Page 106 of Toxic

"Thanks, but still in return, you have to hire his son in the graphics department?"

Winter’s lips tightened. "Yes. The boy’s… an odd one. Luckily, my head of graphics is fine with it, so that’ll make it easier. He’ll handle the alpha. I won’t have to see him."

I exhaled deeply. "Thank you, Winter. So much. I know I haven’t been the best brother, so I’m even more grateful you’re doing this for me," I whispered, feeling a bit foolish. "I owe you one. Call it in anytime."

Winter winced. "Well, family stuff… it’s always complicated," he added vaguely, though I knew exactly what he meant.

I had been on bad terms with Winter for years, and maybe it was a two-way street. Had I just given him back what he’d sent my way? The lines of alliances in our family were pretty peculiar. Our family, as Winter said, was really a challenge.

After a moment of silence, Winter asked, "Why a beta, not an omega?"

Another silence passed.

"I don’t know. I liked him from the first moment I saw him. Everything just… draws me to him. I tried for two months to get him out of my head and failed. It just keeps growing. I need to see him."

Winter sighed deeply and sank into his chair, his eyes disapproving.

"I hope I won’t regret this, Skye. Maybe you’ll end up falling in love with the company, not just one of its employees," he added with a bitter grimace.

"I’m not planning to slack off, and I really appreciate the chance—it means a lot to me…" I hesitated. "I’ll try to repay you somehow."

He waved it off with a sharp gesture.

"No. You’ve got one point in your favor compared to the rest of our brothers. At least you were the only one who punched Storm for what he did with David. I… didn’t have the guts to do the same after he slept with Finn."

"Yeah, about that… Did you ever ask Finn why he did it? He wasn’t sentimental about you. You and Storm don’t even look alike."

Winter’s cold face didn’t change as he answered.

"Yeah, I asked. He said he was mad at me for breaking up with him—even after a few years—and he was just curious about… purple alphas."

A moment of silence passed as I pondered his words.

"What about David? Did you ask him?" Winter suddenly inquired.

Cringing inwardly, I made a face—I hated this subject.

"I did. In his case, he was sentimental! Me, Rain, and Storm… we’re pretty similar. The face, hair, you know. He said it was like saying goodbye to me. But I call bullshit. I’m sure he was just curious about… how did you put it? The whole purple alpha thing. Monster dick and all that."

"Please, stop." Winter had a revolted expression, and I had to agree.

An awkward silence followed. After a while, he straightened up, his eyes averted, looking distant and cold again.

"Anyway, good luck to you. Maybe Soren will give you a chance." His tone was very official.

"I hope he does," I whispered, feeling a new wave of hope, mixed with a surge of nerves.

So here I was.

Soren and I would be working at the same company? It opened up new possibilities, but also another chance to get hurt. To burn myself in a hellish inferno of another rejection.

"One last thing. Soren is my candidate for one of those two team leader positions, even though he’s only been here physically for a short time. He’s been with the company for almost two years and has shown a lot of positive qualities. You might end up on his team if it’s formed in the next week. The fact that you already know each other could be invaluable in this project. ByteBites has been going on for two months now, and joining as an outsider might put you at a disadvantage. But since Soren knows your skills, he could assign work more suited to your level. Plus, it would put you two closer. Does that sound good?"

I blinked. Soren must’ve made a strong impression if he was up for a team leader role.

"Well, it would be an intense challenge, but it could also be the perfect chance to get back what we had. We’d have constant contact," I said, feeling a shiver of excitement.

Winter grimaced. "Hopefully not too much contact on company grounds."

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