Page 95 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire
“I’m not pretending,” he said. “I read it three times.”
I groaned. “You weren’t even supposed to be on the list!”
“You used company servers. Which fall under my legal jurisdiction. So technically, it was smart of Ada to include me.”
“She didn’t include you—she accidentally cc’d you!”
“Same outcome.”
“I swear,” I muttered, “I’m going to lock her out of the entire system and make her work by typewriter.”
His mouth twitched. Just barely. Like he was fighting a smile and winning.
“If you’re finished,” Nicolo said as he set the pages down, “I have a response.”
“Oh, please. Enlighten me.”
He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled. The position should have looked casual. Instead, it looked like a predator deciding whether you were worth the hunt.
“Your business model is sound. The matchmaking concept is unique. The branding is clever. And the mating bond science is...ambitious.”
I waited for the other shoe to drop. With Nicolo, there was always another shoe.
My jaw clenched. “So you’re saying no.”
“I’m saying I’ll approve it. Under one condition.”
Every nerve in my body tensed. I’d known him long enough to recognize this tone. This was the voice he used right before he destroyed someone’s entire world and called it a favor.
“No.”
“You haven’t heard the condition yet.”
“I don’t need to.”
He smiled. Slowly. Like a wolf who’d just noticed the hen house door was open.
“You’re going to enter your own trial pool.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You’ve created a system to find compatible partners for human-shifter bonding. You’ve made claims about accuracy, efficiency, and romantic fulfillment.” His tone didn’t shift, but something in his eyes darkened. “I want to see how it works. From the inside.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
“I’m the founder. I’m not a test subject.”
“You’re both. Starting today.”
The air in the room shifted. Got heavier. More dangerous. I could feel the alpha energy rolling off him in waves, and every instinct I had—human though they were—screamed at me to back down.
I didn’t.
“You can’t make me.”
“I’m the alpha.”
