A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 14 read online

ALEXANDER

I was buried in work when I heard the door to my office swing open. I didn’t need to look up to know it was Irene. Only she had the nerve to barge in without knocking. Sure enough, her voice followed a second later.

“You’re still here? Aren’t you coming down for dinner?”

I didn’t even glance at her. “No,” I said, scanning through the document in front of me. “I’ll eat later.”

There was a pause, but I knew she wasn’t done talking.

“You can’t do that,” she said, crossing her arms. I could hear it in her tone…that subtle mix of irritation and conviction that only Irene had mastered.

I finally looked up. “Why not?” I mean she knows I have the habit of skipping dinner most of the time, why is she acting so surprised.

“Because your mate is going to be at the table,” she said, as though that explained everything. “It’s her first meal here. You can’t just leave her to eat alone. That’s rude, even for you,”

I blinked at her, my thoughts still halfway tangled in numbers and logistics. “She’ll survive dinner without me, Irene. She’s not a guest. She’s here because of an arrangement we both agreed to.”

Irene rolled her eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t get stuck in the back of her head.” Have you even gone to see her since she arrived?”

I hesitated. I really totally forgot about all of that. But even if I hadn’t forgotten, it was nothing to make an issue over.

“No,” I admitted. “I’ll see her later tonight, maybe. Or tomorrow morning.”

Irene’s hands went to her hips like she was about to launch into a full–on lecture, but she paused, studying me like I was some infuriating puzzle she still hadn’t given up trying to solve.

“She’s new here, Alex,” she said, her voice lower now. “Everything is strange to her, and the one person who’s supposed to make her feel welcome has locked himself in his office all day like she doesn’t exist.”

I exhaled, leaning back in my chair. “Irene, what do you want me to do?” I asked. “Throw a welcome party? This isn’t a fairytale. It’s not a love story, and I’m sure she understands that. This is a business arrangement, and we both knew what it entailed…no expectations.”

Irene looked at me like she genuinely couldn’t believe how dense I was being. Seriously, how she manages to make a big deal of every little thing needs to be studied.

“That girl out there didn’t get here on a just business contract, Alex,” she said. “She left her home, her life, everything she knew, because of this alliance which…by the way… favors blood crescent pack more. The least you could do is act like a decent partner for five minutes.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I hated it when Irene was right, and she usually was.

“She’ll adjust,” I said, though my voice lacked its usual certainty. “And you’re distracting me, please can I get back to work now?”