by Sky Winters
“Thaddeus!” he said happily.
Cotton was one of the very few people in his life who still called him by his full name. It didn’t bother him. In fact, since he’d lost his parents, several years ago in an accident, it was always nice to hear it from someone.
“Mr. Cotton. How are you?”
“I’m good. You here to pick up your new suit?”
“I am.”
“All right, let me get it for you,” he replied, disappearing to the back.
Barron looked around idly while he waited, no doubt wondering why he was here.
“Here we are. You want to try it on?”
“Yes, please. I’ll go to the dressing room. While I’m gone, can I get you to take my driver’s measurements? I want to get a few new suits for him.”
“What?” Barron said, turning toward him to protest, no doubt to cite that he wasn’t a charity case.
“Yours are looking a bit threadbare, old buddy. If you’re going to drive my car, I want you to look sharp and I can’t expect you to go out and buy your own uniform.”
Barron looked at him doubtfully but didn’t argue further. For all their somewhat laid-back behavior with one another, Barron knew not to push anything Thad had decided on too far. He followed Mr. Cotton to a nearby mirror while Thad went to try on his own suit. When he returned, Mr. Cotton was done measuring and moved him aside to check the fit on Thad’s suit.
“Looks good,” he said, pronouncing his own work fit for wear.
“It does. Pull out some material for Barron’s suits, assorted colors, all dark. I’ll let him pick what he prefers beyond that. Let him help you pull down the bolts.”
“You are calling me an old man?” Mr. Cotton snorted.
“Never. I imagine you could still take me on my best day.”
“Damn right I could,” he laughed, waving Thad away and heading back toward Barron.
As Thad changed back into his own clothes, an idea came over him. It was time for some changes, not just for him, but for everyone he surrounded himself with. He took his time in the dressing area, picking up his phone to glance at it. There were messages from Alpha Meets Omega, most likely just more Betas looking to hook up. He pushed the button, anyway, raising an eyebrow when he saw that there was a message from Jaycee.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jaycee
She had started not to answer Thad but gave in and did it anyway. At this point, she had to wonder how much of it was her own free will and how much was still some weird pull to him that guided her. It had been a quick note and one she wasn’t sure about. Her only response had been to say, “okay” and give him her phone number. Why had she done that? Why had she given him a direct line to her like that? She was already regretting it.
To his credit, he hadn’t immediately called or called her repeatedly. It wasn’t until later that evening that he finally called, seeming confident but not overbearing. The conversation was much more relaxed than she expected, in fact.
“I don’t want to spend a lot of time going back and forth on the phone. I think speaking face to face is better.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
Though she wasn’t feeling the strong reaction to him that she had during their night together, there was still something there, something that called to her. It scared her, but he was her mate and there was a part of her that said she should still give him a chance. By the end of the quick call, she found herself agreeing to meet him for dinner on Saturday.
She tried not to think about it much, focusing instead on work. Val had been a life saver. She had been his intern previously and had been passed over for a permanent position with him but nabbed one in the marketing department.
“I actually made it through the whole program. I thought I did a damned decent job, but then the H.R. Department called me in and said he didn’t want to keep me on. I was surprised. I thought I did an excellent job of keeping up with his insane pace. It’s crazy. I mean, even in the brief time you’ve been here, you see what he’s like. I was sick about it.”
“I bet you were.”
“Yeah. I went home and cried. I had worked so hard, invested so much time, and he shit on me. Then, after a few days, I got a call from Marilyn saying that marketing wanted me. I had done some work with them on a cross-platform project and they liked me. So, that’s my advice. Do the best you can with him but take any opportunities you can with other departments. The chances of you pleasing him are slim, but not everyone here is a dick, and if they see you’re doing a decent job, they’ll latch on to you.”
“Back up plan then?”
“You can look at it like that, but in all honesty, it should be your first priority. You’ll be a lot fucking happier in another department than you will ever be working for that douche bag.”
“Jaycee, I need to see you in my office,” Nasteau barked at her from his office.
She and Val had been speaking quietly in her office, but she thought he had been out. Now, she was mortified by how much he might have hear of their conversation. Val shrugged and walked out, using the door leading directly to the hallway rather than the side door that led into his office.
“Yes, Sir,” she said.
“I need my dry cleaning picked up before two p.m.”
Jaycee glanced at her watch. It was one forty already.
“Okay. Where is it?”
Instead of answering her, he handed her a couple of ticket stubs and waved her away. She looked at them on the way back to her office. The cleaner was all the way across town. She hurried out of the office and made her way downstairs, rushing out the front door to see if she could catch a cab. There was no way she could make it that far on public transport and stripping down and running the alleys as a wolf presented its own obstacles.
She was surprised when a dark sedan that looked oddly familiar pulled up to the curb and Thad stepped out onto the sidewalk, looking at her with just as much confusion as she was him. Was he stalking her at work?
