16

ABRAHAM

I yelled after Summer and that’s when I knew she’d heard me. When I saw her standing in my living room dressed in her clothes, I had a feeling she’d heard at least some of my conversation. Depending on how long she’d paid attention, she probably heard numbers that made her spine shiver. Numbers that were at least twenty thousand dollars over what we’d originally agreed upon for the remodel. That was the deal I’d cut with the tenants: they wouldn’t pay for the entire space, just the money it would take to remodel to their specifications. With all the amenities they could tack on, the update itself could cost them upwards of sixty thousand dollars.

I didn’t feel the need to charge them for anything else because of the rest of the building we could sell for profit.

But, the moment she dashed from that elevator and didn’t stop at my voice told me she’d heard. She’d heard everything, and she was probably scared. Every part of me wanted to go after her. Every atom of my being reached out for this woman who had entranced me so much. I’d taken her in every way I had only imagined up until this point. I had the imprint of her body pressed into the glass of my home while her juices stained my hardwood. That room would smell like her for weeks. My bear would be uncontrollably consumed by the scent of this woman that was unlike any other.

The issue was, I wanted the scent to be connected to her. I didn’t just want her memory, I wanted her body. I wanted her dreams and her passions. I wanted to hold her close to me and wake her up with my tongue between her legs. I wanted to go to every show she performed just so I could cheer her on from my shadowed perch.

I wanted to comfort her in her time of worry and fear. I wanted to let her know that I wouldn’t allow her to lose her home. That I’d do everything within my power to make sure nothing was stripped from her that didn’t need to be. She was a beautiful woman. Full of life and passion and power beyond her years. Her ruby red lips might tug at my cock, but her voice and her eyes tugged at my gut. My bear was in an uproar since the moment our eyes met.

Could she be my mate?

I had to get into the office. If I had any hope of helping her out the way I wanted to, I couldn’t go after her.

And that dichotomy fucked with me all the way into my office.

The traffic in Charleston wasn’t terrible, but during the morning rush hour it was like any other city, so I had a few minutes to kill. I knew exactly who to call to talk this through with. Benjamin.

“Hey Abe! Long time no talk. How’s life, bro?” Benjamin asked, genuinely.

“Sorry, no time for small talk. I have a real problem on my hands and I think you’re best suited to offer advice,” I responded matter-of-factly.

“Okay, shoot.”

“So, Daniel…” I started.

“That shithead is still working for you?” he asked.

“Yes, Ben. Now will you listen? Daniel is saying my financial projections for the new project I’ve taken on are way too low. That we will lose investors if I keep my theory the way it is now.”

“And what is your current plan?” Benjamin asked.

“My hope was to sell the condos back to the select few people interested in only the costs of renovations. Then the profit of the other condos being sold in the building would make up the difference from the lower condo sales. I really thought it was a good idea. It would bring a positive light to our renovations and those staying would share their experience with the new managers of the building. Word of mouth is crucial when all of the condo buildings are turning into carbon copies of each other here in Charleston,” I explained.

“Abraham, I think that’s a really noble venture and there could be a way to make it work. But when it comes down to it, we do get our funding from investors, so you are kind of at their mercy, bro. I know, the system can be a little fucked up sometimes, but it’s worked so far for us. You seem so emotionally invested in this project. I thought you were over the whole flipping business and wanted to venture out?”

Benjamin had always seen right through me. I guess it was a big brother thing.

“Well, there is this girl, Summer…” I trailed off.

“Oh, so there’s a girl.”

“Yeah, there is, and she of course has me all screwed up.”

“I’m starting to understand. You can’t raise the prices because you’re afraid of losing the girl. She must be pretty special if you are this distraught! Did a woman finally tame the beast?” He asked, jokingly. “Seriously, though. Do you think she might be your mate? Doesn’t seem like something you’d do for just anyone.”

“Honestly, I think she might be.” I admitted. “So I have to do everything in my power to make this project work. For Summer, but also for our company’s image and for the sake of the Charleston community. I think this could really be the start of a new kind of realty mentality that would set us even further apart from our competition.”

“You’ve said enough, Abe. I think you already have your mind set on the end game. Now it’s just a matter of getting there. Don’t settle for Daniel’s short-sightedness. Go into work today and make it happen. Call me if you need back-up. They can’t turn down two Johnson brothers, can they?”

“Thanks, man. I’m pulling up to the building now. I’ll let you know how things go. Talk to you soon.”

I hung up the phone and got out of the car. It would be a long elevator ride to the top of the building, but once I got up there I knew exactly what I had to do.

“Holy shit, Abraham. You’re finally here,” Daniel said.

“If you call me by my first name one more time, you’re fired,” I said. “Now, why the hell can you not figure this out with the financial team?”

“We won’t turn a profit off those condos if we sell them to the tenants only for the work we’ll put into them. For some, we might even lose money.”

“Alright. We still have 60 percent of the fucking building to sell for as much profit as we want. What’s the big deal?” I asked.

“The big deal is the investors aren’t going to invest if they’re only going to turn a profit for 60 percent of the building. They might as well only give you 60 percent of their original investment offer!”

“That’s what they said to strong arm you, Delilah!”

“Oh, we’ve gone into girl’s names now?” he asked.

“You’re acting like one. You’ve been my project manager for five years, and you mean to tell me you can’t handle a boardroom full of fat, rich, whiny men?”

“You won’t turn a profit,” Daniel said. “Do you not understand that?”

“Not everything is about profit, Dragonlord!” I exclaimed. “Sometimes it’s just about doing what’s fucking right!”

