He’s an Alpha She doesn’t Care novel Chapter 22

She walked into her office the next day and there hanging on her coat rack was that dress bag, that Jared had tried to hand to her yesterday. She shook her head at seeing it and sat down at her desk, to find there was a note card sitting on her laptop. She read it: “You’ll accept the dress, there are no strings attached to it, Jared.”

She sighed as she stared at it and then picked it up and placed it in the bin next to her desk, as Jamie, one of the other marketing team supervisors, leaned on her door. “I see you’ve got Jared Hayes‘ attention. First he brings you a dress and picks you up for his brother’s wedding, and now he’s buying you clothes too. I saw him personally drop that off this morning… Are you two dating?” she asked almost too casually.

Wynta knew this woman was just there for office gossip and nothing more. “I barely know him, and we are not dating.” Wynta stated simply, “My dress got ruined before the wedding, and he is replacing it, nothing more.”

“He ruined your dress, huh?” Jamie nodded with a knowing smirk and Wynta knew from that one thing, she shouldn’t have said anything. Jamie was going to turn it into some dirty thing and spread it through the office. Wynta needed to put a stop to it, she didn’t need rumors like that getting about.

“Mr Hayes, put me out of his car before we even got to the wedding, and I got injured, and the dress was ruined. It’s that simple, Jamie.” She told her the truth of the matter. “You know I was off work after being in the hospital and having surgery due to injury, yes.”

“Yes,” the woman nodded. “But Wynta… why’d he put you out of his car? Don’t tell me you were rude to that handsome devil of a man? Your own employer’s eldest son who’s a confirmed bachelor.”

Wynta held in the annoyance and smiled at this woman, who was clearly still digging for gossip. “I treated him no differently to how I would treat everyone else, yourself included, Jamie.” She made a point with her words “Did you actually need something or are you just here for gossip?”

“My my Wynta.” She clicked her tongue. “You really don’t know how to catch a man, do you? You’re supposed to smile at them, flirt and flatter them, boost their ego, not dismiss them or try to humble them… Flattery goes a long way, you should try it sometime, and maybe you’d get a date once in a while.”

Wynta raised an eyebrow at her, “And maybe I just don’t care to date, and be a slave to a man’s every whim. If that is go ahead and do it, but it’s not the 1800s you know.”

She saw Jamie glare at her and then turn and stalk away, and she rolled her eyes, why she thought that was the way to get a man she didn’t know? It was probably just best to be oneself, so they know who you were.

But she could see that dress and that Jared, having dropped it off personally, was going to cause her an issue. She was going to have to go and give it back to him to stop the office gossip. She didn’t need that kind of trouble. Gossip like that could lead to one getting fired unjustly. She knew that’s how she’d lost her last job.

Been fired because a man in a higher position than she was, took an interest in her, and she’d rejected him, politely but firmly, and he’d not taken kindly to it. It had seen him start rumors about her when she’d confronted him. He’d had the hide to tell her if she bent over his desk, he’d stop them all.

To which she’d slapped him, and he’d complained to HR that she’d been sexually harassing him in the work place, and now she’d gone one step too far and physically assaulted him. He’d been a long–standing employee in upper management with apparently a blemish–free career, and she’d been new she’d been ousted, her word against his.

Though she now always had a camera in her office, that recorded not only visuals but audio as well, it sat behind her on the middle shelf and just looked like a mantle clock. It was the only thing she had brought into this office, and it had sat out there on her desk when she was just a marketing specialist among the team.

So none of her team ever mentioned it, it was just a simple personal item of hers, and those that didn’t know that just thought it was part of her office décor, a nice decorative clock. She stood staring at that dress for a solid minute and then just walked over and picked it up and took it upstairs to the tenth floor, and handed it over to Stacey, Jared’s secretary.

Who frowned at the bag and then at Wynta herself and asked for an explanation, which Wynta stated “Please give that back to Mr Hayes, I don’t need the gossip it’s causing in my department. Please also remind him that I declined the dress yesterday, and I am still declining it today. That I also don’t want him to personally drop things to my office unless they are work–related.”

“You’re rejecting the Alpha’s gift?” Stacey looked at her and seemed a bit on the confused side.

“Yes, I told him yesterday I didn’t want it, nothing has changed overnight.” Wynta nodded and had just walked away from the desk when Carlotti stepped into the corridor and stared at her for a moment before walking past her and over to Jared’s secretary. Wynta moved along; her business was done.

