Logan Chapter 68

-Logan-

The girls cooking for us are much more subdued tonight than they were this morning. I try not to think about how much of that meeting they eavesdropped on, and focus on getting Emory fed. I’m figuring on comfort food, after a fraught meeting. “Do you want some kind of soup, little rose? Maybe a casserole or pizza?”

She crinkles her nose. “No, with how many people I’ve already met today, I’m thinking I need brain fuel. A big old salad with some grilled chicken on it, maybe? With all the good stuff in it, though. All the fruits and everything, I mean.” The girls in the kitchen deflate at such an easy meal, but I have to acknowledge to myself that I’m glad she’s eating some vegetables that aren’t smothered in noodles and MSG.

“That’s a great idea. The same for me, please, ladies.” They exchange a glance and get to work, the blonde cooking the chicken with some kind of improvised sauce, and the brunette chopping every plant we have available. I guess we’re going to have some massive salads for dinner. It’s then that I realize I haven’t heard from Landon all day. Has Cora really been holed up all day?

Me: Hey, haven’t heard from you. All good?

Landon: I had to pee in a freaking bottle today. Do you know how hard it is to get food delivered to a freaking car?

Me: Can’t say I’ve ever tried. Nothing I’ve done has required me to do a stakeout on someone.

Landon: Yeah, well. It sucks. She left ONE TIME to go get some tampons today. She’s been boring as hell.

Emory has apparently been eye dropping and takes the opportunity to murmur. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told her to quit using tampons. They’re bad for the environment, inside and out.” There’s something I could’ve lived without knowing.

Me: I’m glad you’re keeping a close eye on her. You don’t think she’s onto you? You’re parking where she won’t see you?

Landon: Yeah, yeah. Hey, speaking of being onto someone

Landon: Have you all been followed recently? By a POS beater from probably the 90s?

Me: I don’t know what kind of car it was, but Silverson said we have, yeah. I’ll have to ask him for more details and let you know. He did say that it looked like either an undercover car or an individual. Not the cops or a news van.

Landon: Comforting.

I forgot that I haven’t told Emory about that yet. “We were followed? By some random person? What the hell, Logan?”

I shoot a meaningful glance at the girls in the kitchen before replying. “Silverson lost them easily enough. I was going to tell you tonight after all the excitement of the day was over.” Nanette will surely hear about this by the end of tonight, and then I’ll hear about it all over again. Hopefully she knows enough to keep this particular tidbit to herself.

Emory catches my eye with a nod. “Oh, that makes sense. Do we have as much going on tomorrow? I feel like there has to be some way for me to prepare for my family coming in.”

“Damn, with all the other stuff we talked to the elders about, I forgot to ask them about that. I’ll tell Nannie to discuss it with them and get back to me tomorrow. Other than that, I just have the minutiae to catch up on both at work and here. I might have a few meetings with department heads and the like, and here it’s really just financials that I need to go over. I might set aside some time tomorrow evening to hear out people that feel like they need me to mediate. It might be a good way for you to meet pack members.” Emory bites her lip as she thinks about sitting in on my mediation meetings, clearly nervous.

“Yeah, that does sound like a good idea. What’s the dress code for those?” I haven’t ever thought about it.

“As far as I can tell, people just come as they are. I usually just wear what I’ve worn to the office all day. I’ll roll my sleeves up sometimes?” I get an eye roll for my trouble.

“Well, it’s good to know that whatever else you might be, you’re still a man.” The girls in the kitchen laugh along with her. Having no idea what the joke is, I just smile to see them getting along. I’m sure I’ll be the butt of a lot more amusement before this all settles in.

“You asked and I answered as well as I could, babe. Probably what you have on would be fine.” Emory looks down at her outfit thoughtfully. I’ve been fighting myself all day to ignore the way she looks in that skirt, and I’m not sure I have the willpower to get through another day like this one.

“I’d call it business casual for us little people, straight up business for you and the Alpha, Luna,” the blonde pipes up from the kitchen. Clearly, she’s giving up all pretense of minding her own business.

“Thank you, that’s much more helpful.” Emory says at the same volume she used with me. She’s starting to learn how much more powerful our senses are than hers. It’s something she’ll have to be aware of- at least until the full moon ceremony, apparently.

We eat our salads in relative peace, and Emory follows me up to our rooms after copious compliments to our chefs. They both beamed under her appreciation, and I start to wonder if I’ve been too stern with them. Maybe it’s good to have our own little good cop, bad cop dynamic, though. I’ve grown up learning that I have to be stern to keep the confidence of my people, and it would be a hard habit to break now.

Speaking of being stern for the good of others- “alright, little rose. It’s time to tell me what’s going on in that brain of yours. Debrief me on today, and don’t think I forgot about your little run-in with Anna.” I take just a moment to enjoy the look on her face. She was clearly hoping she was off the hook.