Mr. Alpha: A 6 Book Alpha Male Romance Collection

by Alexis Gold

  Steven’s eyebrows went up, “And?”

  Calvin exhaled deeply, “Long story short, I basically informed her that her heightened sense of smell was probably a result of the fact that she might be ovulating.”

  Steven’s eyebrows hit the ceiling. “Whoa.”

  “Yup.”

  Steven looked mildly curious.

  “Fun Facts?”

  Calvin sighed, “Yes.”

  Steven started laughing.

  “Seriously?” Calvin frowned at Steven.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Steven replied through his laughter. “But you have to admit that it’s a little funny.”

  “That I’m being sabotaged by my own apps?” Calvin offered.

  “Hey, don’t blame the apps,” Steven said. “You’re the only one sabotaging yourself. You’ve been in love with Sasha for years now. Ever since she started working for Gordon and Smeltings. Isn’t it about time you did something about it?”

  “I’ve tried.”

  Steven threw a look in Calvin’s direction, “Yes, I remember. How many times exactly have you spoken to her?”

  “Three,” Calvin replied.

  “And what happened afterwards?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Exactly. So you haven’t really tried,” Steven countered.

  “What do you suggest I do?” Calvin asked in frustration. “It’s how I’m wired.”

  Steven shook his head at Calvin. “Sometimes I can’t believe we’re from the same gene pool,” he said teasingly.

  “I think you got the lion’s share of confidence,” Calvin said.

  “And charm,” Steven tacked on. “Don’t forget the charm.”

  “Of course not,” Calvin replied sarcastically.

  Just then, the door opened and Randy walked in. He was dressed casually in a blue shirt and slicked back hair. He dropped himself into the chair next to Steven, popped his legs onto Calvin’s desk, and gave them both with a big grin.

  “Morning boys,” Randy greeted. “What are we discussing?”

  The three of them, Calvin, Steven, and Randy had a well-established routine now. They had been working together for long enough that there was an easy and comforting closeness that bonded them. They understood one another, they listened to one another, and they were always brutally honest with one another.

  “We’re discussing our little buddy here,” Steven explained. “And his unrequited love for a certain special lady.”

  “Sasha again,” Randy said with a groan. “Sometimes I feel like we’re just teenage girls standing around the water cooler. Or wherever it is that teenage girls hang out.”

  “I’m happy to change the subject,” Calvin said generously.

  “Not a chance,” Steven cut in. “I think the situation is dire enough that it flies to the top of our agenda at the moment.”

  “Dire?” Calvin said. “I’d hardly say it was dire.”

  “How many dates have you been on in the last year?” Steven asked.

  Calvin remained tight-lipped.

  “Calvin?”

  “Fine. I’ve been on two dates this year.”

  “And how many second dates have you been on?” Randy joined in.

  Calvin sighed exaggeratedly, “None.”

  “How many times have you had sex this year?” Steven upped the ante.

  “I’ve been busy,” Calvin put in firmly.

  Randy and Steven exchanged looks.

  “Randy,” Steven said playacting. “Have you been busy this year?”

  “Why yes, Steven,” Randy replied playing along. “I have.”

  “And have you had sex this year?”

  “Why yes, Steven,” Randy replied again, in his stylized performance. “I have.”

  Both of them sent pointed looks at Calvin and then they turned back to one another.

  “Steven,” Randy started. “Have you been busy this—”

  “All right, all right,” Calvin said, “I get it. You’ve made your point.”

  Steven and Randy laughed.

  “We just don’t want you becoming an old maid, my dear cousin,” Steven said.

  “Yes, yes,” Calvin replied impatiently. “I know. I’m still not sure what you’re suggesting.”

  “You might be too big a job for the two of us to handle,” Randy explained. “This calls for a professional.”

  “If by professional, you mean prostitute, it’s a complete and unequivocal no,” Calvin said firmly.

  Randy laughed, “That’s an entirely different problem buddy. No, we were thinking something a little more long term.”

