Unlikely Alliance

LAUREN

I was sprawled out on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Boredom was my worst enemy right now.

I glanced at Prince, who was sprawled out on the floor, happily gnawing on his chew toy. Usually, Beth and I would be watching a movie or chatting the night away.

I missed those little things we used to do.

But Beth wasn’t here, Mason was.

And Mason preferred work over fun. The guy was a workaholic, and if he didn’t slow down, he was going to make himself sick.

I never understood why people who owned companies were so obsessed with work.

I used to think it was because they were lonely, and they filled their lives with paperwork to avoid feeling empty.

They buried themselves in work so they wouldn’t have to face the emptiness of their lives.

How sad they were.

So they wouldn’t have to feel sorry for themselves.

Being a workaholic was just a way to hide all that.

That’s what I used to think, anyway. But now that I was married to a workaholic, I realized that wasn’t the case. Mason had me to come home to. We weren’t exactly close, but I was here.

Waiting.

Would he figure that out on his own? No.

A brilliant idea popped into my head, and I sat up, grinning at Prince, who was looking at me as if he knew what I was thinking and was warning me not to do it.

“Hey, Prince, do you want Mason to get sick?” I asked the dog, who didn’t react to my question. Not that I expected him to. “Don’t you think we should get him away from his work?”

Again, no response from the dog. I was crazy to think he could understand me, but I knew Prince was smart.

“Come here, boy.”

He huffed and looked away, returning to his chew toy.

“Prince!”

He lifted his head and growled at me, his sharp teeth making me lean back.

“Bad dog!” I said, pointing at him.

He got up and started to walk away from me.

I guess I wasn’t the only one who annoyed him to the point of walking away.

“Prince, wait!” I grabbed his collar and stopped him, crouching down in front of him. I ran my hand over his head and smiled.

“Listen, boy, you’ve got to help me. We need to get Mason away from his work. You want him to be okay, right? Will you help me?”

He barked in response.

“Good boy.”

I tiptoed to Mason’s study with Prince following me. I was worried he might start barking and ruin my plan, but he was quiet and obedient. He followed my orders.

He was more obedient than Mason ever was.

I carefully opened the door just a crack so Mason wouldn’t notice, and peeked inside. Mason was behind his desk, working his ass off.

Every few seconds, he would frown and rub his forehead.

I knew he was stressed. The more he worked, the worse it would get for him, but he was too stubborn to take a break.

Too proud to admit that he was just like everyone else, a normal human being who gets tired.

He wasn’t a machine.

I had to be the one to save him from himself.

Prince nudged my leg. “You know what to do. Get those papers away from him. Bite him if you have to. Go on now.” I pushed him inside and quickly hid, laughing silently.

I felt giddy. I felt like a kid breaking a rule for the first time.

Who says a grown woman can’t be a little childish sometimes?

After a few seconds, I didn’t hear anything.

I frowned.

Prince was supposed to grab the papers Mason was working on and get out of there. Did the dog even understand English?

I thought he was smart. Had I been fooled?

I realized that if I wanted something done, I should never send a dog to do it. I decided to check it out myself and when I peeked inside, I was surprised to find an empty study.

Huh?

Where could they have gone? Was there a secret door I didn’t know about? Did they leave me behind waiting like a fool?

Was I too busy laughing to myself to realize they had left the study? Let’s find out.

I slowly pushed the door open and walked inside, moving closer to the desk to take a look, thinking they might be hiding there.

But then I remembered who I was dealing with and laughed. My fingers brushed over the fancy black pens, the stack of papers, and paper clips, trying to leave my mark.

I heard the door slam and the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking.

I spun around and saw Mason’s smug smirk, then looked down at Prince, who was wagging his tail happily.

That damn dog! What a traitor!

“Get her,” Mason ordered.

Prince barked once and I realized what was about to happen. I screamed as Prince lunged at me.

He chased me around the study, trying to bite me as Mason had ordered. They showed no mercy.

“I’m sorry!” I yelled, not sure if I was apologizing to Mason or Prince, whom I had underestimated.

