Alpha-mates Chapter-7/ ?
Chapter-7
The soft ‘snick’ of the door locking behind them had Jared suppressing Goosebumps; fortifying himself with a deep breath he turned around.
Jensen simply looked at his mate, his expression carefully blank; but it did not take long for the alpha to become aware of his mate’s discomfort. Immediately the blankness dissolved into an expression of worry, “Damn, I'm so sorry, Jay... I completely forgot about your claustrophobia! Hold on, I’ll open the door.”
“It’s fine.”
“Being locked in a closed room doesn't bother you?” The older man’s voice was sceptical.
“Not this room. I...Uh...I had it specially designed.” He admitted.
“Are you sure?” Some lingering concern was still visible in the man’s eyes.
“I’m sure. Now, why don’t we actually talk about what you’re here to discuss, Ackles?” Jared snapped, uncomfortable in the face of kindness.
“In that case, why don’t you explain what the hell was going on back there, Padalecki?” The alpha’s voice was controlled- no trace of the concerned mate from a few seconds ago. It was actually impressive; the way Jensen could switch gears so swiftly.
“What? The press conference?”
“Yes, the press conference that I had to hear about from my aide... Look, I was under the impression that we had decided to work together-”
“We did.” Jared confirmed.
“Yeah? Then why was I not told about Padalecki Ltd. holding a press meet to announce its ‘merger’ with Ackles Corp?”
“I thought it would be okay-”
“No, Jared.” The alpha’s voice was pure steel, “You thought you could pull one over me with that move. You thought; that by announcing it before I did, you could convince everybody that you had me on a leash.”
Jared bit his lip, “You really think that that was the message I was trying to send?”
“You weren’t?” An imperiously raised eyebrow enquired.
“My consultant suggested the move- everything had already been organised before I even came in today...” His voice trailed off, realizing that he sounded like an errant schoolboy angling to excuse himself from getting punished.
“I see.”
“Do you?” He tried to sound pleading; but judging from his mate’s expression, his voice came out more challenging than he had intended it to be.
“What’s your point, Padalecki?”
“Jen; please.”
“No, Jared. The way I see it; we have three choices before us.” Jensen started counting them off his fingers, “One; we can actually work together. Two, we ignore one another. Or three, we continue to be at each other’s throats. You choose.”
Jared opened his mouth to respond, but then decided against it. He stood there for a few moments uncertain how to bridge the gaping maw that stretched between his mate and him.
Jensen regarded him for a minute before turning on his heel with almost military precision, “Call me once you’ve made your decision. Have a good day, Jared.”
“Jen, wait!”
The man paused with a hand on the knob.
“I- can I ask you something? Please?”
His alpha turned and for the briefest second, Jared was struck by the beauty of his mate’s features: even angry, Jensen still looked better than he had any right to; almost like an avenging angel.
“Jay?” Jensen shifted uncomfortably under his regard.
“I-I was wondering about something that I noticed at the press meet...”
“What?” The barest hint of curiosity laced the alpha’s voice.
“I realize that part of the announcement was about our mating. But what I don’t understand is- Why is me...err...us being mated such a huge deal? We can always continue as before… I mean, we are both professional enough to be able to leave our personal lives out of our professional engagements, right?”
“We can do that,” Jensen allowed, “provided you are willing to play into their hands.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Jay,” Something softened in his mate’s expression. “Why do you think they compelled us into mating each other, huh? And when was the last time you heard of a ‘condemned mating’ actually being carried out?”
“What are you insinuating, Jen?” Something about his alpha’s tone made him nervous.
“Jared, you achieved in less than a decade what those incompetent fools couldn’t in thirty years… They were coasting along merrily when you suddenly thundered into their stronghold like some freak storm. And to add insult to injury, not belonging to the old-boys club didn’t faze you at all. You just settled in as though everything was fine and dandy before you went on to consolidate your position. You think they are going to forgive that? The only thing they have and you don’t is political back-up… and let’s be real, okay? Neither of us does subtle. We never denied our rivalry, hell; we played to the galleries and called each other names in front of the camera-”
“Yeah,” Jared nodded, “That explains why I was targeted. But you?”
Jensen gave a self-depreciative snort, “I inherited my company, and they are of the opinion that I haven’t yet earned my keep. And the fact that I never bothered to make nice with them might have ruffled some feathers, I suppose.”
“Nah, Ackles Corp owes its meteoric rise to you, Jensen… I mean sure, your great-grand daddy might have been the one to build the firm; but you guys weren’t making much profit. In fact, soon after your father took over, things got bad enough for him to consider declaring insolvency. But he was reluctant to admit defeat and ultimately managed to stabilize the company; although you guys were still just about breaking even at the point. Things only turned around after you took over the reins...” he faltered to a stop as realization sank in about just who he was talking to.
His mate seemed entertained, “Well well well…someone seems to have looked into the history of Ackles Corp.”
“It was the focus of my research for my thesis.” Jared admitted.
Jensen smiled, “I’m flattered… but I digress, Jay- the only reason for them to bind us together was the opportunity to take down two birds with one stone.”
“Explain, please.”
“See, our actions- not that I’m proud of them- are actually not severe enough to warrant this kind of punishment. However, the timing for the whole Bridgestone fiasco was well- opportune, I guess… since the council is seriously involved in improving human-were interactions at the moment; they could not have had a better chance to showcase their devotion to the cause. Now, you and I know that irrespective of the scruples involved, you are smart enough to ensure that no humans get injured. But the fact that I have two injured Weres on my hands was enough ammunition to put us both in hot water. With the right amount of lobbying, it wasn’t hard for them to find us both guilty of malpractices- “
“Me more than you.” Jared interrupted.
“Yeah, but the situation could have been reversed just as easily. The fact that our rivalry isn’t a secret means that they believe that we are going to succumb to crab mentality and drag each-other down.”Jensen shrugged.
“And this way, they eliminate us both without lifting a finger.” Jared concluded.
“Exactly.” His mate confirmed.
“So, what do you suggest we do?” He looked up. It felt strange, collaborating with someone whom he had considered to be an enemy just the last week, but was his ally now.
“Jay; you’re the strategist, man... besides; I already told you my opinion.”
Jared sighed, “I think I finally have some inkling about why you blew your fuse when you heard about the press conference. I’m sorry.”
Jansen huffed, “I’m not looking for apologies, kid. It’s just that...”
“What?” He was curious about what the alpha was not saying.
“I felt betrayed, you know?” Jensen confessed. “I mean, there I was; trying to convince my team that working with Padalecki ltd. was in our best interests and my aide comes in, announcing that you’re holding a news conference to announce the merger of our companies. And. I. Have. Absolutely. No. Clue... what she’s talking about. It just swept away everything I had been telling them for the past hour.”
Jared could only imagine how humiliating it must have been for the other alpha. “I’m sorry; I didn’t think.”
Jensen nodded. “It’s done. Don’t worry about it.”
Jared reflected on all the other times Jensen had told him ‘Don’t worry about it’ since their mating and how things always seem to deteriorate after it; “Jen, honestly... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. I- I just didn’t think.”
His mate managed a small smile which didn’t reach his brilliant eyes, but it was still a concession; he supposed.
“Tell me whatever you decide, okay?”
He nodded. It wasn’t like he actually needed to think about this; but Jensen expected him to weigh the pros and cons before making up his mind and he couldn’t bring himself to let his mate down.
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