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Great. I’ll be right there :)
I sighed. I couldn’t keep putting this off if I wanted to have a say in who my future mate would be. The thought of it nearly set me off, but I forced myself to take some deep breaths. This was how it was going to be. The sooner I could accept it and move forward, the better.
Less than two minutes later, there was a knock at my office door.
“Come in,” I called out.
Jessica opened the door and stepped in, her arms full of file folders. She gave me a bright smile. “I printed everything off to make it easier.”
Knitting my brows together, I stared. “How many have applied?”
“Forty-eight.”
My brows flew up. “You’ve got to be kidding.” That was way more than I’d expected. With twenty regional packs falling under the North American pack’s jurisdiction, that meant there were multiple submissions from each pack.
Jessica chuckled. “You’re a desirable man, it seems.”
Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought her cheeks turned pink as she sat down on the other side of my desk, busying herself with flipping through the files.
She cleared her throat then glanced at me briefly before returning to messing with the folders. “I’ve organized the applications by qualifications. Some have skills and experience that make them more suited to being the mate of a beta. That doesn’t mean we should discount the others, though. I mean, Kayden didn’t have any distinct qualifications, and look what a wonderful job she’s done.”
“Right.” I leaned back in my chair and watched Jessica, a faint smile tugging at my mouth as she bit her lip, her brow furrowed in concentration as she clearly debated which applications to present to me first. She took her job seriously, which I supposed was a good thing. I needed someone looking out for me here.
“Why don’t we just start from the top and work our way down?” I suggested.
“Yeah. Okay.” She set the stack of folders on my desk then opened the first one. “I’ve also sorted them alphabetically, after considering qualifications.”
I grinned. “Do you always pay such close attention to detail?”
Jess sat up straighter, her eyes finding mine once more, and if she hadn’t been blushing before, she was now. “I have systems in place to keep me organized.”
Her tone was defensive, and I had to laugh. “I’m teasing you. I’m glad you’re taking this seriously. It is my future on the line, after all.”
She blinked then shook her head. “Right. Okay. So here we have Kelly Bagwell from the Southern Pacific pack.” She opened the file and turned it around, pushing it to my side of the desk. “Clearly a California girl.”
I glanced down, noting the picture that was included with the application. Her long, bright blonde hair and deeply tanned skin confirmed what Jessica said. She was tall, curvy, and voluptuous. And beautiful. A woman I would easily go for under normal circumstances.
“What are her qualifications?” I asked, flipping through the rest of the papers.
“Her father is part of the pack’s inner circle, and she’s an assistant to the alpha. She’s well versed in politics and was one of the top contenders for her pack’s submission to Holden’s Contention.” Traditionally, each pack submitted only one contestant for the Contention. She hadn’t made the cut for Holden’s, but might be a good candidate now.
“Great. Let’s put her in a maybe pile, and we can revisit all the potential yeses once we’ve reviewed all the applications.”
Jessica nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Next up is Casey Baker. She’s from Kayden’s old pack. I spoke with Kayden, but she didn’t really know the girl.”
I glanced at her photo—the complete opposite of the first applicant. Casey had short brown hair in a pixie cut and green eyes. She looked strong and tough—like she’d do well in the physical competitions, which I thought might be interesting to watch. “Let’s add her to the maybe pile as well.”
“Will do.” She moved along quickly through more applications, knowing the details of each woman’s background fairly well, giving me all the pertinent details in a short summary.
“I have to admit, I’m impressed,” I told her as we made it a quarter of the way through her stack. “You’re making this really easy for me.”
“How so?” Her cheeks flushed again as she smiled, and I found myself smiling back. Surprising, considering how much I’d been dreading this.
“You’re answering my questions without me even having to ask. You know these applicants pretty thoroughly.”
Jessica shrugged. “I know you’re busy. And I know you don’t want this.” She didn’t meet my eyes as she added, “I figured it was the least I could do to make it as easy as possible on you.”
I paused, unsure what to say to that. Yes, I blamed her for putting me in this situation with her offhanded remark. I wasn’t wrong when I told her no one would have come up with this idea if she hadn’t mentioned it. But I didn’t want her beating herself up, either.
