Chapter 26

Amelia had noticed the past few days that Marcus was acting a little distant towards her, a complete 180 difference from how they had been interacting. They had gone out to lunch yesterday, to the same cafe she had met Jasmine at; however, he was glancing around at the rest of the patrons in the building instead of talking to her. It confused and ate away at her insides. Something was wrong, but when she had asked about it, the only reply she received was that he was working on a difficult case.

She sat at her desk, chewing absentmindedly on the end of her pen, replaying the past few encounters she had with Marcus in her head. He was acting the same as when she first started here, holding her at arm's length and treating her with distance rather than trust.

Marcus knew she noticed the cold demeanor he now showed her, but his human side was distrusting of the possible threat, which caused inner turmoil with his wolf. The creature turned grouchy and refused to interact with Marcus at all—except for when they were close to Amelia, where the canine would pout and whine as he tried to get closer to his mate.

He had asked her to the same cafe to see what he could pick up from the location, but by the time they went back the next day the trail of the strange wolf was already too faint to follow. He was not ready to leave it alone just yet, though. Something was off, and he was trying very hard not to let his wolf taint his gut feeling.

A ding from the computer pulled Amelia from her thoughts. It was Dalton replying to the email requesting files from a few days ago. Clicking the window she read through:

Amelia,

I do not believe this was meant to be sent to me. Can you please review the attached document and resend the file that is needed for the sale and purchase of the DiVento Building?

Thanks,

Dalton Marrow

She cocked her head to the side as she opened the file she herself had attached. Instantly her face fell as she realized she had sent their office directory to him, instead of the DiVento file.

“Guess I was too excited to meet Jaz I didn’t read the name all the way through,” she thought to herself.

Just as she was replying to Mr. Marrow with the correct file, a member of the IT department was making their way to Mr. Wolfe’s office.

“Alpha, I think you need to see this,” the lean female commented through their mind link before being asked to enter the room.

She laid the email outline in front of Marcus, respectfully bowing her head as she took a few retreating steps.

He scanned over the papers, before his green eyes landed on the she-wolf once more. “Are you sure this was what was sent?” he growled through gritted teeth.

A small nod answered his question. She could feel his anger, as she took another tentative step backwards. “I had two others verify it before bringing it to your attention, sir.” Her voice was quiet and apologetic; she deepened her bowed head, further submitting to him.

“Thank you.” He waved his hand, dismissing her, then grabbed the phone receiver, dialing the lobby’s extension.

“This is Amelia,” she answered without looking at the caller ID. But the voice on the other end was unmistakable.

“I need to see you in my office, now,” Marcus growled.

“Okay I’ll—” but the line went dead before she could complete her sentence. “Who pissed in his Wheaties today?” she questioned as she stood up and headed towards the elevator.

Her stomach was doing somersaults as she wondered what this could all be about. Had she done something wrong? Thinking back, she could not remember doing anything that would cause such a reaction from him. She began chewing nervously on her lip as the doors opened to reveal the executive office floor.

Taking a deep breath and gathering all the courage she could muster, Amelia strode to the door with Marcus' name on it. Once again she was called to come in before having a chance to knock. How did he do that?

“You wanted to see me?” She tried to maintain a calm exterior, but it was hard when she could feel the anger radiating off of him. The only other time she had felt this was when Mr. Marrow and he had the standoff in the lobby.

“Care to explain this?” Marcus flung the stapled stack of papers across the desk towards her.

Amelia stepped forward, taking the papers in hand to read over, as she sat in the chair across from him. “This is an email request from Mr. Marrow, asking about the information on the contract with the DiVento Building. I accidently attached the wrong document a couple of days ago,” she answered, pushing the evidence back towards Marcus. “But I fixed it and sent him the correct information this morning.”

Amelia looked up at him, not fully understanding what the issue was.

“You did not fix anything.” he hissed.

“I don’t understand,” she spoke, her brows furrowed together in confusion.

“You sent an entire list of employees to another firm.” Marcus’ jaw twitched as he spoke. “You just handed out sensitive information like it was candy, to an entity that can use it against this company.” His voice turned to a growl. She obviously did not understand the extent of this issue. If anyone knew what to do with that list, the whole pack could be in danger.

Her face paled, her stomach twisted. “I did not m-mean to do it, I swear. I misread the title of the document in my haste to reply to him.” She felt like she was on trial for a moment, where her slight misdeed was being blown out of proportion. There was not much on her copy of the directory except names and interoffice phone numbers.

“I think we need time to investigate this further, and have you rethink where your loyalty lies.” Marcus leaned forward in his chair. “I’m placing you on a one month suspension.”

Amelia’s heart plummeted to the floor at his words. He did not trust her, and she would have to figure out how to live a month without a paycheck.

“Your pay will be cut in half during this time. And we will rediscuss your position here after the suspension ends.” His voice was cold.

“Marcus, please—"

“It’s Mr. Wolfe, Ms. Rowe.” The meadow green eyes that usually sparkled with delight when they spoke held no sign of warmth. Tears burned the edges of her eyes, as she tried to hold them back. Her lip trembled as she forced herself to stand up. “You are dismissed from your duties until further notice.”

“As you wish, Mr. Wolfe.” Her voice broke as she tried to contain a sob. She jerked her chin high and walked out of his office.

“You really are a pompous ass,” Marcus’ wolf chided from the depths of his mind. The creature’s heart broke as he watched his mate trying not to break in front of them. Marcus scoffed at the voice, and quickly blocked the wolf out.

This was no time for his judgment to be clouded by the mate bond. Maybe the Goddess had been wrong with this one. Maybe he was not meant to be with the one destined for him.

Amelia dashed to her desk, gathering her things. Tears now flowed freely from her eyes. Not only was she potentially jobless, but she had been hurt by someone she thought she could love. She did not even stop or acknowledge Jackson in any way when he called her as she left Marcus’ office. She just wanted to go home.