Page 29 of Ruined Beta

I raise an eyebrow at him. “That does not seem wise.”

“Too bad,” he mutters, giving me an irritated smile. “I’ll see you when it’s time.”

He leaves the room and closes the door with another sharp bang.

He will cool down, but I know that was not an empty threat.

It’s frustrating. I’ve been working toward exposing Harlan West for a very long time, and this feels like the key to getting to him. The moment Echo forwarded me her resume, I knew.

Finding out where she was this morning only solidified that feeling.

Everything inside me agrees.

I need Leanne Leto.

Whatever it takes.

Chapter Sixteen

Echo

Talk about tension. It feels like it’s filling up the office slowly, like some kind of toxic gas that’s building up to an explosion. The second door slam courtesy of Spencer is the one that really rattles my bones.

Gods, that was loud. I can’t help but glower as he exits E.A.’s office.

There are no words to describe how much I hate it when they fight.

It’s inevitable, given how different they are, but they’ve spent years making allowances for each other, building up a mutual respect that keeps their brotherly love-hate relationship on solid ground.

This isn’t the first time E.A.’s stepped over one of Spencer’s lines, but it feels different, somehow.

I’d assumed by Spencer’s reaction that it was a personal thing, but apparently that’s not it.

He heads straight to the hallway, and I hear him growling out there as he unlocks the public entrance doors. I’d go after him, but I already know what’s wrong, and sometimes Spencer needs space to get over stuff. This feels like one of those rare moments.

I really hope my mates aren’t going to decide they can’t handle living together anymore.

It was bad enough when my parents got divorced when I was ten.

They were better off apart, which I eventually realized and came to appreciate.

This is different. E.A. and Spencer need each other. They’re complete opposites, but they each wouldn’t be whole without the other. Spencer needs to be reminded that things aren’t always good vs evil, and E.A. needs someone around to knock him down a peg or two when he’s going too far.

Considering I tend to absorb how they’re feeling, and that makes me highly empathetic to whatever that is, I’m not the best person to be anyone’s moral compass.

I boot up my computer and then I get up and go to E.A.’s door.

I don’t knock. I turn the handle and push the door open.

E.A. is looking over paperwork, as usual.

His desk is a mess, but his dark eyes are sharp when he looks up at me.

“Yes, Echo?” he asks, sounding appropriately polite for a man talking to his employee.

None of our clients would ever suspect that desk gets used for much less dull, ordinary purposes after dark, whenever I’m able to tempt my cool-tempered Alpha into showing he cares.

“Am I cancelling your afternoon interview?” I ask.

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