Running with the Alpha's Pup

Lost

Olivia's pov

I stared at my phone, intently reading the viral articles carrying my name and oh, my f*****g picture from the restaurant yesterday. The headlines were glaring.

Article 1: No face star manager Vee finally caught on camera.

Article 2: No more hiding: Star manager Vee is finally out of the bag.

Article 3: See what star manager Vee really looks like. The truth will shock you.

Article 4: Anonymous source leaks several images of manager Vee going on a date with her co manager and a child?

My fingers trembled on my desk as I continued to read each article. Even Liah’s face was captured, but thankfully, all the blogs blurred her.

Two years of staying anonymous went by like that, and it was all because some artist wanted to be under me, and I refused. I had been too busy thinking about my encounter with Brian that day to completely forget what had happened at that restaurant.

Amy had went on to carry out her threat.

I looked through the comment section, and to be honest, it didn’t look like what I was expecting.

‘Now I see why she needed to hide her face. She is a walking goddess.’

‘I am a girl, okay? But she is so pretty. I want to marry her.’

‘Now I see why she is a manager instead of a f*****g artist. She’d make all the others lose their shine overnight.’

Okay. They had to be exaggerating.

‘At least, they are praising you.’ My wolf, Rae, told me.

‘No, Rae. This...this is not good for us at all. If Brian sees this, it’d make it easy for him to find us.’ I ran my fingers through my hair, thinking, and just then a call came in from Dane.

“How are you enjoying your sudden fame?” His voice from the receiver sounded excited as if he’d been waiting for this to happen.

“Don’t get me started, Dane. How did this happen?” I sighed into the phone, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice.

“I’m sorry, Liv. I didn’t think Amy was really going to do it.”

“She was desperate. Of course she’d do anything. It’s my fault. I should’ve handled it myself.”

Dane cleared his throat. “It’s not such a bad thing if you think about it. The comments are positive. And--”

“I hate it. You of all people know how hard I have tried to stay away from spotlights like this.”

“I know.” He mumbled under his breath. “There is nothing we can do now. Charles wants to meet you, so you need to head over to the company now. It’s why I called.”

“Not now. Chloe called in sick today. I can’t leave Liah alone.”

“You know he is not going to listen to that.”

I bit the insides of my lips, trying my best not to curse out loud as I hung up the call.

I had no other option but to take Liah with me to the company. We both were geared up with hats and masks to cover our faces, and Liah seemed to think it was fun. She was in a good mood and looked like she was happy to be out.

She is going to be one hell of an extrovert. She loved being outside and loved talking to people.

“Mama, am I going to see Uncle Dane again?”

Right. Perhaps Dane was why she was so pumped up.

“Maybe.” I shrugged, giving her my hand to hold onto as we walked inside the company. The staff looked at me differently as I walked past them. Their smiles were wider than I remembered as they greeted.

“Good day, Manager Vee.”

Yup. It was because of those pictures. I barely managed a smile even though they couldn’t see it. They could see my eyes smile though.

I found the CEO’s office quickly and wasn’t surprised to meet Dane there. Liah instantly ran into his arms.

“Look who we have here. You look like a ninja, Liah.” Dane immediately packed her in his arms.

Liah leaned into him to whisper in his ears b,ut I heard it because my werewolf senses were heightened.

“Mama’s sense of fashion is no good.”

“Liah.” I called, and gave her a look which instantly made her shut her mouth but I knew that was only a pretense.

“Okay, let’s give your Mama some space. Ice cream is on the menu today.”

Liah’s eyes instantly lit up. I could literally see them glisten with anticipation the moment she heard the word ice cream.

“Bye bye, Mama.” She waved her hand at me, blinking innocently as Dane carried her away. She abandoned her mother just like that for ice cream.

I took in a sigh and finally turned to address the third adult in the room, sitting behind the desk. The CEO of Bass Entertainment is also one of the people I hated dealing with. If possible, I’d wish I could work without our paths ever crossing.

“Good day, Charles.” I greeted.

“Liv, have a seat.” He pointed to the couch which was at the other side of the room, standing from his seat and coming to join me. “You must be wondering why I asked you out here today.”

“I’m guessing it is because of the headlines today.” It was as obvious as day, so there really was nothing to wonder about. Of course, I didn’t say that out.

“Since you already know, I do not need to beat around the bush.” He gave me a meaningful look and let a few seconds of silence pass as if thinking twice about what he was going to say next. “Quit your job.”

I wasn’t surprised. I knew this was coming. And I was prepared for it.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“You know exactly what I mean. Quit your job, Liv. Working as a manager doesn’t… suit you.”

“If I remember correctly, I produced four stars for this company in less than a year. Something no other manager has been able to achieve.”

“I know that. And I must say, you are one excellent manager. But think about how you’d perform as an artist under boom. The level of fame you’d acquire would put the other artists to shame.”

“I am not interested in becoming an artist.” My voice was firm as I said this. Charles swallowed, and I knew he was cooking up ways to convince me in his head.

