Page 88 of Broken Dreams

“Can we help you?” Linus asks.

“This door is never locked,” she says, her eyes running over us. “It’s bad taste to fuck at work, you know.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we weren’t, isn’t it?” he asks, gesturing for me to continue with my makeup routine.

I begin to prime my skin since I didn’t wear any makeup today, allowing it to breathe before this. I’m finding myself wearing no makeup at all so much more often and I’m loving the change. My alphas and Linus don’t care about all of that shit. They just want me.

“Hey, you!” the girl says, coming over to snap her fingers in my face. I’ve dealt with a lot of cattiness over the years, but I’m very close to breaking her fingers.

Continuing to ignore her, my gaze is solely on the mirror and what I’m currently doing. I need to know how terrible she can be before I decide to retaliate. Hopefully it doesn’t get me fired.

Inside of my bag are also hair pins that are sharp and perfect to hold back the front of my hair. Now that it is a bit more manageable, Linus is slipping them in strategically since the girl is ignoring him completely.

Still, I refuse to acknowledge her.

“We can share the room if you need to get ready,” he offers, though I’d rather blind myself with my hairpins. The girl is also completely made up, she’s just trying to stir up trouble.

I’ve dealt with worse things in my life than her.

“Does she not talk?” the girl asks snarkily.

Picking up my tablet, I write,No.Showing it to her, I watch her mouth open slightly.

“Cerenity mentioned we’d have a mute joining us,” she says nastily. I hope she falls out of her cage while dancing and drops to her death. Apparently, she’s beginning to get under my skin.

That’s not a good place to be.

“Lara?” Cerenity asks, popping her head into the room. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

I don’t know her well, but even I can hear the undertone of anger in her voice. The omega in front of me blanches, and I watch as she scurries away. Dismissing her from my mind, I finish my makeup. I have fishnets under my shorts, and founda place for a knife holster at the back of my thigh underneath them.

That’s a last resort place since it’ll be a pain to dig out, but if I have to reach for it, I’ll be in trouble anyway. Hair pins that are sharp as fuck to the eye or throat it is.

I can vaguely hear hissing as well as a screeching whine moving away from the room as the two talk, however I pretend to hear nothing as I check my finished makeup.

“Faker,” Linus whispers in my ear, making my lips twitch as I shrug.

“Linus, Quinn?” Cerenity asks from the door as we turn to face her. I’m currently standing after also making sure the knife along my thigh isn’t showing, putting us on equal ground.

“Yes?” Linus asks for the both of us.

“I wanted to apologize for Lara,” she says. “I’ve been looking for a reason to fire her, and this just gave me one. I won’t employ people who are so hateful. That’s not what the club or I stand for. I walked by the room and heard everything she said. God, she’s a twat.”

“She was trying to push our buttons,” Linus adds. “It’s a lot harder to mess with us than it would be for someone else. Lara is less than nothing.”

“Maybe, but I hate that she’s the first person you interacted with at the club,” Cerenity sighs. “Things are starting to ramp up out there, but let me introduce you to the other dancers. I swear they’re not at all like her.”

Nodding, we walk out to meet the other dancers. We’re here to work, friendships aren’t something we’re interested in. Sounds bitchy, but our circumstances have always meant that acquaintances are transitional. The omegas I’ve met on the club scene are also catty.

Chatting together, the dancers are all in the same attire as we are. I’ve been working on stretching out my ballet shoes becauseI’ve never worn any before. At first they felt tight on my feet, and I had to watch a few videos on how to break them in. It was really funny for Linus and I to do this, because we were both terrified we’d break them entirely.

Now, while they’re easier to walk and dance in since we’ve been practicing, it’s still a work in progress. As are most things in life, I guess.

“Here are our new dancers,” Cerenity calls out. I have my mini tablet in my hand, but I’m more interested in who we’re meeting than adding to the conversation. My new boss goes around the room so everyone can give their names, though I doubt I’ll be able to tell them all apart. “Now, we have a full house coming in. Finley, Róisin, and Calista, go warm them up, please.”

As the guards move forward to walk them out, Cerenity turns toward us.

“Want to see their fly pole routine?” she asks with a wide smile.

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