  Calvin wrinkled his brow, unable to understand what Randy and Steven were getting at. “I still don’t—”

  “I’m talking about an image consultant,” Randy filled in the blanks.

  “Image consultant?” Calvin said incredulously. “That’s a thing?”

  “Yup,” Randy replied. “California is full of them. They spruce up their clients, give them a fresh perspective and a new image, and they’re good to go.”

  “Hmm sounds… weird.”

  “No weirder than you are my dear cuz,” Steven said sweetly. “Come on, what have you got to lose?”

  “My pride and dignity?” Calvin suggested.

  Randy and Steven looked at each other and then gave Calvin a simultaneous shrug.

  “How many dates have you been on this ye—?

  “Okay, I get it,” Calvin said again, almost in exasperation. “You guys sure know how to get your point across!”

  Randy and Steven gave him self-satisfied smiles.

  “I’m not saying I’m definitely going to do this,” Calvin pointed out quickly. “But I will consider it.”

  “Well it’s more than we hoped for,” Randy said to Steven.

  “Every mountain can be moved,” Steven replied.

  Calvin rolled his eyes and ignored them. “So if I go through with this, how am I supposed to do it?”

  “Well…”

  “You don’t actually know?” Calvin asked.

  “Not the details,” Randy said. “I just heard from somebody’s somebody that there was such a service out there, and Steven and I thought it would be perfect for you, but now that I know you’re… sort of open to it, I can get details.”

  “Find someone good,” Steven said seriously. “We need someone with an excellent reputation.”

  “We do indeed,” Randy replied and then he turned to Calvin with a teasing smile. “This one needs all the help he can get.”

  Calvin didn’t even bother to argue. They were joking, he knew, but he was equally aware that there was a lot of truth in it. He did need all the help he could get. His interactions with women seemed to get less frequent and more awkward as time went on. As much as Calvin didn’t want to admit it, he didn’t want to be an old maid, doddering around an empty house surrounded by cats. His nose wrinkled subconsciously at the thought and he changed the cats in his head to dogs. He had to be realistic, and being realistic meant laying out a few contingency plans. If he was going to end up a cranky old man, Calvin knew he’d much rather be surrounded by dogs than cats.

  ***

  Calvin took the elevator back down to the ground floor on his way back home. The lobby was busy with people trying to make their way back to their homes. He walked outside, feeling the cool spray of the large water fountain that stood in front of the building. His eyes zeroed in on Sasha sitting by the edge of the fountain, typing fast into her phone. This was his chance. Maybe he could figure out a way to have a conversation with her. Calvin gulped and started walking towards her. He sat beside her, trying not to look her way too often. It might not have mattered much anyway, she was too deeply absorbed in her phone.

  Calvin sat there, wondering if he should just strike up a casual conversation with her, but his mind was inconveniently blank. There was no way he could pull off casualness. Her eyes were an iridescent blue; the perfect complement to the honey-gold tones of her curtain of straight ha
ir.

  Calvin was just about to admit defeat and walk away, when a gang of young teenagers turned the corner on skateboards. There were about three of them, and they veered around precariously, nearly hitting a couple of people. One of them had what appeared to be a large wrapped burrito in one hand. He skated slowly behind his friends, but as he neared the area where Calvin stood, he decided to do a small skateboard flip. It was one of the stupider things Calvin had ever seen and he might have enjoyed watching it more thoroughly if it hadn’t been for the burrito flying into the air and landing on the ground just in between him and Sasha, sending splotches of sauce everywhere. Sasha got up with a scream. The kid on the skateboard adjusted himself and skated off furiously fast, without looking back at the mess he had made.

  All Sasha seemed capable of doing was looking down at her beautiful white blouse and pressed vest that were now stained with red and orange oil splotches. Calvin approached her slowly. “Are you all right?” he asked, hoping his voice would sound cool and deep.

  “Where the hell did that come from?” she asked.

  “Kids on skateboards,” Calvin explained lamely.

  “Here,” he said, offering her some wet wipes that he kept in his backpack. “You should wipe yourself off.”

