Chapter 30 Red Ink

Alpha Killian passed Eira’s desk and glanced at the biscuit in her hand.

"Eating that fast? Careful you don’t choke."

"Thanks for your concern, Alpha Killian."

Eira swallowed, then deliberately took another large bite.

A second later, the dry biscuit caught in her throat.

She coughed sharply. Miles set a bottle of water on her desk before she could reach for one, while Natalie gave her back a quick pat.

Alpha Killian stopped.

Eira drank some water and looked at him over the bottle.

"I’ll add it to my training plan."

The corner of his mouth almost moved.

"Good."

Alpha Killian returned to his office, with Miles following to deliver the morning briefing. A few minutes later, Miles came back out and closed the door behind him.

Natalie waited until he had passed. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"You can ask."

"That man we saw the other day at the mall," Kate said slowly. "Alpha Sebastian from Hale Group. That’s your husband?"

She still could not quite believe it.

"We’ve been with Alpha Killian for years," Natalie added. "We know most of the Alphas in the major packs around Palo Alto. We even—"

Kate lowered her voice. "We even know which Alphas are keeping which mistresses. But we never heard a whisper that Alpha Sebastian was married."

"That’s normal." Eira took smaller bites now, speaking calmly. "He and I never appeared together in public."

Kate blinked. "Did you at least have a ceremony?"

Eira hesitated.

Natalie reached over and lightly touched Kate’s arm. Kate pressed her lips together. She realized she had overstepped.

Eira saw their expressions shift. "We did. It was a pretty lively event."

Alpha Sebastian’s family had been there. So had his packmates.

Natalie and Kate became more certain something was very wrong. They said nothing more. Neither of them brought up what they had noticed at the mall that day.

Alpha Sebastian and that woman had smelled the same. Either they wore the same perfume, or they had been close enough for the scent to transfer.

"Eira," Natalie said carefully. "Just one more question. Please don’t be upset."

She took a quick sip of water.

"If Alpha Sebastian had a ceremony with you, why doesn’t he bring you to events? Is it because you’re not available? You don’t have to answer if—"

"It’s because he thinks I’m not suitable," Eira said.

Some things only became easier to move past once they were said out loud.

Kate’s face darkened. "Not suitable? You’re his wife. Who’s more suitable than that? That woman from the mall?"

Natalie bit her lip.

Kate, you are brave.

Eira nodded and returned to her desk. She opened her weekly and daily reports and began typing.

Natalie and Kate wisely said nothing more.

--

By lunch, Eira got a call from the front desk.

Her new phone had arrived.

She told them to hold it until the end of the day. She still had work to finish.

Late that afternoon, Miles stepped into the executive office carrying three slim black Sterling Group cases.

Kate looked up first.

"Please tell me those aren’t more spreadsheets."

"Expo kits," Miles said. "For the executive event team."

He handed one case to Natalie, one to Kate, and one to Eira.

"Secure work phone. Charger. Encrypted badge holder. Event access pass." He looked at them over his glasses. "Use the phones during the expo. Keep them charged. Don’t lose them."

Kate opened hers.

"Okay. This is actually kind of nice."

Natalie checked the event pass. "And the phone?"

"Required for the show floor and evening mixer," Miles said. "The event network runs through Sterling security."

Eira opened her case.

Inside was a new white phone, a security case, and a slim charger.

The same model she had ordered that morning.

Only this one was for work.

"I already bought a phone," she said.

Miles nodded. "Then you’ll have a personal phone and a company phone. This one stays with you during the expo."

Reasonable.

Too reasonable.

"Okay. Corporate finally did something I respect."

Natalie checked the event pass. "We should thank Alpha Killian. He approved the budget."

Miles looked up as they approached.

"Can we see Alpha Killian for a second?" Natalie asked. "Just to thank him for approving the expo package."

Miles knocked once, then opened the door.

Alpha Killian looked up from his laptop.

Kate stepped in first.

"Thank you for the event budget," she said. "We’ll make the executive team look good."

Natalie held up her secure phone. "And we’ll keep the tech charged. Promise."

Alpha Killian gave a short nod. "See that you do."

"Miss Crawford. Stay."

Natalie and Kate exchanged a quick look.

"We’ll save you a seat at lunch," Natalie said.

The two women left with their cases. Miles followed them out.

The office door closed behind Eira.

"Alpha Killian."

Eira paused at the door.

"Come look at this." He held out a document and his pen. "Tell me if anything jumps out."

She took the document first.

A bid proposal. Her stomach dropped.

Then she saw the project name. Not the Sovereign Processor Initiative. Not hers.

She let out a quiet breath. "What am I looking for?"

"Anything that doesn’t hold up."

"It’s lunch."

"Read first."

Of course.

Bosses always found a way to turn a five-minute favor into unpaid overtime.

Eira sighed and took the pen.

The first pages were standard. Then the numbers started drifting.

A delivery estimate in one section did not match the projected volume in another. A cost assumption came from an outdated market report. The risk section treated supply delays like a minor inconvenience.

She circled one line. Then another.

By the last page, the paper was covered in red ink.

"Done."

Alpha Killian picked up the document.

"Your volume forecast is too low. The delivery schedule doesn’t support the demand model, and the risk section is pretending supply delays won’t matter." Eira tapped the final page. "They will."

Alpha Killian’s brow tightened. He called Miles.

"Tell the project team there’s an emergency meeting at one-thirty. Full review. No exceptions."

He ended the call and looked at Eira. "First Lila’s thesis. Now this."

"I went to school."

"That answer is doing a lot of work."

"It’s still the answer."

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Alpha Killian gestured toward the door. "Go eat."

Back upstairs, she ate at her desk while transferring her contacts and photos to the new black device. The white Sterling phone remained unopened beside it.

At one twenty-five, Miles stopped at her desk.

"Conference room. Project review."

Eira looked at her half-finished lunch.

"Already?"

"Your notes started it."