“I can give you special treatment. I can even let you state your own terms for the contract.”

“Are you saying you no longer need my services as a manager under Boom?”

“No. Oh God, no. Liv. Think about it..”

“I’m thinking about it.” I said, and that caused his eyes to light up for a few seconds before they dramatically dimmed when I added. “I’m thinking about the several offers I have received from other companies. Today, MO Entertainment promised me triple the salary I receive here and even offered me a position as their general manager if I switched companies. Perhaps I really should think about it.”

Charles leaned into his seat, just staring at me. I could see the worry in his eyes. “I know you won’t do that. You’re loyal to the company.”

“I am loyal to no one.”

A few seconds of silence passed between us.

“Who is it?” He finally asked, “Who are you desperately trying to hide from?”

I looked away, unable to answer that question.

“I still remember when you came looking for a job. The conditions you gave were quite bizarre. Who in this century wouldn’t want fame except for Miss Olivier? And I’m sure it is not because you do not want it truly. It is because you are hiding from someone, isn’t it?”

I didn’t answer that. I couldn’t.

“Since you remember the terms I stated so clearly, why are you trying to force me?”

“I’d never force you. I’m simply trying to help you achieve what you should.”

“I enjoy managing other artists. And I truly have no interest in becoming one sir.”

“Sir?” He laughed. “You become so formal with me when you’re angry. Did you feel threatened today, Liv?”

“You always do this to get your way.”

“This is the last time I’m going to try to convince you.” He said with a look of defeat and this, seriously surprised me. Ever since I joined his company, he had tried everything to get me to debut as an artist. It was how I met Dane. Dane was known for his talent in recruiting people. He had a knack for that and Charles had seen him fit to send my way and to convince me, but instead, I turned Dane into my own assistant.

“Hearing that you’re giving up, honestly feels sad.”

Charles laughed and was about to say something when a knock came on the door, and his assistant walked in with a worried look on his face.

“What is it?”

“The director just called. One of the higher up is coming to headquarters today. They will be here soon.”

I haven’t seen Charles jump into action so quickly. He didn’t even spare me another glance before he rushed out with his assistant. If a higher up of the company was truly here then he wouldn’t want to be caught lacking. Especially since they didn’t even give him time to prepare.

The door opened again just as I was preparing to leave, and Dane stepped in looking panicked.

“What is it?”

“Liah. I can’t find Liah!”

“What?! How did you lose her?” I asked Dane who was following behind me as I checked each of the offices. I couldn’t find her anywhere, and I was growing anxious with several scenarios playing in my mind. What if she wandered out of the company and got abducted?

“You need to be calm, Liv. Think. Liah is usually a good girl. Why would she wander out like that? Unless something happened—” Rae was telling me when Dane interrupted.

“She wanted to use the restroom, and since I obviously could not go with her, I asked a staff member to take her. She said she looked away for a few seconds and couldn’t find Liah after.”

“Who is she?”

“What?”

“Who the f**k is the staff?”

Fear was beginning to settle deep in my heart. We had almost covered half of the building with no sign of her. The worst part was that I couldn’t even sense her, or her scent. It was lost.

“It’s Mia.”

“Go get her then.” I should interrogate her. And find out exactly how she lost Liah.

Dane disappeared to find Mia and behind me, I heard a female’s voice.

“Your child is missing?”

I turned around and saw it was Helen, a co worker. A manager like myself. She was standing in front of the stairs, looking like she had just come up to find me.

“Yes.” I answered, and a worried look crossed her eyes.

“That’s bad. Two of the higher ups are already here and Charles sent me to get you. He wants us to meet them.”

“I can’t,” I answered without any hesitation. I need to find my daughter first. And everything else comes second.”

I tried to walk past her to go down the stairs, but Helen stopped me.

“Are you going to let an opportunity like this slide simply?”

“What do you mean?” I stopped to listen to her. Perhaps the so called big shots coming here today meant something more.

“These people… they own the company. They could define your career in this space. Your days here would be much easier if one of them takes a liking to you and--”

“Helen,” I cut her off mid-sentence. “Were you not listening when I said I was looking for my daughter?” Tears had already clouded my gaze as I spoke. And it wasn’t because of her. Oh, no.

“Do you think I got here today by relying on connections. No, I did not. So do what you think you have to do and leave me out of it.” After saying my piece, I left and headed downstairs.

I had just gotten to the middle of the stairs when I caught Liah’s scent again. It wasn’t faint. Relief flooded through me instantly, but it was short-lived when I picked up a second scent in the same direction and looked towards the door that had just opened.

Standing there, where most of the staff had gathered in a neat line, including Charles, waiting for the big shots, was Liah. Her eyes looked around curiously, and she was holding the hand of someone else.

I stood rooted to the ground, eyes widening as they trailed upwards to catch the face of the person holding my daughter.

Brian.

A breath escaped my lips, and my legs weakened, causing me almost to lose my footing.

What-what was he doing here? And why was he holding Liah’s hands and looking at her like he recognized her?