Page 104 of Toxic

Since I didn’t have the patience for his bullshit and constant disrespect—our bond wasn’t that great. So I decided to postpone the conversation with Father about Sun’s dramatic situation. Deep down, I thought, if you recklessly fly too close to the sun (pun intended), you’re bound to get burned, right?

Well, speaking of which…

…I was doing EXACTLY the same thing now.

Cruising for bruising, as I said before.

I arrived downtown in a strange, shaky yet hopeful mood, rented a cheap hotel near the company, and the following day, around 10 am, I showed up in the Dev App lobby.

Just like that—no hesitation, no distractions.

Full of determination, full of focus.

I was dressed in a suit and felt super tense, almost like a taut bow. I asked the young omega at the reception if I could talk to… Mr. Winter Nolan. Yep.

Never give up!

The omega looked surprised when he heard my last name, but he gave me a careful once-over. Maybe he decided I wasn’t some random weirdo off the street because after a moment of deliberation, he dialed an extension. I heard him say:

"Good morning, Director Nolan. There’s a young man here asking to speak with you." He listened for a moment, then added, "He says it’s about a job, that he’s been in touch with HR, but some things haven’t been fully sorted out. His name is Skye Nolan."

After a brief pause, the receptionist looked up at me. "Mr. Nolan says he has a meeting soon, but he can see you in about an hour and a half."

"That’s fine, I’ll wait," I replied.

The omega blinked, a little surprised, but nodded and passed the message along to Winter. He nodded again and said, "Alright, alright," before hanging up the phone.

"Please have a seat in the lobby, and Director Nolan will get in touch with you when he’s done with his meeting." He smiled at me—genuinely. I can’t deny it, my looks help in situations like this. I smiled back, in a friendly manner, and found a comfortable spot on one of the cushy lobby chairs.

As I sat there, watching employees step outside for smoke breaks, part of me dreaded running into Soren. Since he smoked, he might’ve been one of the people taking a quick cigarette break, but he never showed up. Maybe there was a smoking area on a higher floor, so he didn’t have to come down?

I sat there for an hour and a half, completely still, running through different scenarios in my head for how our conversation might go.

My eyes kept drifting to a large banner on the wall in the lobby, featuring a big photo of Jacob Lowen, the CEO of DevApp. The middle-aged omega was smiling, the way people do in typical publicity photos. Jacob Lowen came from a prominent and very wealthy family; his brothers were famous in their own right. One of them, Blue Lowen, was the CEO of Malden Pharmaceuticals, and another, Sebastien, was the co-founder of Omega Red Line Agency. Some of the other brothers were also influential, like alpha Victor Lowen, a press mogul, owner of the East Times magazine. The whole family was well-known and often evoked mixed feelings—some loved them, some hated them.

About an hour and forty minutes later, the omega receptionist waved at me. I jumped up and quickly walked over. He smiled again. "Director Nolan has a few minutes now and can talk to you."

He motioned to a nearby security guard. "Please take Mr. Nolan to the 17th floor, room 340, to see Director Nolan."

The guard nodded, and soon we were in the elevator heading up. I could feel myself trembling inside, but I tried tokeep it together—I didn’t want to come off like some love-struck puppy in front of Winter. After all, I was there to get a job at a serious, large company. When the elevator doors opened, I straightened up, trying to look more focused and confident. Maybe even cheerful? I’d almost forgotten what muscles I needed to use to pull that off since I’d been so gloomy the past couple of months.

The guard knocked on Winter’s office door, and after a moment, we heard a voice say, "Come in."

The door opened, and I stepped into a sleek, medium-sized office. A desk sat in one corner, shelves lined with binders hugged the walls, a big board and some chairs were positioned off to the side.

My eyes landed on Winter.

He was 6’1" and 34 years old, the oldest brother I grew up with—well, besides River, who had run away before I turned three.

Winter was considered low-key the least attractive of all of us, mostly because of his white eyebrows and lashes, along with his sharp, almost haughty facial features. He resembled our Uncle Timothy, with that official, bureaucratic vibe and stiff demeanor to match. Objectively, his features were fine, almost elegant, but in a way that made him look like a vampire or some kind of elf king. The combination of his stark white hair and cold aura gave off a serious ‘Icy Prince’ vibe. It made his otherwise perfectly sculpted nose and the soft curve of his full lips seem… insignificant, almost.

We stared at each other.

Finally, I dared to speak.

"I’ve never asked you for anything, Winter. Today is the first time."

Winter snorted, stood up, and walked over to the window, looking out at the parking lot.

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