by Austin Bates
“I thought this was just a test, Logan. If you’re really looking for an omega to spoil, I’d have put more effort into your profile,” I said. My desire for him to just get out of my hair went unsaid, but it seemed he easily picked up on it.
“Eh, might as well have a bit of fun with it. How long does it take this search to process? Will we need to expand our servers to cut down on the lag?” he asked casually. I shrugged, scratching the back of my neck.
“Well, the database is growing exponentially, and will only continue to do so upon the final release. Additional server space would be helpful, but I’m simply working with the resources I’ve been given. Far be it from me to go over budget.” He only seemed vaguely interested in my words, smiling to himself as my laptop played a short melody along with the phrase ‘match found’. I felt bad for the sad sack who would be subjected to Logan’s obsessive tendencies, and his stare was somewhat unsettling as I reached out to grab my laptop. I turned it around, admittedly curious as to who he’d been matched up with. My mouth went completely dry and my heart thudded in my ribcage. It seemed the universe had some sort of grudge against me. That was the only explanation for what I was presented with:
My very own profile marked as the highest match for Logan.
4
Logan
Aaron’s expression was just too delicious, something I needed to commit to memory for years to come. I really hadn’t expected my plan to work so well; I’d only intended to make him uncomfortable with my extremely personal answers to his questions. Making him squirm had been a thrill for me since he began working for me. His cheeks flushed just so, and it seemed as if he wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground in that moment. I wondered if I should have been offended by his sheer disbelief in the result, but I was too swept up in laughter to even care about my ego. I’m sure Aaron would have been dialing the book of world records if he wasn’t so caught up in trying to regain control of things. His face was ablaze, and it seemed as if that fire wouldn’t abate any time soon. He pulled the laptop closer, muttering under his breath as if he were the only one in the room. I recognized that he was reciting lines of code, probably wondering where the app had malfunctioned so magnificently. I wanted to spend the rest of my day poking fun at the young omega, but I’d had my fun and really did have business to attend to.
“All right, everything seems to be in order. The matching algorithm is obviously at peak performance, so it seems you don’t have anything to worry about,” I said mockingly, a bit disheartened when he refused to even look up at me. “Listen, Aaron, I’m sure there are going to be flukes here and there-- I don’t know much about this whole coding thing. Would it really be the end of the world if we were matched? You look like you’ve been sentenced to the firing range.” I didn’t push the issue as I rose from my seat, idly checking my watch and getting a gauge on how much time I had before I had to meet Quinton. There were a few hours before we’d officially meet up, and although I wasn’t sadistic enough to continue subjecting Aaron to my teasing, there was something about the result that stuck with me. It felt like some weird version of fate, if one was to believe in that kind of thing. Realistically, Aaron and I were the least compatible men in the world.
It didn’t make much sense as far as I was concerned. When Aaron was a teenager, he’d been thrilled with our idle chit chat, but one day he simply locked me out. I tried to reach out to him, but it was a fruitless cause. He wasn’t only my best friend’s son, but something of a friend to me as well. It was easy to tell when I wasn’t wanted, though, and if one thing was apparent, it was how obviously Aaron wanted to be alone with his thoughts.
“I’ll… be looking into the code and see if there are any syntax errors. It’s obvious we need to make some tweaks, it’s just a matter of figuring out exactly where,” he said quietly, not even bothering to look up as I stood. I lingered for a moment, watching the rhythmic clenching and unclenching of his fists. I didn’t realize it took so little to get my favorite omega in such a frazzled state, but I stored it in the memory banks for future use. I didn’t really have time to torment the young man, as exciting as it would have been.
“Don’t drive yourself entirely batshit with all of this, kid. Like I said, it can’t be impossible for people to occasionally slip through the cracks of the coding algorithm. The fact that we’ve had so few misfires as a whole proves what an asset you are to this company. East Coast Sugar Daddies would be nowhere near this point if you’d not been involved. Relax and don’t overthink things. Just go over with the flow,” I said in what I hoped was a convincing voice. “Even the best coder in the world needs to make tweaks time to time, right? This isn’t any different, and it doesn’t speak poorly of your skill and ability. Just take the rest of the day off and get some rest. You’re looking at me like I’m the dark lord himself. Compatibility match or not, if there is one thing I refuse to do, that’s sexually manipulating omegas into bed with me.”
He didn’t seem as soothed by the comment as I had been expecting. He only seemed to draw further into himself, refusing to look me in the eye. I rested a hand on his arm, frowning as he flinched away from me. Aaron was certainly the least touchy-feely assistant I’d ever had, but it was still disconcerting that he jerked away as if my touch was wretched enough to burn. I didn’t think getting matched on some app was that devastating or life changing, though I did appreciate those who swore by the method. Aaron didn’t seem as if he would believe in such ridiculous notions, but perhaps I didn’t know him as well as I thought.
“I… appreciate your kindness, but I really need to get back to work. The app doesn’t code itself, and I need to check the algorithms,” he said quietly, his cheeks tinged pink. I decided to humor him-- I’d gotten most of the information I needed and it was only fair to give him some privacy to stew in his embarrassment.
