Page 16 of Escalating Alpha

“I have that meeting tomorrow, Daughter. I will inform you of the outcome immediately after,” Alena told me.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said before we hung up. That was my happy while everything else happened. I sighed once all the calls were hung up and decided to use that Perez was there. “Soooo… I don’t even know how the fuck to start to try and handle this. Call Galvin?”

He sighed and threw what he had in his hands on the table. “I’m going to sound like a perv, but I think I need—I’m not trying to see you naked, but I need like an idea here, Sera.”

I shrugged. That was fair.

Brian cleared his throat and pulled out his phone, giving me a look. He waited for me to nod before he unlocked his phone and loaded the photo, handing it over to Perez.

I wasn’t sure what I felt that he had it on his phone still. I mean it made sense, but… Everything was too confusing.

“You shouldn’t have this on your fucking phone we check and—idiot,” Perez grumbled before handing it back.

“Yeah, well, sometimes I need it to get through the day,” Brian grumbled right back, flinching when a few people snorted. He met my gaze and sighed. “I’m not objectifying you or—”

“It was the fun,” I whispered. “We had so much fun that day. From me receiving that bracelet which was my first jewelry from a lover to Virgil helping me flirt-text back to you to you coming for lunch—that day and all of it was so much fun and I had so much hope for us. Yeah, I get it.” I cleared my throat and looked away. “I’m glad you have something like that.”

“You don’t?” he worried.

“The bracelet,” I corrected. I shrugged when I felt the tension rising. I glanced down at my hands. “I’ll explain, but—Idon’t want to say it’s a vulnerable moment, but I don’t want to get into it right now. So I’ll answer, but leave it alone.”

“That’s fair,” Brian said, seeming glad when the others agreed… Which was weird because all of the Betas were there and so many extras to hear this.

“Some of the reminders hurt. When the Netflix fun was never touched and—I threw it out. Not Noah’s box, but… Some of it felt like promises never followed through on again.”

I knew part of that was my being abducted and so much going to hell but that was some of it as well. I couldn’t get that time back.

Life was just too hard.

“I think we need to call Galvin and warn him,” Perez sighed. “Monroe needs to know too.”

I frowned. “I think he does. I can’t remember. Everyone here pretty much knew what I was doing—a lot of us did.”

He nodded and pulled out his phone.

“Why don’t you toss me over whatever proposal and resume you’re about to give me for your wife and ask for me to give her a job?” I said, trying to keep my voice even, but I couldn’t hide how tired I was.

“There was some explanation involved,” he grumbled as he slid the folder over to me and unlocked his phone. He seemed to text Galvin and wait for the call.

I already knew Tasha Perez was impressive, but seeing her full resume and work history made it hard not to whistle. She had an IVY league education and not because she came from rich parents. No, she came from a humble start, a single dad raising her with all he had.

She became a CPA focused on working with nonprofits to keep their doors open and get the most they could from the government. All of the governments—local, state, and federal. She went back to get her MBA in business focusing on PR andmarketing because the image of the nonprofit could get them more donations than what they were fighting for.

Sad but true.

But—and I already knew this—she was so sick of DC that it all disgusted her. Most of the charities were completely political and dirty in ways she couldn’t stomach anymore.

And now she thought she’d found her new mission... Supes. Here. Chicago. Helping us with our nonprofits, but more than that, our image. Her proposal of why a human doing it was compelling and I completely agreed. It was knowing the right human to trust.

My thoughts were interrupted when Perez answered his phone. “Thanks for calling. We have a situation.”

“Put him on speaker and warn him that many are here,” Eva instructed. She shrugged when Perez shot her a look.

“It’s polite around supes since we can all hear him anyways and it’s about one of us,” I reminded Perez.

He nodded and did it.

“You guys have beenglowingover there and that’s kept you safe with this shit with the president and more. If you tell me there’s going to be something blowing up—I’m really going to need to get my blood pressure checked,” Galvin grumbled, sounding beyond exhausted.

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