Mr. Valentine's Heart

Product Testers Needed

I walk out of the elevator, and it's borderline chaotic. I took the private elevator up to HR's floor in hopes of avoiding the drama. I see I didn't plan well. Usually, this floor is drama-free, no matter what’s going on.

“When's something going to be done about him?!”

“He needs to be fired!”

“It's getting too hard to hold my wolf back!” And I see why we are in crisis mode. Whatever is happening has drawn the ire of some of the wolves in the building. We employ wolves and humans. The last thing we need is a wolf blowing up in front of a human. There’s no explaining that away.

Roman spots me and hurries to me. “What's going on, Roman?”

“It seems the new head of product testing has been trying to throw his weight around and use his position to do so. He, well, he's been offering to help those in production test the items personally. He's also caused many of our product testers to quit.”

“How the f***k did he pull that off?! They don’t even work in the building!” Roman sighs.

“He's made sure to be around when they hand in their reports.” What a sh.itshow!

“Remind me who the head of product testing is again.” We just promoted for that position. The previous head left to focus more on her family.

“It's Beckham Douglas. He's human.” Sh.it! I definitely need to handle this. I clear my throat, waiting for everyone to quiet down.

“I promise that I will fix this. Please go back to your stations and let me handle it.” I hear a lot of ‘yes Alpha’ and ‘thank you’ as they turn and leave the floor. I swing my eyes to Roman, but he already seems to know what I plan to ask.

“He's upstairs, waiting for you outside of your office. I told Breyanne not to let him go anywhere.” I nod and turn back to the elevator. I step in with Roman on my heels, and I press the button for the top floor.

The elevator doors open, and I'm met with calming music. I hate the silence a room can have. I always have to have some music on in the background. In the main areas of the building, I play classical music at a low level. In my office, my sanctuary, I turn it up a notch. I like a little bit of everything. If I like how the song sounds and the words, I will add it to my list. I mostly listen to R&B and some rap. I pretty much hate current music. I keep it to the 80s, 90s, early 2000s, and older.

I walk to the left, where my office is. There's a sitting area across from my secretary's desk. Breyanne Malone is a human who has been working for me for about 5 years now. She's efficient and knowledgeable about the job. I see Breyanne at her desk and a man sitting across from her. He's leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. They both look at me at the same time, and the man looks scared. “Please, follow me.” I walk forward, opening my office door. I stand to the side to let him in, and Roman follows after. “Breyanne, hold my calls for now.”

“Yes, sir.” I close my office door and walk to my desk. I sit at my desk and rest my arms on the top. “Do you know why you're here?” Mr. Douglas looks around the room before landing his eyes on me. He starts to wring his hands, and he gulps.

“Yes, sir. Some colleagues have misinterpreted my actions. I swear I would never do anything to make anyone uncomfortable. I would never be inappropriate at the workplace.” I look at Mr. Douglas, trying to decipher his inner feelings and intentions.

He's lying. Deep down, I can see the real motivation behind his actions. This man is a predator, pure and simple. Promoting him to the head position gave him the license to act on his urges. He needs to be fired and moved far away from this building for my employees' safety as well as his own. Thankfully, this is my company and I make the policy. I don't have to go through a lot of steps before I let him go. It's all listed in the contract every employee signs. An accusation is enough because I can determine the validity on my own for the most part.

“You may say that you are being misunderstood, but we both know that isn't true. I see you, I know you've been using your position to attack female employees. I won't tolerate that. You're fired. Your last check will be mailed to you.”

The look of shock on his face is comical, though not at all surprising. It doesn't take long for his face to contort to one of anger and disgust. He wants to say something, hell, he wants to hit me. I wonder if he will be bold enough to do so. Roman, call security.

They are already on the elevator. That's why I love having Roman as an assistant. He's always anticipating my needs.

When my door opens, two of my security guys walk in. They stand behind Mr. Douglas but say nothing. He looks behind him before looking back at me. I'm ready to jump up if need be, but I hope that he will just walk away. I watch him stand and turn to leave, my security following him along the way.

I sit back in my seat and let out a loud sigh. “We need to replace him, but I want people vetted properly.”

“That's going to take some time. Do you want me to get Jamichael down here in the meantime?” Jamichael Thomas is my Beta and my best friend. He deals with the pack while I'm working, but he will gladly fill in when he's needed.

“Yeah, give him a call. Tell him we need him in as soon as he can. We need to get a listing together for the head product tester. We also need one for product testers. Call the ones who left and see if any are willing to return with the change. Get me those listings for approval. I want to post them tomorrow.”

“On it, sir.” I watch Roman walk out of my office and turn my focus to my desk. I have a lot of work to do.