Chapter 208: Chapter 208 Business and Buried Hearts
Author
Alpha Zack started going on blind dates under pressure from his father and the pack elders.
He sat through dinner after dinner, shaking hands and making small talk with she-wolves who all seemed to blur together after a while.
Same polite smiles. Same careful questions. Same hopeful looks in their eyes.
He could not say he liked Vanessa Taylor all that much. But he had to admit, the woman made a decent alliance candidate.
A pureblood she-wolf. Born into nobility. Her family crest still meant something, even if they had seen better days. Her father made some bad investments a few years back, and the family fortune took a hit. But the title still carried weight in pack politics.
Compared to Selina’s empty beauty and endless demands, Vanessa was a different breed entirely. She had actual skills.
After graduation, she joined the family business instead of spending her days shopping and planning parties.
Now she was practically a vice president. She ran departments. She made decisions. She balanced budgets.
That was what Alpha Zack liked most about her.
A woman with a career had broader vision. She would not waste time on petty nonsense. She would not text him twenty times in an hour asking where he was. She would not cry over things that did not matter.
He respected that.
So he decided to be honest with her from the start.
"Miss Taylor, we can pursue this alliance. But I need to be clear. All I can offer you is the title of Luna. Nothing more."
Vanessa’s smile did not waver. She set down her wine glass and met his eyes, steady and unbothered. "Alpha Zack, you do not need to be so final. Many bonds grow from time spent together, do they not?"
She was not wrong. Arranged matings worked that way all the time. You started with politics and ended with something real. It happened.
And frankly, after surviving one failed alliance, Vanessa was not about to drown in self-pity. If anything, Alpha Zack Blackwood was the best match she could hope for now. Young. Powerful. An Alpha in his prime.
Even if the man came with a complicated past.
Even if his ex was sitting in a wolf prison cell right now.
Selina Vance was rotting away behind bars. What did she have to worry about?
The dinner went well. Polite conversation. Careful laughter. The kind of date where both sides knew exactly what they were doing.
When it ended, Alpha Zack pulled out his phone to pay the bill.
Vanessa’s sharp eyes caught something.
His lock screen popped up for just a second. A blurred image. The outline of a woman’s face.
Her pupils contracted. Her breath caught for half a heartbeat.
But she looked away smoothly, as if she had seen nothing.
Inside, her mind was racing. [Who was that? ]
---
After Elara got back from her honeymoon, she dove straight into negotiations with Taylor Capital.
The hotel chain’s expansion plan for next year needed serious funding. Elara was looking for a five hundred million dollar loan. Taylor Capital showed strong interest during the initial talks, so things looked promising.
Elara and Nancy showed up together to discuss the financing. They had an appointment with the vice president at two in the afternoon.
But when they got to the office, the receptionist told them the VP was in a meeting. They would have to wait.
Two o’clock came and went. Then three. Then three thirty.
By four, Nancy could not hold it in anymore.
"Elara, I don’t think Miss Taylor is all that interested in working with us."
Elara nodded slowly. She kept her face calm, but her fingers tapped against her knee. "Let us wait a bit longer. See what happens."
"Alright."
Nancy scrolled through her phone. "Summit Capital and Shoreline Bank both expressed interest. We can keep them as backups."
"Can they give us the amount we need?"
"Right now, they are only offering two hundred million."
That was exactly why Elara had not walked out after two hours of waiting. She needed the full five hundred. Taylor Capital was the only one who could deliver that without blinking.
"It is fine. Worst case, we wait until five."
Five o’clock. That was her deadline. If they did not get in by then, she was leaving.
At ten minutes to five, the secretary finally knocked and led them to Vice President Taylor’s office.
Vanessa looked up with a practiced smile as the two women walked in. "So sorry. There was an emergency meeting today. I hope you were not waiting too long."
"It is no problem, Miss Taylor."
Elara did not waste time on pleasantries. She sat down and got straight to the point. "Miss Taylor, we discussed the partnership over the phone earlier. Have you had a chance to consider it?"
Vanessa’s smile did not waver. "Oh, that. No rush. Our group has strict risk assessment protocols. We will need you to provide a series of documents to support our compliance team’s work. You do not mind, do you, Elara?"
Elara’s brow lifted slightly. The request was normal. The timing felt off. But she smiled warmly anyway. "Of course not."
"Good. Well, let us wrap this up for today. I have a dinner engagement tonight, so I will not see you out."
Elara’s heart sank. She could not understand why a deal that had seemed so solid suddenly turned cold. The initial talks had been warm. Promising. Now Vanessa was acting like she had never heard of the project before.
But she did not let it show. She extended her hand with the same warm smile. "Then we will wait for your notice, Miss Taylor. Whatever compliance documents you need, you can coordinate directly with our CFO."
Vanessa’s tone was flat. "Fine."
When they walked out of Taylor Capital, Elara let out a long breath. "Tomorrow, set up meetings with the other two."
Nancy nodded. "Will do."
They had not gone far when Vanessa pulled a file from her desk drawer.
She opened it. Stared at the photo clipped to the first page.
So this was Elara. The one Alpha Zack kept on his phone screen. The one he looked at when he thought no one was watching.
The woman he could not let go of.
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
She closed the file and slid it back into the drawer.
