The Feline Gaze

“You’re absolutely right,” I say. I move over toward his desk. He’s standing with his palms pressed straight down. It’s a power move if I’ve ever seen one, but I didn’t come here to fight. I’m more than happy to apologize if it gets me an in with Alastair’s company.

Not that I think a merger, or any sort of agreement, is going to be able to take place tonight. He’s much too set in his ways for any nonsense like that. Alastair is old school through-and-through. He believes in traditional values and traditional experiences and traditional lifestyles.

Letting a world of shifters roam right into his town isn’t exactly high on his developmental list of projects.

It doesn’t mean I can’t try.

“Look,” I hold my hands up, showing him that I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m not aggressive. I’m no threat to him or his livelihood. “I just came to talk, but if we need to hash this out first, then that’s fine.”

Alastair growls and I realize that I need to hurry up before the cat comes out to play. My old friend might be a tiger shifter who runs one of the biggest real estate companies I’ve ever known to exist, but he’s also a man. He’s a person with very real feelings and sometimes those feelings are big and huge and hard to deal with.

Betrayal will always sting no matter how long it’s been since the incident occurred.

“I was wrong,” I tell him.

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. I try not to react, but the reality is that being around Alastair is hard for me, too. Being around him brings up a lot of old feelings I thought had disappeared. I’m not exactly a golden boy, but I also try to let sleeping dogs lie.

“I shouldn’t have asked her out.”

“You think?”

“I was 15, man,” I say. “I was an idiot, and I wasn’t really thinking about you, and I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it.”

“Alastair, you’re getting married to the most sought-after real estate agent in the county. Are you really still upset about something that happened years ago? Melanie is absolutely perfect, my friend. She’s beautiful and she’s kind. She’s passionate.” My cousin is nothing if not fiery and determined. She’s got a temper like Alastair does, but she generally uses it for good. Honestly, they’ll probably be completely perfect together.

That comment makes him pause for a moment, and he smiles at a picture on his desk. I can’t see it, but I’m guessing it’s a picture of Melanie. She’s always been very sweet and very lovely. Her deep, dark skin is a stark contrast with his pale complexion. In some circles, their relationship would be cause for discussion, but around here, nobody cares. Shifters are good like that. No matter what color you are, no matter what you look like, you can be accepted for who you are. You can date who you like and marry who you want.

Unless, apparently, you’re not a tiger.

Then all bets are off.

“You might be right,” he finally says. “But I still don’t know that I’m okay with what you’re trying to do.”

“Okay, what part are you not okay with?”

“All of it.”

“Which part specifically?” He’s going to have to be a little blunt and straightforward if he actually wants me to know what he’s talking about, which I don’t. My company’s goal is to create spaces where shifters can live comfortably and safely. I have no idea why Alastair would object to that. He’s a shifter, after all, and he manages and owns properties that shifters live in, rent, and use. Wouldn’t my company’s goals help his own?

He sighs and shakes his head, unable to put his feelings into words. It’s only then that I realize something. I should have seen it before because it’s entirely obvious. Alastair might have a reputation for being short-tempered, but there’s someone else in his life who is a million times worse: someone who might still have a bit of a hold on my old friend.

“Your dad said something to you, didn’t he?”

“What? No.” Alastair looks away, though.

“He did,” I say, trying to figure out what it could have been. Alastair and I were close once upon a time, but after I snaked his date away all those years ago, we stopped talking. Still, I never stopped caring about him as a friend, and the reality is that he’s about to be married to my cousin. Despite my shitty behavior, I’ve always liked Alastair. I was just a petty and childish teenager. I hope he can find a way to forgive me, especially moving forward. I want to be able to be part of his life, and I really only wish him happiness and good things.

Alastair is a good man, deep down, but sometimes he forgets this.

His father, on the other hand, has always been an asshole in every sense of the word.

What could his dad have said that would have caused Alastair to pull away, though?

What could have made him not want to collaborate?