Twenty.

Dylan

 Oh my Gods! There is absolutely no way that this man is Mr. Winters. I couldn't understand how or why he would have been out here with all of these other people just waiting for me. I was sure that this was a mistake, on my part somehow. 

 The man who was still standing in front of me with his hand outstretched was looking at me in a way that made me feel inconsequential, to say the least. 

 "Awestruck I see. Maybe this is why we keep you holed up in some secret location," he chastised all the while still holding his hand out for me to eventually shake it, grab it, something.

 It was like my brain didn't work or something. Glancing from his outstretched hand to his face, and then back again was the only thing I could do.

 Giving me one of the most mischievous smiles I've ever seen, he reached out and grabbed my hand from my side. I thought he was going to shake it, but instead he brought it up to his mouth, and kissed the back of it.

 He was much closer to me now so when he whispered, I could hear him perfectly. "I am beyond impressed by your reaction, my ego is soaring to new heights. Maybe I should give you a raise for that alone."

 Still unable to fully comprehend what was going on I uttered, "It's nice to meet you. Are you really my boss?"

 The laughter that erupted from not only him, but a few others around us, only made me feel that much more uncomfortable. When I looked at the small group around us I noticed that there was a few in the crowd who didn't laugh, or smile, for that fact.

 Alpha Rogan and was one of those who seemed extremely unimpressed with this entire display. I tried to keep from making eye contact with him because I did not have the ability to handle him right now.

 The moment Roane started speaking, I focused my attention back to him. He had already released my hand, but was still standing very close to me.

"My apologies if I have disappointed you in any way, but I am in fact your boss." 

 Even though his words sounded apologetic, the look on his face seemed proud to the point of looking arrogant. To say that I was uncomfortable was an understatement. I have never been put into a situation where I was the center of attention except when I was being bullied.

 Those same feelings of being inadequate started to rise in my mind, but Rae was right there to try to quell those thoughts. "You are here for the meeting they requested do not let your thoughts over take you. Let's find out what they want to know."

 Taking a deep breathe, I adjusted the hem of the vest and smoothed my hands down the front of the blouse. Steadying my voice I replied, "please forgive my rudeness, I was just nervous, to be meeting you like this, I mean."

 I bowed my head towards him and the moment I did, he reached out his hand and tilted my chin up towards him.

 "None of that Ms. Solamier," he said more sternly than any way he has previously spoken today. But the second my eyes met his, he smiled at me, and it seemed that he was a genuinely kind man. 

 Alpha Rogan approached and stood right next to me. Placing his hand on my shoulder, he directed his next words to Roane,"now that this little introduction is over, where is Xavier, we have a meeting scheduled."

 Roane's eyes instantly went from the alpha's hand to my face and then back to Alpha Rogan. The smile was gone, and two of the attendants that had been a few steps away immediately joined him.

 "Yes, Rogan right? Xavier is about to finish with a board meeting and these gentlemen here will show you and your attendants to his office."

 The two men who has approached looked around Alpha Rogan's age, and both were dressed in well cut black suits. They looked almost like body guards rather than employees of the company, but what did I know. 

 Vit and Noel were standing right behind us and when I turned my attention towards them I noticed that they both had little black ear pieces in their right ears. At first I wasn't sure why they would need them, but remembered that when we were around humans we had to remember to act like them.

 "That sounds great," Alpha Rogan responded to him, but before he began to follow after them he squeezed my shoulder and informed Roane, "I will be leaving one of my men to accompany Dylan."

 Vit walked closer to Alpha Rogan and they both turned to follow the two men, but Roane spoke to me, and it was obvious that his words were intended for the Alpha. 

 "You must be very precious to someone if they insist that you are accompanied by a guard while you are here."

 Alpha Rogan stopped mid step, but didn't immediately turn. I was terrified of how quickly this might escalate and when I looked at Vit, his jaw was clenched so tightly that I knew someone was probably linking with him.

 The cool expression on Alpha Rogan's face made my heart race, but since it wasn't directed at me, I tried not to let it get under my skin. His words however, threw me for a loop.

"She is more important than you will ever know, so yes, we will leave her with a guard."

What the actual f*ck? 

What did he mean by that?

Did he say that to Roane just to make a point?

 The questions were rolling through my head, but I made sure to keep my facial expression in check, and though I wished I could speak them aloud, I held them all in.

Rae on the other hand was practically screaming in my head, "you lie so well, you piece of sh*t!"

 When he turned back to follow his two guides to the office of Xavier, I was left with Roane, Noel, and a handful of people who were all looking at me like I was some oddity.

 Trying to seem unphased by the little exchange just now, I turned to Roane and asked, "what type of meeting am I to be having today sir?"

 Roane Winters was a very handsome man, and with that smirk on his face he looked like one of the male characters from the damn romance novels I like to read so much. 

 "Well, it seems that there are quite a few things that we need to discuss with you Ms. Solamier. Please follow me to my office."

 Nervous anxiety started to fill me as I considered what this meeting might be about. I was almost positive that they were not going to fire me now, but I had no real idea what they needed to go over with me that couldn't have been done via phone or email.

 The moment that Roane turned to walk into the building Noel motioned for me to follow and I heard his steps just a few paces behind me. The rest of the little group all trailed a bit further behind.

 I was right to think that this building was nice on the outside, but I was no where near ready to see the interior. The moment we walked through the doors I thought we had walked into a different world.

