Little Wolf

Playboy

Ivy

On Monday morning, Ivy bounds out of bed and down to the kitchen. Her dad is on the road, and her mother has left for the bakery already. Ivy has been turning inside out, dying to call this lawyer in hopes of learning more about Paislee’s adoption.

She and Paislee spent Saturday afternoon shopping for clothes that actually fit Paislee, and then they barbecued dinner on the deck. Afterwards, they went for a sunset swim in the lake. It’s early in the summer so the water was pretty chilly, but they had fun anyway. Sunday they packed up all of Bill and Charlotte’s clothing and dropped it off at a charity box in town. In the evening they watched a movie after the sun had set. Ivy came home after the movie, promising to call Monday night. Ivy pressed Paislee to text Luke, but Paislee resisted.

She decides to call from the landline. Since her father is a well known baseball player, they have their caller ID blocked. Sipping her coffee, she digs through her purse for the crumpled up sticky note. She’s trembling as she picks up the telephone.

A woman with a prim voice answers the phone on the third ring, “Mr. Lowell’s office?”. “Oh hello. My name is… Paislee Garrett. I have some questions for Mr. Lowell regarding my adoption?”, Ivy says nervously. No one is home, but she’s still whispering. She can feel the sweat forming on her brow. “One moment, please”, the woman says curtly.

Biting her lip, Ivy holds her breath. She’s on hold, listening to elevator music by a mariachi band while she waits. “Miss Garrett? Hello!”, a man says in a booming voice, “I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever hear from you”. Ivy can hear that he’s smiling. “Um yes, well, you know. I’ve been in Utah with my grandmother, Mr. Lowell”, Ivy fumbles.

“Oh? Is everything alright, Miss Garrett?”, Lowell asks in a concerned voice. “My parents were killed by a drunk driver back in December, so I stayed with my grandmother until I turned eighteen”, Ivy tells him. Lowell clucks his tongue. “I’m so sorry to hear, Miss Garrett. Lovely people, your parents”, he says in a gentle voice. “Thank you”, Ivy murmurs.

“I guess I understand now why I haven’t heard from you. The agreement was to have your paperwork by your birthday. Where would you like me to send it? I’ll send by courier”, Lowell says, getting back to business. Ivy panics for a moment. Should she have it sent here or to Paislee’s house? She quickly decides to have it sent straight to Paislee, and gives Lowell the address.

Hanging up the phone, Ivy slumps back in her chair. What kind of paperwork is Lowell referring to? And seriously, more waiting!?

Sighing, Ivy gets up from the table to get started on her day.

Luke

Monday morning, Luke hustles to get downstairs to meet his father so they can head into the city. He isn’t looking forward to being trapped in a car with his dad for so long, but it has to be done. Once Luke becomes Alpha, he will take over the family business.

They drive in (mostly) glorious silence. Luke checks his phone a thousand times in hopes that Paislee has texted him. He understands that he needs to give her space, but he doesn’t know how much. There’s an invisible balance; wait too long and seem uninterested. Text too soon and seem over eager. How do the humans do this? Luke is relieved when they arrive at the office.

Entering the office building, they’re met with a long ornate security desk, the wall behind it emblazoned with “LeBlanc Tower”, in huge gold letters. The security guards snap to attention and straighten up as Michael and Luke approach. “Hello Mr. LeBlanc”, Frank says with a huge smile, greeting Michael. “Mr. LeBlanc”, he nods at Luke.

To their left is the entrance to the hotel, to the right is a bank of elevators. “Good morning Frank. Set us up for lunch in the hotel at one. Table for six”. Michael nods before pressing the button to call the elevator.

On the fourteenth floor, Emily is waiting by the elevator doors with her hands folded at her waist when the doors open. Her long blonde ombré hair falls in soft curls around her shoulders, her beautiful green eyes with impossibly long lashes smile along with the rest of her face. She’s dressed in a soft pink pencil skirt that falls just below the knee, and a cream coloured button down blouse with short cap sleeves. Her high heels are a sensible height, also in cream.

Emily, like all of their staff is human. Someday she will be Luke’s executive assistant, but for now she works under Michael. Luke has always thought she was gorgeous, but he’s been careful not to mix business with pleasure, and subsequently piss Michael off. She’s good at her job, and the company would suffer to lose her.

“Good morning gentlemen!”, she chirps brightly. “Your americanos are ready at your desks, and your itineraries for today’s meeting are there as well. The chairman of the board will be here at 0900”, she reports, falling into step with them as they wind through the office. “Will there be anything else?”, she asks, stopping at the doorway to Michael’s office. “That will be all, thank you Emily”.

Emily nods, with a quick smirk to Luke before clicking away down the hall. Luke wanders in to his own office next to Michael’s and takes a seat at his desk. Flipping through the itinerary, Luke sips the Americano.

Luke’s office isn’t as large as Michael’s, but it’s still pretty big. His desk is huge, made of cherry wood, and there’s a massive wall of windows behind it that overlooks the city. Another wall is taken up by built in bookcases, and along the other wall is an oversized brown leather sofa with a cherry wood coffee table flanked by two matching chairs.

Flipping open his laptop, Luke checks his email. He has about thirty minutes before the meeting. After a few minutes of being unable to concentrate, he picks up his cell phone. Staring at it, he wills her to text him. Finally, he clicks off a quick “Hey you”, before setting the phone back down. Almost immediately, his phone dings in response. “Hi there”, Paislee replies. “When can I see you again?”, he asks.