The entire accounting floor was stunned silent at my outburst. And, honestly? I was, too. While my family was very supportive of the shifter community, they were very money-driven and passed down that same mindset. If it didn’t make money, then it wasn’t worth our time. The issue was, the property would still turn a profit on 60 percent of the building. It’s just that we could also do something wonderful for the community in the process.

“Charleston is dying,” I said. “It’s dying and it’s taking all the lower income households with it. The families who raise three kids in a one-bedroom apartment just so the father can chase after his dreams. The four roommates residing in a studio apartment just so they can work off their student loans before going to some university around here and digging themselves into more fucking debt. We come in with our wrecking balls and scream at them to move before we bulldoze their lives. We erect taller, nicer buildings that are more out of their price range than ever, then we expect them to just find another place to stay. Where the hell’s the fairness in that?”

I drew in a deep breath before I looked around the room. Eyes were wide and some were filled with admiration, but mostly they were simply full of confusion. Someone in the corner was furiously pressing buttons, so I pointed over into that corner and told them to speak.

“You. There. What’re you crunching?” I asked.

“Numbers, sir.”

“Obviously. What numbers?”

“Numbers for your project, sir. I think what you’re trying to do is wonderful, so I wanna see how much money you’ll lose and if the figures are accurate.”

“When will you have those figures?” I asked.

“Give me thirty more seconds.”

I watched as a man with a child’s overgrown face quickly rattled his fingertips over the calculator’s keys. Numbers were flying up on screen while his eyes darted around a desk, and the entire time I could hear the blood rushing through my head. This was my chance to save Summer’s home. This was my chance to expand this company’s public presence.

This was my chance to make a name for my kind. To bring unity to our city. And maybe sweep Summer off her feet in the process.

“According to these numbers, if you don’t sell the 40 percent of the condos at retail price and only sell them at the mid-range remodeling price of the originally agreed upon forty thousand dollars, you’ll lose four thousand on each condo, which will amount to one hundred thousand dollars of lost profit. But, with the numbers currently running through my head-”

“Don’t do it in your head. Type it out and give it to me,” I said.

“With the numbers I’m currently typing out,” he said as he began to type, “if you redo the rest of the condos and sell the ones with better views for ten thousand more than you were originally intending, you would recoup double that money, so you’d actually be one hundred thousand dollars in the clear if you sold everything for an even profit.”

“But obviously, we aren’t gonna do that because we aren’t completely stupid,” I said.

“The board’s never gonna go for it,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “You know how they are.”

“Then I’ll fucking pay the one hundred thousand out of my own pocket.”

“What?”

“Yeah. That’ll be my investment into my own company. One hundred thousand dollars, I’ll take a bit more personal stock in the company for my investment, and that’ll make the board members happy.”

“Mr. Johnson-”

“DeAngelo, what the fuck is the problem? Bradley over here-”

“It’s actually Jeremy, sir.”

“Jeremy over here gives me proof that we’ll actually be more than fine, you tell me it’s shit, so I offer to pay the fucking difference and you still tell me it’s shit. So, you’ve got one shot. Give me the best reason you’ve got for shitting on both of those ideas. If your reasoning isn’t good enough, you’re fired.”

I stood there and watched him sweat while he flipped through his papers. His brow was beginning to shine, and I watched him while he shuffled from foot to foot. I was done with him. I wasn’t sure what the hell was happening, but it didn’t smell good to me.

Not anymore.

My bear roared, and I knew exactly what I needed to do.

“You’re fired, Daniel,” I said. “Jeremy, you want a job?”

“I already have a job, sir.”

“It comes with a raise. And benefits. And a 401(k). I’m sure you’ve got student loans. You got student loans?” I asked.

“Yes, sir. Tons of them.”

“Paid off if you wanna be my project manager,” I said.

“Take the damn job, Jeremy,” someone said.

“It’d be an honor to take the job, sir.”

“Wait, you can’t just-”

“Daniel,” I said as I turned to him. “Someone will contact you over the next week to introduce to you your severance package. It will be fair and I’ll negotiate an entire year’s worth of salary. I’ll help you cash out your 401(k) and move any other policies you have. We’ll make this a smooth transition. But, something doesn’t smell right with you anymore. For some reason, I feel like you’re intentionally trying to strong arm me into doing something I don’t want to do, and as the owner of this branch of my family’s company you need to understand that you don’t run the show. Go home. Someone will contact you before the weekend.”

“But, Mr. John-”

“Get the hell out of my building, Daniel,” I said.

All I wanted to do was lay in bed with Summer all day. All I wanted to do was give into my bear’s greatest desire and consume her body for hours upon hours. I just wanted one day to myself-- to have everything I could have ever wanted.

And I had it, right there in my arms. Leaning ass naked next to me in the middle of my living room floor.

Then this fucking project had to go ruin it.

“Jeremy,” I said.

“Yes, sir?”

“I’m gonna go work on your promotion paperwork. In the meantime, on the top floor there’s a boardroom full of fat men who are waiting for me to make an appearance. You’re good with these numbers. Take these options to them and see which one they like. Then, if they don’t like the options, tell them I’ll be paying the difference out of my pocket. Don’t give them an option, just tell them it’s happening. They don’t run this show anymore than Daniel did,” I said.

“On it.”

“Call me and let me know how it goes. I’ve got somewhere else I have to be.”

“But, I don’t have your number,” he said.

“Toss me your phone.” I entered my office number and my cell number into his phone before I placed a call to H.R. I told them what happened and all the paperwork that needed to be processed, then I promised them a long weekend if they could get it all processed before the end of the week. By the time I turned back around, Jeremy was gone and people had resumed their normal working activities.

Good. Now I could focus on the next task at hand.

Getting Summer back.