Chapter 2

Vernon clearly took my warning as background noise.

For a gray wolf like him, a man who'd spent his whole life clawing for scraps of power at the bottom, an intern talking back was unthinkable. The world had turned upside down.

He decided to teach me a lesson.

At the afternoon department meeting, Vernon sat at the head of the table, cleared his throat, and swept his eyes toward me.

"The department is under a lot of pressure right now. And yet some employees show zero drive, zero team spirit. Nothing but selfishness!" He wasn't naming names. He didn't need to. Then he pivoted. "Wren, that East District project you're handling. Hand it over. Tiffany will take it from here."

The conference room went dead silent.

The East District deal was mine. Three all-nighters. More site visits than I could count. The contract was days away from signing, along with my commission, and he wanted to take it with one sentence?

Tiffany was some distant cousin of Vernon's. Her job, as far as anyone could tell, consisted of touching up her makeup and running out the clock. Now, hearing that a finished deal was about to land in her lap, she lit up. "Thank you, Mr. Boggs. I won't let you down."

Vernon watched me with a satisfied little smirk. "Wren, you're new. You don't have the experience for a project this size. For the next few days, you'll handle the copying, order everyone's lunch, and keep the department clean. Young people need to eat some dirt. It builds character."

His usual crowd of loyal old-timers chimed right in.

"That's right. New hires need seasoning."

"Wren, grab me a coffee while you're at it."

Vernon leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, looking down at me. The look said everything. See that? This is what power is. You're a bottom-rung employee. What are you going to fight me with? Hand over the terrace and save yourself.

I didn't tear up the way they expected. I didn't swallow it quietly either.

I stood, planted both hands on the conference table, and locked my eyes on Vernon.

"Mr. Boggs. Under Article Fifteen of company policy, any change of project lead requires the department director's signature, plus a documented performance review." My voice wasn't loud, but every word landed. "So. Do you have the director's signature?"

Vernon's face stiffened. "I'm the project manager! I have the authority to reassign personnel! Don't you quote the rulebook at me!"

"Is that so?" I let out a cold laugh and picked the project file up off the table. "Then until you have proper authorization, this project stays mine. As for copying and cleaning, the company has admin staff and a cleaning crew. If you think they're slacking, file a complaint with HR. Don't dump their jobs on a sales rep."

"Wren! You've lost your mind!" Vernon shot to his feet. Rage flipped his pupils into gray wolf slits, and his nails were halfway to claws. He pushed his scent out into the room, trying to press me down with it.

Too bad. Against a pureblood silver wolf like me, that watery little aura of his wasn't even a breeze.

I didn't blink. I just looked at him, cold. "Vernon, don't wave that scrap of authority at me. You steal my project today, and tomorrow I take every dirty thing you've done straight to Group Compliance. Let's see who wins."

I picked up the file, turned, and walked out of the conference room.

Behind me came the crash of a cup and his useless roaring. "You'll regret this! Forget about passing probation!"

I sneered to myself. If I ever got tired of this job, I'd go home and inherit the company. Who needed his precious probation?

At quitting time, I clocked out on the dot.

But when the elevator opened on the top floor, a foul stench hit me in the face.

I frowned and looked toward my front door.

My custom security door was buried under a pile of garbage. Rotting food scraps. Used diapers. Even dead rats.

An old woman with a hard, meaty face stood next to the pile, broom in hand, smearing filthy water across my door and cursing the whole time.

"Shameless little whore! Sitting on a terrace that good and won't let my grandson use it? No wonder you can't get a mate. I hope you die barren! Today you learn what happens when you cross the Boggs family!"

So this was Vernon's mother. Bertha.

I looked at the mess covering my doorway, and the last of the warmth left my eyes.