Claimed By The Billionaire Alpha (Gay Werewolf Shifter Mates - An M/M Mpreg Billionaire Romance) (3 page)

The rest of the week was a bustle of getting ready. In addition to going to the tailor's for fitting, Ethan had to shop, finding the minor things that complimented his expensive suits.

He knew that his standard undergarments of undershirts and briefs, while not visible, would help him feel like he was fitting in.

He also had to purchase an attache case, a coffee cup, and about a thousand other items that he knew weren't vital to his job, but would make things easier for him.

He was happy, though.

After years of living on student union meals, cheap peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and hotdog dogs from Jim, he was going to be able to start cooking for himself.

Without transportation, this meant a lot of trips, carrying bags upon bags up the stairs to his apartment. But he didn't really mind it. It was good exercise. All he had left to do was pick up his suits tomorrow from the tailor.

He was going to be ready.

***

"Hello, is this Ethan?"

Ethan grinned at the sound of cultured tones of Devin's deep voice over his cell phone. "Hello Devin. What's up?"

"Well," Devin said, his bashfulness making Ethan smile, "I was wondering if you were free this afternoon. I know it's sudden, but it seems that Sundays are the best chance for anyone with a busy job to get together."

Ethan took a glance at his watch before he replied. "I’ll tell you what. I have to pick up some things from a tailor, but I’ll be free in about one hour."

"Oh, that's perfect," Devin replied, "I know a great coffee shop on the corner of Mulberry and Grand that serves the best cupcakes. How about meeting there?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

"See you."

Ethan practically jogged his way to the tailor. It was a small place, right beside a Chinese carryout joint that bellowed spicy Szechuan odors out into the street.

Inside, the staff was professional and cordial, without a hint of the outside smells at all. Ethan found his two suits, one in a smooth gray and the other in navy blue, ready for him when he arrived.

Ethan admired the craftsmanship. They were beautiful, hand tailored in the finest wool. Ethan marveled at the texture of the rich fabric under his fingertips.

"These are excellent," Ethan said to the owner, a diminutive old lady. She was Chinese, but spoke with a British accent. "This is amazing work."

"For Mr. Romanov and Morgan Investments, we do our best. They've been our best customers for quite some time now."

Ethan nodded, and turned to the woman. "I just started working there. Do you have any advice you could give me?"

The woman chuckled, while she slipped Ethan's suits into an airtight garment bag. "Have you ever read Bruce Lee?" she asked, smoothing the suits in the bag and zipping it up. "He had a well-known saying. Be water, my friend. Mr. Romanov is sometimes very unusual. Those that adhere to the things they learned at some Ivy League school or wherever often find themselves out of a job. The few that are like water... those are the ones I have the pleasure of making many suits for."

The tailor handed Ethan his suits, and Ethan quickly left before telling her thank you. He only had six blocks to go, but he was already running a bit late.

"Devin!" Ethan called, his suits slung over his shoulder.

Ethan spotted him standing on the street corner, next to a light-pole, looking around almost nervously.

Ethan waved with his free hand when he saw Devin swing his eyes in his direction, and Devin waved his arms in return as he walked the last half block.

"Sorry, the tailor took a bit longer than I expected,” Ethan apologized breathlessly, “Have you been waiting out here long?"

"Not too long," Devin replied with a shrug. "Only a few minutes."

Devin’s disarming bashfulness was sweet, and Ethan felt himself grinning at his words. "I guess the cupcakes are really that good, huh?"

Devin scratched at his hair. "Yeah, something like that."

Smiling, Ethan walked along with Devin to the cafe.

Sitting down, the two talked the usual for two strangers meeting: where they were from, what sort of foods they liked, their hobbies and the like. The thing that caught Ethan's attention the most was how much Devin was willing to listen to him.

Devin would follow up his comments with understanding questions, and he really seemed interested.

