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As I turned to leave, I mouthed thank you to Cassidy. She responded with a wink and returned her attention to the multiple guests who were seated around the large brunch table. “All right, ladies. Who’s ready to begin?”
I stumbled into the kitchen, almost unable to believe what had just happened. I’d met Persephone Keller, been offered a job, and in the space of one short encounter, my business had been drastically elevated because, against all odds, Persephone Keller had taken a chance on me.
This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I planned to make the most of it. I was busy spinning ideas in my head: filet mignon in a creamy mushroom sauce—meat was always a hit with the packs—a brisket seasoned with au jus and the secret blend of herbs and spices that I always used.
By the time I returned to the kitchen, my cheeks ached from the smile I couldn’t have wiped away with foaming soap and a squeegee. But then it occurred to me that Cassidy was a lot sneakier than I’d given her credit for. She’d found a way to ensure that I would have to attend the ceremony I mostly wanted to avoid like the fucking plague.
Of course, I’d be in the kitchen managing my staff, but it would have the distinction of being the first mating ceremony I’d actually attended.
The whole concept disgusted me, and I shivered at the idea of even being in the same city as one of those ceremonies. I had many goals in life, but finding a mate wasn’t one of them. The thought that I would find the one person I was destined to be with at this ceremony was absolute idiocy. Prior to this moment, whenever someone suggested that they’d found true love at one of these things, I rolled my eyes and laughed out loud. Much the same as this moment.
I surveyed the kitchen, grateful my catering staff had already left for the day.
It took about an hour to finish prepping meals for Cassidy’s family, but she had enough meals to last the week by the time I was done and could hang up my apron, so to speak.
I was exhausted, but as I headed out of the kitchen, my mind was still buzzing with ideas for the lunar mate ceremony. I had a real chance to get my name out there with this thing and I wasn’t going to blow it.
This is it. A now or never moment. I’d spent years working my fingers to the bones, learning, trying new things, taking chances—some panned out, some didn’t—and it was finally paying off. The future was mine for the taking. I had a quality product and extraordinary, professional staff. Most of all, I had talent. Those were all things I could control. I could cook in my sleep. I would just be doing it on a much larger scale.
I hopped in my car and headed back to the office to start drafting a contract for Persephone. This was the kind of thing that couldn’t wait. I wanted to have the details locked in, the budget—or lack of one, in this case—in writing and approved so I could start working. Plus, punctuality and timeliness were signs of professionalism, and I certainly didn’t want Persephone to doubt that I was at the top of my game—the kind of professional who could be counted on to deliver with efficiency.
As I drove, the idea of a fated mate continued to float around my mind. I just didn’t buy that there was a person in the world who would stir something so potent inside me I’d never been aware existed, that it would lead to the great love of my life. At least those were the words Cassidy had used to describe her mate.
I’d heard others describe fated mates as soulmates connected by some unbreakable bond. Someone who could supposedly bring the best out in their mate and unlock passionate emotions that transcended time and space.
I hadn’t bought it then, and my mind wasn’t easily changed.
Chapter 2
Ty
One Month Later
“I’ve been in touch with our logistics department, and they’ve found the source of the shipment issues.” Bill looked at me with unblinking eyes as if he could scare me out of my anger, but I was certain he had no idea of the kind of anger I could summon if I needed to.
Now, though, I reined it in, ran my hand through my hair, and glared at the manager at Keller Motors. “Well, spit it out. What’s the problem?” Answers. I needed fucking answers.
Bill took a step closer and thrust a handful of papers in my direction. “Instead of printing by date, they’ve been printing in alphabetical order. Things ordered on the first of the month by Zimmer have been printed out at the end. So, we aren’t dealing with first in, first out, and everything is printing out of sync.”
“Son of a bitch.” I pulled in a loud breath through my nose. It was probably one of those kinds that should’ve been called a cleansing breath, one meant to calm the fire, but my fire raged. I snatched the paperwork from him and compared our client information to the dates of the part orders. The whole fucking system had broken down, botched by some incompetent asshole. “So that’s why we’re receiving all of these returned products.” No one wants to wait a month for product that was supposed to be delivered overnight. Of course, there were fucking returns. “What are we doing about this?”
Bill looked down at the sheets in my hands, then met my eyes. He was a man who owned his mistakes, and this was his. Even though he wasn’t the order entry guy, he was the manager. The overseer. His mistake. After a moment, he crossed his arms defensively. “First, let me just say how sorry I am, sir. I should’ve been on top of this. It shouldn’t have happened, and it certainly should’ve been caught before these shipping errors were made.”
Apologies meant nothing without a plan to correct the situation. I nodded. “Yeah, and?”
“I’ve got my IT guy working to correct the program as we speak. Everything should be running smoothly from this point forward.” I’d spent my entire life without qualifiers like should be. I needed a man in charge who could guarantee results. As I was about to inform him that his days at Keller Motors had come to an end, he held up one finger as he read his phone screen then looked at me. “According to the email that just came through, it’s fixed.”
I sighed. He’d just saved his job. “This type of fuck up can’t happen again, Bill. Each time we have to process a return and then re-ship to the proper address, it slows production time. And what does that affect?” I wanted to hear him say the word.
Bill scowled. “Profit.” And that affected his bonus the same as it did my family’s bank accounts. “I’ve already put a secondary checklist in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.” That was a good thought, but it didn’t excuse the fact that it had taken a month to catch and a couple million dollars to fix—so far—and if he’d been doing the entirety of his job like he should have, this secondary checklist would have already been in place.
“I appreciate your diligence.” He’d been with the company for a while. My father would say we owed him our loyalty since he’d been loyal to us. I didn’t subscribe to the same philosophy as my old man, but there wasn’t much else I could do but give the guy another chance. “I want to give you a chance to make this right. You’ve been a fantastic manager, and I don’t want to lose you.” I lowered my voice because the lie hurt. “But if something like this ever happens again, I’ll fire you.” There wouldn’t be a third chance. “I depend on you to keep things running smoothly. This type of mistake is unacceptable, so I hope your computer fix is indeed fixed. I have a business to run and a reputation to uphold. Next time, this shit will be dealt with swiftly.”
He nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. Thank you for giving me a chance to make it right. The shipments will go out on time, even if I have to do the deliveries personally.” And that was why my father was as loyal to Bill as Bill was to us. “Guaranteed.”
I shook his hand, then walked him out of my office. He veered off into the plant, and I went to the parking lot.
My family owned several businesses in town, and Keller Motors was just one of them. We had the parts factory, a tanning and beauty salon, a car lot, a grocery store, a bookstore, and a few other things I didn’t do much with. I spent most of my days putting out fires my father was too busy to handle and attempting to keep the businesses moving smoothly, despite the fires still burning.
