‘You’re so useless, I wouldn’t mate you too if I were her,’ Regal scoffed in his head.
He stared frustratedly at Audrey’s closed door before walking away, a new plan forming in his mind.
Audrey was seated at the back of the car with Alpha Lake beside her.
They were on their way to a meeting with Mr. Russell but she didn’t understand why Philip was seated in front of the car beside Henry.
she noticed the tense atmosphere between the driver and Philip, almost like he feared for Philip’s future well-being.
“We’ve arrived, Alpha,” Henry announced, breaking the silence in the car.
“Good afternoon, Alpha,” Cara greeted as they passed the reception area.
Again, she was successfully ignored by the Alpha.
Audrey felt the nasty glare sent her way by Cara as she walked past her, but she didn’t even look her way to acknowledge her, she had other important things occupying her mind.
Inside the elevator was awkward as it was only Audrey and the Alpha.
Philip was made to take the general elevator as he wasn’t worthy to ride with the Alpha.
Audrey wished she’d gotten in with Philip because the way Alpha Lake was heatedly staring at her made her feel very uncomfortable.
She had been giving him the cold shoulder since that morning after the dining incident, and now, she had to act normal with him because she was his secretary.
Audrey released her breath as the elevator opened, she quickly walked out of it and headed to the meeting room.
She internally prayed for nothing to go wrong in this meeting.
“Mr. Lake,” Mr. Russell offered his hand to Alpha Lake, wearing a bright smile.
Alpha Lake shook him briefly and went to sit behind his table.
“Aha! If it’s not my most trusted employee!” Mr. Russell engulfed Audrey in a tight hug as she walked into the office.
“Good morning, boss,” Audrey smiled politely and subtly withdrew from his embrace.
“Sit, Russell,” Alpha Lake said from his chair.
He wasn’t comfortable seeing how handsy Mr. Russell was being with Audrey.
“Please, sit,” Audrey said and brought out a chair in front of the Alpha’s table for Mr. Russell to sit.
“Thanks, Cathy,” He winked at her as he took his seat.
“Catherine, analysis,” Alpha Lake said coldly.
He was angry. She’s been giving him the cold shoulder since morning and here she was being and smiling and loving toward her ex-boss. Ex, because he wasn’t intending to let her return to him, or return anywhere else that wasn’t by his side.
“Yes, sir,” Audrey brought out her Apple iPad and placed it on the table.
“Over here, is the number of people who have gotten our products over the last six months through your company, Mr. Russell.
But for the last two months, the numbers decreased drastically, which also affected us in a way,” Audrey explained with a serious expression on her face. She was in a professional mood.
“Um, how about the recent data on the new designs, it’s better than this one, these are analyses of an old model,” Mr. Russell shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
What was Audrey doing? He brought her here to help cover up any loopholes from his end, but here she was saying it word for word as it was.
‘She was supposed to tweak the system damn it!’ Mr. Russell Fumed silently.
Now that he’s gotten a dent in his good records with Alpha Lake, how was he supposed to become a trusted and reliable customer if he couldn’t handle his end well? He wished he knew the whereabouts of Philip, he was a good tool he used in infiltrating the system.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Russell, but it doesn’t matter if it’s an old or new model, we supply to you because we believe your company is trusted by the people and have gained a massive buyout by prestigious celebrities and people of calibers. We expect your products to be able to sell in every season, without placing labels like old or new on them because all our productions are top-notch, no matter the time of manufacture,” She took her iPad and closed it up.
“Sir, I’m done,” Audrey said and went over to the sofa to sit down.
Alpha Lake had a proud smirk on his face. He already knew the analysis, but he wanted to see if Audrey would be able to act professionally, with him and Mr. Russell, given that they were currently in a fight and Mr. Russell was her undercover boss.
But, she proved him wrong. She put personal matters aside and handled it like a pro, she was sexy as fuck as he watched her explain the data analysis.
He was proud, and… turned on.
“The contract should be terminated, don’t you think, Russell?” Alpha Lake asked, relaxing against his chair.
Mr. Russell adjusted his tie, he saw this coming, if this happens his chances of ever getting closer to Alpha Lake would be gone forever, and there would be no way for him to kill him and take over his most valued company.
“I’d be lying if I say otherwise, Mr. Lake. But, I’m going to plead with you not to. I promise the next meeting will be all about profits and no losses,” He straightened himself in the chair to seem more confident.
Audrey watched as Alpha Lake smirked mischievously at Mr. Russell. She knew he wasn’t going to terminate their contract, he wanted to use it as bait, and she had a feeling that Philip had something to do with that bait.
She kind of felt sorry for Mr. Russell, he had sent her here to spy on Alpha Lake, but so far, she hadn’t given him the feedback he wanted. It wasn’t her fault; if you can’t eat them, join them; since everyone was being selfish, she decided to use him and get back into the Grey Blood Pack.
She hadn’t had the time to go looking for where Alpha Lake kept his hidden files about some hidden company that she’d never heard about. And she was starting to believe there was no secret company as Mr. Russell had said. She was more concerned about finding her amulet.
“It’s good you got a heads-up and a great analysis from my wonderful Secretary, now, you know what to do… I’ll extend our contract for another year, let’s see what you can do,” Alpha Lake took out a pen from his drawer and signed on a paper in front of him, then slid it to Mr. Russell.
“I won’t fail you, trust me,” Mr. Russell gingerly signed the paper and handed it back to Alpha Lake.
“Thank you, Mr. Lake. It’s always a pleasure and a privilege doing business with the country’s riches and most eligible bachelor,” Mr. Russell tried to lighten up the tense atmosphere with a joke.
“There are no sentiments in reality, Russell, I’m a businessman, I don’t take losses lightly. That would be all for now, Russell.” Alpha Lake tilted his head to the door, signaling him to leave.
“Sure, I’ll be on my way,” Mr Russell said awkwardly and stood from his chair.
Just before he could take a step forward, the door opened and Philip walked inside.
Audrey watched as three men had different expressions on their faces.
Alpha Lake was all calm and studying Mr. Russell with hawk-like eyes, Philip was trying his best not to be so tensed and Mr. Russell’s face was filled with horror as he looked Philip up and down.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Russell,” Philip said as he stood aside from the door.
“Ah, P-Philip, nice seeing you again,” Mr. Russell stammered.
Audrey found it weird. It was hard for Mr. Russell to lose his proud composure, but he lost it the moment he saw Philip, he even stammered.
“He just returned from a vacation, but he’s here now, and as usual, he’ll continue supplying you with products,” Alpha Lake said from his chair.
“That, um, that’s great, I’ll be on my way then,” Mr. Russell said and walked quickly to the door.
“Hey, boss, I’ll walk you out,” Audrey said and stood from the sofa. Together, they left the office, leaving Alpha Lake and Philip all alone.
“I promise to do my best, Alpha,” Philip said with his head bowed.
“I know,” Alpha Lake said, his sight still fixed on the door Audrey and Mr. Russell walked through a few seconds ago.
Audrey stood beside Mr. Russell as he waited for the elevator.
“You did me dirty, Catherine,” Mr. Russell turned his face to Audrey.
“I’m sorry, I was just doing my job,” Audrey said.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” he asked with narrowed eyes.
“No, never said that. Why?” Audrey asked.
“Well, I think I am. I had to let my most valued employee go, now she’s turning against me, tsk,” He shook his head.
“Aww, I’m really sorry, boss. I promise to go easy on you next time,” Audrey teased.
“What? There’s going to be a next time?! You’re not scared of losing your job when you return?” He asked with a fake frown.