We've been dancing around the actual negotiation for ninety minutes. Time to stop pretending this is social.
"Let's be direct," Robert sets down his fork with deliberate precision. "Montgomery wants a Colorado presence, and Fenris currently holds that market, and we're offering partnership. What would make you agree?"
Magnus's smile could freeze vodka. "Nothing. Fenris isn't interested in partnership, merger, or acquisition. We've built something sustainable here, so we don't need Montgomery's resources."
"Everyone needs," Robert's voice stays conversational but edges sharpen. "The question is whether you obtain them through cooperation or competition."
"Is that a threat?" I ask before Magnus can respond.
"Business reality," Robert looks at me directly. "Caroline researched your operation thoroughly: growth trajectory, client acquisition costs, market penetration rates. You're succeeding but stretched thin, and partnership would stabilize that."
"It will destabilize everything we've built," Magnus leans back, Alpha authority radiating. "I've seen firms merge before. The larger entity always absorbs the smaller, so Montgomery would swallow Fenris Colorado within a year."
"That's not our model—" Caroline starts.
"Dress it up however you want, but the result is the same," Magnus cuts her off with polite brutality.
The table goes quiet. Other diners continue their meals unaware we're conducting corporate warfare over crème brûlée.
"You're right to be cautious," Robert says carefully. "But you're wrong about our intentions."
"Am I?" Magnus's voice drops into something dangerous. "You sent your daughter to seduce information from my son while simultaneously scheduling formal negotiations. That doesn't suggest good faith partnership."
Caroline's face goes pale. "I didn't—that's not—" She looks at me. "Lysander, you know that's not what happened."
I do know. The grocery store was a coincidence, and the coffee was genuine, but Magnus just weaponized it and Caroline's in the crossfire.
"The timing was unfortunate," Robert admits. "But Caroline's interest in Lysander was organic. She didn't know who he was when they met."
"How convenient," Magnus doesn't believe it, or doesn't care.
"Dad—" I start.
"You're compromised," he says it quietly but everyone hears. "Your judgment regarding Montgomery is affected by personal involvement, which is exactly what they're counting on."
"That's not fair—" Caroline's voice rises.
Magnus looks at her with something approaching pity. "This is business, so fair doesn't enter the equation," he turns to Robert. "Your daughter's talented, and I'll give you that. But using personal relationships to gain professional advantage? That's beneath both of you."
"I'm not using anything!" Caroline's professional mask cracks completely.
"Was it though?" Robert's question makes everyone freeze.
Caroline stares at her father. "What?"
"You researched Fenris before we approached them," Robert continues with an uncomfortable calm. "Found photos of Lysander at industry events. You knew what he looked like before Sunday's 'coincidence.'"
My stomach drops into my shoes.
"Dad, I didn't—" Caroline's shaking her head. "I wouldn't—"
"I know you wouldn't intentionally," his voice gentles. "But subconsciously? You saw his photo and recognized him at the store, didn’t you? Your interest wasn't completely organic."
The betrayal on Caroline's face is devastating. She's processing that her father just accused her of unconscious manipulation in front of everyone.
"This dinner's over," Magnus signals for the check. "Robert, I'll be direct since that's what you wanted. Fenris isn't interested in partnership, and if Montgomery establishes Denver presence, we'll treat you as competition. Nothing personal, strictly business."
Robert stands, helps Caroline up despite her looking like she wants the floor to swallow her. "Then you should know something: I know what you really are."
The words hang there, loaded and dangerous. Magnus goes very still: "Excuse me?"
"Your family," Robert's smile is sharp enough to cut. "The Fenris bloodline, what you actually are beyond corporate success and real estate holdings." He pauses. "I've done my thorough research, too."
Caroline looks confused. "Dad, what are you talking about?"
"Not here," Robert's hand settles on her shoulder. "But Magnus, Lysander—understand this: I won't allow a company with your... particular nature... to expand unchecked. You're safer staying in Seattle. Coming to Colorado was a mistake."
Fuck, he knows we're wolves, knows about the pack. Magnus's face shows nothing but I feel the rage radiating off him. Being threatened by a human is the ultimate insult to an Alpha.
"Careful, Robert," Magnus's voice could strip paint. "Threats only work if you can follow through."
"Not a threat, warning," Robert guides Caroline toward the exit. "Stay in your territory and don't expand into mine, and we'll coexist peacefully. Try to take more ground?" He shrugs. "Then we have problems."
They leave. Caroline glances back once—confusion and hurt clear on her face before her father leads her away. Magnus and I sit in silence while the waiter processes payment. Other diners pretend not to notice the tension radiating from our table.
"Well," I finally say. "That went spectacularly."
"You're sleeping with her," Not a question.
"I'm not—we haven't—" I stop because lying to Magnus is pointless.
"It's compromised," he repeats and stands, and I stand with him. "You let personal interest cloud professional judgment. Now Montgomery knows about us and has leverage."
"Caroline didn't know. She's human, and she doesn't understand what we are."
"Yet," Magnus's eyes narrow. "But her father clearly does, which means he's researched us thoroughly enough to discover what we hide. That's a problem."
We walk to his car. He drives—doesn't ask if I want to, just assumes command because that's what Alphas do.
"Tell me about the girl," he says after several blocks of silence. "Why are you interested? What makes her worth compromising our position?"
I don't answer immediately, trying to figure out how to explain a bond that shouldn't exist to a father who's built his life around pack law that says humans are off-limits.
"She's smart," I finally say. "Self-critical enough to adequately assess what she is capable of but also unpredictable to keep me on my toes."
"That's an attraction, not an explanation."
"I feel… the bond," the admission costs me. "The pull. I know it shouldn't be possible with a human but it's there anyway."
Magnus goes quiet. He processes this information while navigating Denver streets with the kind of precision that comes from decades controlling everything around him.
"That's not possible," he finally says. "Wolves don't bond with humans. The magic doesn't work across species lines."
"I know," my hands clench in my lap. "But I feel it anyway, since we collided on Sunday. It's weaker than what Kieran described with Thalia but it's there."
"Or you're projecting because you're lonely and she's attractive and available," he glances at me. "The mind creates what the heart wants when reality doesn't cooperate."
Maybe. But no matter how hard I try, right now my brain tells me that Wednesday's kiss was more than just a moment of attraction between a man and a woman. The thread in my chest pulls toward Caroline with the power I can’t resist.