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"Would I lie to you?" Maya scowls at me. "That's all I know."
I lean forward. "So, what happens if you find your fated mate? Do you have to be with them at all costs, or can you choose somebody else?"
Maya gives me an odd look. "Why would you choose somebody else?"
"What if you were forced to?"
She looks thoughtful. "Well, there have been cases where some males have mated their fated mate but have married someone else. It's kind of like having two wives, but they have to be with one. You can only have a child with a mate, so they use the fated mate to give birth to an heir and their legal wife raises the child. It's a practice in some packs, but it's not considered a good thing. The female counterpart in a fated mate pair is more delicate emotionally. They usually go mad in situations like this. But then, there are also instances when you find a fated mate but you don't think they are a good socioeconomic fit for you, so some people walk away from them. It's difficult, but once a mating mark is given to another, then the link tying you to that fated mate disappears."
I gaze down at the floor. "So it's not set in stone then?"
"I guess not," Maya murmurs.
Fortunately, Tony shows up at that moment with the hair-cutting supplies, and the rest of the evening is lost to my hair being cut and styled, followed by us watching a movie on Maya's phone and eating cold pizza. For a crappy week, this weekend seems to be shaping up to be a good one. But when my phone lights up in the middle of the night while Maya snores on the couch while I'm sprawled on the soft carpet, the happiness inside me fades as I read the message from Jonathon.
'Meet me Sunday afternoon at Caper's Lot.'
CHAPTER 11
Adam
I don't trust her.
I tuck my tongue in my cheek and glance at Watson, who's standing by the glass walls of my building looking outside. It's a Sunday, and I would rather be anywhere other than here. We could have met in a coffee shop, a restaurant, my house, but no. I was expected to open my office on a Sunday afternoon to listen to Watson complain.
I don't have anything against the older official. In fact, he's guided me over the years and he's been a huge source of strength when it comes to holding my successorship of my position as Alpha. But Watson also enjoys interfering, which is a pain in the ass for me.
"I didn't have a choice but to hire her," I say, wondering when this little meeting will be over. "You know the alpha has the right to fill open vacancies with pack members. Gerald had just put in his resignation a day before, and somehow Father found out about it. My hands were tied."
Watson turns toward me, his face lined with disapproval. "And he managed to fill the position closest to you? The company is rife with rumors."
It's hard not to show my irritation. Watson is amongst the majority shareholders of my company, so I can't exactly dismiss him.
"Those rumors are false."
"So, she wasn't sent here to seduce you?" he demands incredulously. "You really believe that?"
My wolf is snarling at the disrespect, but I have to keep it together.
"I do," I say firmly. "I think my father intended for her to try, but she's not interested in that. And Norman's behavior towards her is in front of you. He's been abusing the girl. Healer Lydia and I were eyewitnesses to him dragging her out of the bed at the infirmary and beating her viciously. If anything, I think we can bring Cynthia over to our side. Out of everyone, she has the biggest motive to not want Norman as the next Alpha."
I can see Watson is considering my words. However, he's no fool, and he's not easily swayed by a few words.
"Perhaps," he murmurs, "but having her glued to your side isn't appropriate. The rumors about her––"
"Since when do you believe such rumors, Watson?" I frown.
"You fired a promising marketing director because of her!"
"And I intend to fire a few more people." I get to my feet now, my voice hard. "Sharon Wheeler wasn't fired because of what she said to Cynthia. She was fired because she let her arrogance and her belief in a few wild rumors affect her work. She nearly cost us millions by refusing to obey an order. She insulted and kicked out my PA when I sent Cynthia over with instructions. If Cynthiahad not come up with the launch plans she did, we would be facing a massive loss, and that would have affected your profit margin as well. And the plans Cynthia came up with were so interesting and manageable, way below the budget Sharon had initially asked for, that one plan is going to be utilized for this product and the other is going to be kept on the back burner for another product in development."
Watson is quiet as he listens to me.
I tuck my hands in my pocket, facing him. "KDL Foods boomed in the industry this past decade before Norman joined and right after Cynthia joined. She is well respected in business circles. Someone of her business acumen working for us is going to be nothing but beneficial."
Watson doesn't look very happy. "Let's put that aside for now. Who are these people you're planning to let go of and why?"
"Like you, others also believe the rumors about her, especially the ones about her and Norman and my father's goal in bringing Cynthia here. However, they have resorted to physical abuse. I won't tolerate that in my company. Cynthia has done nothing to warrant such targeted attacks."
