Rena's POV
I'm starting to regret allowing Jason to talk me into doing this.
There's no way I'm going to be able to convince the Rogue Alpha that our project is worth investing in.
The car came to a slow stop, and I tapped my phone screen to check the time.
9:48 a.m.
I had less than fifteen minutes to get to the conference room.
My eyes lingered on my wallpaper. A picture of Daisy blowing on her fourth-year birthday cake, and somehow, I felt a strong burst of confidence.
This is why I was working hard. So that I could raise my head up in the Pack and protect Daisy.
So that my daughter wouldn't have to bow her head to everyone.
"Serena, we are here," Kevin announced, breaking my train of thought.
I glanced up at him and nodded slightly.
"I'll be on my way now." Without waiting for a reply, I got out of the car.
Up until I entered the office building, I could still feel Kevin's eyes on me.
That was his job anyway. To watch me.
One deep breath, and I walked towards the receptionist.
"Good morning, I have a meeting here at 10 a.m. Floor 308."
The receptionist had a small smile until she checked her laptop, then her eyes turned stern.
"You are late already," she said, then continued immediately.
"The President gets to every meeting ten minutes early."
My stomach tightened at her words. I had spent weeks researching that man. How did I not find this information?
I took another deep breath. "Can I go in now?"
Her gaze softened slightly, and she pointed to her right, "Use that elevator. The meeting is in room 001."
"Thank you!" I mumbled while hurrying to the elevator. I pressed the floor immediately and said a prayer to the moon goddess the moment the elevator started, without anyone stopping it.
At this point, I'm not hoping to get there before anyone; I just need to get there before 10 am. Why did I not leave the research institute earlier?
As I stopped in front of room 001, I tapped my phone screen again.
9:56. Just perfect.
I counted up to five in my head before opening the door.
The conference room was filled with people. At first glance, I'm certain they couldn't be less than thirty.
Why did they need so many people?
Again, I regret agreeing to do this. I had no business meeting with investors as the researcher.
A man stood up and walked up to me, "Nice to have you join us, Ms. Serena. Do you have any documents you would like to share with us?"
I shook my head, then reached into my bag and pulled a flash drive. "I would stick to presenting the data. If there's interest, I'll have the necessary documents shared in the next meeting."
The man smiled slightly and nodded. "Alright, I will set this up and you can…"
He didn't get to complete his words as the door to the meeting room opened again.
Despite being married to an Alpha, I found my entire being trembling at the appearance of this man.
When he finally entered the room, I recognized him immediately.
Rhys Carter.
President of Carter Pharmaceuticals.
He was one of the youngest billionaire Alphas, and people called him the Rogue Alpha because he used to be a Rogue and now led a pack of rogues, but in recent years, his nickname had changed to the Devil Alpha.
Rhys Carter had proven through cruel and cold means that being a Rogue didn't mean he would bow to anyone.
But the man in front of me. The man that strode into the room like a King looked nothing like I had expected him to.
For all the nicknames, no part of me had expected that the man would look so….
I had seen him on several news and magazine covers, but staring at his piercing green eyes now, I realized that none of those pictures had done justice to this man.
Up close, he looked too beautiful. Like the imagination of some young girl came to life.
His dark hair stopped below his collar, a little longer than most people kept theirs, while the front had a side parting that highlighted his sharp jawline.
Although he had very feminine features, he was doing a good job of balancing them with the dark and aloof aura around him.
Besides, with the muscles that strained against his shirt and that towering height, nobody could dare mistake him for a woman.
Luckily, the sound of everyone standing up to greet him helped me snap out of my daze, and I bowed my head in greeting, too.
Once Rhys sat at the end of the table, I grabbed the screen controller and got ready for the presentation.
Despite all my pep talk, I could still hear my voice shaking slightly as I explained my work to them.
I had worked on this for two years. We had started over twice before finally arriving at his current formula and we even tested them on animals that had the closest body structure to our wolf form.
Every now and then, as I talked, I found my eyes trailing to Rhys Carter.
I couldn't help it. The man had a presence that stood tall in a room filled with so many people.
Also, he was the one I had to convince, right?
But every time I glanced over, his face remained the same. Blank and impassive, even though he seemed to be paying attention.
When I was finally done, I placed the controller on the table and turned to face him— I mean, everyone.
"All of the data here is completely true. As the lead researcher, I have been on the project from the first day, and I wrote all the numbers down myself."
The entire room stayed silent, and I noticed that everyone seemed to be looking at Rhys Carter.
As his eyes met mine, I suddenly felt like I was standing naked in front of the entire room.
Almost as though he could see through all my deepest thoughts just by looking at me.
After what seemed like a minute, he cleared his throat slightly and spoke.
"Come work with me."
I wasn't the only one who was stunned by his words as murmurs filled the conference room.
An offer to work with Rhys Carter?
Aside from the offer coming from him directly, everyone knew a very important rule that Rhys had: he only worked with Rogues.
The most he ever did with any pack-affiliated company was invest.
But he wanted me to work with him?
I shook my head, about to reply, but he was faster.
"You can take some days to think it over. We have some research data that can make this tonic become a reality…." He paused.
"If that happens," another pause, then he looked down at the file in front of him.
"Miss Serena, then you should know that a strength-inducing tonic would change everything in our world."
I nodded because I knew that was true. That was why I had spent so much time working on it.
But if I joined Rhys' company, Jason would not recover from the betrayal.
I took a deep breath and tried to appear more confident.
"I would have to turn down the offer."
"If you invest in us, you would still reap the benefits if this works out."
"Is there a reason why you don't want to change ships? From what I have here, you don't belong in any pack."
At first, I'm surprised. I was married to Jason Reed. How could he not know that I belonged in the Iron Ridge Pack?
But after a long silence in the room, I suddenly realized that Rhys Carter was right.
How could I have forgotten that I was just a Rogue?