Chapter 7 Kieran

• I wasn’t really surprised to see that pretty much everything at the shipping office was in order. My father runs a tight ship, no pun intended. I had a few contracts to sign or counter sign and go over the monthly ledgers. There was a fifty-cent discrepancy, so I pulled out the invoices and went through them one by one. I did find one where there was a three that was smeared and could have easily been mistaken for an eight. Once I made that adjustment and recalculated the numbers, everything came out as it should.
• Xavier was good with numbers and had a knack for dealing with problem situations, so I had complete faith that things would run smoothly in my absence. Xavier had a knack for dealing with problems in general, so I knew that dad being in the office more during my absence wouldn’t be a problem for him.
• At the end of the day, I started making a mental list of things that I would need for the trip itself. I should probably head over to Rinaldi’s and get a new suit for the occasion. This was the first ball I was going to be intentionally attending, so I wanted to look my best on the off chance that my mate was truly there. I had attended the one mating ball while I was away at alpha training, but I just rented a suit for that.
• “Okay Xav, everything here is in your hands, I will have Mrs. Masters forward my calls to you and you can call the old man if something gets out of hand,” I told him as I shut off my computer and cleared off my desk.
• “I don’t anticipate anything that I can’t handle, but I know the drill. Are you leaving tomorrow then?” he asked as he packed up for the end of the day.
• “No, I am going to pack and run errands tomorrow. I will leave the next day and stop halfway for the night. I really hope this is the one, our pack really needs this,” I explained as we left the office together.
• I stopped at Mrs. Masters' desk before I left. “I am going to be out of town for the next week. Please make sure my calls are forwarded to Mr. Collins,” I instructed her.
• “Will do. Have a safe trip Mr. Conway. Does this mean your father will be in more over the next several days?” she questioned warily. If that wasn’t a sign that my father needed to go, I didn’t know what was. Even the receptionist has felt the effects of his asinine behavior.
• “I can’t confidently say yes, but I would say there is a high probability of it. If you need anything you can go to Mr. Collins in my absence,” I replied. She gave a small smile with a nod of her head, and I couldn’t help feeling just a little guilty. ‘Hang in there Mrs. Masters, hopefully I come back from this trip with the solution to all of our problems,’ I thought to myself as I returned her smile and exited the building.
• Since it was a nice day, I decided that I would just walk a couple of blocks to Rinaldi’s. When I entered the store, I was greeted by Mr. Rinaldi himself. “Young Alpha Kieran, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked as he crossed the floor to shake my hand and offer his neck in submission.
• “Hello Mr. Rinaldi. How is business? I have decided to travel to one of the mating balls in Arkansas, so I would like a new suit for the occasion. Nothing too formal, but something respectful given I will be representing our pack as the Alpha Heir,” I said in greeting.
• He looked me over for a moment before nodding his head and heading into the back room. When he returned with a garment bag in hand, he looked a little unsure of himself. “Alpha Kieran, I am sure you probably had a simple black suit in mind, but if you would humor me and try this on, I am sure it will meet your expectations,” he said hesitantly.
• “You have impeccable taste Mr. Rinaldi. I’m sure it will be just fine,” I replied and followed him to the dressing room. Once I pulled the curtain closed, I removed the garment bag and was surprised to see a linen suit in the shade of denim blue. The jacket had two buttons and a notch lapel. There were side pockets and a place for a handkerchief. “What color shirt would I wear with this?” I called out just as Mr. Rinaldi thrust a paler blue dress shirt between the curtain and the wall. “Thank you,” I said and took the shirt to put it on first.
• “You could easily pair that with a darker denim or spring red tie,” he commented as I slipped the slacks on. Once I tucked in the shirt and slipped the jacket on, I stepped out of the dressing room to view myself in the mirror. If the mile-wide grin on Mr. Rinaldi’s face was any indication, then the suit looked as good as it felt.
• “It feels really good on, Mr. Rinaldi. Not too heavy or stiff feeling,” I commented as I stepped in front of the mirror. Not to sound arrogant, but I did look as good as I felt. At the very least I wouldn’t be terrible to look at and I would be stylishly representing my pack. “You’re a genius, I’ll take it. As a matter of fact, can you pull three pairs of those Hilfiger jeans, three pairs of khaki dockers and an assortment of polos in my sizes? It will make packing that much easier,” I asked as I made my way back to the dressing room to change back into my clothes.
• I would only need a couple of my favorite concert t-shirts, a couple pairs of sweats for running, boxers, shoes and my toiletries. Things were actually coming together quite nicely for such a last-minute trip. I couldn’t help but feel a little hopeful that maybe this was finally the right time.
• I made my way to the counter to pay for my purchases and noticed that there was a second garment bag present. “What’s this, Mr. Rinaldi?” I questioned, motioning between the two bags.
• “A gift Alpha Kieran. It is the exact same suit in a deep charcoal, for your Alpha ceremony,” he said with a wink.
• I wasn’t usually keen on accepting gifts, but just this once I would and take it as another sign that I had made the right choice by traveling to find my mate instead of taking a chosen one. I slung the garment bags over my shoulder and picked up the other bags and walked back towards the office to grab my car and head home.
• I chuckled to myself on my way home when ‘Kickstart My Heart’ came on the radio. I turned it up and sang along. Though I understood the meaning behind the lyrics, I couldn’t help thinking I was heading in the direction of the woman who was going to kickstart my happiness. Goddess knows that I will do everything in my power to make her the happiest, most cherished woman on this earth.