“Thank you, that’s all I needed to know. Yeah, I’ll be back in probably a week. Make sure you have the place cleaned out for me. I don’t want any nasty surprises.”

Max hung up the phone and grinned to himself. It had been a long time since he had been to the town of Stonybrooke, where all of the shifters knew him and knew him well. He had been driven out fifteen years beforehand, because of some serious danger the arrival of a pack of outsider wolf shifters had ultimately presented to him. It had more or less destroyed his life, but he tried not to dwell on it.

Everything had been falling apart anyway, for a long time. He had been thrust into a position of power that he wasn’t ready for. Although it was quite an honor to be considered the alpha, leading the pack wasn’t his passion, and he wasn’t very well adept at pretending he cared enough about the dogmatic ways of the hierarchy. He really didn’t. In fact, he would prefer to stay away from that type of power entirely. Whether he was good at it or not was beside the point. It wasn’t what he wanted to do.

But now, he was coming back to Stonybrooke, and whether he was going to lead a pack or not, this time, he was going to establish himself with a vengeance.

“Mr. Stone, somebody is calling about the order out to California. Has that already shipped? I couldn’t find any records of it in the computer.”

Max looked up at his secretary, Nancy. She was looking at him from behind the round, clear lenses of her glasses. She had been a great asset as he had worked hard to start up his company, and he was really going to miss her. But she was going to appreciate having her own branch of the store to run. It would work out well for them both.

“Yes, I heard they already shipped it, but I’ve been so busy packing up the place I didn’t get to enter it into the system yet. Let them know it’s on the way and update the server if you can,” Max said, smiling at his secretary apologetically. “I know everything is a mess right now. It can be hard to relocate the headquarters of the company.”

“Well, you have worked really hard for this, Mr. Stone. And it has been quite an honor to work with you like this. I have learned a lot since being here, and I know that whatever choices you make in the future will be the right ones. Never doubt yourself.”

“Stop kissing ass and get back to work,” Max said. But he smiled broadly at her, and she smiled back. They had a good understanding of each other, and it had been great to work with her. But he was excited about his new venture in Stonybrooke. It was nice to know he had her support.

“You have a few things to pick up from the warehouse,” Nancy said. “Maybe you should do that now while there is still some time. I don’t want it to interfere with your trip this afternoon.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Max said, standing up from his desk and stretching deeply. Nancy averted her eyes quickly and stepped out of the room. They’d had a small fling a few years back, but it had never amounted to anything much. Still, he could sense her attraction to him, and although it was flattering, the truth was, his heart belonged to another.

He left the office and got into his truck, sighing deeply as thoughts of Sadie began to fill his mind. She had been his first love, and it had been complicated and tumultuous for them both. He often thought of her, and had even attempted to write her letters over the years to explain how he felt about her. But she had never replied, and it left a gaping hole in his heart even to that day. Being an attractive wolf shifter as he was, it had been easy for him to attract the attention of others, and he had recently broken up with a woman he hoped he could be serious with. But she had turned out to be just like all the rest, which was all the more reason for him to relocate the headquarters for his business.

Not only that, but Stonybrooke had become quite a booming economic center, especially for a shifter in business. He was going to be able to have access to a lot of different resources, and network among some of the biggest names in the business scene. It was everything he needed in order to make sure his company succeeded. They had vastly outgrown his initial headquarters, and although most of his business operated primarily online, he needed a space that was impressive and versatile to conduct out of.

“Ah, Max. You’re picking up for Stone Shifter, right?” James, the man at the warehouse, asked as soon as he saw Max. Max nodded.

“Yep, this should be the last time I do this. I’m sure Nancy will have one of the boys come out from now on.”

“Well, it’s about time you start expanding. Business is through the roof right now, and you are really going to make something of yourself. I can feel it.”

“Thanks, James,” Max said, unable to keep himself from smiling. It was true. Everybody who knew him knew he worked very hard at what he did. He set his mind and achieved his goals. If only that would have been enough to keep Sadie interested in him.

On the days when he couldn’t get her out of his mind, he usually worked out and tested out his shop’s outdoors equipment. He had made a killing by developing and selling this stuff to the rugged shifter species, and the specially designed materials turned out to be quite a hit among the human population as well.

Now, it was going to be Nancy’s job to make sure his company was dealing well with humans, as they had a very different PR style than the shifters did. In the meantime, Max was going back to where he had grown up so he would be able to truly utilize all his potential in growing his business and seeing it succeed.

All he could do was hope he would not find himself face-to-face with Sadie again after the way things had ended. She had been furious with him, and he had learned after a hard and tumultuous relationship with his parents to take words of anger and heed them the first time. If someone felt upset and felt strongly enough to tell you about it, they were probably never going to feel any other way, no matter how well they got along when they were in a good mood.

“I’m going to miss seeing you around, Max. But I know you’re going to take this thing and make it great. I believe in you,” James said, after Max had loaded up his equipment and was heading back out toward his headquarters.

“Thanks, James,” Max said, grinning out at the friendly man who had become quite a fixture in his life. Sometimes, it was hard to see things change, but it was going to be a good change. Max could feel it.

And so, he headed back to his workplace, one final time, excited about the adventure that was unfolding before him.