Finally, after enjoying a rich cappuccino and a delicious cupcake apiece, Ethan asked the question that had been on his mind since he had run into Devin.

"So tell me, why would a handsome, rich-looking guy like you be running around this district anyway?"

Devin laughed, drinking the last of his coffee. "I'm in imports and exports, and I had a meeting at the Studio Museum in the area. I'm helping them bring in some new work next month. What brings you to this part of town?"

Ethan chuckled. "My new employers has all new hires get a couple suits from the tailor shop here. I was just coming to pick them up."

"I see. Where do you work?"

"Morgan investments. I start working tomorrow."

Ethan saw a shadow pass over Devin's face, but it was gone in an instant, leaving Ethan unsure if he had actually seen something or if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Best of luck to you then," Devin said, draining his cup. "Would you care for another coffee?"

              At five minutes till eight A.M on Monday morning, Ethan made his way into the lobby of Morgan Investments for the first time as an employee.

His ID badge was fashioned to his suit’s lapel, and Ethan felt like holding it out as a shield, proudly putting it out on display so that people seen he belonged there too.

His anxiety diminished as he saw Karina Romanov standing in front of the security desk, smiling in greeting. "You look very handsome," she greeted Ethan, admiring his smooth grey suit. "Did you have any trouble getting the suits?"

"Not at all Miss Romanov," Ethan replied, smiling and nodding to the guards in greeting as he passed.

They didn't nod back in response, and Ethan was beginning to wonder if they were robots or something. "By the way, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course," Karina replied, as the they entered the elevator. "

"I noticed that you and Mr. Romanov have the same family name..."

"Yes, Talen is my half-brother," replied Karina with a smile. "We both share the same father."

"So I guess that means you aren't just a lobby secretary then?"

Karina chuckled. "No, not at all. Talen asked me to welcome you as a favor to him. I actually help him run the company. I specialize in corporate finance law, but I mostly just oversee what is being done by the other lawyers. We have a few dozen lawyers here."

"Geez. And who is Miss White?"

"Jasmine is my administrative assistant. Like you, she’s also very educated. She's a great asset to me and our firm.

We currently don't have a lot going on in the legal department, so I've asked her to help your transition and to learn the ins and outs. She should be able to help with anything you need. Before the elevator stops, would you like some advice?" Karina asked, her voice changing as she turned to face Ethan.

Ethan turned, curious. "Of course."

Karina's face shifted to a penetrating gaze that made Ethan slightly anxious.

If this woman wasn't in corporate law, she sure would make a great prosecutor
, thought Ethan.

Any defendant able hold up to that gaze was made of stern stuff.

"Talen.....Mr. Romanov, is taking a risk with you. Being in charge, he can do that. But my job is to protect this firm and my brother. So work as hard as you can, and when you think you can’t possibly work any harder, find a way to give him just a little more. If you do that, you'll fit in well here. If not, there will likely be problems."

Ethan swallowed twice before he replied. "Yes, ma'am."

Karina's face morphed into a gentle smile almost scary fast. "Good. I'll never have to speak that way to you again."

For the next six weeks, Ethan's life became a whirlwind of hard work. He found himself routinely at his desk starting at eight in the morning, but from there the day would vary.

Sometimes he would spend the whole day working on his computer, sending e-mails or booking reservations for Talen or just handling his calendar.

He grew skilled at finding dinner reservations at restaurants all over the Tribeca area on short notice, as he seemingly had dinner meetings show up with little to no notice.

On other days, he would find himself going all over New York with Talen as he carried out his business. One morning they'd be at the New York Stock Exchange, then that afternoon they'd be in the East Village checking out an art show.

During these times, he would often find himself talking with Talen not as an employee, but as a friend.

"So, what do you think about this place?" Talen asked once, as they were seated in an Indian restaurant eating lunch together.

Talen had come to Ethan that morning telling him to grab his tablet. He was looking to invest in some local restaurants. "It's got a better location than the Thai place in Brooklyn."

