open.

Laurel heard a low growl, and this time she knew it wasn’t her stomach. She couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder as she got onto the elevator. Shepherd’s face looked furious, and she wasn’t sure why it made her chest restrict in concern. She saw Matthius join Shepherd as the elevator door closed.

“Who was that, L?” Henry asked, trying to keep his voice light.

She could tell he felt threatened. Henry was good-looking, intelligent, and successful. Feeling threatened was not an emotion that he often experienced.

“Shepherd Ryan. He and his partner, Matthius Hart, are the ones interested in the SkyCorp location. We just finished a business meeting with them. About that, I don’t have the details yet but Jim volunteered me to take them to the property soon so they could look around.”

“I see.” He paused before continuing. “I could ask Jim if there was someone else that could take them if you’d prefer.”

Henry had never offered to intervene on her behalf in professional matters before, so she knew that he didn’t like the idea of her being alone with the attractive businessman. Her own feelings were so mixed up that she couldn’t tell how she felt about Henry’s proposal. On the one hand, she didn’t like the way she felt out of control when she was around Shepherd. She felt that he knew everything she was thinking and feeling, which made her feel self-conscious. But she also felt an unexplainable need to be around him. Regardless, she couldn’t accept Henry’s offer to get her out of doing her job. She was a grown woman, and it wouldn’t look right for her boyfriend to ask her boss to let her miss the trip.

“No, Henry. I appreciate it, but it’s just part of the job. You know that.”

The rest of the day, Laurel’s mind kept returning to Shepherd and wondering how she would control herself around him during the trip. When she found herself daydreaming about his touch on her skin, she blushed, immediately forcing an image of Henry into her mind. After work, she found Susu at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee. Setting her bag down on the table by the door, she slipped out of her shoes with a sigh.

“Not even 30 seconds in the door and already a loud sigh?” Susu joked. “Was Jim a bigger ass than usual today?”

Laurel laughed. “No, he was his usual amount of ass.”

She sat down beside Susu and spilled the whole story. The recurring dream, the sighting of dream man on the street and then again in the office, her physical reaction to him, and the miserable day she’d had trying to keep her thoughts off of him. Susu’s eyes slowly got bigger as the story progressed, with a wicked smile on her face during the awkward exchange by the elevator.