Page 15 of Craving Their Omega

Every time Sienna sneers at me, it just makes me work that much harder, determined to not let her get the best of me. This job is important

Honestly, even almost three weeks in, I have no idea how I’m doing. There haven’t been any complaints, but there haven’t been any compliments either. I chat with some of the other admins when I can, and some of the junior developers have been friendly. Although Parker hasn’t approached me since Dominic told him off last week.

The three Alphas in charge are just as impressive and intimidating as they were when I first met them.

Dominic is gruff, and while he doesn’t outright scowl at me when we pass in the halls anymore, he hasn’t really tried to be friendly either. When I see him, I remember the way his hand was blazing with warmth and softer than I would have expected when he touched my cheek, wiping away my makeup. Iremember him calling me ‘little bird’ and making something that sounded suspiciously like a joke. And then I have to wonder if I was dreaming and that never actually happened at all.

Tristan is still a mystery. He’s said exactly two more words to me in the time I’ve worked here, a curt ‘excuse me’ when he stepped around me to get on the elevator I had just exited. According to some of the other assistants, he barely speaks to anyone, so at least I know it’s not personal. Still, I find myself wondering what he’s thinking when I see him.

Then there’s Xavier. He’s still friendly and bright, often waving or smiling at me when he sees me passing by, but he still doesn’t seem to remember me from the brief past meeting we had before I worked here.

It should be a good thing, since the last thing I want is to talk about the worst day of my life in the office, but it still makes me feel oddly hurt. Like I wasn’t worth remembering.

But I try to put all of those thoughts out of my mind when I’m here.

I have to focus on the job, so I don’t mess it up and give them a reason to fire me. I have to at least get one check in the bank before I can start letting myself slip up.

It’s already been a busy day, and I feel like I’ve been running around since the moment I walked in. It’s a good thing I got those insoles for my nice work shoes, otherwise I’d have blisters on my feet from all the back and forth between floors and to and from the file room and the copy machine and the scanner.

Every time I get back to my desk, there’s another task waiting on me, another note or memo telling me to go here or there and pick this or that up.

It leaves me a bit frazzled, but I try to keep on top of it.

I’m standing at the printer, waiting for thirty pages to print when I catch sight of the three Alphas walking together, headsbent in as they have a quiet conversation on their way to the elevator bank.

They seem agitated judging from the frown on Xavier’s face and the way Dominic’s shoulders are hunched. I can’t help but watch them, grateful that they’re far enough away that their scents are muted and not overwhelming me.

Tristan happens to glance up and then over at me. There’s something heavy about it, lingering and intense. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, as usual, but that doesn’t stop my heartrate from kicking up a notch, or the way my stomach swoops slightly.

“Get it together,” I mutter under my breath once they’ve stepped into an elevator and gone off to whatever important meeting they were probably on their way to.

The last thing I need to do is get all affected by a passing glance from someone who probably never spares me a second thought.

I gather the papers up from the printer and clip them together, going off to deliver them to the office they belong in.

When I get back to my desk, one of the other admins, a short guy with curly hair and a bright smile is standing there, looking anxious. “Penelope, there you are. I just wanted to check that the Ambrose contract went out today.”

“The… Ambrose contract? Was it sent electronically?”

He shakes his head, sending his curls bouncing. “No, they insisted on a paper copy being mailed to them.” He rolls his eyes. “Because they don’t trust technology.”

“They’re working with the wrong firm then. I didn’t hear about the contract, so I’m not sure,” I tell him. “The courier should be here soon though.”

“What are you standing around here for?” Sienna demands as she walks up. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“We’re just making sure the Ambrose contract went out,” the other admin says.

“I sent it out this morning,” Sienna replies, looking smug. “I didn’t think waiting for the courier to come at midafternoon was going to get it out on time.”

“As long as it went out,” he tells her, forcing a smile. “Thanks, Sienna.”

She gives him a look that sends him scurrying back to his desk, and I turn back to my own work, trying to figure out what to do next in the pile of things waiting for my attention.

I move a stack of papers to the side, adding post it notes in different colors to each file and form and stack to prioritize them by importance. Some of the other assistants told me that once I have a better understanding of how everything works here, I’ll be able to tell which files and clients can be bumped down the list a bit and which ones need to be at the top all the time.

I can’t wait for that day. Right now everything feels urgent. Enough that I’ve been working through lunch whenever I can, just to stay on top of things.

When I get to the bottom of the stack, I find a manilla envelope already addressed and stamped, ready to go.

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