Ethan dipped his na'an bread in the buttered chicken curry, and took a bite. Immediately, he shook his head. "Nope, not here," Ethan said, pushing his curry aside.

"Why?" Talen said with a glint in his eye, as he spooned his own curry and rice into his mouth.

Ethan had noticed Talen had a huge appetite, easily eating three to four times what he could, yet he was always trim and built.

He must have a crazy metabolism,
thought Ethan.

"The curry," he answered simply. "Indian food is about passion. It's about loving the food and loving the life. This curry doesn't have that, it's flat. It probably won't be here in five years."

"I see. Would you call yourself someone who possesses passion, Ethan?"

Ethan blushed, and took a bite out of his bread. At least that was decent enough. "It took a lot of passion to get myself together and finish school after my mother passed, sir. Without passion, I would never have gotten into a school like NYU, and never would've gotten to work at Morgan Investments. Passion is something I think I know."

Talen smiled kindly, and Ethan felt his emotions tug at him.

When Talen smiled, he didn't look quite as powerful or haughty. He looked kind, and Ethan had to remind himself constantly that he was his boss and not his friend. On top of that, Ethan had no idea if he was into men. The last thing he wanted to do was offend his boss with an unwanted comment taken as an advance.

"Okay, I'll accept that. But I've told you before, Ethan. When we're alone, don't call me sir. I happen to like my name."

"Okay, Mr. Romanov," he said playfully, shocking himself as soon as he said it.

Talen's chin dropped, before he laughed and threw a small piece of na'an bread at him. "You know I can’t stand that! My father was Mr. Romanov. Just Talen."

Ethan laughed along with him, and sipped at his Coke. "All right.... Talen." The way the word rolled off Ethan’s tongue sent shivers down his spine, and he knew that he wanted to say that name many times.

If anything was unclear to Ethan over the first six weeks of his job, it was the strange incident about two weeks after he started.

Until then, Ethan had sometimes found himself working late, often until seven or eight o'clock, and even then there were always others working even after he left.

But for about three days, the executive floors emptied out starting at three in the afternoon. It was weird. Ethan couldn't find Talen at all, and when he went downstairs to the legal department, Jasmine White, Karina, and most of the other senior attorneys were gone too.

He looked around for a bit, until one of the junior attorneys, a young guy named of Luke James that worked in patent law asked him what he needed.

"I've got a few documents that came in for Mr. Romanov to sign," Ethan said, "But he's nowhere to be found. He's not answering his phone either, and everyone I can think of who can help me find him is gone too."

"Oh you mean the Moonthlies," Luke replied, grinning in amusement. "You'll get used to it."

"What is a Moonthly?" Ethan asked, clutching his file folder of documents in his hands.

Luke led him over to the water cooler to get a drink.

"It's just what we in legal call the few days a month when a lot of the senior staff go daylight hours only on us," Luke said, keeping his voice furtively low. "It seems to always coincide with the full moon, so that's why we call it the Moonthlies. There's jokes about why it happens, but nobody knows the real reason. There's rumors but that's all."

"Oh?" Ethan was intrigued, even if he knew it was office gossip.

"A few guys I know insist it's because all of the folks who disappear are part of the Romanov family, so he says it's some kind of religion thing. You know what I think though?" Luke said, his voice lowering into a whisper, his eyes alight with excitement.

"What?" Ethan asked, his eyes glancing to each side to see if anyone was paying attention.

"I think we're working for a pack of werewolves," Luke whispered.

Ethan froze.

"Gotcha!" Luke laughed.

Ethan felt the tension drain out of him, and realized he had been holding his breath. He laughed along with Luke, and made his way up to his desk. If that was the way Talen wanted to run his company, he'd just have to deal with it. Everyone knew werewolves didn't live in New York City anyway, it was too urban. Every TV special he had ever seen about werewolves had them living out in the forests. Werewolves running Morgan Investments? Yeah right!