“Keep up the good work,” I said with a coy smile as I strode out of his office. I could hear a sharp exhale of breath as I closed the door and I resisted the desire to laugh. Aaron was adorable, there was no way around that. It was a conclusion that I came back to time and time again. If he wasn’t my best friend’s son… and if he didn’t hate me as much as he seemed to, perhaps we could have had some fun together. My traitorous mind continued whirling on the result of the relatively straightforward algorithm, wondering what on Earth Aaron could have answered to be matched with me. Perhaps he had a thing for big, dominant men. It almost made me want to test just how compatible we really were, especially in the bedroom. Unfortunately, in the last year or so Aaron had clammed up entirely, refusing to reveal any personal information.
Deciding to give my friend Thompson Gray a call, I internalized that it was just for the sake of business. East Coast Sugar Daddies was more likely to flourish if our programmer and I were on the same page, and I could only hope his father had some insight.
“Thompson Gray,” he said, his name serving well enough as a greeting.
“Do you not even check your caller ID? Or have you taken my number out of your phone? I’m wounded Tommy, I thought we were pals.”
He snorted derisively at my mocking tone.
“Yeah, you caught me. I finally realized what an insufferable prick you are.”
“Speaking of insufferable pricks, your son has been rather difficult lately. I was hoping you might have an explanation for his surly demeanor.” The words were out of my mouth before I even really considered them, and I winced at how desperate I must have sounded. I could sense Tommy’s scrutiny and fumbled to come up with some excuse for being so callous. “It’s just that a happy worker is a productive worker, and I try to see all my employees satisfied with their workplace,” I said awkwardly. I wasn’t sure if it knocked him off of my trail-- I honestly had no idea what I was so desperate to hide in the first place. I wasn’t calling to ask for Aaron’s hand in marriage or something. I was just seeing to the wellbeing of my employee.
“He’s been rather difficult to deal with as a whole, bu
t I can’t say I’m too surprised. He should have realized long ago that his little computer job wasn’t enough. I’ve pushed him over and over to get a real job, but you know how they can be at that age. Maybe his unhappiness will get the idea of this silly application out of his head.” I felt my lips drawing back to bare my teeth, a snarl working its way up my throat. Thompson usually had a pretty good head on his shoulders, but trying to reason with a brick wall would have been more successful. I knew he thought Aaron’s interest in software development was simply to spite him, and I might have thought so in the past as well. The dedication Aaron showed to his work was impossible to overlook, however.
“ECSD isn’t just some silly app, you know. I don’t invest in frivolous things. Business is booming, and we’re still working out the bugs before the final release date. People are already subscribing to the service, and we wouldn’t be where we are without Aaron’s help. I give the kid a hard time, but he’s serious about his work. Maybe if you saw him on task--”
“Save the lecture, Logan. I know how to raise my son perfectly fine. Sitting on your ass and playing with computers all day isn’t a job. It may be enough for him to skirt by on, but he’ll realize I’m right before long. Then he’ll come crawling back, and I can finally shape him into a proper businessman.” The words sent unhappy shivers down my spine, and I felt angrier at my friend than I had been in some time.
“You don’t get to dictate your son’s life, Tom. You definitely don’t get to insult my work in the process. I’m beginning to see why Aaron avoids your calls, and honestly, I don’t have time to waste bantering with a stubborn old mule,” I said angrily, ending the call and shoving my phone back in my pocket. I wasn’t sure what had possessed me to come to Aaron’s defense, but my anger was easy to dismiss as fury about my work being looked down on. I would deal with him later. Thompson and I occasionally clashed but we invariably worked things out for the best. Neither of us would be anyone’s doormat, and two strong personalities could be hard to handle.
The idea of strong personalities didn’t serve to excite me any further about meeting with my financial advisor. Win was a very loud person. Not just as far as volume, his whole personality just seemed overly excited at any given time. I hoped that we would actually discuss finances this time, as most of our recent meetings ended up with him gushing over his omega and newborn child. I didn’t have particularly high expectations as I stepped into my office where he was patiently waiting for me. His expression brightened as soon as I came into the room, and in spite of the knowledge that we’d get no real work done, I did enjoy our chats.
“How’s the new kiddo?” I asked politely, picking up on the fact that he was ready to burst from excitement. He quickly fumbled with his wallet, thrusting a picture in my face with a toothy grin. It seemed like a normal baby picture, but I didn’t know much about the subject. “That’s nice,” I muttered, unsure of what else to say.
“That’s nice?! That’s nice, you say. Logan, my son said his first word just as I took this picture! And do you know what that word was?” I didn’t reply though I had a pretty good guess. “Dada! His first word was dada. At first it just sounded like his usual babbling, but I could see in his eyes that he knew what he was saying,” he gushed, pulling his wallet back towards himself and smiling tenderly at the photo.
“It seems like everyone is popping out babies these days,” I said with a derisive snort. He considered me for a moment before smirking.
“You’re more accurate than you probably realize. I’ve been keeping touch with my friends who found love with the app. Harrison’s omega just had twins, can you believe it? It’s a good thing Harrison is loaded, or he’d go bankrupt from the sheer amount of baby supplies they’ll need. Titus moved to California on a semi-permanent basis, apparently to oversee the winery more effectively. His business partner wasn’t thrilled, but Titus is so solidly on cloud nine that nothing could bring him down.” He grinned, and I breathed a somewhat weary sigh.
