Page 33 of The Omega Archives: Part One

“You have a car?”

Cal held the door open. “Of course.”

“Of course.” Who didn’t have a super nice car in a city when there were plenty of public transportation options readily available?

Someone with money.

I shook my head to yank myself back out of my overthinking and wanting to look at Cal again. Because though he seemed perfectly put together and had a nice job, I wasn’t expecting, well, this. “I’m just used to all the public transport. This is a nice car too.”

“I used to have a truck up until last year, but I figured it was time to finally trade it in for something more city-appropriate. It also stopped Liam from teasing me about having a country boy truck, often adding that all I needed were some boots and a ten-gallon hat. He’d be the one embarrassed though if I ever rose to the challenge. I could totally pull that look off.”

“Is Liam another roommate?”

“You got it.”

I guess that made sense on how he could afford the car if he wasn’t paying as much in rent. It evened out.

I admired the sleek black paint. “This must be amazing at getting groceries.”

“And hauling bodies– just kidding.”

I chuckled genuinely once more.

Opening the passenger door, Cal gestured for me to get inside. I watched as he rounded the front. As he did, I took another whiff of the flowers, so fresh.

“Honestly, that isn’t the only reason I make sure I have a nice car,” Cal said, getting in and buckling up before he started the car. “And I was actually hoping that you could help me out with that in a way.”

“Oh?” A crease formed between my brows.

“I’m basically a glorified errand boy some days.” At that explanation, my shoulders eased. Cal pulled out on the road. “I’m the right-hand man to a stupidly wealthy man who handles the business and front-facing side of things. I handle all the practical junk and the computer stuff.”

“Like what exactly?” I asked.

“Well lately… I figure Prestford has a lot of information in its databases about nonprofits, right?”

Thinking for a moment as I mentally looked through the entire catalog, I nodded. “They have a digital directory and also alumni pages. Parts of that are actually what I’ve been working on the past few days to get done before alumni weekend.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, compiling every single slightly significant thing alumni from Prestford has done in the past few decades so they can fawn all over each other over homecoming isn’t exactly what I previously considered a good time.”

“Here I thought you liked your job.”

“I do,” I said quickly. “I do. It’s just– I’m good at my job.”

“Ah.” Cal dipped his chin. “Being good at your job and loving what you do are two very different things, beautiful.”

I shrugged. “I like books and reading. I wanted to be around them. The whole process isn’t exactly as fairytale-esque as the ones you read... But like I said. I’m good at what I do.”

“Here I thought I needed to boost your confidence.” Cal smiled when he teased me. “What would you rather do?”

“If I could do anything?”

“If you could do anything,” he confirmed.

“I never really gave it much thought,” I admitted, picking at the edge of a flower petal. I couldn’t let myself think too much about it. If I did, some days, I wasn’t sure I’d ever stop. So I stayed safe. “I guess I’ve always wanted to travel, I think. I don’t need to go anywhere crazy, but I’ve always wanted to see the ocean.”

“You’ve never seen the ocean?” Cal gaped. “Everyone has seen the ocean at some point.”

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