The Alpha's Saviour

Chapter 7

Hayley POV

When I arrive back in to work on Tuesday morning, it's immediately clear that news of my dramatic weekend has reached everyone in the office. There are a big bunch of flowers and a hamper of muffins waiting for me at reception. Everybody keeps hugging me which seems a bit over the top since I only started here six weeks ago and have largely kept to myself. Angela the receptionist has tears in her eyes as she goes in for a second squeeze and it dawns on me that they aren't so much super happy that I am ok, but that Cooper is. He appears to be equally loved by all my colleagues and they genuinely appear to be shaken up by the whole thing. It makes me wonder who he is that everyone is this affected by him getting hurt. She hands me a stack of messages to get through.

"Everyone wants to talk to you after that article in the paper yesterday. We've had reporters calling non-stop." She obviously expects me to be thrilled about being the local celebrity for a few days but it's the last thing I want. I want to remain anonymous and stay under the radar, but this article has potentially ruined that for me. Regardless, even if my cover is blown, I'm not moving again. I've had enough.

"Thanks, Angela. Can you keep pretending I'm not here unless you know who it is? I just want to get back to work." I ask her, and she looks disappointed. It's probably the most excitement they've had in the office for a long time and I'm shutting it down.

"Are you sure you're ok to be back in today?" Greg asks me with concern, peering over the top of his glasses at me as he steps out of his office to greet me.

"I appreciate you worrying about me, but I promise I am ok. They only kept me in overnight as a precaution." I respond. He smiles brightly then and grabs one of my hands in both of his, a surprisingly warm gesture from my new boss, who has been friendly but quite formal since I started. Greg clears his throat and drops my hand as if remembering himself.

"Well, anyway, back to business, Cooper's father, Jonathan Jones has dropped in some documents for us to review ahead of a potential acquisition. The Jones's already have two spa resorts and are looking at buying a third. Could you have a look? That's more your area of expertise than mine." He asks.

"Of course. No problem at all." I respond, delighted to get stuck into something interesting for our largest client.

I have barely sat down at my desk when my office door bursts open and a glamorous lady with sleek brown hair barges in without knocking, closely followed by the dark-haired beauty that I saw with Ethan outside the hospital.

"Mum! You can't just walk in; you have to knock!" she says. Up close she is even more stunning, long shiny chestnut hair hangs down to the middle of her back, and her gorgeous olive skin sets off hazel-colored eyes and full red lips. I take in the other lady and if she hadn't just announced this was her mother, I would have thought they were sisters. The benefits of good genes are clearly on display right in front of me.

"Hush Leila, everyone here knows me, they don't mind!" She tuts at her daughter and then faces me with a mega-watt smile and my eyebrows shoot to my hairline as I am fixed with her laser-like attention.

"Hayley! Oh, thank you, thank you!" Another hug, she hangs on to me for dear life and keeps me there a few seconds longer than I am comfortable with, especially since I have no clue who she is. I flick my eyes up to meet Leila's, who rolls her eyes and groans.

"Mum, get off her, she doesn't know who you are. You're scaring her," Leila chastises, answering my silent plea for assistance.

"Forgive my terrible manners! I am Cooper's mother, Maria Jones. And this is his sister, Leila." she says, still holding onto my upper arms but pushing back slightly to look me in the eye again. She beams at me, again staring a little longer than would be deemed normal as she checks me out from head to toe. Leila just shakes her head behind her mother's back.

"Ah, Mrs. Jones...or sorry, Maria, lovely to meet you," I correct myself when she scowls at me calling her Mrs.

"Would you like to sit down? How is Cooper doing?" I gesture to the two chairs in front of my desk, retreating to the safety of my chair behind the glass table. Leila goes to refuse but Maria immediately sits down prompting an exasperated sigh from her daughter.

"Mum, let's go, I am sure Hayley has other things to do. Like her job, which we have just barged in on unannounced." She pleads, but Maria studiously ignores her.

"Oh, he's doing great, isn't he Leila? And it's all thanks to you." I shift in my seat, uncomfortable with the praise for doing what anyone would have done.

"Ethan tells me that you managed to pull him out of the water all on your own and brought him back to life. I will forever consider you as family for what you have done for ours." I am completely taken aback, that is quite a declaration.

"That sounds more like a punishment than anything else Mum," Leila teases and I have to stifle a laugh. Maria's lips tip up at the edges, but she ignores the dig.

"Wow, well, thank you for your kind words. I'm just glad I was in the right place at the right time. Please tell Cooper that I asked after him and wish him a speedy recovery, I'm sure I'll bump him at some point..." I am trying to wrap this up, the attention this has brought me already starting to make me nervous. The fact that his parents are wealthy business owners has no bearing on how I would have done things, but it does explain why there is seemingly so much interest from the local press.

"Leila's birthday, you must come! I won't take no for an answer. Leila, take Hayley out for lunch this week and let her know the plans." Maria insists, not leaving any opportunity for either of us to protest. I nod, and Leila grins encouragingly.

"That's actually a great idea Mum. Now let's leave Hayley in peace."

I know I've been trying to keep to myself but at the same time, it's nearly two months since I moved here, and I need to make some friends if I'm going to stick around. Leila seems nice and it'll be good to have some proper non-work-related conversation. Just as they go to leave, a large shadow fills the doorway, and a deep, masculine voice booms out.

"Hey Hayls, I stopped by yesterday but ...," Marcus freezes the second he steps into my already tiny but now absolutely jammed office. He is a mountain of a man, probably 6ft 5 inches tall but built like a wall of solid muscle. "Leila, Mrs. Jones, apologies for interrupting." He nods politely, holding out one of the cups of coffee in his hands to me awkwardly, and the tension in the room is palpable as I reach out to take it. It doesn't escape my attention that he looks everywhere but at Leila, who is wringing her hands in her lap and studying them intently.

"I stopped by yesterday, but they said you were taking the day off. I need to get your statement about the accident." He continues, but we've already had this conversation on the phone, so I feel like he is justifying his presence there to the others rather than to me. I chance another look at Leila who is blushing to her roots, and I suppress a grin. Very interesting. Maria looks back and forth between me and Marcus and grins, clearly getting completely the wrong idea about where the awkwardness in the room was coming from.

"Oh, I see! Don't let us keep you, dear," she laughs and winks, waving goodbye while Leila practically runs from the office. I turn to Marcus who has a pained expression on his face and laughter bursts from my lips before I can help myself.

"Marcus, what was that? You and Leila, eh?" The man looks completely lost as he rubs a hand along the back of his neck and gives me a one-shouldered shrug. Marcus is the sheriff, and I went to visit him to explain my situation as soon as I came to town. He has been kind enough to check in with me each Monday since then to see if I have had any problems, and I suspect he drives by the house regularly as he always comments on the little bits of work I have managed to do. He is as close to a friend as I have in the town so far.

"No. I mean... it's complicated," he states, making it clear he has no intentions of elaborating further. The big man doesn't look quite so tough at this moment in time, flustered and desperate to change the topic of conversation. He clearly has some history with or a soft spot for Cooper's little sister.

"I bet it is." I wink at him and laugh when he groans out loud.