Chapter 61 Manager Interview
The next day, Friday, Davie brought his first choice for the bar manager to interview with Thea. They met at the coffee shop in the village after school.
“Luna,” Davie said when they walked into the coffee shop. Thea stood up from the table she secured. “This is Quinn Alden of High Tide Pack. Quinn, this is New Dawn’s Future Luna, Thea Lyall.”
Thea held out her hand. Quinn extended his hand but stopped short when he caught a whiff of her.
“I apologize,” Thea said.
“One of my mates is scenting me because he can. I promise no one will come after you if we shake hands.” The scenting business was taken seriously in the werewolf community. Touch someone who has been scented, and you could end up dead.
Quinn took her hand, and they shook.
“Nice to meet you, Quinn,” Thea said.
“The pleasure is all mine, I’m sure,” he said. He wore a freshly pressed button-down shirt and dress pants, much like Davie always wore. He had sunkissed brown hair in a long crew cut and pretty hazel eyes with long, dark eyelashes.
“Please, sit,” Thea said.
Quinn clocked her Delta guard detail. A server walked up to them and took their orders.
“I’m not familiar with High Tide,” Thea said. “Do you like your pack?”
“Yes. We’re small, but our land is on the coast. The beach is lovely. Most of us work in the city. From what I understand from Davie, we have similar values as New Dawn.”
Thea nodded. “That’s good to hear. I want good business acumen in my manager, but above all, I want to see eye to eye on how the staff is treated and valued,”
Quinn said.
“Absolutely.” Thea described her vision for the bar, its purpose, the expectations for keeping the clientele and staff safe.
“Do you have a mock-up of what the bar will look like?”
“I do,” Thea said. She opened her laptop and pulled up the latest email attachments from Jane. She handed it over to Quinn.
“Wow. You have excellent taste,” Quinn said.
“Thank you, but Jane, the interior designer, deserves the credit,” Thea said.
“I’ve seen Jane’s other projects, and she can only work with the vision her client has. I have to say, being in the industry, this is top tier.”
“That’s kind of a relief,” Thea laughed. “Sometimes, I wonder if I’m surrounded by yes men. It’s nice to hear an opinion from someone who doesn’t know me, especially one with expertise in the field.”
“To be honest, your reputation did precede you, but I’m not giving lip service. I don’t need a job. I’m happy where I am right now, but when Davie approached me and gave me the gist of your plan, I was intrigued. Skeptical. It sounded too good to be true.”
The server came with their coffees.
“First,” Quinn said. He took a sip of his drink. “As an openly gay werewolf, a gay bar for werewolves immediately got my attention. I am well acquainted with the dangers we could encounter. I already have ideas for security. There are a number of security firms in the city with humans and werewolves alike. The humans already know about werewolves. Most have a werewolf mate. They would be immune to any wolfsbane. I’ve found that can be important.”
“Yes,” Thea said. She still got a shiver in her spine and pain in her heart whenever wolfsbane was brought up.
“Second, I could not be more in line with your vision for the bar, the safety of staff and clientele, the treatment of staff, all of it. However, I have ulterior motives for wanting to be involved. I haven’t found my mate. Your purpose for the bar
– helping wolves like me find our mates—I feel a deep connection with that. Can I ask why you felt strongly enough about this to open a bar?”
“I have a friend who is too afraid to come out openly,” Thea said.
“It made me realize the culture is wrong. The matebond has been taught wrong. My Alpha and Luna helped me work with the local school to change the curriculum. I believe the matebond’s purpose is to ensure families stay together. Anyone can get pregnant.” She paused for a moment, knowing she might not be able to. “The important thing is to stay with your family. I think that’s what it’s about. Not procreation like it’s taught. So I want to start changing the perception and make it safe for everyone to find their mates. If the goddess gives someone a mate, there’s a reason. We shouldn’t stop them from being together.”
Quinn took another drink.
“After meeting you,” Quinn said. “Getting a feel for you personally, your business instincts, seeing your taste, what’s important to you, I’m not just intrigued. I’m a believer. Davie told me I’d be impressed. I didn’t expect to be. I think he undersold you.”
“Of course,” Davie said.
“I’ll have someone mind link you when I know more,” Thea said.
Thea left with her guard detail.
“You weren’t kidding,” Quinn said to Davie.
“I was not,” Davie said.
“Her aura. It’s magnificent.”
“She’s not even at her full strength right now. She almost died a month ago.” Davie breathed in, remembering. He told him what had happened.
“She’s still not recovered.”
“I can’t imagine,” Quinn said. “There’s a goodness in her. Light. She glows.”
“It’s usually even stronger. You should’ve seen
the mating ceremony. She lit the dais up. She had the future Alphas glowing right along with her, maybe the whole pack. I’ve never experienced anything like it. She’s smart as a whip and has the biggest heart. She uncovered a ring of abuse at her school. Alphas and shifted Alphas-to-be have
been using their Alpha tone to rape she-wolves and force them to keep silent. That’s what she’s doing right now. She offered protection for any of the victims. Anyone being mistreated can join our pack.”
Quinn’s eyebrows shot up for a second.
“I’m not easily shocked,” Quinn said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this kind of thing happening-a leader opening the doors, taking on the responsibility to protect people outside their pack, assuming the risk of retaliation. She can’t let injustice go unpunished, can she?”
“She’s a force of nature.”
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