Chapter 8

(Julia's POV)

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Sandy stormed towards Alex and immediately began yelling at him. “There’s no way they picked Julia over me! What did she do, cut some kind of deal? Promise to satisfy everyone on the hiring committee?”

Alex frowned and grabbed Sandy’s arm, pulling her away from the center of the room. “I know she’s your sister, but you really shouldn’t be speaking like that about someone you work with. Especially someone who’s your superior at work.”

“This was Ronan’s decision,” he said sternly. “If you have a problem, take it up with him.” Alex let go of her arm and gave Sandy one last look. “But I really wouldn’t recommend doing so.”

Sandy’s face was pale, and she just nodded. However, when she turned to walk back towards me, she glared at me angrily. “Even if you schemed your way into this role, you’re still just a loser whose mate didn’t want her,” she hissed as she stormed past me.

It was funny; comments like that from my sister used to make me feel bad about myself. But now, they didn’t even faze me. I’ve changed. I looked around the room and was surprised when my eyes fell on Ronan and I felt…glad. I was glad to see him in this crowded room. I made my way over to him and before he could say anything, started asking him questions about the merger.

“When was the deal finalized?” I fired off. “Who’s the representative at Pack Theta I should be meeting with? And when is the final deadline for closing the merger? Because I really should know…”

I trailed off. In my haste to distract myself from the scene Sandy had caused, I’d forgotten that Ronan wasn’t someone to approach at a party, much less bombard with questions that I’m sure he expected me to already know the answer to.

But to my surprise, Ronan just took a sip of his drink and waved his hand at me, signaling me to keep going. “Keep the questions coming,” he said, setting his drink on the table. “It’s important that we get all the details right the first time.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, not sure if he was making fun of me. I chose to go ahead anyway. “So, I guess the most important thing right now for me is to know who I should be connecting with at Pack Theta. Is it a board, or is there an individual who I should be meeting with?”

“Tyler James,” Ronan said shortly. “He’s the Beta who’s heading up Theta’s side of the merger.” I nodded, then asked another question. “What’s the deadline for having all the details of the merger hammered out?”

“Ideally, by the end of the month, but even I know that’s a little idealistic.” Ronan smiled wryly. “I’m sure the usual last-minute issues will pop up, as they always do. Let’s give it three months. If we don’t have it by then, we never will.”

As he spoke, I grabbed a cocktail napkin and pulled a pen out of my jacket pocket, jotting down notes. Once again, I found myself pleasantly surprised by Ronan. I knew he worked just as hard as I did, but his analysis of the situation was levelheaded and insightful.

He was a good Alpha. I had known that since I started working with PackHouse, but I guess I had never seen Ronan in action. “Okay, great,” I said. “So, when should I schedule a meeting wi—”

“I think it’s time for dinner.” I looked up to see Ronan staring at me, a slight smile on his lips. I blinked, then nodded quickly. “Of course. I’m sorry, I won’t waste any more of your time. I’ll have these documents ready for you tomorrow.”

“Wait,” Ronan put a hand on my arm and stopped me as I turned to go. “I meant you’re having dinner, too. With me.” I stared at him for a moment, processing what he said, but once I did, I shook my head firmly.

Ronan’s eyes widened and he blinked slowly at me. “Hmm. Wow. I think that’s the first time someone’s turned down one of my invitations.” He shrugged. “Well, either way, I think you should take me up on the offer.”

I tried not to snort. “And why is that?” Ronan replied, “We’ll be appearing at events together from now on. People need to believe we’re close, and we can’t look close if we don’t spend a little time together.”

Before I could interrupt, Ronan added, “Look, I get that you might not want to, but this is part of our contract. We need to practice looking convincing, and we’re starting tonight. Dinner. No excuses.”

I sighed, but I knew there was no choice here. “Fine. Yes, I’ll come to dinner.” Ronan nodded once, took one last sip of his drink, then put a hand to my elbow and started steering me out of the party.

We walked out of the building and into the parking lot in silence. Ronan only paused to open the passenger side door of his sleek, black sports car for me, and then we set off into the night.