 Everything about the building was exquisite, from the stone floors, to the breathtaking staircase that seemed to lead up to every floor, to the ceilings that had all types of vegetation handing from them. 

 Every where one looked there was something spectacular to see and it took Noel nudging me from behind to realize that I had stopped walking completely.

 "Ah yes, I forget that this is your first time coming to the office. It seems that you like the look of it," Roane asked from a bit further ahead of me than he had been moments ago.

 "Yes, it is really beautiful. I have never seen anything like it before." While this was true, it all hit me so hard because I've never seen anything outside the pack lands before.

 Roane had stopped walking and seemed as if he was waiting for me to catch up to him before we went any further. As I got closer to his side, he started to point out and explain different things about the building and it's design.

 For just a few moments I was lost in the explanations that he was giving about all the different art pieces and the benefits of having some of the different types of plants inside of the building.

 When we got to the back wall of the building a large mirror slid to the side and I realized that it was actually the doors to an elevator. "Wow, that is so cool!" I hadn't even realized I let that slip out until someone from behind us snickered.

 Roane held out his hand against the end of the opening, "ladies first," he said as he motioned me through with his other hand. Noel walked in right after me, but as soon as he did, Roane turned to the others and told them, "you all can take the stairs," before he walked in and hit a button on the inside of the panel.

 I've been in elevators before at the pack lands. Some of the buildings have them, but none of them compared to this one. The moment we went up past the first floor, the back panel, which was glass, showed the city beyond.

 I was in awe and quickly moved to the back of the elevator and practically pushed myself up against the glass to see everything. It was still pretty early in the morning and I was able to see for quite a distance the higher up we went.

 "How many floors is this building," I asked without even turning to look at Roane. I didn't want to miss one single thing while I was here and turning around would mean looking away from this beautiful view.

"There are fifteen floors in this building."

 Still without looking at him I asked, "is it really fair that you are making the others walk up all those floors?" Noel chucked his teeth softly, but it sounded much louder in the small space.

 "They will be fine. They could do for a little exercise." I was almost positive that he was smiling, and the thought made me smile a bit to.

 As soon as the elevator dinged and came to a full stop the doors opened behind me, and I had to physically push myself away from the glass so that I could turn around and walk out of the elevator.

 "If you like it that much we can have our meeting in there and just keep going up and down until we're done," Roane joked.

 I looked over at him as I followed him down a small hallway that was brightly lit with similar decor as the lobby.

 We have had so little encounters prior to this meeting, so I wasn't sure if this was his usual nature or if the gruff and aggressive person I usually encounter was going to show himself soon.

 "No, if we have our meeting in there, I'll never be able to pay attention to you," I replied with a bit of a playful tone myself.

 Both Roane and Noel laughed softly and that helped to lighten a little bit of the nerves that still irked me.

 There were only three doors down this hall. One at the very end, and one on each side of the hallway. The furthest one at the end had half of the wall made of glass just like the outside of the building.

 As we got closer to them I could see that there was a large oval table with quite a few people sitting around it. To my surprise, Alpha Rogan and Vit were among them.

 I was afraid that we were going to be joining them, but Roane stopped just short of the door on left. There was a small sitting area here with chairs that faced the opposite walls.

 Roane swiped his hand along a little plate on the wall next to the door and it slid open. Okay, now I was really impressed, but I had to bite my lip to keep from asking how he had done it.

 Again, Roane held out his arm as if he was holding the door open for me and gestured with his other hand for me to enter the room. Noel was about to follow me in, when Roane put his arm out to block his way.

 "I am scheduled to have a meeting with Ms. Solamier. Does she really need to have a body guard with her in my personal office?" 

 Even though Roane spoke jovially, the look on his face seemed stern. Noel looked at me as if he was asking what I would like to do, but we had no way to link with each other so I just nodded at him as if to say, "just do as he says."

 I knew the second that Alpha Rogan saw Noel sitting outside the room he would be furious, but there was only so much I could say to Roane to explain why he was with me.

 Noel nodded and said, "I'll be right out side little miss in case you need anything." As Noel moved to the side to stand against the wall, Roane closed the door and motioned me forward.

 The office I stood in was brightly lit and had a small desk with two chairs in front of it. There was a large white couch on the far side of the room with a little coffee cart and refrigerator on the opposite end of the wall.

 I sat in one of the soft white leather chairs in front of the small wood desk and Roane removed his jacket and placed it on a hook before he took a seat in the big black leather chair on his side of the desk.

 There were paintings and plaques all along the walls. I looked around the room and tried to focus on everything other than the man sitting in front of me. 

 Heat was rushing to my cheeks and I knew that I was probably bright red right now. I have never been in a situation like this before and I wasn't sure how to handle it right now.

 When I finally looked to Roane, he was staring right at me. I wasn't sure how to proceed, so I just blurted, "am I getting fired?"

 Shock crossed Roane's handsome features before he replied, "is that what you think was going to happen today?"

 I couldn't even talk, so I just nodded my head. Roane just continued to stare at me for a few seconds longer. I adjusted my blouse and vest as I waited for him to continue. He leaned back in his chair and tilted his head as if he was considering something. 

 "I was curious to know who you were and how you ended up getting the position that you have. Why don't you tell me, what it is, Ms. Solamier, that makes you so gods damn special?"