“What are you doing here,” he asked.
“I work here. You know that,” she snapped.
“Oh, right. Right. You’re with Nasteau.”
“I don’t have time for whatever game this is right now. I have to get a taxi to the other side of town before his dry cleaners closes at two.”
“Here. Take my car.”
“Don’t be absurd. I’m not going to take your car.”
“Oh. Well, good thing there is a driver in it. He’s safe. He actually lives in your building.”
“No, thanks.”
“Come on, Jaycee. I’m not a stalker. I have a meeting upstairs with one of your real estate brokers regarding a new building I’m funding for his client. I’ll be here for a couple of hours, minimum. Let me help you out. I know what a dick Nasteau can be to women who work for him.”
She didn’t ask how he knew that but didn’t want to know. It irked her that she might even feel a shred of jealousy at the thought someone who worked here or might still work here had perhaps been with him.
Fuck. You don’t have time for this, Jaycee.
“Okay. Thanks,” she replied, heading for the car.
Though he had emerged from the front passenger side and that door was still open, he reached over and opened the rear door for her. She climbed inside, though she had no doubt she looked just as uncertain and awkward as she felt.
“Barron, she needs to get across town as fast as you can get her there. Do what you have to do to make sure that happens. She’ll give you the address. Have her there well before two. Wait for her and bring her back.”
“Will do,” the driver replied.
She started to protest that she just needed to get there before it closed and could get back on her own, but Thad was already closing the door and turning to go into the building.
“Where we headed?” Barron asked.
She gave him the address off the dry cleaner slip, and he pulled away as she added, “but I just need to get there
. I can get myself back.”
He laughed. “No. I know you don’t want me to get reamed out for not doing what I was told to do. I’ll just wait, if that’s okay with you.”
“Okay then,” she said, feeling a bit relieved that this would be much easier than she thought. “Thad said you live in my building.”
“Yes. Weird coincidence, huh?”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. Thad didn’t know until I took him there to pick you up for your date.”
“But he drove us.”
“Yes. Once he realized I lived in the building, he decided to just let me go home and take the car himself.”
“Well, that explains why he had to move the seat and drove up on the sidewalk.”
“Sidewalk, huh? I knew he did something. Car was out of line the next day for no apparent reason,” he laughed. “He doesn’t drive much since his parents died.”
“They died in an accident?”
“Yes. Just a few years ago. He was driving, so he’s never quite forgiven himself for it.”
“Oh, God.”
“Crap. I shouldn’t have told you that. Please don’t mention it to him. He’ll have a fit. Nothing he hates more than anyone feeling sorry for him.”
“It’ll be our secret. So, what floor do you live on?”
“I’m on the second. You?”
“Top floor.”
“Oh, the big apartments.”
“Big? No. It’s just a studio.”
“Really? I thought all the apartments up there were two story. I looked at one that was, but it was way out of my price range.”
“I don’t know, but mine isn’t.”
It had never occurred to her that her apartment was different other than the balcony and direct roof access, but it made sense now. She had her own private roof area because it was recessed into the area where a second floor would be in the adjoining apartments. She contemplated what it must have been used for back when the building was a factory as she watched the blur outside her window. Barron weaved in and out of traffic with the ease of a pro, finally pulling up to the curb in front of the cleaners.
“Here we go. Only six minutes to spare. Better hustle,” Barron said, throwing the car in park and starting to open his door.
“I can let myself out,” she said, opening her door and shuffling out onto the sidewalk. She hurried inside and gave the tickets to the clerk, thankful that there wasn’t a line in front of her. He disappeared and reappeared with a rolling cart full of clothes. Jaycee looked at it with a scowl. “All this?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Fuck me,” she muttered, drawing a snicker from him.
“I hope you’re not on the bus,” he said.
“No. I’ve got a car outside,” she replied, now very happy that Barron had refused to just drop her off.
“Hey, Bob. I’m going to roll out this rack of clothes and then come back and lock up,” he shouted to someone in the back before pushing the clothes through the half door beside him and out to the sidewalk. Barron was waiting by the car to open her door this time and he laughed when he saw the clothes.
“I’ll pop the trunk.”
“He’ll kill me if they’re wrinkled,” she said uncertainly.
“They won’t be. I have a system.”
Jaycee smiled and watched as he carefully placed the suits in the trunk and closed it. He walked back to the passenger side of the car and opened the rear door for her to get in, thanking the guy from the cleaners and returning to the driver’s side. A police car flashed their lights at him as they neared, and he threw up a hand as if to tell them he was moving his illegally parked car now.
Back at the office, she was surprised when Barron pulled into the parking garage rather than pulling up to the curb. That was going to make it even further for her to carry the suits. He asked what floor she worked on and parked on the level adjacent, but they were still on the opposite side of the building from Nasteau’s office.