  “Thanks.” She took the wipes and started doing just that.

  “Did you see them?” she asked, checking to see if her skirt had escaped damage.

  “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “You were looking at your phone,” Calvin said.

  He wondered if that made it sound like he had been watching her. She was still combing over her shirt to see if she had missed anything, so he thought he might be safe.

  “Damn,” she said. “I’m going to need to get this outfit dry cleaned.”

  “Yeah,” Calvin said, wondering how he was going to take this from a casual encounter to a romantic date.

  “Anyway thanks,” Sasha said.

  “No problem,” Calvin replied with a shy smile.

  “I’m Sasha by the way,” she said, raising her eyes and looking at him for the first time.

  “I.. uh.. we’ve actually met before,” Calvin replied.

  He felt a little taken aback, and a little hurt that she hadn’t remembered him. He reasoned that their last encounter had been over a year ago, and they had barely held a conversation.

  “Have we?” she asked in surprise.

  “Yes… I work in this building,” Calvin replied, pointing behind him. “We’ve crossed paths a few times.”

  “A few times?” Sasha repeated with raised eyebrows. “I’m sorry, I’m such a scatterbrain. I don’t recall meeting you before.”

  “It’s okay,” Calvin replied, even though he wasn’t entirely sure he meant it. “I’m Calvin.”

  They shook hands. Her hand was long and beautifully shaped. Her hand was cool in his. She broke the handshake first.

  “I’d better get going,” she said. “I’ll see you around, Calvin.”

  Calvin nodded, “Sure.”

  She gave him a brilliant, open mouthed smile that caught him by surprise. She turned and walked away, while Calvin stood there and watched her leave. That little run in had not been special, but that smile had been. Something about it gave Calvin hope. Almost as though in her smile there had been some little inkling of what was to come. He wasn’t sure, but he wondered if it was safe to imagine a future with Sasha in it. He remembered her smile and felt that surge of hope once again.

  Calvin turned around and made his way to the building parking lot where his car was parked. He gave a little wink of gratitude in the direction of the clumsy kid on the skateboard who had been responsible for his small encounter with Sasha. Calvin thought happily that he had been wrong. The kid hadn’t made a mess at all. What he had made was an opportunity.

  ***

  Steven and Calvin were in the middle of their fourth high-speed chase when Randy walked in. Both were too absorbed in their game to care what Randy was saying, but after he had pulled the plug on the Xbox, their attention was undivided.

  “I got the number!” he said triumphantly.

  “Number?” Calvin said in confusion.

  “Of the image consultant.” Randy replied impatiently.

  “Oh right. So… how does this work?”

  “As far as I know, you call her up and employ her services.”

  “And what exactly do her services involve?” Calvin asked hesitantly.

  Randy shrugged, “Giving you a makeover? I’m not sure. Call her up and ask. Man! Do I have to do everything?”

  Calvin smiled and took the little piece of paper that Randy had passed him. There was a name and a number written there in neat cursive.

  “Morgan Akenzua,” he said the name out loud.

  “Akenzua?” Steven repeated. “Hmm… sounds exotic. What is that, Japanese?”

  “It’s African, you dim bulb,” Randy said with a roll of his eyes.

  “She’s African?” Calvin asked curiously.

  “Second or third generation I’m told,” Randy explained. “Sheryl had a colleague who hired her. Said she did wonders.”

  “How are things going with Sheryl?” Calvin asked, still looking down at the name.

  “Well,” Randy answered shortly. “It’s hard being in adult relationships.”

  Steven laughed, “What do you mean?”

  “Well we’ve been on quite a few dates now. I don’t know where that puts us, you know, relationship wise. Are we still ‘just dating’ or are we ‘exclusive.’”

  Steven sighed deeply, “Man, we are just a bunch of girls around a water cooler aren’t we?”

  Randy laughed, “I’m serious. I have no idea what we are.”

  “Maybe you should ask her,” Calvin suggested.

