Even Wes thought I should let him.
Every instinct wanted me to tough it out, to tell him no, to be stubborn.
More likely, though, I’d never get rid of him without some degree of compromise.
“I’ll accept your offer of a chauffeur, thank you.” I sounded way too prim and proper, but it was an awkward situation to be in.
I didn’t want to be beholden to him or owe him anything, and I was pretty sure I could handle some pest of a company that wanted to buy Gold Moon. It wasn’t even for sale. I still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of everything Dad had been investigating.
“I also think…” He stepped closer, his gaze not moving from mine, his eyes soft as he looked at me. “I also think, Jo, that I should reach back out to Brody and get him to run that trace on the last call to your phone.”
I sighed. “The same Brody I just told not to do that?”
His lips twitched as he nodded. “Yeah. That Brody. I think I might have mentioned that he’s my chief security officer and he handles all manner of security issues for Apex? I’d very much like to lend his skills to you so we can find a quick resolution to this.” His voice turned almost seductive, and I steeled myself against the persuasiveness it held.
“Take the offer.” Wes rolled his eyes in the corner of the room. “Jo, really, you’d be dumb not to let Patrick help. Even if you go to the police — which is still a great idea because you were, you know,attacked— do you have any idea how much faster Patrick and Apex can get things done than the police? Patrick’s probably got influence in places we don’t even know exist. For God’s sake, he’s got a man standing by who can run a trace on your phone. You think the police are going to pony up that kind of service from the get-go?” Wes flapped his arms uselessly for a moment when I didn’t respond straight away. “Well?”
Patrick’s smile widened and he nodded, his expression knowing and slightly gleeful.
I almost grinned in response. Just seeing him smile like that made me want to do the same. I’d bet he was an excellent man to give gifts to. Seeing that kind of smile could get addictive.
But I couldn’t afford to be completely swayed, no matter how charming Patrick was or how dramatic Wes became.
“I think that depends,” I said.
“On what?” Immediately, Patrick looked more animated, and I understood why.
I’d pretty much just issued him a challenge. If he could settle whatever worry I was about to voice, he could see himself winning. He was all about the negotiation, all about the deal.
“On whether your real intentions of protection are merely to ensure the Apex takeover of Gold Moon goes ahead.” Suddenly that was the most important question in my head. I wanted to ensure Patrick’s interest wasn’t purely professional.
I wanted it to be more important than that. And I didn’t want to explore why.
He shook his head, and relief filled my chest. Relief I didn’t want to acknowledge as I held myself perfectly still to wait for his reply.
Relief that nearly brought unwanted tears to my eyes.
“As Silver Claw alpha, I make it my business to protect wolves in my territory — those that require protection, anyway. I’m also in the business of eliminating the riff-raff.” He grimaced as he said that last part. “That part doesn’t rest on any deal for any company. In fact, as CEO of Apex, it’s really in my best interest that I let you finish auditing the records for Gold Moon and conclude your investigation. It benefits us both, right? Less work for me, anyway.”
I nodded. I was sure he was right about those things, but I wasn’t sure I could express exactly why. There were logical reasons, I was sure, but there was still something about him that stole my thoughts when he spoke. The authority he projected made him very attractive.
“It’s like this.” He relaxed his stance, no longer looking quite so formal. “If you get a true valuation for your company, you can sell it for the right price, so that can only be good for you. The same is true if you get a clearer idea of what’s going on and you decide to keep it and manage it going forward. That also means you’ll be able to clear up the rumors doing the rounds about your company.” He shrugged and chuckled. “And any of those things are good for me because you’ll be the one who’s done all the work.”
I smiled. Okay. So it absolutely made sense. My staying in control as company CEO for the time being probably did benefit him. But that didn’t really explain his desire to protect me.
And there was still one more thing. “You keep calling itmycompany,” I murmured.
He nodded. “I believe you’re the CEO now.”
Well, yes. “Yeah, I am. But Gold Moon Inc. is really my dad’s company. It just feels like he’s being erased a bit.”
He’d barely been gone. It felt wrong to take complete ownership of everything so quickly.
“I think I get that.” Patrick’s tone was now considerate. “Your dad had a good reputation, and they must be big shoes to fill.”
Shit, yes they were. “The biggest shoes,” I agreed.
Most days, I felt like a little kid playing dress up in my dad’s clothes with pants I could barely walk in, in a jacket that came halfway down my calves and covered my hands.