Rowan blinked, clearly caught off guard by what he had just heard.
He stood there for a second, like he was trying to make sure he didn’t misunderstand and actually looked around and back at Idris like the man would jump and yell “Sike!”.
Then he turned back to Theon and shifted slightly, his brows pulling together.
“My help?” he asked, his tone was unsure and he was a little nervous.
They weren’t going to make him do anything illegal would they?
He just watched an Eat the Rich movie the other night and this made him uncomfortable.
Theon nodded.
“Yes,” he said, his voice was calm, but that didn’t help Rowan’s nerves.
Theon rested his hands lightly against his desk as he looked straight into Rowan’s eyes and saw the man shrink back a little.
“I hear you might be good friends with Miss Azaria Freeman.”
Rowan nodded slowly.
“I am…”
“Good.
I want to bring Azaria back,” he said immediately and watched as Rowan’s eyes slowly turned to saucers.
The confusion on his face didn’t disappear, if anything, it became more pronounced as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.
He shifted his weight slightly on the seat, glancing away for a moment before looking back at Theon.
“Back?
Back here?” he repeated.
“You mean… back to the company?
Back to Aldrith Corp?”
“Yes,” Theon said.
The man’s reaction was almost comical and if he wasn’t feeling worried at the moment, he might actually smile.
Rowan let out a small breath, running a hand through his hair as he tried to process it.
“I mean…” He trailed off, not particularly sure what to say at that moment.
So he just looked up at Theon again and sat expectantly.
Theon continued, not giving him too much time to overthink.
“As you already know, things in Operations haven’t been going well,” he said.
His tone stayed even.
“The system she built has been… disrupted in more ways than one.”
Rowan gave a small nod at that, his lips pressing together slightly.
“Yeah,” he said.
“I’ve seen some of it.” He frowned deeply and squinted his eyes a little.
The man gave Theon a very peculiar impression of him.
Theon then went on.
“I need her back in that department.
What she built matters and we shouldn’t have taken that away from her, and without her, things are already very unstable.” He paused briefly, then added, “You were there.
You saw the things she did.”
Rowan nodded again.
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
“I did.
She was great here.”
There was a short silence between them before Theon spoke again, his gaze still fixed on Rowan.
“You spoke to her the day she left.
You’ve been friends for a while I assume.”
Rowan’s head tilted slightly.
“I… yeah.
We’ve been best friends for years.”
“You’re someone she knows,” Theon continued, “and someone she’s comfortable with…”
Rowan sighed and looked around before his eyes met Theon’s again, like he was starting to understand where this was going.
“You want me to talk to her, don’t you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Rowan looked down for a moment, then back up again.
There was a slight tension in his posture. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about being put in that position.
“I don’t know if that’s going to do much,” he admitted.
“She’s not the type to just change her mind because someone asked her to.”
“I’m aware,” Theon said, remembering their past conversations.
“She left for a reason,” Rowan added, his tone careful.
“And she meant it when she left.” Theon didn’t interrupt him and rubbed his hand lightly at the back of his neck.
“I can talk to her,” he said slowly, like he was still deciding if he actually wanted to.
She hadn’t even listened to him about Rhodes.
“But I can’t promise anything.”
“That’s fine,” Theon replied.
“I appreciate you doing it at all.”
Rowan looked at him, a little surprised by how quickly he accepted that.
“You’re okay with that?”
“I don’t expect guarantees,” Theon said.
“I understand if she still declines.”
Rowan let out a small breath, then nodded.
“Alright.
I’ll talk to her.” There was another brief pause before he spoke again, more honestly this time.
“I do miss her, though,” he admitted, hoping he wasn’t oversharing.
“The office isn’t the same without her.”
Theon’s expression didn’t change, but he listened.
Though what Rowan was saying was slowly driving his wolf crazy.
He didn’t know how to handle another man being so close to his mate.
He might actually lose it if Rowan tells him they ever dated and were still friends.
“She kept things running,” Rowan continued.
“Even when things got stressful, she knew what she was doing.
It was… easier with her there.” He hesitated slightly, then added, “And she was good to work with.”
Theon gave a small nod.
“That’s exactly why I want her back.”
Rowan looked down for a second, then back up.
“I’ll try,” he said again, firmer this time and squared his shoulders.
“I’ll talk to her and see where she stands.” Then he gave a small, almost helpless shrug.
“But she’s stubborn.
Like, really stubborn.
If she’s made up her mind, it’s not easy to change it.”
“I understand,” Theon said.
Rowan nodded once more because that was the best he could offer.
Theon straightened slightly, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
For a second, Rowan thought nothing of it, until Theon spoke again.
“I want you to contact me directly when you speak to her.”
Rowan blinked.
“D– Directly?”
Theon looked at him, then recited a number.
Rowan froze.and for a second, he didn’t react.
Then his eyes widened slightly, quickly fishing for his phone in his pocket.
“Wait… that’s–”
“My personal number,” Theon said.
Rowan stared at him, clearly not expecting that at all.
“You’re giving me your personal number?”
“Yes.”
There was a heavy pause.
Rowan let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
Theon didn’t react to that.
He recited it again, asked Rowan to drop-call him and they saved each other’s numbers.
“Use it when you have information.”
Rowan nodded, still a bit thrown off as he quickly saved the number and placed the phone gently back in his pocket like it had turned into a delicate relic as soon as the number was stored.
“Yeah… yeah, I will.”
He looked up again, still trying to process it.
“I’ll call you as soon as I speak to her.”
“Good.”
There was a short silence before Rowan straightened slightly.
“Then I’ll get go– I’ll get to it.”
Theon gave a small nod.
“Thank you.”
Rowan nodded back, then turned and walked toward the door.
He paused for just a second before opening it, like he wanted to say something else, but decided against it.
Then he stepped out, closing the door behind him.
“Well?” Idris asked after a few minutes of silence.
Theon turned slightly toward him.
“Well what?”
Idris arched his brow.
“You trust him?”
“I don’t need to trust him,” Theon said.
“I need him to try and get his friend back here or I’ll be forced to do something drastic.”
Idris didn’t argue with that.
“Let’s move on with the schedule for today,” he said.
Idris frowned slightly.
“What schedule?
You cancelled everything happening today.”
“And I’ve had a change of heart,” Theon replied.
“I’m going ahead with it.”
Idris blinked.
“You’re going ahead with it?” he asked flatly.
“Yes.”
Idris studied him for a second, then nodded.
He had expected to have a little less on his plate and focus on the operations department, but what the boss says, goes.
“Alright.”
Theon reached for the intercom and pressed the button.
“Nathan.”
There was a brief pause before Nathan’s voice came through.
“Yes, sir.”
“Reschedule the meetings that were cancelled,” Theon said.
“We’ll start in an hour and a half.”
Nathan didn’t question it because, frankly, he wouldn’t dare.
“Understood.”
Theon released the button and stepped back slightly, his jaw tightening again as his thoughts returned to the same place.
He didn’t like waiting and liked to make sure things were done himself, because he got them done well, but now, he needed to step back and let people closer to her do something with this and help him convince Azaria to come back.
Back where he knew she was safest.
With him.
I want Theon’s number too.
Maybe I’ll see Rowan in an alley later.
Stay tuned, people.
This is only gonna get good!