She returned to her office only to have Stacey knock on her door half an hour later, and she looked up and nearly frowned but waved the woman in “What can I do for you?”

“Mr Hayes told me to give you this, if you won’t accept the dress,” and she placed a cheque on the desk for the cost of the dress.

Wynta shook her head and pushed it back across the desk. “That is not at all necessary.”

“He thought you might say that, so he instructed me to tell you, and I quote him “it’s the dress or the cheque, or him sitting here in your office until you accept one or the other from him.” Stacey smiled at her. “The choice I believe is now yours, what will it be? I’m to stand here until you make a decision.”

Her jaw ticked, and she picked up the cheque and looked at it. He was likely a very busy man, and wouldn’t have the time to sit in here all day. It was a bluff, she realized. “I call his bluff.” She smiled at Stacey. “You may take that cheque back.” She stated and saw Stacey just roll her eyes and leave the office.

Only to frown 10 minutes later when Jared strolled on to the marketing floor along with Dwane, and they stopped and chatted with her team and handed out coffee, and he looked right at her with a smile through that glass window. He was carrying that dress bag, and then he walked over and into her office. “Ah Wynta, there you are,” he stated, and his voice practically dripped with charm.

Her eyes moved from him to Dwane, who tipped his coffee cup up to her and chuckled softly.

Here eyes moved back to Jared as he walked over and placed that dress on the coat rack and then put a coffee in front of her, and sat himself down across from her desk. “A bluff you say.

He smiled at her and casually leaned back in that chair, put one ankle over his knee and sipped from his own coffee cup.

Her eyes narrowed on him. “What do you want? Or can you not take a hint.”

“Hmm, I think what I want is obvious,” he stated, and she saw Dwane actually really laugh and then turn away to her team. “I can take a hint, but I owe you one dress and so…” he left it unsaid.

“Look, I get that your father has told you to replace the dress or something like that, but it is not at all necessary.”

“My father? I bought that dress myself because of what happened, and I realized I was the cause of the dress getting ruined.”

She shook her head. “The pack paid for the dress, you mean.” She stated right back. “Put on the company card I imagine, so no, you didn’t buy that dress yourself.”

Jared frowned right at her now. “I actually did. I started my own company just over eight years ago and live off the money I make. I paid for that dress,” he stated, and she could hear the annoyance in his voice now. She’d touched on a nerve, it seemed.

“Look, I didn’t want to attend that wedding. I was tricked into it by your father. One of those you sign for the invite that’s you accepting it and saying you going. I didn’t want to waste money on that dress and I only intended on wearing it once and then selling it online to make my money back. The dress means nothing to me. So keep it,” she told him the honest truth. I’ll, however, accept this coffee by way of your apology if that makes you happy.” She stated and picked up the coffee and sipped it.

He was just frowning at her now, and it did actually mar his good looks. “You’ll get wrinkles doing that,” she snorted and pointed at his forehead.

Both she and Jared turned to look at his Beta, who was out there with her team and had just burst out laughing. She could well imagine it was over her comment, and when his eyes met hers, she tipped her coffee cup to him, and he shook his head and she chuckled softly.

Jared turned back to her. “I’m going to sit here until you accept the money or the dress,” he stated, “I can work from this side of your desk all week long, all month long, and just so you’re aware, because you may not be yet. Father has sent my two brothers to run my business, and I’m here for the foreseeable future.

“Hell, I could move a desk in here if you like. It’s up to you, Wynta, and I’ll be ever so charming, for all of your office to see, every day. Hmm, I just moved into one of those new penthouse apartments and could see my way to picking you up and dropping you home every day till I get what I want.” He smiled right at her.

It was her turn to frown now. “Why are you so insistent on this? It’s just a dress.” she muttered.

“Yes it is. Why are you so stubborn when it’s just a dress?” he asked right back. “I’ve stated clearly there are no strings attached. Accept the dress or the cheque.” He stated, “and I’ll walk out of this office and clear up why I’m here as well.” He leaned forward and cheque on her desk.

“Fine,” she muttered and took the cheque. “Only because I was going to sell the dress anyway.”

He stood and smiled at her, collected the dress and walked from her office, turned at the doorway and stated for anyone that was listening, “I and my friends thank you for sorting those penthouse apartments for us here in the city Wynta. We didn’t relish living with our parents once more. So, the coffee for you and your team is on us today.” He smiled and walked off that dress bag casually tossed over his shoulder.