Chapter 8

Aria

Everyone suddenly turned and stared at me—even Darren.

“Oh, really?” I managed, waving my hand dismissively. “It should be a coincidence. Probably just a similar scent. I noticed that you didn't like my perfume so I just used another one.”

Lily sniffed me again and raised an eyebrow. “Do you remember what it was called? It smells so good…”

Swallowing, I quickly made up a brand and the name of the scent and relayed it to Lily.

“Oh, never heard of that,” she said. "Could you show me-"

“Let’s get started,” Darren said without preamble. Lily finally stopped asking, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Darren looked around the table, his face grave. “First thing’s first, I want to say that I am very disappointed with the current state of the company. We haven’t had any trending products in a long time—not to mention the recent wet food issue.”

While Darren spoke, I leaned close to Lily. “What happened?” I whispered.

“Oh, a new wet dog food we released had to be recalled,” she replied quietly. “Some—”

“Ladies, if you don’t mind.” Darren, somehow having heard us all the way at the other end of the table, cut in with a stern glare. “Since you’re new, Aria, I’ll explain: the food caused stomach ulcers in some of the dogs who consumed it. It turns out that there was a malfunction with one of the machines at our processing plant and metal shavings got into the food.”

I cringed at the thought. I had often seen Lunar Labs food on the shelves in pet stores, and it was always touted as the highest-quality dog food on the market.

“That must have been tough,” I said. “I know Lunar Labs takes pride in its quality and nutritional excellency.”

Darren merely grunted in response, although I thought I saw those mismatched eyes briefly flicker with approval.

“So,” he continued, “in order to regain consumer trust, I’m looking for something big—a new product that will show our consumers that Lunar Labs genuinely cares for the dogs they feed. Brandon.” He turned to the guy from the water cooler, the one with the loose tie. “What’s your proposal?”

With a bored look, Brandon flipped his portfolio open, leaned lazily back in his chair and replied, “I was thinking we could try a new bone. One that’s more flavorful and nutrient-dense.”

Darren raised his eyebrows. “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

There was a brief silence. I was stunned; surely Brandon would be scolded for being so… lazy. And flippant.

But to my surprise, Darren shook his head and sighed exasperatedly before turning to Melissa. “What about your proposal?”

Melissa perked up. “Well, I was thinking that we could branch out and try a new toy—one that is infused with green tea leaves. The caffeine in the green tea could aid older dogs in regaining some energy so they can play more.”

I nearly choked. “Caffeine is toxic to dogs,” I spit out without thinking.

Every head at the table turned to me. Melissa’s mouth twisted into a scowl, and Arthur looked like he might explode. But Darren merely nodded.

“Aria is right. Melissa, this is basic stuff; I’m surprised you don’t know this.”

Melissa’s face reddened. “I… I didn’t… I mean…”

Before she could finish whatever it was she was trying to stammer out, Darren turned toward me. “I know you were working on a proposal earlier, Aria. Would you mind sharing?”

I felt my cheeks heat up as I glanced over at Arthur, who was practically trembling with rage now. “I…” I turned back to Darren and took a deep breath. “I was told not to present my proposal.”

Darren quirked an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Her proposal was… subpar,” Arthur bit out.

I disagree, I wanted to say. If Brandon and Melissa’s proposals were any indication, then the ideas at this table weren’t exactly stellar. And while I knew my own idea wasn’t the best, it had to have been better than this.

Darren leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’d like to hear it. Go on, Aria.”

Arthur looked like he might keel over, but I nodded and opened my folder.

“I was thinking we could set up a ‘Puppy Playground’ in Central Park in the spring,” I began. “A place where dog owners could take their dogs—for free—to play with toys and agility equipment.”

Melissa scoffed. “Lunar Labs specializes in nutrition, not parks.”

“Exercise is part of nutrition. And besides, maybe you shouldn’t be speaking on that subject if you actually suggested a toy with toxic additives,” I quipped easily, eliciting a snort from Lily. “But that wasn’t all. I have more.”

Darren, to my surprise, leaned forward. “Go on…”

“There are hundreds of vendors in Central Park,” I continued. “We could partner with vendors to set up their stands and trucks around the Puppy Playground for the season. They could sell their usual wares—produce, hot food and drinks, homemade goods—but also earn a commission off of selling Lunar Labs products.”

The room went silent again. For a moment, I thought I had said something wrong.

But then Darren’s face lit up for the first time since I’d met him. “That’s brilliant.” He turned to Arthur. “Why the hell did you reject it?”

Arthur floundered, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “I… Uh… I guess I misread it,” he stammered out.

“Yeah, because you looked at it for all of two seconds,” I hissed before I could stop myself. Lily suppressed another snort.

