Page 68 of The Main Event

“Alphas feel the need to subjugate the room,” Corey started. “They’re basically slave masters.”

“Oh, don’t make it weird,” Levi complained. “That’s not an alpha.”

“It is in my book,” Corey countered.

Levi shook his head. “He’s clearly an alpha. He’s in charge. He’s not a monster about it, though.”

“Fine.” The sigh Corey let loose was long-suffering. “I’ll get you your Jack and Coke. That’s a very basic order, though.”

“I’m fine being basic,” I assured him.

“Awesome. As long as you’re happy with your lot in life.” Corey gave Levi’s shoulder a squeeze before taking off.

“As soon as I know what’s going on with the hotel, I’ll inform the staff,” I assured Levi. I wanted to assuage any fears he had. “I know it’s hard when you don’t know how things are going to play out.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine regardless,” Levi said. “The restaurants around here try to recruit me all the time. Some even pay better, like this place.”

“Then why are you still at the hotel?” I asked. I already knew the answer before he shrugged.

“Daisy,” I surmised.

“She’s my best friend. I like working with her. Plus, if I decide to go to one of the restaurants, I’ll be working all nights. I’ve done that before. It makes me feel like a vampire. By alternating shifts, I still feel as if I’m part of the real world.”

I could see that. “You and Daisy are obviously close,” I said, changing the subject. I didn’t have a drink to swish, but I desperately wished for something to do with my hands. “How has she been?”

“You mean since you took her against the wall behind the dumpster?”

I was horrified. “What? I would never!”

Levi chuckled. “I know. I’m just trying to get a handle on what really happened.”

“What makes you think anything happened?” I was honestly curious.

“Because she’s been weird ever since.”

“Weird how?”

“You’ve been weird too,” Levi added. “You two can barely look at one another … at least when the other is also looking. You’re constantly stealing glances though.”

“I think you’re mistaken.” I refused to meet his gaze even though I knew he would see that as a victory. “She’s just another employee.”

Levi snorted. “Whatever.”

“She is. I don’t treat her differently than I treat anybody else.”

“Dude, are you trying to convince me or yourself when you say that? For the record, it’s not working on me.” He finished off the rest of his cocktail. “Daisy is a good girl. Actually, she’s an amazing girl. If I rolled her way, then I would’ve locked her up in high school. Even then I could see how great she was.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t see how great Daisy was. It was that I didn’t know what I wanted out of this. Any of this. Being gallant meant figuring it out before acting. That’s all I was trying to do.

You don’t want to be gallant.

There was that nagging internal voice again. It was right, though. I didn’t want to be gallant. I wanted to kiss her again more than I’d ever wanted anything. I desperately wanted to see what was under those cute dresses of hers. I wanted to go to bed wrapped around her and wake up the same way. I wanted my pillows to smell like that clove perfume she was always wearing. I wantedallof it.

Until I knew what I wanted aside from those things, however, I couldn’t act. It wasn’t fair to either of us.

“I think you’re reading too much into the situation. Daisy is just an employee.” The words were barely out of my mouth when the hair on the back of my neck stood up and saluted.Slowly, I shifted in my chair to look at the door that led inside the restaurant. There, Daisy stood in a pretty pink dress. Her hair was loose and hanging around her shoulders, something I rarely saw at work because she was often in the kitchen, and her expression was one of mirth as she glanced around at the rowdy people on the patio.

My heart threatened to seize when she looked at me. There was no way she’d heard what I said. It was too loud between the water and everybody talking. Still, I felt guilty for saying it. Daisy was way more than just an employee.

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