The Wolf’s Billionaire by Layla Silver
Chapter 14 – Bastian
“I can’t believe I’m letting you poach Matt.” Meredith folded her arms and pretended to be cross with me.
“I don’t know,” I said, turning in a full circle and reviewing my now-empty office.
Every paper had been filed or forwarded to someone else at the firm, every password changed, every surface swept clean and wiped down. Save for the single box of odds and ends waiting on the chair by the door, the office was devoid of any sign I’d ever been there at all.
“It seems like a small price to pay for being rid of me,” I teased, finishing my turn facing her.
I hadn’t actually poached my assistant, of course. I’d had it written into my separation package that I had the right to make him an offer and take him with me if he agreed. I’d half thought he might stay in Baltimore rather than make the move, but the chance to jump from Executive Assistant to Manager in a single leap with all his moving expenses paid had proven persuasive. Or possibly it was just the fact that he was an avid skier and getting paid to move to prime skiing territory was an offer too good to pass up.
“Everything is going to run more smoothly without you,” Meredith allowed. Then she smirked. “Though just thinking about your firm’s operating procedures makes me want to drink.”
I laughed. We’d had long conversations in the last few weeks, my step-sister and I.
My father had poured his life into Spire Investments and, while I had no desire to inherit it, I respected the edifice that he’d built. I was also aware of how many good people the firm employed. It was important to me to make sure that the firm passed into Meredith’s control as fluidly as possible, with as few negative effects on clients or staff as could be arranged.
I’d agreed not to poach clients or staff and not to actively compete in Spire’s primary markets. Neither was a sacrifice, really. My aims lay in other directions. But having it on paper soothed worries among everyone involved and allowed our business personas to part on good terms. As the only remaining nuclear family either of us had left, the parting was more bittersweet.
“You will come back to visit,” Meredith ordered as if reading my mind.
“I will not,” I shot back. “I’ll be living in the heart of resort country. You should come to me. Besides, you’re keeping the jet.”
“It’s company property!” she argued. “I can’t use it to just jaunt up to see you for a weekend.”
“Of course you can,” I goaded. “We’ll write it off as a business meeting.”
“That is not how it works.” She tried to scowl but her lips quirked up. “I can’t believe you think you can run your own firm, Bastian. My god.”
“I’m not going to run it,” I said blithely, just to tease. “Matt’s going to run it. I’m going to have my hands full with planning a wedding and building a nursery, remember?”
Her eyes darted to mine. “Is Ainsley—”
“Not yet. But we’d like to start a family after the wedding.”
Meredith had met Ainsley shortly after we’d returned from Cancun and been instantly charmed. Ainsley had had an anxiety attack in my arms in the hour before Meredith was due to join us for brunch at my apartment but, once she’d actually met my step-sister, she’d taken to her right away.
Meredith’s face softened. “Well,” she said begrudgingly. “If you give me a niece or nephew to visit, I suppose I might come to you. At least for now.”
“See?” I said. “I knew you’d come around. But if you need me,” I said, momentarily going serious, “you know I’m only a phone call away.”
“I know.” Meredith squared her shoulders. “Let me walk you out.”
Grabbing the box from the chair and propping it on my hip, I followed her out, switching off the lights for the last time.
“Have you found an architect yet?” she asked as we took the elevator down to the parking garage.
“Not yet.” I sent her an amused sidelong glance. “I’ve been a little busy.”
As a matter of fact, the days since Ainsley and I had returned from Cancun had flown by faster than any before in my life. I’d summoned the Spire jet the day before my contract officially ran out to take us back to Boston and Kaia and Renly had met us at the airport. To say that the initial confrontation had been tense was an understatement. But when I’d shown Renly the documents proving that I was leaving Spire and starting over on my own and Ainsley convinced Kaia that she’d forgiven me and wanted to give me another chance, my new Alpha conditionally accepted me into her pack.
It was a violation of Ainsley’s contract for her to have anyone else live in her suite at the hotel with her and equally impermissible for her to sleep with a hotel guest. Thus, the first order of business had been finding a temporary home and getting lines on a longer-term one. To our shared delight, my inquiries into Main Street properties quickly paid off in the biggest of ways. One of the buildings available for purchase had an empty but functional bachelor pad on the third floor. I bought it instantly.
Finding a qualified architect to redesign the space was proving to be a challenge but contracting construction crews to demolish the interior of the first floor down to the studs had been easy, so we were making progress despite the delays in other areas.
Ainsley continued to work her shifts at the hotel and to collaborate with Kaia and Renly on prep work for the Inn and the resort property more broadly. Until today, I’d been splitting my time between Baltimore and New England, doing everything I could to ensure the smooth transition of Spire Investments into Meredith’s hands while also wading through the reams of paperwork, bank clearances, and professional headhunting tasks involved in getting Ally investments off the ground.
In our stolen moments together around work, I courted Ainsley as I’d originally promised. We spent hours learning each other inside and out and planning for our shared future. We’d begun sketching out plans to put the headquarters of my new firm on the first floor of the building I’d purchased and to transform the second and third floors into a luxury living space, suitable not only for us but the pups we hoped to welcome.
Planning for our wedding would have to start in earnest sometime soon, too, but Ainsley was quietly hoping that her brother would move back to town before then. She longed to heal the rift between them and have him walk her down the aisle.
For my part, I’d already extended an invitation to Grayson to talk business. I wanted his brewery to be the first project Ally Investments sponsored, both for Ainsley’s sake and the pack’s.
All of that was in the future, however. As the elevator opened to the parking garage and Meredith walked me to my car, I looked forward to driving home to Ainsley and my pack. Tonight, I’d be back in my own bed, the woman I loved warm and safe in my arms, and all our beautiful dreams stretched out ahead of us for years to come. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
THE END
