Damaged Billionaire Daddy Bear - Leela Ash Page 0,32
is thinking at the particular moment.”
“Well, what was she thinking?” Theodore asked.
“She badly wanted to come, though she was nervous about getting too close to you. Then this fool scared her off,” Darryl finished, shooting Connor a look of disgust.
Connor grunted, unperturbed. “You scared her off then. No surprise there. She is probably just some skanky coward who wants a slice of Theodore’s money and nothing else.”
Theodore’s hands balled into fists at his side as anger spread through him.
Connor wasn’t done, “I’m not surprised that the Damaged Pack fingered her as the likely mole in Exotic Rescue. There’s a look about her I didn’t like from the moment I saw her.”
“You never truly liked humans, Connor,” Justin reminded him.
Connor shrugged, “I like Stephen Cutler just fine, and he’s human.”
Theodore sighed as he unclenched his fists, letting his anger dissipate. “I will have her at that party one way or the other,” he declared.
Silence fell as he announced his decision.
Two hours later as he walked into the office, Theodore’s thoughts were in a whirl as he contemplated his problem. He needed to get close to Jessica as many times as possible, and Carla’s party seemed like a good enough opportunity.
“Good morning, Mr. Cooper,” Anita, his secretary, chirped as he walked in.
He acknowledged her with a distracted smile, “Please send in Maria.”
“Sure thing, sir,” she said as she immediately began to dial the extension for Maria. If there was one thing he liked about Maria Henley it was that she was an efficient personal assistant. She seemed to be able to plan anything at any time and she had proven herself, on several occasions, as being able to handle just about any task he assigned to her. Maybe she could help him with this problem.
The small knock sounded at the door and she came in.
“How are the exchange staff settling in?” he enquired.
“They’re doing amazing work,” she replied. “I’m particularly impressed with Jessica Harris. She doesn’t complain when she is posted to different units every two days. She is so willing and eager to learn, and she keeps asking questions.”
Theodore’s head lifted, “Questions?”
“Yes,” Maria continued excitedly, oblivious of his inner disquiet. “She wants to know a lot about you and the rescue and why you started it and our available facilities and she studies the animals a lot. She seems to think some factors could cause animal genes to mutate and she has years of extensive research on it. She said she traced some of the early appearances of animal gene mutation in Angel Springs to over eight hundred years ago. It’s all very exciting work.”
Theodore’s heart hardened in his chest as he heard this report from an unimpeachable source. She was asking a lot of questions then, and tracing animal gene mutations while she was at it. That meant she was really here to spy on him and his rescue. And for what? Money? Fame?
Anger knotted in his chest, and he turned to Maria, “From today on, you will only assign Jessica to work with me and no one else. Is that clear?”
His tone had been harder than he intended, and it wasn’t until he saw the look of consternation in Maria’s eyes that he realized just how hard his tone had been.
With a sigh, he tried to explain, “I’m worried she may be asking so many questions to help our competition. We can’t have our … corporate secrets out there, ya know? Exotic Rescue is the one place where badly mangled animals knocking on death’s door come to be healed as if by miracle. We want to maintain our position.”
Understanding dawned and a determined glint entered Maria’s eyes with such ferocity that he almost felt sorry for poor Jessica.
“You got it, Mr. Cooper,” she said quietly before turning on her heel and leaving the room with purposeful strides.
“One more thing,” he called.
She looked over her shoulder at him, pausing midstride.
“Carla’s birthday is tomorrow. Figure out a way to get that Harris woman there. Make it look official.”
Maria looked confused but nodded again and departed.
He sank onto his seat, still thinking about Jessica. She had looked so pretty in her gypsy skirt and impractical sandals. He had wanted her so desperately that it had been a wonder he hadn’t grabbed her and made love to her right then and there. The wild shifter side of him had been clawing with need, eager to grab her and stake his claim.
With a flick of his wrist, he pressed the button underneath his desk