Page 6 of Craving Their Omega

Standing in the middle of a richly decorated conference room with all three of the Alphas who run Vantage Digital Systems.

It’s… overwhelming.

Xavier was easy to talk to, in his way. We bantered, and I felt more relaxed talking to him because I was pretty sure there was no way I was going to get the job. I thought he was just humoring me.

But now I have the job, and in the face of the other two thirds of this company’s leadership, I have a knot in my stomach about whether or not I can actually do this.

“Penelope, meet the co-owners of Vantage,” Xavier is saying, bringing my attention back to him. “This is Dominic Harrington and Tristan Blackwell. I’d explain what each of them brings to the company, but you’ll get a crash course on that soon enough.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” I say, trying to sound confident and not like I want to throw up a little.

I’ve been in rooms full of Alphas before, and I know that they bring a certain presence with them, domineering and controlling, overpowering the room with their scents and their attitudes, but this is different.

Neither Dominic or Tristan are saying anything, just looking at me, but I’m still caught up in the competing scents of cinnamon, espresso, blackberries, and chocolate. Xavier’s lighter scent is there too, grounding me a bit in the face of this new challenge.

Dominic strides forward suddenly, his silvery grey eyes locked on me. To say he’s handsome would be an understatement. His hair is neatly trimmed and so dark it’s almost black. A contrast to the more tousled look of Xavier’s. He’s all hard lines and muscle, and that’s apparent even in the designer suit he’s wearing. It’s tailored so well it seems like it was made just for him, charcoal black and creased to perfection.

He’s all dominance and control as he stalks closer to me, and I force myself to keep my gaze on him and not look away. When he’s close enough, I note that he’s the one giving off the blackberry and dark chocolate scent. It’s enticing and so deep that it’s almost bitter. There’s a spicy undertone to it as well, alluring even as it warns you away.

I take a deep breath, trying not to be bowled over by the wrecking ball of his presence.

“Really?” he says, looking from me to Xavier and then back again. “Her?”

Xavier nods. “Her.” He sounds cheerful about it. “She had a great interview.” He winks at me, and something eases in my gut.

“What companies have you worked for before?” Dominic asks me sharply. “How many years of experience do you havedoing office work? How many of those were for a tech company of this size?” He doesn’t even give me a chance to answer, firing questions at me like he’s already sure he won’t be impressed with the answers.

Whatever magnetic pull had been there before is shattered a bit in the moment, and I can feel my hackles raising at his tone. It’s obvious he’s doubting Xavier’s decision to hire me, and I can’t tell if he’s just combative or if he really thinks I’m not worth hiring.

All at once I’m so frustrated with being talked down to. First Sienna, and now this. It makes me braver than I would be ordinarily.

“I’ve been told more than once that therearen’tany tech companies of this size and scope, Mr. Harrington,” I fire back. “So I don’t see how I would even be able to have experience working for one. It’s starting to feel like a trick question to me. Other than that, I can hold my own in an office, and the only way you’ll ever know if that’s true is if you give me a chance.”

The part of my brain that usually doesn’t like to be rude is yelling at me to shut up, to not run my mouth to this Alpha, who pretty much has my fate in his hands right now. But the part of me that’s learned to not let people walk all over me, no matter how intimidating they are, won’t give in. If he fires me after I’ve only been hired for ten minutes, then so be it. I guess.

Dominic’s eyebrows rise, and he doesn’t say anything right away. I half expect him to snap back, to have me thrown out of the building for my audacity or something, but he doesn’t lash out. Some of the intensity drains from the moment instead, and something like a smile quirks the corner of his full lips. Just a tiny one, there and then gone. There’s something more than dismissal in his eyes now, at least, and he’s looking at me like he sees a person for the first time since I walked in.

Those silvery eyes track over my face, and I fight the urge to blush under his scrutiny. What does he see when he looks at me, now that he’s really looking? My heart pounds in my chest, and I force myself to keep the eye contact, not looking away first. It’s not every day you stare down a handsome Alpha in his own office building, but this day has already been a lot.

“Fine,” he says, stepping back and away from me. “You can have the job—on a trial basis. That’s standard, so don’t complain. We need to see if you can handle the pressures of a job like this before we make anything permanent.”

“Sure,” I say, relief flooding through me. “That seems fair.”

“So glad we have your approval,” Dominic says shortly and turns away from the whole conversation. The sudden absence of his presence is almost as jarring as it was to have it in my face.

That leaves me, Xavier, and Tristan standing in the middle of the room. Xavier looks happy to have Dominic on his side, and he turns to Tristan, who has been largely silent since his argument with Dominic was interrupted.

“What about you?” Xavier asks him. “Do you want to grill her a little or are you on board?” A smile spreads over his face like he finds the whole thing funny, and it should be annoying, but it’s hard to look away from him.

It’s hard to look away from any of them.

Tristan doesn’t respond right away. Instead he steps closer and gives me the same kind of examination that Dominic did.

Well, not the exact same kind. Dominic was easy to read, all power and arrogance, like he was trying to cower me with every step he took and every flick of his eyes over my body and face. But Tristan feels more closed off. His face is unreadable, neutral and blank, and it’s impossible to judge anything about what he’s thinking from the guarded look in his whiskey brown eyes.

He gives nothing away, and it leaves my head spinning, trying to figure out what he’s looking for.

Can he tell that my one interview outfit is thrifted and probably several seasons out of style? Is there a stain somewhere on it from my hasty morning coffee before I showed up for the interview? Is my hair messy? Is there something in my teeth?

---