He waits nervously, staring at the phone. Finally, the little bubbles appear to let him know she’s typing. “I have meetings today to wrap up the estate. How’s tomorrow night?”, she responds. Luke’s wolf Jax howls with joy in his head, and Luke’s heartbeat quickens. “I’ll pick you up at seven”, he sends back. Should I have put a smiley face in there? Should I say something else?

The bubbles appear momentarily before her answer comes back. “Looking forward to it :)” A smile spreads across Luke’s face as he sets his phone back down. “What’s that for? Another flavour of the week?”, Michael asks, standing at the doorway to Luke’s office, catching him off guard. When Luke doesn’t answer, Michael shakes his head. “Come on, the meeting is about to start”, he huffs before walking away in the direction of the boardroom.

Everyone is seated when Luke arrives. Michael is at the head of the table, with the chairman of the board, Bruce, at the other end. Marilyn, the head of HR is in attendance, along with Debra, the CFO. Emily is there to take notes as well.

For the first two hours, they drone on about finances. They move on to discuss a new hotel being built in Chicago. Marilyn has hired all the appropriate staff, and they are overseeing construction.

In the last hour, Bruce veers from the itinerary. “Michael, you’ve delayed your retirement two years. We’ve pushed back the planning twice, now. What’s happening?”, Bruce asks gently. Luke’s eyes grow wide, knowing that he is the sole reason that Michael has yet to retire. He didn’t know that a plan was in place. Luke’s heart pangs for his father in this moment.

“It’s me, Bruce. I’m the delay”, Luke offers. Being that all of their staff is human, Luke can’t exactly explain why he hasn’t been able to step up yet. “What’s the problem, Luke?”, Bruce asks him. “I rattled my dad’s confidence in me, Bruce. Been working on building it back up”, Luke answers firmly. Luke doesn’t dare look at his father. He isn’t sure if Michael will be angry or pleased with Luke jumping in like that.

“Excuse me everyone”, Emily pipes in. “Our lunch reservation is in fifteen minutes. Shall we adjourn?”, she asks sweetly, shooting a knowing look at Luke.

The moment they reach the second floor where the restaurant is, Luke stiffens. She’s here.

Paislee

Paislee smiles to herself as she flutters around the house to get ready for her meeting in the city. He finally texted! She can’t shake the giddy feeling she has in her stomach as she gets dressed. She chooses beige silk pants and a matching halter top, paired with a sand coloured pair of peep toe heels. She piles her hair at her crown, allowing some loose tendrils to fall from the messy bun, and around her hairline.

Her appointment with her parents’ estate lawyer is in his office building at the restaurant. They’ll discuss everything over lunch and she’ll sign all the necessary paperwork. Once it’s complete, she will have inherited everything the Garretts own.

The drive into the city is uneventful. She enjoys the smooth ride of her mother’s white Jaguar. The music is playing loudly, and Paislee sings along while she drives.

When she arrives on the second floor of the office building, she is greeted by the hostess for the restaurant. “My appointment is right there”, she smiles and points over the girl’s shoulder at Charles Feldman, who is waving from their table. Charles took over the law firm from his father two years ago, so he’s still quite young. Paislee guesses he’s close to thirty years old.

Charles stands to greet her, kissing her cheek before they sit. Immediately, Paislee is hit with the scent of Christmas and she freezes. Charles says something to her, but she hasn’t heard him. Her head is on a swivel, scanning the room for the source of that smell. Her eyes land on him. Luke is at the door with a young blonde woman, and he’s glaring at Paislee’s table. Is he on a date?

Paislee looks away quickly and tries to focus on Charles. “I’m so sorry, what was that?”, she asks in her sweetest voice. “I said you’re all grown up, Paislee! You look stunning”, Charles drools. “How kind of you to say”, she smiles, her eyes darting back to the door. Luke is now seated at a table of six people, the blonde beside him. She’s chatting away to him, but Paislee can see that he isn’t listening. He’s watching Paislee, his brow furrowed.

Although he doesn’t seem interested in the blonde, Paislee is irritated that she’s fawning all over him. Paislee redirects her attention back to Charles and picks up her menu. His scent is so strong, and her knees feel weak. What is it about this guy that does this to her? Every fibre of her being wants to run to him.

“Mate”, a woman whispers nearby. Paislee drops her menu, and knocks her water on the table. It almost sounds like the voice is in her head, the voice from her dreams. “Paislee? Are you alright?”, Charles asks her, his face etched with worry. Their server comes by and blots the water on the table. “Oh, clumsy me”, Paislee breathes, blushing. “Will you excuse me a moment, Charles?”

Paislee gets up from the table and hurries to the ladies’ room. Inside the bathroom, she trembles as she clutches the bathroom counter. Looking in the mirror, her eyes look… different. She shakes her head and takes a couple of deep breaths. She needs to get through this meeting. Squaring her shoulders, she marches to the door.

Opening the bathroom door, she cries out in surprise. Luke is standing just outside the door with a worried look on his face. “Hey you. Everything okay?”, he asks her softly. “How did you know I was here?”, Paislee demands, “Are you following me?”

Luke blinks before letting out a huge belly laugh. “What’s so funny?”, she scowls. “Paislee, this is Leblanc Tower. My name is Luke LeBlanc. Maybe it’s you who is following me?”, he asks, raising an eyebrow and leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Paislee’s hands fly to her mouth and she turns bright red. “I’m sorry”, she whispers.

“I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow”, he murmurs, stepping in closer. “Luke? We have guests”, a man says from behind him. “Coming, Pop”, Luke answers without taking his eyes off of Paislee. “Come on, Mister Playboy”, the man says more firmly. Playboy? Is she falling for a playboy? Paislee’s heart sinks as she watches Luke breathe her in before walking away.