Dominantly Yours (Book 1, Dominantly Yours Series)

Chapter 6

Nate

Nate released a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He scooped up the papers in front of him, shuffled them into a small stack, and set them on the larger pile near the front corner of his desk. Then moved onto the next pile.

His entire office was a mess. Paper upon paper, files upon files were practically consuming the floor. The room smelled like old documents and a copy machine. Even the leather couch along the wall held stacks of clutter.

Damn Marcus and his inability to keep a place organized.

Nate had easily stepped back into the business aspect of being Alpha. For the first few hours after he'd arrived, he'd moved effortlessly through documents, setting aside the less important ones and focusing on the vital information. But even the best businessman couldn't stand so much work in front of him.

About half an hour later, a knock sounded on the door. "Nathaniel? Honey, can I come in?"

Nate glanced at the huge stack of papers. Surely a little break wouldn't hurt anything? "Sure, Mom."

Theresa's long brown hair flowed gracefully behind her as she entered. She eyed the mess distastefully. "How long have you been working?"

He glanced at his sleek Rolex. "Maybe six hours."

Theresa's eyes widened. "Nathaniel, it's nine in the morning! You mean to tell me you've been up since three?" she asked him in that disappointed tone only mothers achieved.

"I couldn't sleep."

She placed her hands on her hips and stepped forward until she was toe-to-toe with the desk. "I'm overruling you. Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

"Mom—"

"Nope, no excuses. Let's go." She clapped her hands three times. "Up, up, up."

He groaned and got out of the rolling chair. It took too much effort to shuffle his way to the door. His mom followed close behind.

"We're taking Marcus with us. It's a Saturday morning and it's high time we go out as a family."

***

Theresa walked into Lindy's Diner with all the confidence in the world. Nate and Marcus reluctantly entered after her. They'd done all the convincing they could to try and get their mother to agree to some place a bit...nicer, but it was no use. Their mother was a former Alpha female—she practically wrote the manual on how to be stubborn.

Lindy's wasn't too packed for a Saturday morning. The hustle and bustle of the place never slowed, even with such few people in the area. It was a place Nate had been to so many times he'd lost count. He grew up coming to this place. It was practically his second kitchen.

The few wolves in the restaurant lowered their eyes and dropped their heads slightly once Nate and his family came in, as a sign of respect and submission. Nate and Marcus nodded in recognition.

After settling themselves in a quaint little booth near the back, Nate spoke. "Is it just me, or does this place seem like it's deteriorating?"

While he was speaking, Marcus tried to grab some napkins out of the silver napkin dispenser. Just as he pulled, the one side of the metal box fell off and onto the table with a clatter.

Marcus frowned at it. "Definitely deteriorating."

"Oh, hush," Theresa commanded. "This place doesn't have to be fancy. It has the best food in town."