The Arena novel Chapter 50

When we get home, Kenna can’t stop talking about Cedric.

“Cedric recognized that he’s her father?” Ishir asks.

“No, he just realized that she’s my daughter. He thinks you or Avani are her father, or he alluded that you might both be.”

Ishir gives me a ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look.

“Momma, when can we see him again?”

“I don’t know, sweet girl. I don’t even know how to get ahold of him.”

“He left his number in your bag.”

I look at her, frowning. “He did?”

“Mmhmm, when you were shifting, he put it in your bag. I saw him.”

I walk to my bag, opening it, and there it is: a note from Cedric:

Tana,

Here’s my number. Please use it.

Cedric

And under that is his number. I look at it. It looks vaguely familiar. I don’t remember ever calling him before, but I take his number and put it in my cell phone.

I convince Kenna to continue training the following weekend, but the weekend after that, she wants to see him.

I finally suck it up and call him. It rings twice.

“Alpha Cedric,” he snaps.

“My apologies, Alpha. If you’re busy, I’ll call back later.”

“Tana.” The entire demeanor of his voice changes and relaxes.

“You sound busy, I can …”

“No, honestly, I was just wondering if I would hear from you.”

“Well, I wanted to invite you to join my daughter and me at the mountain again this weekend if you’re not …”

“I’m not, and even if I was, I will make my schedule work to fit yours. Should I plan to be there Friday night or Saturday morning?”

“My schedule and our need to fly don’t allow us to leave before Friday night, so Saturday morning would work best.”

“I’ll see you then, Tana.” I start to hang up. “And Tana?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks for calling.”

“See you Saturday, Cedric.”

For the next couple of months, that’s how it goes. Every other weekend, Kenna and I train, and every other weekend, we spend time with Cedric. He watches us as I train Kenna and even provides some input here and there about things that he sees from the ground.

I’m back at work, digging through my files on The Masters, Inc. I’ve run up against several dead ends. These people are good, but I’m better, and I will find them.

“Ms. Blaze. A Mr. Thierry is on the phone for you,” Ms. Larken says on the intercom.

“Put him through, please, Wren.”

When my phone rings, I pick it up. “Mr. Thierry. How can I help you?”

“Ms. Blaze. I would like to get a status update on where we are with finding The Masters.”

“Oh, Mr. Thierry. I apologize, I’m not prepared to give you a full report at the moment. I’m working on your file right now and can give you an overview of what I’ve found.”

“I’m coming to town later this week, Ms. Blaze. I would like to meet in person.”

“Oh, uh, give me a moment.” I check my schedule and Edur’s as well. “Would Friday work for you, Mr. Thierry?”

“I think it will, Ms. Blaze. I have some other business to attend to while I am there, so I’ll plan to stay the weekend.”

“Okay then, I’ll see you soon, Mr. Thierry. I look forward to finally meeting you.”

“Oh, I definitely look forward to meeting you, Ms. Blaze.” Okay, that was weird.

“Have a nice day. Goodbye, Mr. Thierry.”

“Tell me.” he commands. It doesn’t surprise me, he’s an Alpha.

“This would be better discussed in person. But I would suggest you bring Mr. Dolph with you as well.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “We’ll be there first thing Friday morning. With our accountant.”

“See you soon, Mr. Thierry.”

All day Thursday, I double and triple-check my data. I put everything together, ready to lay it out and hand it to Sovereign Unlimited in a pretty package with a bow on top. I don’t expect the accountant to survive past Friday night, but that will be up to the Alpha.

On Friday morning, I’m getting ready for work, putting on a power suit, and mentally preparing myself for my meeting this morning. I know the accountant will deny everything and try to make it seem like I don’t know what I’m talking about or that I got it wrong. But, at this point, I know he’s just as culpable as The Masters, Inc., and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s on their payroll.

When I walk out of my room, I see Kenna pouting at the table. “Momma, why can’t we see Papa this weekend?”

“Sweet girl, you know it’s not that weekend. We still have training, and you’re going to be fully grown in just a few months. We need to make sure that you have all the training you can get before then. And we both know that when your father is there, you show off more than you practice.” I say, kissing the top of her head.

I look at Jena and Palila. “I may be late today.”

Kenna is instantly on alert. “Why, Momma?”

“I have a big meeting today, sweet girl. One of the people I’m meeting with won’t be happy that I’ve found out what he’s doing. So, it’s going to be a long day. But as soon as I’m home, we’ll head out to the forest.”

“Momma, will you be okay?”

“Of course, Kenna. Edur will be there with me. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry.”

Ishir walks me to the door. I told him what I’d found. “Be careful, Tana. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

I get to the office early and set up the room. Wren comes in early to help me.

“Thank you, Wren.”

Edur walks in as I hear the elevator ping, and a moment later, I hear Wren say. “Good morning, Mr. Thierry. Right this way.”

My back is to the door as I’m finalizing my presentation when I smell it, a spring rainstorm. I whip around and see him walking into the room, a smug smile on his face. Cedric.

“Good morning, Ms. Blaze.”