Page 56 of Foxy Filthy Omega

Out of everyone on the planet, the last person I expected to poke his head in was that alpha, Taylor.

“Hey, James. You got a minute?”

She raised both eyebrows. “Sure. What can I help you with?”

“I need you to take a look at something for me. Is that okay?”

“Do I have to get up?”

“No, I brought it with me.” Taylor held up a flash drive and waited for her to nod before entering the office.

He kept his eyes down, keeping it respectful.

Taylor didn’t acknowledge me, but there was no reason for him to. I didn’t give a shit about how he treated me, but I was very interested to see how differently he was acting after Frankie knocked him on his ass yesterday.

He didn’t hand over the flash drive though. He came around and leaned over Frankie to plug it into her computer, brushing his arm against her shoulder as he reached for her mouse.

“I need to get this client to agree to prosecute the HR manager at her company,” Taylor explained as he opened a video file. “She won’t agree and this is all I have as evidence.”

The video played and I couldn’t see what was going on, so I studied Frankie’s face as she watched it. Her expression never changed, but her eyes danced around the screen, taking in all the tiny little details and putting them together to make some sort of deduction.

I was good at my job which meant I was also good at reading people and manipulating them when necessary, but I’ve never had to solve a crime. I’ve only ever gathered intel. How it was used and what it was used for didn’t involve me.

Seeing Frankie work like this may gave me a little more insight into how she thought, but it still didn’t tell me anything I could use.

“Here,” Frankie said, pointing to something in the video. “Check their company policy regarding scent blockers as well as the reason why she went to see HR in the first place. It’s unlikely she’s the only one who’s had to deal with this.”

“Right, but I need proof he’s abusing his power.” Taylor clicked on something. “This is all I’ve been able to find, but it’s not enough. I need someone to agree to come forward.”

Frankie sat back and laced her fingers together over her stomach. She considered for a moment, the light from the monitor bleaching the blue from her eyes until they looked almost white. “What was the client’s exact request?”

“Enough evidence to get them a settlement for wrongful termination, but she refused to go after him for intentionally using his pheromones in the workplace.”

Taylor stood up straight, finally giving Frankie some space.

I should really focus on memorizing the field procedures for Genesis detectives, but this was the first time in over forty-eight hours Frankie looked interested in something. There was a gleam in her eyes and a vitality to her that wasn’t there before.

“If you can’t get her to go after him, find someone else who will. If you can’t do that, create a situation that gives him the opportunity to make the same mistake and make sure you get it on camera.” Frankie studied Taylor out of the corner of her eye. “But why do you care about this? It’s not part of the job.”

“Look.” Taylor leaned forward again and I clenched my jaw, staring a damn hole into my screen. “The timestamps show this ‘meeting’ took two and a half hours. We don’t have footage of whatever happened inside that office, but I doubt my guess is wrong. I don’t want him to get away with it and give the rest of us a bad name.”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected that from Taylor, but Frankie didn’t look surprised at all.

She nodded once and refocused on the monitor. “Since this isn’t technically part of the job, you’ll have to approach it differently. You could plant someone in that company who’d be a target. Then get footage and proof of what he tries to do.”

I held my breath, wondering if this was common practice for her pack.

“Another option is to go through whatever evidence you can get your hands on and approach whoever else might have been affected. Find the one who has the least to lose and talk to them first.” Frankie looked up at Taylor and gave him a wicked grin. “You could also find something to…convincesomeone they should testify.”

It really shouldn’t surprise me how crafty and conniving Frankie could be, but it did.

Those raised in a legacy pack had a different perspective from the rest of us and this proved it. A conclusion that had taken her thirty seconds to reach was one I never would have gotten to since I’ve never been in a situation where I needed to.

My phone buzzed, interrupting my thoughts. The sound caught Taylor’s attention and he glanced over at me, but Frankie acted like she couldn’t hear it.

I grabbed my phone and jotted down a note about going to get coffee before heading for the door.

As long as I made it quick, she wouldn’t say anything about my sudden disappearance.

---