“I want you all to start implementing the advertising campaign for Aria’s idea,” Darren said coolly as he gathered his things. “And Arthur, if you diminish an employee’s ideas like that ever again, we’re going to have a chat.”

Arthur’s eyes widened behind his glasses. “But she’s a hu—”

“Stop right there,” Darren growled, causing the supervisor to snap his mouth shut. “I don’t give a damn. And watch your tone.”

Without another word, Darren glanced at his watch and strode out of the conference room. The others began gathering their things and making their way to their cubicles, with Arthur at the forefront of the group.

No one except for Lily even looked my way. It was like I wasn’t even there.

In fact, Melissa slammed her shoulder into me on the way out, and didn’t even apologize.

“Don’t worry about them,” Lily assured me gently as I rubbed my sore shoulder. “They’re just mad that they actually have to work for once.”

I shook my head, still stunned after that whole ordeal. “How do they get away with that?” I asked. “Not working, I mean.” Even now, looking around, I could see that everyone was going back to the same as before—whispering by the water cooler, taking personal calls, playing games on their phones.

Lily hesitated, opening her mouth and then closing it again as if struggling with how to respond. Finally, she said, “Jobs here are very… secure. No one gets fired.”

“Does Darren know that Arthur doesn’t fire anyone?” I asked.

She chuckled. “He’s well aware of the situation, trust me.”

I didn’t know what to say. For such a successful company, it was shocking that the CEO would allow such slacking off without firing anyone.

I wondered if I would be extended the same courtesy if I slacked off. Not that I was planning on it.

Darren

“The human has made quite the splash here already, hasn’t she?” My Beta, Liam, lounged in the chair opposite my desk—long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, arms tucked behind a head of silver hair.

I glanced up at him from my work. “I can’t tell if you’re talking about the pond incident or… everything else.”

Liam’s mouth lifted in one corner. “Maybe both.”

I shook my head at my Beta’s sense of humor. Aria falling into the pond in the forest like that, unable to swim, was… shocking. I was just glad I was there to pull her out in time.

My Beta, sensing my thoughts through the pack bond, said, “Are you sure it’s safe to let her go there?”

“She thinks it’s just a playroom with some impressive technology,” I replied easily. “Besides, the wards around that area won’t let her go too far. If she were to reach out, she’d touch nothing but hard air and think it was a concrete wall.”

“True.” Liam tilted his head back, studying the ceiling for a moment with deep blue eyes. “Humans do have funny ways of… rationalizing things, don’t they?”

“That they do.” I thought back on Aria’s first day—on all of the strange behavior she must have noticed, the language, the hierarchy.

My mind flitted back to her words from yesterday then: “Cult leader.” I almost laughed out loud at the thought. “I suppose, to humans, it is sort of like a cult, isn’t it?” I remarked.

Liam shrugged. “I guess so, if you want to look at it from that perspective,” he replied, then paused, a more thoughtful look taking over his face. “It’s kind of intriguing—seeing her challenge our system like that. Standing up to Melissa and Arthur and even you.”

I scoffed. “Is that what it is? Intriguing?” Although, I couldn’t argue my Beta’s point. It really was fascinating to incorporate a human into our rigid hierarchy here. She wasn’t bound to our pack politics, to our strict structure of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, and so on.

“The others hate her for it,” I said quietly.

“They’ll hate her even more if you keep doting on her.” My Beta met my gaze then, and his eyes darkened like the ocean on a stormy day. “She’s not one of us, Darren. A fascinating case study, yes, but treating her with such favoritism—letting her use your shower, for Goddess’ sake—will only result in the others getting restless. And if she finds out about us—”

I held up my hand to cut him off, and he immediately snapped his mouth shut. “I’ll hear no more of it, Liam. And besides, I’m not picking favorites. She’s an employee, plain and simple.”

“Is that so? Because your heart has been racing ever since you pulled her out of that pond.”

I set my pen down at that and leveled my Beta with a withering glare. “What are you implying, Liam?”

Liam simply shrugged again. “I know she’s pretty, and she’s… interesting. But don’t forget that she’s a human. Everything else aside, her lifespan is practically a drop in the bucket compared to ours. Do you really want to fall for someone who—”

“I’m not falling for her.”

Suddenly, my laptop dinged. Grateful for the distraction, I navigated to my email and sighed upon reading the new notification. “Looks like I’ll be traveling this weekend after all,” I said, pulling out my phone and sending Aria a quick text. She replied telling me she was home, but sent me her address.

My Beta smirked up at me as I rose and grabbed my jacket off of the hook. “Late-night house calls, eh?” he teased. “Not falling for her, indeed…”