“Go up and ask him where he wants them. I guarantee you, he’ll say he wants them in his car and gives you the keys. Twenty bucks says it’s a Mercedes and he has an extendable pole across the back seat to hang them on. If you haul them up, he’s just going to make you carry them back down.”
“I don’t want to hold you up,” she said.
‘You’re not. I’ll just be here waiting on Thad anyway.”
“Okay. I’ll be back,” she told him.
Of course, he was right, about everything. She wondered if he just knew the type or if it was because Thad treated him like this too. Whatever the case, it had been to her benefit today, so she’d try not to overthink it.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Thad
“Did you get her taken care of?” Thad asked when he returned to the car.
“Just as requested. She’s happy. Her boss is happy. Nice girl,” Barron replied.
There was an underlying tone that Barron was trying to suppress, and Thad picked up on it right away. It was disapproval. Had she told him what happened between them? It didn’t seem likely she’d divulge that to a stranger, especially a male one. Even if she had, that was just a part of their culture and he doubted Barron would have been surprised by it.
Still, he knew how Thad went through women. Jaycee was fifteen years younger than him and she came across as a little naive in some ways. Barron had been his right-hand man long enough to see how he had sometimes avoided women after a conquest. It wasn’t a pretty side of him, and he doubted that a Beta could truly understand just how his innate dominance controlled his own persona.
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to ghost her. If anything, it’s the other way around.”
“You’re kidding? Women crawl all over you.”
“Not this one,” Thad grumbled.
“Ah, a challenge. Is she a Beta?”
“No. She’s an Omega.”
Barron’s eyes shot up in surprise. ‘I’d have never guessed that. Girl’s got some spunk. Anyway, we headed home?”
“Not yet. I want to go by the dealership.”
“Which one?”
“Mercedes.”
“Looking for an upgrade?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Barron nodded and exited the freeway. Soon, they were rolling down the street between dealerships, finally reaching the large one where he’d purchased this car several years ago. After test driving several, Thad selected a sporty new A35 in a metallic gray color.
“You sure about this? It could use more legroom in the back and it’s not very practical for when you have bags and such to load up in the trunk,” Barron said after they were alone again, waiting for the sales guy to draw up paperwork.
“It’s not for you. It’s for me.”
“What?”
“I think it’s time I started driving again.”
“Are you firing me?”
“Of course not.”
“Cutting back my hours?”
“I am cutting back your hours, but I’m not cutting back your pay.”
“What?”
“I’ve decided to put you on salary, with bonuses for nights and weekends, if I need you. You’ll still drive me during the weekdays, but you should have more nights and weekends off.”
“That sounds good, but I do work a lot of nights and weekends currently. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. You’ve been good to me, but I can’t afford to lose any money with my situation as it is.”
“You won’t. I’m going to double your pay. That should cover it.”
“Double? Are you mad? Wait. Are you dying? What is going on?”
“Nothing. You’ve been good to me. Just say thanks and let it be.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“There is one catch though.”
“And that is?”
“The car, the old one. I’m signing it over to you. So, you’ll have to use some of your new pay to keep it up.”
“What? Why?” he replied.
&nbs
p; “I don’t know. I’m just making some changes and I don’t need it as much as I did. It’ll still be a part of your job to use it to take me places that I might need you to during the week or if I go to the airport and don’t want to just leave my car in the parking lot, that sort of thing.”
“You sure you aren’t dying?’
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, I guess I should say thanks then.”
“You’re welcome.”
Barron looked at the floor seeming to absorb this for a moment, then back up at him, his gaze meeting Thad’s. There was a look of concern there that was unmistakable.
“Are you sure you are okay to drive? I mean, I know you have, from time to time, but, you know, in general.”
“I’ll be fine, Barron,” Thad told him.
“Okay.”
The salesman returned, calling Thad into a nearby room to finalize the deal. Though he told Barron he could leave, he found that he was still waiting out in the car for him as he exited the building and took a seat behind the wheel of his new car, which had been pulled to the front for him, freshly washed and gassed up for his trip home. He waved to Barron and watched as he pulled away, pointing his car south, in the direction of his apartment.
Sitting behind the wheel, he felt alive. Even he wasn’t sure what had driven this need to make so many changes so quickly. Perhaps, he was having a mid-life crisis. Maybe, it was a nervous breakdown. Whatever was happening, it had something to do with her. It had something to do with the rut and what it had brought out in him.
The feeling quickly diminished as he pulled out onto the street and began driving. He had managed to mask just how nervous driving made him when he had driven Jaycee to dinner. What sort of Alpha had a fear of anything? Now, alone in the car, he could feel the anxiety creeping up and he pushed it down. He was going to do this, now and from now on.
His phone rang several times before he got back to his house, but he ignored it. Not paying attention to the road is what had sealed his parents’ fate, and he would never forgive himself for that. Instead, he focused on getting across town, wishing he hadn’t decided to do so during the heavy afternoon traffic of people getting off work.