I ducked under the desk and crawled out just as quickly when I realized Prince could easily get me there.

“Prince, stop!”

He kept barking and chasing me, knocking over anything in our path. I didn’t think Mason cared about the mess we were making if it meant he could hear me scream.

He was probably enjoying it, the sick bastard.

I couldn’t even escape because he had locked the door and was standing in front of it, blocking the way out.

Finally, I ran to him, hiding behind his back and panting hard. Prince stood in front of him, wagging his tail happily. I glared at him for his betrayal.

Mason reached behind him and grabbed my arm, pulling me around to face him. Now it was his turn to face my glare.

“Lauren,” he said, his voice carrying a peculiar emphasis. “You thought you could turn my dog against me.”

I let my eyes travel up to his shoulders, then to his jaw, and finally to his intense gray eyes.

He flashed a mischievous grin. “Humans can be disloyal, but dogs will always stay loyal.”

I shot him a glare. “I should’ve known better than to trust him. I can’t believe you were going to let him bite me.”

He moved closer, and I instinctively stepped back. His presence was like a heat wave, making me tense up.

His hands on my shoulders pinned me against the desk, his body acting as a barrier, blocking any escape.

“What did you expect?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. “I was just returning the favor.”

I didn’t find it funny. “What if I had a heart attack from fear? Or slipped and hit my head on the desk?”

In the deafening silence that followed, he moved even closer. “Now you’re just being dramatic, which is something you’re quite good at.”

He gently lifted my chin, studying my face before letting his gaze wander down my body and back up again.

“You look fine to me.” His minty breath brushed against my nose.

I scoffed. “Why do you enjoy causing me trouble?”

“I don’t look for trouble. It just seems to find me. Like a magnet.”

I pushed past him, but he spun around, catching me. His arm snaked around me, pulling me back against his chest.

He lowered his face to my neck, his lips brushing the soft skin just below my ear.

“Next time, I won’t protect you from Prince,” he whispered.

I yanked his sleeve, pulling myself free. I quickly crossed the room, rubbing my arms as if trying to erase his touch.

“Sit down, Lauren.” His words hung in the air, followed by a long silence. “Unless you’re scared.”

“Scared? Of you? Never,” I retorted, crossing my arms.

Mason looked at me, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Then sit your ass down.”

I complied, sinking into the leather couch. I watched him return to his desk and resume his work.

“So, how was work today?” I asked, expecting him to either ignore me or snap at me for being nosy. But he surprised me with an honest answer.

“A bit stressful, but when isn’t it?” he said, not looking up from his work.

“And we have to launch our product by the end of the year. I heard my rival company is launching a product soon. I can’t let that clash with my launch.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“Business is always competitive, Lauren. Companies will do anything to bring you down. It all depends on what product you’re launching and when.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s simple. If my company and Sanders both plan to launch a product soon and I launch first, it’s bad because it’s too close to their launch. No one pays attention to others when a new product is launched. But if I wait a few more months, I’ll lose a lot of money.”

“That’s harsh,” I commented.

“That’s business.”

I mulled over his words before asking, “It’s the drone project, right? The one I attended meetings for?”

Mason nodded slightly, still not looking at me. “Originally, yes. But there have been some changes.”

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine. I’m sure your team won’t let you down,” I reassured him.

He looked amused. “I don’t worry.”

“Yeah, because you’re a freaking machine who doesn’t feel anything.”

Slowly, he lifted his head. A hint of a smile touched his lips. “Your job interview is tomorrow, right? I’ll have Coop drive you. He’s going to be your personal driver now.”

I looked up at him. “What about you?”

“I’ll drive myself to work. I’m perfectly capable of doing that.”

A spark of humor lit my eyes. “That’s not very Mason Campbell-like. Driving yourself to work. Tsk, tsk, what would people say?”

“They’d say nothing because it’s none of their business.” He raised his eyebrows before returning his attention to his work.

I smiled briefly and stood up. “Okay, I’ll leave you to your work. I’m going to head upstairs, watch something, then sleep. Goodnight, Mason.” I headed for the door.

“Goodnight,” he replied quietly.

I smiled.