The beast inside him had been wily these past few days; first convincing him there was a logical reason to keep Melody around, then encouraging him to agree to the interview. Supposedly, he was to have been determining her motives... In actual fact he’d done only the barest minimum with regards to investigating. Instead, his wolf had led him into a crazy relationship with the woman, one that should never have even started.
He compressed his lips. It was over and done with now; he’d sent her on her way and hopefully she wasn’t masochistic enough to return. So far, she’d given no indication that she knew about werewolves. As long as it stayed that way, he could let her live. He had a few contacts in Chicago that he’d use to keep loose tabs on her activities. If it looked like she was going to head back to Smythston or start investigating him again, well—his hands clenched into fists—that would be have to be the end of her.
*****
Mel walked with quick angry steps down the length of Stump River’s main street. She wished it was longer because she was quite sure that two blocks wouldn’t be sufficient for her to have vented her anger or to get a handle on the sense of betrayal that filled her soul. How dare he just cancel the interview? How dare he say she was only ‘moderately’ entertaining? And as for spreading her legs! Could he have been any cruder than that? While they had never really exchanged tender words, she’d somehow believed there were some gentler feelings growing between them. Now, after the way he’d just used her... Blinking rapidly, she pushed back the tears. He wasn’t worth ruining her mascara over! The man was a jerk, a bastard and a...a... well, she couldn’t think of anything else at the moment, but when she did, she’d add it to the list.
She was storming up the other side of the street now and Ruth’s was right ahead. Well, she’d better make her call to Aldrich and tell the miserable man she was heading home. At least she was angry enough that there was nothing he could say that would upset her any more than she already was.
Pulling open the door with more force than necessary, she went to the pay phone and jabbed at the buttons as she dialled his number. It only rang twice before he picked up. Giving him no time to talk she launched into her speech.
“Mr. Aldrich, it’s Mel Greene. I’m leaving Stump River and I’ll be back in Chicago in a few days. I’ll contact you then.”
“Can I assume that your trip has been successful and you’ve met your objective? That you’ve discovered the necessary information regarding Mr. Taylor?”
She gave a short, ironic chuckle. “Oh yeah. I’ve discovered lots about Ryne Taylor.”
“Good. I’m both surprised and pleased to hear that. I’ll see you in a few days.”
She didn’t bother to correct his assumption that what she’d discovered about Ryne was relevant to her assignment. “Right. Bye, Mr. Aldrich.” She hung up and then wondered why she always felt the need to say ‘bye’ when she didn’t even like the man. Damn her mother for instilling manners into her subconscious!
Turning abruptly, she walked right into Lucy. The woman appeared to just be arriving for her shift.
“Fancy seeing you here this early, Mel. You’re going to throw my whole day off schedule.”
“Sorry. My plans for the day took an unexpected turn and I had to make my phone call earlier than planned.” Mel wandered over to her usual seat and plopped down, crossing her arms in front of her.
Lucy automatically set a cup in front of her and then headed towards the back to hang up her coat. She called a question over her shoulder. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, who is it that you call every day? Not that it’s any of my business, I’m just wondering.”
“It’s this guy named Aldrich. He’s sort of like my supervisor and I hate calling him. He’s always super critical and never happy about anything I tell him.” Mel shouted her response at Lucy’s back.
Ruth poked her head out of the kitchen at that moment, spied Mel, and started wringing her hands. “Mel, what are you doing here? You’re never early! Oh this just messes up everything.” She seemed agitated and kept peering into the kitchen behind her.
Taken aback, Mel apologized. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to leave?”
“No, no need to do that.” Ruth wiped her hands on her apron and took a deep breath.
“Are you sure, because I could just...” Mel started to stand and Ruth rushed forward shaking her head.
“Don’t do that dear, it’s just...” She paused and then burst into speech. “It’s just that Al and I planned on surprising you. I went on the internet and found a bunch of recipes and Al and I’ve been practising making those fancy coffees you’re always talking about. We were all set to surprise you today. When you asked for one, I was going to be ready to hand one over.”