“Let me guess. His omega is carrying too?” I asked, although I was fully aware of the answer. I hadn’t reached out to Titus, but there wasn’t much that got Win as excited as babies. I’d have never expected it of him, but now that he was a father, he was almost intolerable with his enthusiasm. He didn’t seem to sense my boredom, nodding emphatically.
“Yeah. It’s too soon to know the gender, but Titus called me as soon as he found out. Gabriel has been tending to his omega’s every whim since they found out they were going to be fathers. Apparently there are some family issues that they don’t want their baby involved in, and they’ve relocated to a smaller town where they can really settle down. Gabriel was the last man I’d expect to find love with the app, but it’s been a godsend,” he rambled, and I pretended to be extremely interested in the conversation, nodding along as he spoke. “So, when are you going to find an omega of your own? It’s about time, don’t you think?” I stiffened at his suggestion, feeling immediately irate.
“You know that’s not the kind of life I’m interested in, Win. The only things I need are wealth and power, and I won’t ever stop chasing more. It’s not the kind of life I can imagine any omega wanting to get involved with, and that’s if I even had the desire to find someone. I’m happy about the success of the app, but I can appreciate it from a healthy distance,” I said, my voice laced with venom that he didn’t seem bothered by.
“What if you found that mystery omega you’ve been searching for? You know, the one from the Christmas Party---”
“Of course I know what you’re talking about, and the odds are so small that meeting him again is essentially an impossibility. I should have never told you about that damn Christmas party,” I said unhappily, leaning back before crossing my arms.
“Oh, plenty of people know about your spot of fun, but am I correct in assuming that I’m the only one who knows how affected you were by the whole thing?” He spoke in a way that could have been snide, but he sounded too gentle and sympathetic. I had long stopped entertaining thoughts of finding the mystery omega, and I’d never considered it part of some ridiculous destiny. Win was determined to make more of my feelings than was warranted, but I refused to humor him. Especially not then, when I was so frustrated about how things were going with Aaron.
“I was affected for a time. It was a fleeting bout of madness,” I said drolly, resting my chin in my hand. Win simply tilted his head, smiling to himself. “What do you have to look so cheeky about? I’m not going to pretend I had some sort of deeper feelings where there weren’t any.” He reached across the desk, gripping my hand in his own. It was only then that I realized how tightly I was clenching my fists. My nails dug into my skin just enough to draw a few specks of blood, but I quickly relaxed my hands. I didn’t want to acknowledge how smug Win would be. My body’s instinctive actions didn’t mean anything consequential. There were no feelings there, and there never had been.
“You don’t always have to be so put together, you know. I know I’m your financial advisor, but I’m your friend as well. I wouldn’t judge you for indulging a fantasy,” he said softly.
“It might be worth indulging if it weren’t so farfetched,” I said without thinking, cursing myself for my transparency. “But there’s no fantasy to indulge. I had a one night stand in a cramped closet, and that’s all there is to it. You and your friends shacking up with a bunch of omegas doesn’t mean I have to follow that path. I thought you knew me better by now, Win. Honestly. Do you know how much time I’d have to take off of work to tend to some swooning omega? That doesn’t even take the possibility of a child into consideration! Children are expensive, drooling and grotesque little money sinks.” All right, perhaps calling kid grotesque was a bit much, but I wasn’t going to take it back. Quinton and his little alpha entourage were entitled to their lifestyles as much as I was entitled to mine-- but that didn’t mean I had to suddenly decide that infants were the best thing since sliced bread.
“I find it a bit amusing that yo
u’ve researched the expenses of raising a ‘grotesque money sink’. Seems a bit strange; if you’re so unconcerned with settling down and having a family, why would you have the statistics?” he said simply, his expression sad for no rational reason I could discern. He intended for the words to shake me. That much was obvious.
“It’s been nice seeing you, Win,” I said, forcing myself to be amicable. He stood reaching out to grip my hand and give it a firm shake. As I watched him walk out of my office, my mind filled with obscenities. He’d been trying to get a rise out of me. It shouldn’t have been that simple.
Why then, did I feel so uneasy?
5
Aaron
In spite of telling Logan I had work to catch up on, I couldn’t do much more than sit numbly in my office chair while staring at the results of the compatibility test. My brain raced, which was never good news for anyone involved. When I got caught up in my own thoughts, I had a tendency to obsessively nitpick at every little thing. It took all my willpower not to completely wipe the code for the app and start over, but so much work had gone into the engineering of the application. It had taken months of meetings to decide just what exactly we would be comparing for the sake of compatibility. Dozens of if/else statements raced through my mind, and in spite of myself, I found myself making a backup database in case I managed to screw things up even more than I somehow already had. It was a matter of numbers, really. Key words, comparisons of yes/no questions, and every detail down to the preferred height had been immaculately scripted. I had no idea what could have caused such a catastrophic failure, though I suppose calling it a catastrophe was a little over the top.
