Chapter 5 5

I made it back to the building and into the elevator. I’m not going to lie I was curious as to what Maggie had found. Part of me was still a little mad at Spinel for having Maggie go through Emerald’s life with a fine-tooth comb, but I knew why it needed to be done.

“Good evening, Mr. Obsidian, will Mr. Bloodstone be back soon?” Maggie asked me from her desk in the foyer of the executive floor.

“No, Maggie. Mr. Bloodstone had some other business to attend to, it’s just me. What do you got?” I asked as I pulled open my office door and waited for Maggie to enter.

Maggie walked into my office ahead of me and took a seat opposite my chair at my desk. Maggie then laid down a file folder and opened it, turning it to me. Once the folder was facing me, Maggie started giving me the cliff notes version of Emey’s life.  “Ms. Jade is an only child of Amber and Danburite Jade. Both parents worked and made a modest living. Ms. Jade went to private school; upon graduation she attended PLU here in the state and graduated early with a 4.0 GPA. Emerald worked a few odd jobs before applying for an internship here, you already know her work and status history within the company. Emerald had a few boyfriends, none of them ever lasted very long.”

A growl erupted from within my chest. I knew Emerald wasn’t a virgin, but I still didn’t want to think about any man touching what was mine.

“Moving on.” Maggie said as she looked over the top of her glasses at me. “Months ago, Emerald’s parents were in a skiing accident, her mother died, and her father was comatose. Danburite Jade was airlifted to General where he remained in a coma. A few months into his coma his medical insurance did not renew his policy, making the hospital revert to private pay. The medical bills ate through both Emerald and her parents savings accounts, forcing Emerald to initiate a quick sale of her family home.”

“What? Why didn’t she say anything?” I hissed. “Spinel and I could’ve helped.”

“Sir let’s be honest. You and Spinel aren’t the easiest to talk to you about anything. Spin can be a little intense and quite scary. You give off this “I’m the cool guy” vibe, but you’re not exactly approachable. When Emerald took this job, she was under investigation from the mess in accounting, she was also the sixth assistant in a little over two years. Everyone in the company knows her position is the position of death within Peridot Industries. I hardly doubt she wanted to bring any more scrutiny or what she believed you and Spinel may perceive as drama to the workplace. Doing this workup on Emerald I’ve learned, she is a private person. All her social media accounts are set to private, she only has 65 friends, and follows celebrity chefs, cooking shows, and a few werewolf smut authors.”

“Really?” I said a smile twitching at the corners of my mouth. Emerald reads about werewolves, some of those authors are actual werewolves and the content within those dirty little novels is pretty spot-on accurate. My little human mate is full of surprises.

“Where is she living? Maggie, you said she sold the family home to pay medical bills, but you never said anything about her buying a new home.”

“I can’t find any rental agreements, property deeds, or utility bills in her name or her father’s. I don’t know where she is currently living. Emerald has $142 in her checking account, no savings that I could find, all her credit cards are maxed out and she’s barely making the minimum monthly payments. Everything she has financially, has been going towards her father’s medical bills.”

“How is she living like this?” I asked quietly, more to myself than Maggie, not needing an answer.

Maggie responded anyway, “She’s not living, sir. She’s just trying to survive.”

Something inside me snapped. A fury burned deep in my gut, Emerald wasn’t going to ask for our help, but she was going to get it anyway. Emerald didn’t  know it, but her job depended on her taking the help. No mate of mine was going to be walking around the city of Axinite broke and destitute.

“Shall I continue, sir?”

“Yes, please, Maggie.”

“This evening Emerald’s father had some medical complications causing him to have a series of seizures. It was decided that all life saving measures would be stopped. Danburite Jade was pronounced dead at 7:10pm this evening. The Neptune Society has been contacted, and arrangements have been made for the body.” Maggie stopped talking and looked at me, concern in her eyes.

All I could do was sit.

“Sir, may I ask a question?”

“Sure, Maggie. What is it?”

“Is Emerald Jade your mate?”

“Yes. Mine and Spinel’s. We knew she was our mate when she was still in accounting, that’s why we moved her up here. The bond went crazy during a routine monthly meeting she had to take the lead on after Jason was fired. Before that meeting our paths had never crossed but I knew something was different in this building a few years back. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.”

“She’s human.”

I laughed a soft laugh, “Fully aware of that Maggie.”

“Have you asked the Elders about this?”

“Yes. They denied the request. Spinel and I have petitioned the Sandolf Triplets. Hopefully we can get a hearing in front of them soon. I feel like we are in this mess because my father didn’t convert to the Council of Pack way of life and now Spinel and I are suffering emotionally.”

“Can you bring up this issue when you go before Queen Luna Alsie and the whole court, the Sandolf Triplets included, at your next Council rider meeting?”

My head snapped up quickly, “Maggie you’re a genius. I didn’t even think of that. Holy shit, Mags! Thank you!!! Just to be clear, you can’t say anything to anyone. I don’t want word of this spreading to the Elders; they are already looking for something to bury Spinel and I with since we petitioned the Royal Court for a Council change.”

“I like Emey, she’s good for you two. I won’t say anything.”