Page 33 of Bearnapped at the Altar

She came out from behind the desk. She was tiny. Old enough to be my grandmother. And I had a feeling that she was about to screw this entire night up beyond all recognition.

Tegan turned around, her body tense.

Josephine approached her, arms crossed. “If I remember correctly, you called Gideon a ‘fuck nugget’ when you were escorted out of here by security.”

Tegan swallowed hard. “You remember correctly.”

“And I believe that you also said, loudly enough for all of us to hear, that you hoped he choked on his own wrinkled ball sack.”

I couldn’t help but snicker, which earned a stern look for Josephine. But it didn’t last long, because her attention snapped back to Tegan, her expression demanding an explanation.

“I assure you I have no idea what condition Gideon’s balls are in, Josephine,” Tegan said. “It was all part of the show. You see, we were both already signed up for Moonlight Mates, and they thought it would be super juicy if we had an enemies-to-lovers, boss and fired employee backstory. We had to make it as authentic as possible, because you know how people like to talk, and?—”

“You don’t have to tell me anymore, dear. I’m glad you’re okay.” Josephine patted her arm. “I assume Gideon knows you’re here?”

Tegan nodded. “He sent me in. Press conference is first thing in the morning.”

Josephine pulled a phone out of the pocket of her slacks. “I’ll let him know you made it here safely.”

Chapter

Fifteen

Tegan

“Move,” I said to my two giant bodyguards as Josephine headed back to her desk with the phone pressed to her ear, ready to make it rain hellfire the moment Gideon answered her call.

I knew the moment I saw her sitting there this plan was fucked beyond all recognition.

“Will she actually call him or is she bluffing?” Barrett asked as we marched down the hallway. All the offices were dark. If we could get in and out of here quickly, we had a chance of actually leaving with what we needed.

“Oh, she’ll absolutely call him,” I whispered, which wasn’t easy, because I could barely breathe right now. “Not sure if she believed any of that bullshit story?—”

“I thought it was pretty good, until she called out how you left,” Bellamy said.

I rolled my eyes. “In my defense, I thought I’d never set foot in this building again. But she’s Gideon’s first, longest, and most loyal employee. She knits him a sweater every year for Christmas, you know, because he doesn’t have a mate to do it for him. She’s terrible at it too. But he wears them, because he loves Josephine. If only he treated others the way he treats her.”

“Think she might be more than just an employee?” Barrett asked.

“She’s like, pushing eighty if she’s a day.” I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“Not like that. Like a mother, or an aunt.”

“Doesn’t matter who she is right now. She’s definitely ratting us out.” I tried the knob on the door to Gideon’s office. I knew it was locked, but it was still worth giving it a try. Good thing I managed to grab the key card off Josephine’s desk when she was feeding me her own bullshit story.

Moonlight Mates was reporting that I was probably dead? That was a bit dramatic, even for them.

Oh, shit… Bellamy said that Gideon’s guys had been at the Stepchild, and we had that run in with the wolves in the road. We didn’t need Silverclaw’s employee of the year to call in my crimes, because he already knew exactly what we were doing.

And Josephine would’ve known I didn’t have a card to get into any office, except this one had been in plain sight. Too fucking easy.

Maybe she was rooting for us to bring him down in her own way.

But we were in Gideon’s office and that was all that mattered. “We’ve been set up. This is a trap.”

“Why?” Barrett’s question was a growl.

“Because his desk is immaculate. Not like Gideon, at all.” My heart banged in my chest. “It doesn’t even look like he’s working in here anymore.”

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