He picked up his suitcase and headed down the stairs to the first floor at a fast pace, not stopping until he reached the door of Kingston’s office. Raleigh was leaning against the wall, and Kingston was setting down his cell phone. Bronx dumped his luggage by the door and said, “When the fuck are you going to install an elevator.? That suitcase is fucking heavy.”
Raleigh burst out laughing, which wasn’t at all the response he’d expected, until he said, “I’ve been asking him that for years.”
“We’re wolves. We need the exercise,” said Kingston.
“And he’s been saying that for years, too,” added Raleigh.
“Yeah, wolves, not pack mules. I know a man who specializes in elevators. I’ll get him to contact you.”
Kingston glared at him for a moment, and Bronx remembered that this was his Alpha to whom he owed his allegiance. Yeah, allegiance. That doesn’t mean I need to leave my brains at the door with the suitcase, though.
“Shut the door and give me your report,” said Kingston.
Bronx did, only sitting when Kingston waved at a chair and Raleigh came across to sit as well. Then he launched into everything he’d found out about the various branches. “Most of them are doing as well as can be expected. Some of them are facing considerable competition. One in particular is being constantly undercut by a competitor, but he’s not maintaining his trucks properly and sooner or later he’s going to dig himself a hole he can’t get out of. I recommend not cutting our own prices any further, but concentrating on giving truly excellent service, even if it means losing more money short term, because in the long term the clients will come back to us.”
Kingston fired a bunch of questions at him, but he had all the facts and figures at his fingertips, and knew his suggestions were the best way to go.
Finally Kingston said, “What about the places where we thought of establishing new branches?”
“Pine Corner is the perfect place for us to expand into. Two interstate highways cross through town, and there’s no major competition anywhere around. On the outskirts of town is a big old warehouse that hasn’t been used for a year or two. It’s still in good condition and has a parking lot big enough for a couple of rigs, and there’s a double-wide trailer home on the property as well. We’d need to securely fence it, hire a couple staff and get it looking ready for business. It might take three months. I believe I could have it up and running by then. I’d like to go there. It’s a challenge I want to undertake.”
Bronx had thought about what he was saying quite carefully. He was on a damn good salary and would have to take a big pay cut, but it was something that called to him. He liked the idea of building a branch from the ground up. Fuck, he’d be happy to dig the post holes and help put up the fence himself, and he’d sure as hell drive the rigs until the branch was making enough money to hire a driver, or until it was so busy he would need to be in the office full-time to run the place.
“I’d do all the setting up of the branch and drive the first truck until we’re on a businesslike footing. All I’d need is one of the personable young wolves with some decent computer skills to take bookings, make nice with the customers—or potential customers—and get involved in community activities when I’m on the road. That sort of thing.”
Raleigh spoke slowly. “Instead of a young wolf, I think you’d do better with a mated couple. A woman to talk to the wives and the businesswomen in town, and a man to help you with the physical work. Small towns like couples. They’d see several unmarried men as more likely to cause trouble.”
“I agree. Is there a couple you’d like to work with?” asked Kingston.
Bronx wanted to stomp his foot. This was not going the way he’d planned. “York and I have talked about the possibility of sharing a woman, but he hasn’t mentioned anyone to me. We certainly aren’t dating anyone right now. And since York’s your IT man, I’m guessing you wouldn’t want him at Pine Corner anyway. You’d rather he stayed right here.”
“Not at all. As the IT tech he can go anywhere as long as there’s Internet. Most tasks can be done remotely these days. Someone else can crawl along the floor, plugging cords back in or clearing viruses from hard drives. It doesn’t have to be him.”
Bronx nodded then answered a bunch more questions from Kingston and Raleigh. Finally Kingston said, “Perhaps you’d better go talk to York now. But I do think a taking a woman with you might be worthwhile, so you fit better into the town.”