Her Wolf

The expression on Catherine’s face changed from annoyed to surprise as Ryan introduced the man who he had basically summed up to be his arch nemesis. She mulled over the list of Alan’s in the back of her mind as quickly as possible and briefly recalled the name.

“Alan Nichol,” she said to herself as she busied her hands with pulling out the stack of papers from the envelope Jess had handed her. “Alan Nichol, you were in charge of wildlife habitat when you worked for the foundation. That’s how your name was found.”

“And now I’m one of the biggest developers in the state,” Alan replied.

His arrogant demeanor was off putting and Catherine crinkled her nose in distaste.

“Wait a second,” Ryan interrupted. “You’re the developer that’s planning on destroying Snow Drift to build a fancy resort and casino?”

“You’re a smart one; we should get you a cookie.”

The room fell silent and Catherine dropped her gaze to the floor as she took a few moments to go over everything that had just happened. Not only did she manage to get a meeting with the developer, but she also managed to get a meeting with the man who was making it impossible for Ryan and Catherine to further their ventures. All of the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit together and make sense and Catherine shook her head upon the realization.

“And that’s why you’ve been making it so difficult for Ryan and I to get the meetings we needed to get in order to find out who the developer is,” Catherine said, stating a fact instead of asking a question. “You put barriers up no matter which direction we went in because you wanted yourself to be revealed to Ryan on your terms. You wanted to set the stage and this was the perfect one for you.”

“I like her,” Alan said, looking towards Ryan as he spoke about Catherine. “She’s got spunk.”

“Don’t direct me like I’m not here, Mr. Nichol,” Catherine blurted. “This is my company and you’ll show some respect while I’m here. Just like you would if you were in my home.”

Ryan held his hand up in protest and took a challenging step towards Alan, ensuring he was standing in front of Catherine. “What do you want, Alan? Surely you’re here because you want to tell us something.”

“I’m here to tell you that you’re going to fail,” Alan said. “At the minimum, half of Snow Drift Park will be destroyed forever and a very lucrative resort and casino will be put in its place. You may have beaten me in everything else, Ryan, but you’ve got another thing coming if you think you’re beating me in this too.”

Catherine and Ryan looked towards each other with uncertainty printed across their faces. The only thing left to do, was hope that something in Catherine’s envelope could be used to sway Alan’s decision.

At this point, she wasn’t above blackmail if needed.

“Sit down,” Alan said, kicking the door shut to seal them in. “It’s time to chat.”