CHAPTER 277: CHAPTER 277 A VERY ROMANTIC SETUP... RUINED

Joseph’s POV

"Isaac threatened her with a fucking knife, Draven! A knife to her mother’s throat! And he was one of your warriors in training!" I growled into the phone.

Draven’s voice remained irritatingly calm. "I understand your anger, Joseph. He’s already in our holding cells. We’ll keep him there for a while."

"A while? That’s it? He threatened my woman!"

There was a pause on the line. "Your woman? I wasn’t aware you’d marked Ava as your mate."

"That’s not the point," I snapped, avoiding the question. "What happens when you eventually let him out? Are you seriously considering keeping him in your pack?"

"He’s a trained fighter, Joseph. If he shows remorse and agrees to stay away from her, he could still be useful to the pack."

"Not good enough, Draven," I said, dissatisfied.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Draven asked helplessly. "Execute him? Exile him?"

I took a deep breath. Draven was right that I was overreacting, but I couldn’t help it. The thought of someone hurting Ava made me crazy.

"Look," I said, trying to sound reasonable. "Ava is brilliant. She studied business and marketing in college. That retail job is beneath her, and it puts her at risk."

"And?"

"And Caroline works at my company, and you mentioned you don’t trust Linda anymore. You need a new executive assistant. Hire Ava."

Draven was quiet for a moment. "Are you seriously trying to manipulate me into offering her a job?"

"It’s not manipulation if it benefits everyone. She gets a better job, you get a competent assistant, and she’ll be safer in your office building than at that mall with her psycho ex’s boyfriend stirring up trouble."

"I’ll look into her qualifications," Draven finally said. "If she checks out, I’ll consider it."

"That’s all I’m asking," I said.

I hung up. He was the same way with Caroline, so what right did he have to talk about me?

The next day, I knew Ava’s mom was going on a business trip. I was eager to see Ava. Today she would come to my house after leaving work. Finally, she would be mine! I had prepared a surprise for her at home. A very romantic evening.

By late afternoon, I was restless in the office. I decided to grab a coffee and walk around the building. I wanted to distract myself. I accidentally heard Eleanor arranging with Caroline to go to the store to check out some dresses that Ava had mentioned. I was leaving my office when I heard this.

I immediately got excited about an idea. I went back to my desk and called the guys. All of them, one by one. If one girl was going to the store, I was sure all the others would go too.

We arranged to meet there. We arrived early and stayed at the café near Ava’s store. We could see the girls entering the mall from there. As soon as they arrived, we went to the store. We watched them go into the fitting rooms. Only then did we enter the store and sit down in front of the fitting rooms.

Ava looked at us like we were crazy. However, the other store employees quickly surrounded us. They started flirting with us. They were clearly trying to make Ava jealous. She was very angry but kept her cool.

I thought the girls were going to kill us when they came out of the fitting rooms. But they saw the women around us trying to get our attention. They clearly changed their minds and decided to claim what was theirs. It was really funny to see Eleanor rushing sweetly towards Nate.

The girls managed to chase away two of the employees. But a third one wouldn’t leave me alone. I knew she was the one who had dated Ava’s ex. When she openly hit on me, I thought it was time to make my position clear. I went to Ava and gave her a long, loving kiss. I made it clear that I was hers.

Ava’s boss arrived and let her off work early. It was perfect timing. We were finishing up our shopping. We went to dinner right there in the mall. I was very excited about the job offer that Draven made to Ava. Finally, she would leave the store and work normal hours. She would be safe and wouldn’t be so exhausted. I pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

"I swear I didn’t ask Draven to do this. He really needs a trusted assistant." A white lie. "I believe you. And it’s a great opportunity. I’ll talk to him properly and I’ll probably leave the store."

"That will make me feel much better. You’ll be safer there."

"Yeah, that will make me feel better too. Isaac won’t bother me there. And my mom decided to sell the apartment too. We’re going to buy a new place."

"Oh! What great news! My mother in law is wonderful!" I was relieved because Ava’s apartment wasn’t very secure. The building was old and there was no real security.

Ava laughed at my reaction and gave me a kiss.

"You know, I really liked what you did at the store today," Ava said, giving me another little kiss.

"And what did I do?"

"Made it clear to Cybele that you’re mine!" she whispered in my ear.

"Oh, that! But I am yours. I don’t know how you did it, but you have me completely."

"Hmm, I like that! You earned a lot of points today."

"Will that guarantee me a pleasant night with you?"

"That will guarantee you an incredible night with me," Ava said seductively.

"Oh, no! You two can stop right there. I don’t need to see this. I’m the only one still suffering here. I’m the best behaved, yet my girl is still playing hard to get," Ryan complained.

"The best behaved one here is my prince, Nate," Eleanor quickly jumped in. "Even though you guys are trying to corrupt him."

We were laughing and the conversation was flowing. But three women approached and literally threw themselves at me, Draven, and Ryan. It was Sophia with Vanessa and Ella. This wasn’t going to end well.

These three crazy women who came out of nowhere had the nerve to give us quick kisses. But things got really ugly when Ella started talking about the night she spent with Draven at some party.

The girls looked at us with hatred and stood up. They pulled Nate and Luke along with them and turned their backs on us. I looked at Draven and Ryan. In silent understanding, we all stood up at once. We let those three crazy bitches fall flat on the floor. Then we ran after our girls.

But they wouldn’t listen to us. I saw Ava get into Eleanor’s car. Damn, the incredible night I had imagined having with Ava went down the drain. I wanted to kill those three devils.

We did the only thing we could do. We went to Draven’s house to get drunk and wait for news from Nate and Luke. It didn’t take long. But they said that we were in hell and we had dragged them with us.

Of course, Eleanor would punish me too and sent me a message.

"Don’t you dare be late or show up at that office with a hangover, Joseph! And leave Ava alone. I warned you not to mess with her!"

My fate was sealed. Even so, I wouldn’t give up. I insisted that Draven keep the job offer for Ava. He assured me that Ava’s job had nothing to do with her involvement with me. He really wanted her as an employee. It was important to get her out of that store job. I was worried that her ex would start bothering her again after getting out of the dungeon. She needed to be less exposed.