Page 11 of The Heat of Us

I whistled as I made my exit and his glare was an icy dagger in my back.

No job was perfect.

4

ALEKS

You’re a fucking idiot.

I groaned, collapsing back into my chair and running my hand along my head. 101 Riverside housed several unbonded omega residents. I felt a duty of care over all of them but Hazel Wu of 14A just brought something else out of me entirely. She was a vivid whirlwind, and just when I thought I understood her, she did something that upturned my idea of her all over again.

Yes, I knew what she did for work.

No, I wasn’t a subscriber.

If I knew what she looked like when she came I would never be able to look her in the eye again.

I picked up the grainy photocopy of the alpha’s licence. Remington Blake. The man had a last name for a first name and a first name for a last name. Clearly not someone to be trusted.

I briefly considered a prominent sign for the other staff.

DO NOT ALLOW ENTRY.

I crushed it into a ball instead and discarded it with a little too much force.

I grimaced at the desk phone. Should probably own up to what I did though. I dialled Hazel’s room number, drumming my fingers restlessly as it rang.

“No, Aleks, I did not do more online shopping. That package is for a very elaborate scam I’m running.”

I laughed despite myself. Goddammit, she was just making this harder for me.

Rip it off. Like a bandaid.

“I kind of, sort of insulted your gentleman caller,” I admitted in a jumbled rush.

“My gentleman caller!” Hazel repeated but with an accent more at home in the deep American South. “Why, Aleks, what could have possibly made you behave in such an unsightly manner?”

I really didn’t have a good answer. “That’s not important,” I bluffed. “But I’m letting you know so you hear it from me first.”

“Aleks,” she said, her amusement clear. “Do you think he’s going to tell on you?”

My phone call was making less and less sense with each passing second. “No, I…he…”

“Did you offend him so mortally that he might never come back?”

If only.

“No, nothing like that.”

“Then it doesn’t sound like it’s any of my business.” I supposed I should be grateful that Hazel already sounded over the whole thing. “Did my package arrive, by the way? Don’t tell me I paid a stupid amount for same day shipping for nothing.”

I glanced at the huge bubble wrapped square leaning against the wall.

“Yes, it did.” I couldn’t resist needling her a bit. “I saw your name on it and threw it out straight away.”

She didn’t miss a beat.

“Great, I’ll be down in a sec to fish it out of your bin.”

---