Little Red and the Wolf

“Forgive my rudeness,” he said. “I didn’t ask your name.”

Her shoulders shifted back, a genuine smile stretched her cheeks. Her teeth were too big, grin too wide, face too large. She was pretty up-close but from a distance she could be stunning. Perfect runway looks. “Alicia. Alicia Sanders. And can I say it’s an honor to meet you, sir. I mean, I’ve seen your name like everywhere. In the Fortune 500 and Time and Newsweek and-”

“Yes. Thank you, Alicia.” Gray pushed to his feet, ending the fan-girl gush. He pulled a business card from the breast pocket of his jacket and pressed it into her palm, holding her hand in both of his.

“Go here Monday. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Seriously? I mean… Thank you. Really. I do some modeling and I’d die to snag a contract with the agency your company owns-”

“Read the card, Alicia.”

She flipped the card over. “No shit? You are awesome, Mr. Lupo. Thank you, thank you.”

“I didn’t hand you a contract, Alicia, just a shot at one.” Gray straightened his tie. “That’s the CEO of Bad Wolf Modeling. He’ll know the card came from me. Take it in Monday morning. Be prepared for anything they may want you to do, photo shoot, go-see, interview.”

“You bet. I’ll be there, for sure.” She was literally bouncing on her toes, cradling the card as though it was the golden ticket to the chocolate factory.

“Alicia? Shall we go see Mr. Cadwick now?”

“Oh, shoot. Yeah.” She cleared her throat, all signs of giddy fan-girl vanishing. “This way, Mr. Lupo.”

Rock stars had women throwing their panties at them. Men like Gray got resumes and head shots. He rarely guaranteed a job, but always allowed for the chance at one. Bad Wolf Inc. was twice the size of Cadwick Enterprises and far more diverse. The odds were pretty good he had openings if a person had the balls to ask him.

Alicia pushed open both thick wood doors as she led the way, no doubt on orders from Cadwick. It was much more of a grand reveal that way.

Four of the outer offices could fit easily inside this one and have room to spare. Cadwick sat at his desk, reminiscent of something you’d find in the Oval Office, a wall of windows and the Pittsburgh cityscape as his backdrop. Nice, if you liked that kind of thing.

“Lupo,” Cadwick said, looking up from some paperwork as though he’d been caught totally by surprise.

“Cadwick.”

The overacting businessman stood and made the effort to come around his desk, hand out, to meet Gray halfway. Their hands rammed together like the couplings on a train, Cadwick adding a manly slap to Gray’s arm. “Do I still have a secretary?”

Gray gave the compulsory laugh. “We’ll see Monday.”

“I knew it. I knew it.” Cadwick returned the gentlemanly chuckle.

He led Gray to the two leather bucket chairs in front of his desk. “What can I do for you, old man?”

Tension rippled across Gray’s shoulders and right down his spine. Old man. Gray wouldn’t dignify the dig with a response. He smiled, ate the irritation and waited until Cadwick had settled into his ergonomic chair on the opposite side.

“I’ve got some livestock coming in about eighteen months,” Gray said. “Moose. A mating couple. Thinking of expanding the preserve.”

Cadwick shook his head, a canary-eating grin stretching his stout face. Elbows on the chair arms he leaned back, hands steepled in front of him. “You and those animals. You got what, three-fifty, four-hundred acres tied up in it already and you’re looking to add more? Money to burn, huh?”

Gray cleared his throat, allowed his discomfort and growing irritation to show by the hard crease of his brow. He shifted in his seat, leaned forward. “Word is your company’s been buying up a good chunk of land around my place. Land that wasn’t previously for sale.”

Cadwick’s smile didn’t so much as flicker. “A good businessman makes his own opportunities. Wasn’t that what you kept telling us?”

Gray sighed. Some things never changed. “I’m glad you found my class so…beneficial, Anthony. However, I don’t recall teaching extortion, intimidation or political backwashing as part of a good business plan.”

Cadwick opened his hands and shrugged. “I always said I should’ve taught the class.”

“I taught that business course at the university twenty-four years ago. Yours was my last class. Go apply for the job.”

“Those that can, do. Those that can’t…”

“Umm, touche.” Huge tension knots kinked along Gray’s shoulders and stabbed the small of his back. Playing nice guy was going to cost him a fortune in Chinese massages. Airfare was outrageous.

Gray rolled his head on his shoulders. Loud snaps and crackles helped hide the low growl vibrating his chest.

Cadwick leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his desk. “Twenty-four years ago and you don’t look a day older. How is that, Lupo? I mean, I’ve kicked your ass in business every which way from Sunday, and I’ve got the gray hairs to prove it. But you…I swear to God, you actually look fuckin’ younger.”

Gray smiled, a quick flash of teeth. “Clean living.”

Cadwick snorted, but held Gray’s stare, waiting. After a few pregnant seconds, it was clear there’d be no further explanation. “You’re a card, Lupo, I’ll give you that. Shoulda been a comedian.”

Hardly. “I’m buying the land edging my property from you, Cadwick. Name your price.”

Cadwick barked a laugh, his dull brown eyes wide. “You don’t say? Name my price, huh? Damn, you got balls.”

“The size of coconuts. Now how much?”

Cadwick raised his hand, his pinky, ring and middle fingers standing at crooked attention. “Three. Count’em. Three major dick-swinging companies I got lined up. You can’t outbid them by yourself. Are you nuts?”

Cadwick didn’t have a clue how big Bad Wolf Inc was. No one did. Gray hadn’t spent the extra years his werewolf blood had given him chasing rabbits. He’d kept his holdings like the Titanic’s iceberg. What people saw on the surface was impressive, but the real spread of his power lay underneath, buried under oceans of puppet companies and subsidiaries. Some of them were nearly impossible to trace back to the mother company.

“You’re selling to me and you’ll leave the remaining land owners unaccosted. Clear?”

Cadwick’s dark brows bunched, sarcastic humor vanishing under the weight of Gray’s orders. “Listen, you old fart, you don’t have the kind of muscle to come in here and try to push me around. I squash people like you and spread’em on toast for breakfast. Got it?”

The tangy scent of sweat wafted from Cadwick’s suit collar, his heart rate ratcheted up several beats and a ropey purple vein bulged the side of his neck to his temple. The spike of his prey’s emotion worked like Valium on Gray. He had him. The rabbit didn’t know it yet, but he was already dead.

“Fight or flight,” Gray said, his eyes closing, enjoying the adrenaline-soaked air like sweet brandy. “Fight or flight. Listen to your instincts, Anthony. Run. This isn’t a fight you can win.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Run from what?” Cadwick burst from his seat, jabbing his finger at Gray across the desk. “You wanna fight? You got it. After I get old lady Hood to sign, I’m goin’ after your place.”

Gray remained unflinchingly calm, lacing his hands together in his lap. “Ester Hood? She’s a dear friend, but I’m afraid she won’t be selling.”

“Oh yeah? Well her hot little granddaughter might say otherwise. I’m getting that land, Lupo. In two years’ time there’ll be a hundred and fifty acres of shopping mall and concrete surrounding your shitty little animal sanctuary. And there ain’t a damn thing you can do to stop it.”

A spark of doubt shot through Gray’s veins. He didn’t like it. Maizie Hood was a loose end, an unknown he couldn’t tolerate. On paper she was a liability but he’d need to meet the woman to know for sure. What were her priorities? Where did her loyalties lie? He couldn’t find out anything sitting in Anthony Cadwick’s high-rise office.

A skin-crawling silence settled over the room. Gray slid his gaze slowly up to Cadwick. “This is your final decision on the matter?”