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Donnie was still in bed when I left, snoring away in his room as I grabbed a granola bar and my to-go coffee cup and headed out. I’d have stopped at a coffee shop, but I wanted to make sure I was on time for my first day. Maybe it was only a year-long contract and not a permanent job, but it was my first job out of college, and a fucking important one. A major corporation and a merger with a Japanese company, and me at the center of it. If I did well, it could make my whole career.

I was tired, sure, but I was in an excellent mood as I went into the building for my first day, Maia from HR meeting me at the security desk to hand me my brand-new security badge and escort me up to the top floor.

“There’s a meeting of all the top brass this morning for prep, and then the meeting with the people from Igarashi,” she told me as she led me to the elevator bank. “I’ll be there with you for the first, and introduce you around. Then you’ll be on your own.”

I swallowed hard at the thought of being cut loose among a bunch of corporate bigwigs, but... that was the job. So I nodded to her. “I appreciate the introductions.”

She smiled at me, knowing and friendly, and nodded. “Of course. But we picked you for this job for a reason, Dakota. You’re smart, you have the right skills, and you’re up for a challenge. You’ll do just fine.”

I said a little prayer to the universe that she was right, and I wasn’t just one of those people who interviewed well and then sucked at the job. But no. I had a whole ass degree in communication. I spoke fluent Japanese. Iwasgood at people.

So again, I nodded, drawing myself up and standing straight as she led me into the elevator. The security badge was necessary for accessing the top three floors of the building, where most of the corporate officers spent their days. “I think Jillian said she was arranging you an office on the top floor,” she told me, voice conversational, as the elevator moved, so fast that it made my stomach swoop. Not for the first time, I wondered how this company was so huge, when I’d never even seen their website.

Hell, I’d tried to look for it and failed. And maybe I was no tech whiz, but I could find a website. I had almost asked Maia for help, but hadn’t wanted to look ignorant in front of the seriously rich important people who were giving me a shot.

Surely, though, someone today would mention the web address, and I’d figure out I was just looking for the wrong site or something simple like that.

I had my degree, and I’d gotten some of the best grades in my class.

I was going to have an office on the top floor.

Maia trusted me.

I could do this.

It was a conviction that followed me all the way up in the elevator, down the hallway, and into the conference room. Right up until I saw who was sitting at the head of that conference table.

Jax.

Fuck.

My.

Life.

4

Jax

When I arrived at the office, Seth was sitting at the security desk as usual. He always dressed crisply, though I thought a button-up was overkill when his job was to be spry and ready for action.

Which, okay, wasn’t all that necessary. Back in Idaho, it’d been a goddamn comfort to have someone as big as Seth as my second, to know that if anything happened to me when I stood up to our alpha, he’d take care of Jill. But I couldn’t remember the last time he’d torn off his shirt and wolfed out to protect any of us.

When I approached the counter to swipe my badge, he his black brow shot up high. “You know I can just let you in.”

I shrugged. “Protocol.”

And, well, it gave me a chance to see a normal, friendly face before I went up and started playing boss. Since we’d known each other forever, Seth was never going to see me as someone especially intimidating.

Fuck, he could probably hand me my ass if given a mind to.

Seth scoffed. Normally, he was a stickler for this kind of thing, but I supposed I had privileges. The nice thing was, they were friend privileges, not boss ones.

“Heard you had a good night last night,” Seth mused innocently, but I caught his smirk when he glanced down at the security feeds.

I puffed out my cheeks and let out a slow breath. “Like you wouldn’t fucking believe.”

Even Seth looked startled. “That good, huh? I heard he was a...”