  “That won’t be awkward at all,” Randy replied sarcastically.

  “Hey, sometimes you gotta take the bull by the horns,” Calvin told him.

  Steven and Randy both sent ironic looks his way.

  “This coming from you?” Randy said.

  Steven rolled his eyes, “One smile from Sasha and the man thinks he’s fit to hand out relationship advice.”

  Randy turned and looked to Steven, “There was another run in?”

  “There was,” Steven replied. “And apparently, it was magical.”

  “That was not the word I used,” Calvin insisted.

  “It was some other frilly adage,” Steven said with a joshing smile in Calvin’s direction. “Made him sound real manly.”

  Randy laughed, “What’s the game plan Calvin? Are you actually gonna go through with this?”

  Calvin nodded slowly, “I am. I’m gonna get my image on straight, and then I’m gonna go get the girl.”

  Steven and Randy exchanged looks that were both surprised and impressed.

  “That’s fighting talk,” Steven observed.

  “That it is,” Randy agreed.

  “Well I’m sick of being the nerdy tech loser with nothing to come home to but a computer screen. The business can function smoothly on its own now, and I can focus on this.”

  Steven looked at Randy with emotional nostalgia. “Our baby’s all grown up!”

  Calvin smiled and picked up his cell phone. He took a deep breath and started to dial.

  Chapter 2

  Morgan woke up with Mowgli on her chest. She gently nudged him off of her and sat up in bed. The cat stretched and yawned next to her, almost making Morgan want to do the same. She lay back down and turned on her side, while Mowgli curled back into her. She stroked him gently, slowing wiping the sleep from her eyes. She loved lazy mornings like this, when she could spend as much time in bed as she wanted before starting her morning run. Time stretched out like a gift.

  On the heels of that thought came the sharp ring of her phone. It was the shrill beat of the emergency ring tone that she had set up specifically for Lucille, one of her more complicated clients. Morgan made a grab for the phone, hoping her v
oice wouldn’t be too rusty from last night’s sleep.

  “Hello?” she said in a professional tone.

  “Morgan, Morgan?!” came the urgent voice.

  “Lucille,” Morgan replied adopting her most calming tone. “What’s wrong? Calm down and tell me.”

  “My presentation is in three hours,” came the panicked voice from the other end of the line. “And I’m totally freaked out. I don’t think I can do this.”

  “All right Lucille,” Morgan said patiently. “Take a deep breath for me.”

  “I don’t think this will work,” Lucille said breathlessly. “The makeover you gave me, it’s just a mask. They’ll see right through it. Everyone will. The hair, the dress, the walk, none of that changes the fact that I’m a broke housewife with no skills and no self-confidence.”

  “Lucille,” Morgan said, more firmly this time. “Take a deep breath for me please. I want to hear it.”

  She heard a big gulp of air being drawn in and then the loud exhale.

  “All right, good,” Morgan replied calmly. “That’s very good. Another one please.”

  She heard the second breath.

  “Good,” Morgan praised. “Now I want you to get in your car with your presentation and drive over here.”

  “Right now?”

  “Right now,” Morgan said in a steady, low voice.

  “Are you sure? I know it’s your day off.”

  “Of course I’m sure. I’ll expect you in the next half hour.”

  “Thank you Morgan,” Lucille thanked her profusely. “So, so much.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just get here.”

  Morgan hung up with Lucille and dragged herself out of bed. She looked enviously at Mowgli lying there in her sheets, watching her with laughing eyes.

  “I hope you know I do all this to pay for your food,” Morgan told Mowgli seriously.

  The cat blinked at her a few times and then lay its head back on the sheets and fell back asleep.

  “Cats,” Morgan said to herself, shaking her head, and walking into the bathroom.

  She had just finished her coffee when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, Lucille stood before her in a tailored white business dress under a pearl grey trench coat. Her hair had been pulled up into a tight knot at the back of her head and a pair of silver hoops hung from her ears. They were all things that Morgan had personally picked out for her. She looked fantastic, except for the look of confused terror on her face.