I sighed and slammed my head back against my chair, then groaned. “Fuck.” I put everything away into my purse, then stood. I walked out and smiled. “Hey, I had a question.”

“Sure.” Ternen smiled at me, but I could see the tension below the surface.

“My mom wants me to invite you all to dinner.” I checked my phone. “Has Rick left yet?”

Alannah shook her head. “No.” She smiled as she put her things in her purse. “And we would love to join you at dinner.”

I nodded and then walked to Rick’s office door. I knocked and swung the door open. I froze when I saw Vince holding Rick by the throat. “Ugh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I spun in a circle, facing away from them.

Vince grunted, and I heard Rick take a deep breath in. “Amy, what are you doing in here?”

“I see that.” I coughed. “My mom called me and asked me to invite Rick and Alannah to dinner.”

“Well, he’s busy.”

I turned around and grimaced. “While I appreciate that, this is my mom.” I forced an awkward smile. “She won’t listen to me. Can you call her?”

Vince huffed out a breath, then turned to me. “Of course.” He pulled out his phone and dialed my mom. There was a brief pause, and then her voice rang out. “Hello, Vince. I called because Amy came to take Rick to your house for dinner, but he is currently in a meeting with me.”

“He’s in a meeting with you?” My mother’s voice dropped an octave. “Are you sure? Is anyone else there?” Her voice took on a thread of anger.

Vince looked at the phone in confusion before he glanced at me, but I just shrugged. “Yes, I am sure. Why?” Vince was trying to gain some ground and take back the power my mother so easily took.

“Well, Alpha Vince.” Vince winced. My mother only used the title if she was pissed or in a setting in front of others that she had to uphold titles. “My dear husband said he was having dinner with you.” Her voice was now ice. “He actually just texted me saying you two were elbow deep in reports and that he won’t be home for hours.” She growled, and it was savage. “And here you’re telling me you are in a meeting with Amy’s boss. So Alpha, where the fuck is my husband?”

You could hear a pin drop as Vince looked to me with wide eyes. He mouthed "Oh shit" and then chuckled. “Ainsley,” he started, but you could tell he didn’t know where Morgan was. “Morgan is in my office right now. We were in a meeting, but I came to talk with Rick.”

“If you aren’t there, then why did he lie?”

Vince laughed. “He didn’t, I just zipped down here to go over things with Rick.”

“You know, Alpha, I think you are covering for Morgan. I don’t think you have been with him for hours.” The truth settled around us, and Vince paced. “If that is the case, then I can only assume that my husband is cheating.” Vince froze.

“That’s a crazy accusation, Ainsley.” He tried to counter, but she scoffed.

“Is it? We have been struggling for years because of the bullshit he pulled. And now I know he’s lying to me and you are covering for him. I’ll be petitioning the king for a dissolution.”

“Ainsley, wait, you can’t.” Vince tried to convince her to hold on.

“Unless you can get my husband on the phone within five minutes, which, if he is in your office, should be easy, I’ll be calling the king in ten minutes. Better run.” She disconnected the call, and Vince turned a pale face to me.

“What just happened?” He looked a little lost.

“I don’t know. She made dinner, and then Shannon and Morgan said they were busy. She called me and told me to invite Rick and Alannah and then, well, you heard.” I let my mouth flop open. “Alpha… you have been here since lunch. Morgan definitely lied to my mom.”

His eyes snapped to mine. “You can’t tell her that.”

I lifted my brow. “I don’t think it will matter. You only have four minutes to find him before she calls the king.”

“Oh fuck.” Vince turned and ran out of the room.

Rick turned to me with a blank face. “Do you think your mother will still want us to come to dinner?”

I nodded. “Of course, she will need a distraction. Why don’t you invite your wife and daughter? I’ll call my mom and tell her I’ll be bringing extra. That way, she will have to cook more and will work off some of her anger.”

“Will that work?” Rick typed a quick message on his phone.

“We can hope.”