Chapter 12 She Puts Up With Too Much

Alpha Killian rose and took the marked page from Lila.

"You made this correction?"

"Yes." Eira kept her voice even.

He studied the neat mark, then set the page down.

"My executive assistant is on maternity leave. Recruiting hasn’t found a replacement."

"I don’t have assistant experience."

"You caught a graduate-level error in seconds. You can manage a calendar." His gaze stayed on hers. "You’re already on payroll, and your resignation is still pending. Fill the position until your last day."

It sounded reasonable. Almost too reasonable.

Eira considered refusing, but that would only draw more attention. Accepting gave her time to decide whether Alpha Killian’s interest meant something or whether exhaustion had made her suspicious of everything.

"Understood, Alpha Killian."

"Start today. Miles will brief you."

Eira turned toward the door.

Lila caught up with her. "Coffee. I still owe you."

"Sure."

"You coming?" Lila asked her brother.

"I’ve got somewhere to be." Alpha Killian was already grabbing his jacket. "It’s on the way."

--

They landed at a window table.

The waiter set down three coffees. Alpha Killian slid one across the table without a word, sliding it in front of Eira before Lila could even reach for hers.

"Thanks," Eira said. Then, quieter: "Mr. Sterling."

Alpha Killian’s mouth curved. Slow. A little too relieved for a guy who’d spent the last hour acting like this was only about a vacant desk.

"So you did remember."

Eira nodded. "I did. And thanks. For everything, back then."

"Wait, wait, wait." Lila sat up straight, looking between them like someone had switched channels mid-movie. "What are you two even talking about? You’ve met before?"

"We ran into each other," Eira said simply. "At a hotel."

"Yep." Alpha Killian confirmed. Zero help whatsoever.

Lila’s jaw hit the floor. "A hotel?! Oh my God. OH MY GOD." Her voice jumped an octave. She slapped both hands on the table. "This is huge! Finally! Someone’s actually willing to put up with him! Someone might actually—"

Alpha Killian’s hand shot out and clamped over her mouth.

Lila’s eyes went wide. She nodded like crazy. Universal sign language for okay, okay, I’ll shut up.

"Sit. Still." Alpha Killian’s tone could freeze a glass of water mid-air. "You’re twenty-two. Act like it."

He let go.

Lila slumped back in her chair with a huff. The second her brother’s attention drifted, she leaned across the table toward Eira.

"Don’t let the scary-face thing fool you," she whispered, way too loud to actually count as whispering. "He’s mean to your face and mean behind your back. Equal opportunity jerk."

Eira’s mouth twitched. Almost a smile.

"That’s why nobody wants him," Lila went on, totally unbothered. "The Pack Council’s basically been carpet-bombing his inbox with headshots of eligible she-wolves for months. Dude’s one bad Tuesday away from getting slapped into an arranged marriage."

Eira didn’t say anything. She just sipped her coffee, calm and composed, like the chaos around her had nothing to do with her at all.

Except it kind of did. Especially with Lila still going.

"Okay, real question." Lila leaned across the table. "You’re seriously not in R&D? Because you have major lab energy. I know the type. I spend every day with professors who smell like mothballs and burnt coffee."

She pointed at herself.

"I’m twenty-two. I’m rich. I should be at brunch making bad decisions. Instead, I’m buried in equations because my robot child has expensive taste in processors."

Eira blinked.

"And now you’re working upstairs? Killian already has two assistants, but neither of them handles his calendar. You’re filling in for his EA, which means you get the full nightmare package. Plus, weren’t you quitting anyway, so... ow!"

Alpha Killian tapped the back of her hand.

"You talk too much."

"My bad. Should I communicate through intense eye contact and one-word answers like you?"

She turned back to Eira.

"Working for him is going to be brutal. Thoughts and prayers."

A small laugh slipped out of Eira.

Lila lit up. [She likes me. Nailed it.]

"Anyway, thank you for catching me earlier. And for fixing my numbers. You saved my thesis and possibly my will to live."

She pulled out her phone.

"We’re friends now. Give me your number. I promise I won’t blow up your phone. Maybe a few memes, the occasional crisis text, and emergency pizza invitations."

Eira hesitated, then took out her phone.

The screen flickered. Cracks spread across one corner.

Lila noticed but said nothing. She opened her contact card, and they tapped phones. Eira’s screen froze before the new contact finally appeared.

"I haven’t been able to replace it," Eira said. "Most of my paycheck goes toward household expenses."

Lila’s smile faded.

"That’s generous, but it also sucks. Your family gets everything, and you get a phone held together by hope."

Eira had known her for less than an hour, yet Lila had noticed what the Hale family had ignored for four years.

Something warm stirred in her chest.

Then Alpha Killian spoke.

"Alpha Sebastian makes millions, but his wife can’t replace a phone." His voice was quiet and cold. "Hale Group must be doing worse than its press team claims."

Eira went still.

Vetted.

Miles knowing her full name before she introduced herself.

And now Alpha Killian knew who her husband was, how much he earned, and how their household money was spent.

The pieces finally clicked into place.

He had looked into her.

Not just her employee record. Her marriage.

The warmth inside her vanished. She felt exposed, as if he had opened a locked door without asking.

Alpha Killian saw the change in her face. The words had left him before caution caught up. He had meant to insult Alpha Sebastian, not remind Eira that he had been digging through her life.

Too late.

Eira put down her coffee and stood.

"Lila, thank you for the coffee."

Then she turned to Alpha Killian, her expression calm again. Too calm.

"Alpha Killian, what are my responsibilities?"

"Miles will brief you."

"Understood."

She walked away without another word.

Alpha Killian watched her leave, jaw tight.

--

Thunk.

A hand stopped the elevator doors.

They reopened, and Alpha Killian stepped inside.

Eira moved aside. "Alpha Killian."

"Miss Crawford."

He glanced at her. The warmth from the café was gone.

"I shouldn’t have mentioned your husband in front of Lila."

"No, you shouldn’t have."

The elevator reached the executive floor. Alpha Killian let her exit first.

Miles was waiting outside.

He walked Eira through her temporary duties. She would manage Alpha Killian’s calendar, prepare meeting files, coordinate travel, and track partnerships.

Compared with running a federal research team, it was simple.

By noon, she had fixed two scheduling conflicts and caught an error in a partnership brief.

Miles reported back that afternoon.

"Miss Crawford learns fast."

"Good." Alpha Killian looked through the glass wall at her desk. Then he remembered the cracked phone. "Sebastian Hale’s compensation."

Miles opened the file on his tablet. "His disclosed base salary is close to five million a year. Not counting bonuses, dividends, or his shares in Hale Group."

Alpha Killian’s expression cooled. "Yet his wife uses a broken phone and helps pay household expenses."

"That’s what the records show."

"Where does the rest go?"

"Corporate filings don’t show private spending. But last night’s Pack review found regular payments linked to Serena Winthrop. Research funding, travel, gifts." Miles paused. "She also moved into the Hale residence."

"You’ve been busy."

"You ordered a Pack-level review."

Fair point.

Alpha Killian looked at Eira again. "She puts up with too much."

Miles said nothing.

"Send her in."