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Becoming one of the best private security companies in the world made us less private than I would like. There were a few articles regarding the change in ownership in Cisco Magazine and Silicon Valley, and we’d been getting an influx of resumes left and right. A house cleaning was usually expected in changes of guard.
I was planning on making changes. However, I wasn’t firing anyone. I was expanding our reach. That was why I was here today. I wanted to officially introduce myself to the team, and I was here to talk to Mr. Roswell. He had been Dad’s head of technology for the last thirty years. He was practically family. I had grown up with him and his family around the pack house, and he was the cousin of James’ dad, the current Gamma.
I always felt a little dumb when I talked to him. The man was a genius. He used to babysit us from time to time. He literally wiped my ass more than once, and now I had to get the courage to talk to him like his boss.
We walked in just as Dad was beginning to gather everyone. There were, of course, many people sad to see him leaving. He was a fantastic boss and Alpha. I had big shoes to fill. I had waited too long already, though, wanting to finish my master’s degree, and slowly taking the reigns of the pack. Dad had been more than amazing at letting me do this at my pace, knowing that I was also taking every free moment I had to look for my mate.
Tenoch whimpered at my thoughts of our mate. She was playing hard to find, or something happened to her. There was no other explanation. We were twenty-six now, and we’d been looking across the country, Mexico, and abroad. It was like she’d yet to be born.
Waiting was torture at times. I felt nothing for she-wolves. No desire to bed them, kiss them, or date them. Tenoch and I only wanted her, and she wouldn’t show herself. I was running out of places to look, and the prospect of taking a chosen mate, after seeing the love my parents shared, was depressing.
The applause and words of welcome brought me out of my thoughts, and I gave a small speech, letting them know that while I was making some changes in the next months, everyone’s job was still secure.
The only person who wouldn’t be working alongside me was my father’s secretary, who was retiring along with him, thanks to Dad’s generous pension program that he provided for her. She deserved it. She was a human female who cared for her grandkids after her daughter died of an overdose. Dad hired her when she was already near retirement age almost eight years ago, and he’d discussed with Mom about giving her this pension so she wouldn’t have to work until she passed away. The woman was kind and smart, and deserved some rest.
“So, what’s the plan for your first big day in the office?” Dad asked once we were back in his office.
“Mr. Roswell. I want him to get started on hiring all the staff we’ll need and for that, I need to convince him not to retire when you do. The new building is almost finished and I want to fill it soon.”
“It’s a great idea, to have a building and staff specifically for magical security and technology needs. We never tapped that market enough. I stuck to the easier market. Humans are not as complicated as they like to think.” Dad smiled a bit mischievously.
“If you hadn’t done all the work you did, we wouldn’t be in a position to expand. I’m just following the next step into the natural growth you’ve set for us.” I was really proud of everything Dad accomplished. I looked up to his and Mom’s work ethic all my life. I only hoped I could be half as good an Alpha as he was. Right now, he and Mom were planning a proper honeymoon. They were taking off for a couple of months, now that Areli was studying at university. Everyone was already taking bets on how long Mom would actually last away from her kids, though.
Chapter Two
Cory
I was talking to Dad about my proposal when Mr. Roswell walked in the door with James, who was carrying a plate of cake in his hands. I glared at him.
‘What? It’s good cake,’ James argued, sitting beside me at the small conference table. Dad left, and I was now facing Mr. Roswell, wondering where to start.
“You say you won’t have layoffs, and yet you bring me in right after your takeover speech. Should I be worried?” Mr. Roswell asked with an amused look on his face, taking pity on me and breaking the ice.
“No. Actually, I would like to promote you, Mr. Roswell,” I replied. His eyes widened, but then he looked confused.
“I’m already the head of my division,” he argued.
“Yes, and we’re expanding it. The building being constructed near the pack’s property will be retrofitted to fit the needs of the company. This division will stay the same. However, the one near the pack will be exclusively for shifter and supernatural tech.” His eyebrows went up at that.
“And you want me to head up that division instead?”
“No. I would like you to manage the heads of both divisions,” I explained. “While having the liberty of pursuing any projects of your choosing. This also means you can keep an office in the new building and the one you have here.”
“That’s... a really tempting offer,” he said, and my heart sank at how he appeared to measure his words. I knew he might want to retire when Dad left, but I was hoping a new playground would entice him into staying.
“Who’s going to be the head of the new building?” he asked.
“We’re going to be looking internally and externally for the best candidate. Does that position interest you, instead?” I asked. I would keep him in whatever capacity I could. I needed him.
“I’m definitely thinking about it. The first offer, too. Do you have the plans for the building I can look at? Would you be taking people from this office? How many new staff are you hiring for the new building?” He started firing off questions, which I thought was a good sign, so I allowed myself to relax a little.
“The building is bones outside of the top floor, which is almost ready to be occupied. We just need to provide the final layout to the designers so they can get to work. I was hoping to bring you on board before I finalized any plans. You would have total design freedom, within budget, of course. I want it retrofitted with our best technology. It needs to be tighter than Fort Knox, which I believe you’ve been able to hack before,” I buttered him up. One side of his mouth quirked up into a half-smirk. I knew well how much he liked to time himself on how fast he could hack a place. “As for the staff, we would be hiring about two hundred to two fifty.”
“And I wouldn’t be in charge of any of them? Only the new heads of both divisions?” he asked, the gears in his head turning as he considered everything.
“Correct. I do want your input during the hiring process, but you will only manage two people and oversee their progress and projects to ensure everything remains up to SSI standards. The rest of the time, you’ll work on whatever projects catch your interest as long as they further the company’s endeavors. If you invent another program that makes a phone quack any time the owner says the word fuck, we’ll have to have a conversation about how long that took you,” I teased.
Mr. Roswell laughed, remembering the prank he pulled on Uncle Gonzalo back when we were little.
