229
Tony
I got up early today. Quillan was still asleep, tucked in with Matt. I had no idea when Quillan started to crawl into Matt's bed to sleep, but I was a little jealous. I ate whatever was available and headed out hoping for the best and knowing that this was just the beginning. The guilt that kept pressing me. I found myself walking into the lobby of a high-rise building in the heart of a human city. I could smell hundreds if not thousands of humans around me. Once it had been uncomfortable, having been raised within the Blue Moon Estate for most of my life. I had no idea how Matt had gone into a human dormitory and not lost his mind that first year of college, let alone every year after.
My shoes clicked on the polished marble floors as I approached the security desk, my expression calm and collected.
"I'm here for an interview with Mr. D'Amico."
The woman blinked, nodded, and looked down at her screen, typing briefly.
"Take the silver elevator. You'll check in with his secretary on the top floor."
"Thank you."
I walked down the hallway, searching for the silver elevator. It was odd and oddly exhilarating to be interviewing for a position. I hadn't had to do this since I was in college. My lips twitched, thinking back to how anxious I'd been, how little I had known, and how far I had come. I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflective surface of the elevator as it opened and straightened my tie.
The elevator whisked me to the penthouse office, where a sweeping view of the city greeted me through floor-to-ceiling windows.
The man sitting at the front desk looked up at me, stood, and came around the desk.
"Mr. D'Amico will be getting out of a meeting soon. Can I offer you anything? Water? Coffee?"
"Water would be great. Thank you."
He nodded and led me down the hallway to a small conference room, just big enough for six people with a full wall of windows.
"I'll be back with your water in just a minute. Ice?"
"Please."
He nodded and left. I sat, pulling out my resume and gathering my thoughts. A few moments later, the secretary came in with a glass of ice water and a coaster before leaving again.
It seemed like half an hour passed before the door swung open, and a middle-aged man in a tailored suit entered. His gaze drifted over me as I stood and offered my hand. From his scent, he was just human, which I hoped would play in my favor.
"Mr. D'Amico, I presume?" I said, extending my hand. "Tony Chance, a pleasure to meet you."
He took my hand firmly and shook it.
He nodded. "Call me Richard. Have a seat, please. My apologies for the wait. Some people just don't know when to shut up."
I smirked. "I've experienced that."
He hummed pulling out my resume and scanning it. "I'm sure you have. Chance Industries, hm?"
"Yes."
"I--"
"Let's just cut to the chase," Richard said, setting the page down and meeting my gaze. "I know who you are. Your father's an asshole bar none, and from what I've heard you're not much better."
My eyes widened. I was
"If you're here to offer me a deal on behalf of Oren, you can tell him to kick rocks; otherwise, you'll have to give me a good reason to think you're not the asshole I've heard about."
I blinked and swallowed. That old anxiety seemed to bubble up in me as I searched for the words.
"You'll have to tell my father to kick rocks yourself," I said. "We aren't speaking right now."
He cocked an eyebrow.
"And it depends on who told you I'm an asshole if I could hope to defend myself."
His lips twitched into the faintest smile. His eyes gleamed.
"I appreciate honesty. Why aren't you speaking to your old man? From what I understand, once pack always a pack."
I considered what to say. He clearly wasn't just human. Was he a witch? Some other kind of shifter, or was he like the doctor and was human born into a supernatural family?
"My father's an asshole with his own agenda. He crossed a line that I can't forgive..."
"You were alpha while he was in jail."
"My brother and I."
"And you aren't any longer?"
"No."
"Turf war?"
"That would imply there was any loyalty to be found in the pack to Matt and I?" I shook my head. "I've recently found out that we were just placeholders to them and to the Council, so I've decided to let him and his beta take over."
He narrowed his eyes. "Do you intend to break all ties with your father? Your pack?"
"I..." I thought of Quillan and Ginevra, Matt, and that night under the full moon. "I think it's quickly becoming the only option I have. I haven't started the process... To be honest, I'm not even sure what the process is."
He hummed, staring at me with sharp eyes. "Well, since I don't care who you fuck and don't call, and that mate business is just messy, I suppose that's good enough for me."
He glanced at the resume. "I've seen your track record. Your father's an idiot and an asshole. You'll be in for a 90-day probation in which you'll have to clear your moves with me, but after that, you'll have free reign to do just about anything but sell the company I'm putting you in charge of."
He stood and nodded towards the day. "Come on."
"Wait... that's it?"
He shrugged. "I'm not a man to waste time. I'll feel better if and when you cut ties with Blue Moon, but other than that, I don't care."
"Wait." He turned back, cocking an eyebrow at me. I squared me shoulders. "There's something else."
"And the plot unfolds..."
"I plan to acquire Chance Industries as soon as it crashes."
He cocked an eyebrow. "You have the capital for that?"
"Not at the moment, but... knowing my father and the pack, I have a feeling that it won't be long before I do."
He grinned. "Vicious. I love it. We'll talk about it. Shall we?"
Within an hour, I had a badge and a start date and had filed out all the hiring paperwork I needed. It felt a bit like the first job I ever got. I considered contacting Glen with an offer to hire him from Blue Moon after the probationary period was over. I'd need an assistant I could trust depending on the state of the company I'd be taking over. As I stepped into the building's lobby, I breathed a deep breath.
"Tony!"
I frowned and turned towards the voice as Eliza came towards me. She was thinner than the last time I saw her. Her eyes were dark and drawn as if she hadn't been sleeping. There was a nervousness in her eyes that hadn't been there and a desperation. Stress seemed to be etched into her entire face.
"How did you know I was here?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
"That's not important--"
"You don't get to decide what's important to me, Eliza. I thought we were clear on where I stood on your opinion at this point."
Her eyes narrowed. "You can't talk to me. I raised you."
"Thanks," I said and turned from her.
"Wait!"
"I don't have anything to say to you, Eliza."
"You can't just ignore me. You have to talk to me--"
"I really don't."
I reached my car door and threw my briefcase in my backseat.
"You're just throwing a tantrum. Aren't you a bit too old for this? There are people's lives at stake here."
"Should have thought of that before you betrayed us." I glanced at her. "Before all of you betrayed us."
"You couldn't have really thought that we thought of you as our alpha long-term, Tony. You can't have been that naive."
Her words shook me. I closed the door and whirled on her, growling at her.
"Matt and I worked ourselves to the bone to make sure you and the rest of the pack could eat, that we could keep the Estate, that we could all live a better life after her was in jail," I glared down at her. "We did everything a real alpha should have done: provided, protected--"
"Tony--"
"And at the first chance, you went back to him, his cruelty and his incompetence. Did you think we'd just stick around and keep you all afloat while he drove the pack into the ground? What did you think was going to happen? Did you think at all?"
She lifted her chin. "I thought that you would know your place as the alpha's sons and do what you are supposed to."
I scoffed. "Not happening."
"We'll starve--"
"Not my problem."
"The Estate--"
"Still not my problem. I have a son to provide for." My lips twitched. "His mother, my brother, him, and me are all the pack I have to worry about. I'm not alpha, CEO, or anything else."
"Tony, you can't just leave us like this! Hasn't any of the years I've raised you meant anything to you."
I opened the driver's seat and paused as my eyes caught sight of a familiar vehicle. I could almost see my father and Cline inside and made a note to file a complaint with the Council about them following me.
Then, she touched me and I looked down at her. I frowned as her collar moved just enough to reveal a bruise around her neck.
"Tony--"
"Did your alpha do that to you?"
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