Page 117 of Toxic

But he ignored it. "Tomorrow you'll get another piece; it'll be a continuation of this part."

About ten minutes later, we headed down for lunch. Soren went out first, and the rest of us followed. I saw him standing by the elevator doors next to Liam.

Liam fixed a frosty stare on me that, if looks could kill, would have killed me right then and there, shattering my body into a million pieces. I smirked at him—more of a mocking grin, really. I knew I needed to stay patient. Even though I let those sentences slip today and put them on the screen for Soren to see, I hadn’t made any other moves that might suggest what I was up to.

I was curious if he’d tell Liam about what I’d done, but I had a strange feeling he didn’t… I was almost sure of it. That is, if he wanted some peace.

During lunch, Liam and Soren took their seats separately from the team, while I sat with the other employees. Devon and Fay, two omegas, were next to me on either side. They asked me about where I’d worked before and my college days. I didn’t say anything about my past with Soren, even though they already knew I’d known him from college. His name didn’t come up. They complained a little about how the previous projects had been managed in the past under Manager Durden, and I heard some company gossip. For instance, they mentioned that the CEO’s son was about to be hired in the graphics department, but nothing else interesting happened.

I spent the rest of the day in the room with them, but working for Nathaniel, as I had agreed with Winter. Soren, as it turned out, already knew about this arrangement and didn’t approach me or assign me anything for the remaining hours.

When the day ended, I decided to leave the building at the same time as Soren. The situation got awkward. The three of us—Liam, Soren, and I—stood by the elevator doors, waiting for the car to arrive.

Liam looked at me, Soren looked at the elevator button, and I looked at Liam.

I gave him that same mischievous grin again. I didn’t know why I was playing games with him like that. In a way, I felt sorry for him—his situation was nothing to envy. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes, that’s for sure, especially knowing the chemistry that had existed between Soren and me back in college.

Unless… he didn’t know about that? I had no idea what Soren had told him. Maybe he had downplayed our relationship and made it sound innocent?

The elevator dinged, and we all stepped inside. Unfortunately, we were alone again. I positioned myself so I could see Soren, who stubbornly stared at the floor.

Liam, meanwhile, was glaring at me.

Thump thump, thump thump, went his heart.

Thump thump, thump thump, went Soren’s heart.

The betas couldn’t hear the escalating sound spectacle filling the elevator now, loud and intense.

This time, I didn’t return Liam’s gaze; I kept my eyes fixed on Soren, admiring the lines of his back and waist, the contrast between his pale skin and jet-black silky hair, and his sensuous soft lips, deliciously full. It felt so pleasurable to let my eyes glide over his body, taking it all in.

Fuck, I wanted him. There was no denying it—I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anything or anyone in this world.

The elevator dinged again, and the doors opened. Soren stepped out first—no, he practically shot out of the doors like a missile—quickly heading toward the building exit and then to the parking lot. I followed him slowly, and Liam passed me to catch up with Soren. They both got into Liam’s car, andSoren desperately avoided looking in my direction. It was almost funny.

But this was just the beginning. I was optimistic—if he truly hated me and didn’t want anything to do with me, he could’ve kicked me off his team. But he hadn’t.

***

The next week passed almost exactly like the first day. In the morning, Soren would assign me a piece of code to work on, and I tried my best, putting my heart into making sure my work was perfect. Soren never had to correct my code, not even once.

Everything settled into a routine. First, an assignment from Soren. Then work. Then the cafeteria, where Soren always sat with Liam while I sat with the other employees. After that, I worked for Nathaniel. The only difference was that now there were usually more people in the elevator. Soren consistently avoided looking at me, but I wasn’t shy—I openly watched him, eyed him, ogled him.

During that first week, I also got the chance to see the company’s new hire—the only other alpha besides me. I came across him once, standing in line in the cafeteria. His eyes lingered on my face for a moment; he was probably as surprised as I was to see another alpha.

His name was Sariel Lowen, and he looked really unusual. He had a typical alpha height, around 6'4", but his hair was an extraordinary color—mint green, the same as his intensely, almost unnaturally vibrant eyes.

Other than that, he was quite slim—didn’t look like he spent much time at the gym. His face was striking, with high cheekbones dusted with mint-colored freckles and upturnedeyes. Sariel was handsome in an almost exotic, alien way, but still very young-looking.

His features made me realize he might be part of the small ABO population with unusual hair colors—a trait inherited from our extraterrestrial ancestors. About 1% of the population had hair in shades like purple, green, or blue. I also noticed his eyebrows and eyelashes were a dark mint color, complementing his appearance.

We didn’t speak, though—we just stared at each other for a few seconds. Just because we were both alphas, and the only ones at DevApp, didn’t mean we’d automatically be best buddies.

***

It wasn’t until the middle of the next week that the big breakthrough finally happened.

I was in the lunchroom, making tea, when Fay and Devon joined me. Soon, Jess and Randy showed up too. Devon and I sat at the table eating sandwiches, while Jess and Randy brewed coffee. Fay started sharing gossip about one of the employees, saying that apparently an omega had broken up with his beta boyfriend and started seeing another omega.

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