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“Nothing confirmed, but there’s a new bidder in play for Benson Insurance. We don’t know who’s behind it, but word on the street is it’s–”
“Aiden Adalwulf,” Billy spits the name of my cousin and nemesis like a curse.
My wolf surges to his feet. The room turns red–my wolf giving me a vision of it painted with our rival’s blood. If only.
“I thought Benson was a done deal?” Nickel says.
“Not yet,” Vance says. “Benson Senior is dragging his feet. Now we know why.”
I stop grinding my teeth long enough to ask, “What’s the offer?”
“No news on that, but if I had to guess? Twice what we did.”
“Fuck that,” Billy says. “He’d be overpaying by a couple bill.”
“Adalwulf Associates can afford it,” Vance says. “You know Aiden’s just doing this to mess with us.”
“Why are we getting into insurance anyway?” Billy scoffs.
“Stability,” Nickel says more patiently than I would. “After this acquisition, we’ll have exposure in all major sectors.”
“So start from scratch. Who needs a fusty old company like Benson when we can build a new, improved, more agile one? Give Jake and I a weekend. We’ll code something that makes Geico look like a dinosaur.” Billy grabs a stress ball and lobs it at Jake, who catches it without raising his head from the report. “Right?”
Jake, our resident coding genius, shrugs. “I could do it.”
“No,” I say. “Purchasing Benson was more about access to the insurance sector. It was about balancing our image.”
“The new and the old.” Nickel steeples his fingers. “The modern and the legacy. We prove we’re not some snotty nose tech upstart who surged the crypto wave.”
“But we did surf the crypto wave,” Billy says.
“That’s how we started. But we’re more than that,” I say. “Acquiring Benson is further proof.”
“It would be a feather in our cap,” Nickel says. “And losing it to the Adalwulfs will make us look weak.”
He’s right. Normally, I’d be willing to let a deal go. But now that the Adalwulfs are involved, we have to win. Because when you’re a wolf, dominance isn’t about a gold medal or a worthless trophy.
It’s survival.
My mother is an Adalwulf. Because of her betrayal, they stole the crown from the Blackthroats, but they don’t get to keep it. It’s my job to take our rightful position back. I’m the alpha. Taking the bull of Wall Street by the horns is both my destiny and my duty.
“We stand our ground.” I order. “We sweeten the pot. Golden parachutes, Moon Co. shares, whatever it takes.”
“I’ll have a new proposal option on your desk by noon,” Vance tells me.
“I’ll get my team digging to see if there are any details to be had on what Adalwulf offered,” Nickel’s already tapping on his phone, rallying his troops.
“I want this in the bag before the charity ball,” I add. “Call a meet ASAP.”
“On it,” Billy launches from his chair. He’s not afraid to give pushback, but he’ll be loyal to the direction his Alpha sets.
“It’s delicate,” Nickel calls after him. “Send someone who can sweet talk them a little.” He knows Billy can’t stand humans.
“I can play good cop,” Billy parts his lips in a Joker’s smile. It’s horrifying, not charming. Jake and Sully snort.
“Not quite right, I’m afraid,” Nickel clips. “Send someone else.”
Billy flips him off and exits the conference room to harangue my assistants to set up a new meeting with the heads of Benson. My shifter hearing catches all of it.
