Page 148 of Knot Playing Fair 2

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Mia

THREE DAYS LATER, NATand I played host to a mid-morning meeting between Zalen, Emiel, Shani, and two of Shani’s co-mates—all of us arrayed around the biggest table in the Elderflower Inn’s dining room with cups of coffee and piles of paperwork.

“That’s an interesting idea,” Shani said, after Zalen had laid out his proposal for a collaboration with the Hope Project. “I think the biggest question is how much ongoing support there would be from your organization’s end. I love it as a concept, but both of us would need to be aware of the possible challenges around dropping inexperienced kids into a kitchen run by an inexperienced head chef.”

“I can see what you’re saying, yes,” Zalen said. “I know we’re both stumbling into this idea blind, at least to an extent. I’ve reached out to some other organizations running similar programs in hopes of getting guidance from people who’ve already done it. Can I loop you in on those conversations?”

“Definitely.” Shani gave a decisive nod. “Like I said, I’m on board with the idea in principle. As long as we have a framework we can agree on for performance metrics, benchmarks, and the like, I’m comfortable moving forward with a working agreement.”

Shani’s pack alpha—a towering, ombre-skinned woman who looked like she could give Emiel a run for his money in the fighting ring—had been watching the exchange with focused interest.

“At this rate,odama, I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t kidnap you and put you on the board of directors for the construction company instead of buying you a restaurant,” she said, with thinly veiled amusement.

Her co-mate, a short, muscular male alpha with close-cropped pale blond hair and a sunburn, snorted. “Maybe if youenjoysleeping on the couch,alef.”

“You can both blame Maleeka,” Shani said serenely. “Her business school lingo is rubbing off on me. Besides, you’ve been going on about diversifying the pack’s income streams for a decade, at least. So here I am,diversifying.”

“Can’t argue with that, can we?” said her pack leader, with a shrug.

An idea had been percolating in my head since Zalen had first floated his concept for the work experience program.

“Would you feel better about taking on these kids if I was the program liaison, Shani?” I asked.

Shani blinked. Next to me, a slow smile spread over Zalen’s face.

“Damn straight I would, boss,” Shani said. “Why didn’t you say so at the beginning?”

“Because we haven’t actually talked about it yet,” I said a bit sheepishly, throwing Zalen and Emiel an apologetic glance.

Zalen swept a hand out in a ‘yielding the floor’ gesture. “The job’s all yours if you want it. I sincerely doubt we’re going to have another applicant with more impressive qualifications.”

Shani and I shared a conspiratorial look, at the same time I felt another piece of the weight inside me that had been off-balance for a long time settling gently into place.

The meeting ran nearly a full two hours as the seven of us lobbed ideas back and forth. When we finally broke things off, it had more to do with the need to get ready for the restaurant’s lunchtime opening than anything else.

Before he left, Emiel took me aside for a moment. “Can you come up to my room tonight, after you get off work?” he asked. “Me and Luca have something to tell you.”

I wasn’t sure what my expression must have looked like, because he quickly added, “It’s nothing bad. Just, y’know,big. Important.”

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”

On impulse, I stretched up and pressed a light kiss to his lips. He drew in a startled breath, but then his face stretched into a surprised smile.

“See you then,” he echoed.

I spent the rest of the day and evening resolutely not thinking about what they might want to tell me. I did have a suspicion or two, though. When Nat and I got home that night, I turned to him and hooked a finger in his open collar to pull him close.

“Emiel said he and Luca wanted to talk to me tonight,” I told him. “Will you be all right if I crash upstairs with them afterward?”

He hummed in easy agreement, spreading a little flush of warmth through me as I contemplated how far he and I had come when it came to trust and communication.

“Of course,” he said. “Nothing wrong, I hope?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. If I had to guess, it’s something about their mating. Luca said they’ve been doing joint counseling sessions for the last couple of weeks.”

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