Raph’s stomach squeezed. His coffee tipped over the rim of his mug. And a handful of his staff looked up, surprise and curiosity on their faces. I just told Wyatt I’m moving.
It was eight in the morning, far too early for shit like this. Raph kept his expression calm, breathing in. “Can we discuss this in my office?”
It was an open secret that he was the company president’s grandson. Sometimes, his staff even joked about it.
Raph felt the weight of ten pairs of eyes on his back, watching as he led the way to his glass-walled office, his grandmother stalking him like a predator. His heart hammered.
“I’ve suggested a number of possible replacements,” he said when he’d shut the door behind Grandma. The blinds didn’t need lowering; he didn’t care who witnessed this from the outside. “There are a number of excellent staff who will rise to the position and handle the operations better than I can.”
Grandma looked down her nose at him, her gold necklace glittering. “That’s not an option, Raphael. You will remain the regional manager for as long as I say.”
How long until you turn senile? Raph clenched his jaw, his thoughts racing. At 84, Grandma had a chauffeur who sent her to and from Highton every day. She had power over the entire office, and the mansion, and his parents’ lives. And she wanted control over Raph’s, too.
The only other option was for him to quit his job. He’d been looking at the openings in Meadowfall—the managerial positions back home paid half of what he earned right now. Not enough to cover the monthly payments for his loan. He’d have to take on a second job, work overtime. And it wouldn’t be fair to Wyatt, when Wyatt would be busy with their new baby.
Grandma’s eyes narrowed, the green eyeshadow on her lids wrinkling. Then she lifted her nose and sniffed, and Raph hoped like hell the scent suppressant worked. “This has to do with that useless brother of yours, doesn’t it?”
“He’s not useless,” Raph growled, anger snarling through his chest. But even acknowledging Wyatt was a risk. Elizabeth Fleming had the power to run them both deep into debt. She could plant people in Wyatt’s restaurant, riddle him with lawsuits, force him to shut down. And then they’d be forced to move, maybe go into hiding, just to escape from her.
How did you avoid people with money, when they were out to get you?
Raph swallowed hard, forcing his expression back to neutral. “I merely wish to return to my roots. That’s all.”
Grandma raised an eyebrow. “I hope those roots aren’t something so vile as... inbreeding. I’ve heard a couple of rumors.”
She knows, that bitch. Raph’s heart sank. Had it been from the night Max showed up?
Grandma looked hard at him. Raph forced himself to hold that stare, as much as he hated looking at her. “My choices and reasons are my own,” he said. “I’m sure you understand the desire to spend time with family.”
She watched him, her expression severe. He expected her to rail at him with the same insults she’d flung at him nine years ago, but instead, she kept silent. And Raph needed to move, shake off the unease on his shoulders. What else is she planning?
“You don’t remember the details of your loan agreement, do you?” Grandma asked. “If you leave your position in Alpha Associates, you will pay the rest of your loan over the next three months.”
Raph stopped breathing. Fifty grand a month? He couldn’t afford that. And neither could Wyatt. But it was either this, or stay in Grandma’s business, and Highton, and miss out on all the moments with his family. Were those moments worth a hundred and fifty grand? If he couldn’t pay, he’d have all his possessions stripped. And his debtors would pursue his next of kin. Wyatt. Penny. His parents.
Raph couldn’t do that to any of them. What kind of alpha left burdens on all his family?
He sank into his seat, glancing at his sprawling desk, his sleek computer, the wide windows that looked down on the rest of Highton.
Maybe it was better to leave Wyatt, pay off his own debt, than to have Wyatt shoulder what Raph was unable to pay.
Dad cried when he saw the hospital bills, Hazel had told him.
“I’ll withdraw my transfer request,” Raph said, the words bitter on his tongue.
“Very well. My weak heart thanks you for that, Raphael.” Grandma smiled, satisfied. Then she turned and left, the lemon of her scent sharp in the air.
It felt like betrayal. And Raph remembered that evening at Wy’s Drive-In, when Hazel had looked seriously at him and said, Don’t ever lie to Dad.
Raph had told him he’d transfer to Meadowfall. If he told Wyatt the request was rejected, it would feel as though Raph had lied to him. But that was better than burdening Wyatt with his debt. Raph wasn’t about to make Wyatt cry. Especially not with something he was supposed to have solved, a long time ago.
Why can’t I get any of this right? I’m an alpha, damn it!
While he was still in Highton, he would take on a second job, maybe a third. Get his ass in gear. Then maybe he could show his face to his omega, when all the debt was paid for.
25
Wyatt
”Can’t believe it’s already 1 AM,” Raph said, his tinny voice dissolving into a yawn. ”Work’s been godawful lately. I’ve been taking on more stuff, a few hours of OT every... every day. Been gettin’ home at... at midnight...”
His voice faded, and there was a dull thump, like the phone had fallen onto the bed. Then came the sound of soft snoring, all the way until the voicemail cut off, and the dial tone sounded.
Wyatt would’ve found this endearing, except Raph had been doing this for a month, now. He’d visit for half a day on the weekend, and then disappear back to Highton, answering none of Wyatt’s calls.
A
