Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 126

Adele

POV

The room is packed with every person who ever did business with Jack. I recognise most of the people from my inauguration. As captivating as Axel's speech is, I do not hear a word. All I am aware of is Philip's eyes burning into me. I know if I turn my head to the left for only an inch, I will look him dead in the eyes. So, I am looking everywhere but left. Because I will get up and slap that smug grin off his face. Just because I can.

I hate that Philip thinks he has the upper hand. I hate that he came to me and intimidated me. I hate that I am new at this and second-guessing everything I thought I knew. I was confident and ready for this position until he came and ruined it. To make matters worse, he is my first obstacle. It makes me wonder if I will ever be a competent alpha.

People clapping hands pull me back to reality and I watch Austin standing up and addressing the crowd.

"Relax," Axel whispers as he sits down next to me. "You're doing fine."

"If only I could believe you," I mumble.

Axel sighs heavily as he turns his attention to Austin. I need to do better, I decide. I want to be better. I can do this, and I want to do this. I just have to suck it up and try harder.

Austin finishes his speech, and everybody gets up to take a break

"Alphas," Philip smiles as he approaches us. "I'm surprised that you're going ahead with the contracts. Especially after my advice."

"I must thank you," Axel rests his hand on Philip's shoulder.

"I took the advice to heart, and I promise, we won't be doing any business with you."

"That's what you think," Philip brushes Axel's hand off. "But I'm not stupid enough to reveal all my cards. I already did you a favour too many."

"I'll be sure to return one" Axel smiles, but his eyes are throwing daggers.

"How are you doing, beautiful?" Philip ignored Axel, and his eyes glided over my body.

"You can call me alpha," I plaster a smile on my face to hide my disgust.

"Would you like to join me for coffee?" he leans towards me.

"Never," I snap. "Swimming with piranhas sounds more pleasant."

"Adele," he reaches for me, and I slap his hand away. For a moment he looks flabbergasted but then he laughs softly.

I'm a persistent man, and I know what I want. Getting to know you better, is going to be so much fun."

"There's a difference between persistent and stupid," I smile sweetly. "And you're being stupid."

I do not wait for his reply, turn around and walk away. I cannot believe he said that in public.

"Walk with me," Axel says softly behind me, and I follow him to an empty office.

"Are you okay?" he closes the door behind us.

"No," I explode. "He has no sense of boundaries and makes me feel like a joke. He's not taking me seriously as an alpha. I'm just a toy for him. For f*vck's sake, he even told me his diabolical plan. That just proves he thinks I'm going to fail, and honestly, right now I think he might be right."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Axel inhales deeply.

"Every alpha I know has gone through the emotions you're experiencing."

"Even you?" I raise my eyebrows and cross my arms in front of my chest.

"Even me," he smiles. "Taking over from my father and not firking up weighed heavily on my shoulders. My dad shadowed me for two years until he trusted me enough to do it on my own."

"Thanks," I nod. "I'll try harder."

"Good," he smiles. "While I have you here. I had two forensic accountants investigate Jacks business deals, and something is indeed wrong."

The look on Axel's face makes my stomach dive. He looks worried, and if he is worried, I must be terrified.

"Do you think Philip was telling the truth?" I frown.

"Partially, yes," he sighs and sits down. "But I won't know exactly what's going on until I'm allowed to look at Jake's estate."

"I don't understand," I say confused and sit opposite him."

We took over the pack, we have access to everything."

"Every pack needs a source of income," Axel explains.

Silvermann Enterprises is a trust and, in a sense, belongs to the pack. The alpha only runs it and receives an income.

We are allowed to generate additional income if it doesn't interfere with the pack's company. Same with Moonstone.

This company doesn't belong to you or me. We're only running it on behalf of the pack. Jack's private bank account and assets are something else. Those documents are with the attorneys. I'm calling in every favour and pulling every string to get hold of it." "But his private business isn't supposed to interfere with the pack," I state.

"You're right," he nods. "The accountants are still trying to figure out how and what Jack did."

"Did Jack steal from the pack?" I frown.

"The opposite," Axel sighs. "It looks like he made the pack richer than it is."

"You'll have to dumb it down, Axel," I grunt frustrated. "I don't understand."

"Moonstone provides software," he explains. "But it's outdated, and Jack didn't bother keeping up with technology. I'm not the only one that took my business elsewhere. The company is supposed to lose money and should've been bankrupt by now, but it's not. The accountants compared the contracts with the income.

Moonstone's bank account still shows income from us, and we haven't paid a cent. The same with others who cancelled their contracts. Moonstone's books show a lucrative picture, as well as the bank account. But it shouldn't because of the cancelled contracts." "So, Jack hid the pack's true source of income?" I ask confused.

"You're catching up quickly," Axel smiles. "I think Jack generated money illegally."

"Okay," I nod slowly as I try to piece everything together." According to the pack and the IRS, Moonstone generates income from selling software. The IRS doesn't inspect the contracts and has no idea which are expired or active. And as long as Jack paid his dues to the IRS, they didn't look further into it. But why? Why would Jack enrich the pack and not himself?"

"You can bet he enriched himself," Axel snorts. "Whatever business he was involved in, was so lucrative that he could keep Moonstone afloat and stuff his own pockets."

"So, he paid Moonstone on behalf of Silvermann Enterprises and other cancelled contracts to keep the books clean," I state.

"That's what I'm thinking," Axel nods. "No alpha can afford for his or her pack to go bankrupt. That's the quickest way to be exiled and replaced. Jack didn't keep Moonstones finances healthy for any other reason other than he didn't want to lose his position and status. But here's where it gets interesting. Philip received money from Moonstone.

There's a document where Philip claims compensation for damages and loss of income due to a software malfunction. Philip was involved with whatever Jack was doing, and it was the only legal way for him to collect. If Jack paid it to him directly from his account, there would've been questions or investigations."

"Why would Philip tip you off about this?" I frown. "He must've known you'd figure it out."

"Because his payments are crippling Moonstone" Axel sighs. "He knew I would figure out eventually what Jack was doing. He also knows that I will not figure out in time exactly where Jack got the money from. With the lack of income and his repayments, Moonstone will go under. He's gloating, Adele."

"Moonstone is in trouble." My eyes widen as I realize the true meaning of his words. "Without new contracts or additional income, Moonstone will go bankrupt. The repayments to Philip are documented between Moonstone and him. Even with Jack dead, Moonstone is legally bound to keep up with the repayments."

"Exactly," Axel nods. "And we have about four months to fix this."

"Oh sh*t," I mumble as cold, dark tendrils curl around my heart. Hundreds of people will suffer if we cannot fix this.

What are we going to do?"

"We must figure out where Jack and Philip got the money from, and expose them," Axel replies. "And fight like hell to get old contracts back."

"Okay," I sigh. I know it sounds easier than it would be.

"Just one more thing," I look at Axel. "Why the f*vck is he flirting with me if he intends to ruin my pack?"

"He hopes to charm you into joining him and continue with the illegal activities," Axel replies sourly. "You'll be the ultimate prize since I picked you." "Good luck with that," I grunt furiously. "I'm nobody's fintig toy."

"Come on," I stand up and march towards the door. "We need more clients."