By this point, I’d become used to Ronan’s silence, and the ride to the restaurant wasn’t as awkward as it could have been. I was the one to break it, gasping slightly as he pulled into a parking spot in front of the restaurant.

“Laurel Grill?” Ronan nodded as he brought the car to a stop, then said, “I’ll get the door for you.” Before I could say anything, he was already out and coming around to my side of the car, swinging the door open and extending his hand to help me out.

I took it gratefully. It was so nice to be with someone whose taste matched my own. Laurel Grill was an amazing restaurant and it was near impossible to get a reservation. I should know; I’d been trying to score a table here for a date night with Kevin for weeks.

“Welcome,” the restaurant’s hostess smiled warmly. “Your usual table?” Ronan nodded, and off we went, making our way through the tables towards a more private corner in the back. “Thank you,” he said once we were seated, earning a glowing smile from the hostess.

I reached for a menu and stared at the items, but my mind was elsewhere. I’m at Laurel Grill, about to eat what’s probably the most expensive meal of my life, with my boss, who is also the father of the baby in my stomach. Could this night get any weirder?

“Julia.” Ronan’s voice was a low growl that I’m sure he intended to sound threatening. Instead, I just felt that familiar hot flush spread through my body. “Focus on me. That’s what this is all about, right? We need to make it look believable.”

Then, to my surprise, he reached out and pushed the basket of bread between us towards me. “Help yourself. Their bread is really good.” A waiter arrived to take our order, returning quickly with our food.

Once we were alone again, Ronan sat back in his chair and studied me carefully. “So, how are you feeling about the pack merger?” I took a sip of my water, buying myself some time to come up with an answer that didn’t make me sound like an idiot.

“I’m excited to take on the project,” I said. “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to tackle something like this, and this merger is perfect. Of course, the timing could have been a little better,” I joked, looking down at my stomach.

Ronan laughed at that. He actually laughed. I didn’t know it was possible. “Oh, I’m sure. But do these things ever happen at the exact right time?” I giggled, a shrill, high-pitched sound, and mentally cursed myself for how obviously uncomfortable I was.

I reached across the table for the bread and accidentally knocked over my water glass, the liquid spreading across the tablecloth. As I started apologizing and trying to clean it up, Ronan just grabbed my wrist gently to stop me, then called the waiter over to sop up the water.

I cringed inwardly, hoping this dinner would just end already. Ronan was probably already trying to figure out how to replace me on the merger deal. Instead, he just frowned at me again before asking, “Julia, are you not feeling well? You seem a little…off.”

“No, I just,” I hesitated, trying to come up with something. “I’m just not used to being this close to you. It’s strange.” Ronan smiled. “I see. Well, just think of it as rehearsal. Or like work — this is a project you need to get perfectly right, and I know how much you enjoy that.”

His smile was so warm and intimate, it almost made me feel like we were…friends? “Rehearsal, huh?” I grinned. “I didn’t know you were such a good actor.” Ronan raised an eyebrow. “Well, I didn’t know you were such a terrible one.” A surprised laugh burst out of me.

Just then, the waiter arrived to refill our glasses. I got his attention and said, “Could you give me the bill?” I glanced at Ronan. “Just want to say thank you for everything.” The waiter replied, “Oh, no, it’s already been taken care of. We charge our super VIPs’ meals directly to their accounts.”

I slumped in my seat. Of course it was. A meal that would cost half my paycheck is just another dinner for him. How could I possibly think we were starting to really connect? I tried not to show my disappointment as we stood to leave and walked out of the dining room.

“Oh, miss!” I turned to see the hostess handing me a bouquet. “Just a little gift for any couples who dine with us.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “And can I just say, you two make an adorable couple.”

I blushed, about to open my mouth and correct her, but before I could, Ronan stepped forward and plucked the flowers out of my hand — as if he couldn’t stand the idea of us being “together.” But instead, he just said, “These aren’t good for pregnant women. Please remove them right away.”

The hostess immediately started blushing, apologizing and congratulating us on the pregnancy. Ronan just waved her off as we left the restaurant, but my heart was beating so fast, I was sure he could hear it. From the outside looking in, we really did look like a couple in love.