Page 34 of Knot in Their Wildest Dreams: Part 1

“I’ll be fine.” I said, but a twinge of sympathy stirred in me. “If that changes I’ll let you know.” I added, and he seemed to relax a little bit.

“Okay. And feel free to do your work in the main house. It’s just me here today. The rest of the pack is at the office.” His words sounded kind, but I wondered why he’d want me out there.

But a few hours later, I was bored and in need of a break. Maybe working out in the main living area would be nice. I’d at least get a nice view of the mountains through the glass doors. I took my laptop and wandered out of my wing and into the living room. The light from the large, sliding window walls made the whole space look inviting and comfortable. I settled in on a big couch and started scrolling through my emails, shooting off responses and working with the team leads to keep things running as normally as I could. I became so absorbed in my work that I almost didn’t notice the alpha scent growing stronger. I looked up, and saw Liam there, watching me from the other end of the room.

“Is staring your hobby now?” I asked, a frown forming on my face. For a moment, I swear he almost looked hurt. But then he brushed it off and strolled over, a laptop under his arm.

“I was just hoping to work out here without it bothering you too much.” He said, and I immediately felt a little bad for my attitude. I reminded myself that they deserved it, even if they were struggling with adjusting to our new dynamic. After all, I'd struggled now for weeks and they were awful to me.

“Sure. It’s your house.” I said with a shrug. He sat down at the couch across from me, opening his own laptop and settling into his spot as he worked. We both sat quietly, me typing away as he frowned at his screen, a crease forming between his brows. I tried so hard not to pay attention to him, but when your scent match is across from you, it’s nearly impossible to focus on anything else. For about ten minutes, I struggled in vain to get anything done, but it was hopeless. Finally I looked over at him, noticing he was still staring at his screen.

“All right. What’s bothering you?” I asked, setting my laptop to the side and reaching for my water bottle. Liam looked up at me, his eyes holding an expression I couldn’t decipher.

“It’s just a minor issue, that’s all.” He answered slowly. I sighed, frustrated that he was so cagey. I knew he didn't want to talk business in front of me, for good reason.

“Look. Maybe you can bounce some ideas off of me. You don’t have to tell me details. But I didn’t get to keep my position without being good at what I do.” I said, and he looked at me warily.

“I don’t think telling my direct competition about a problem we’re having would be very smart.” He finally said, and I gave him a wry smile.

“I get it, you don’t trust me. But I’m not afraid of your success.” I replied, and he seemed surprised. “I’ve never been afraid of a little competition. It keeps both of our companies on our toes.” I said with a shrug. Liam looked perplexed. He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped.

“Alright, maybe I can get your thoughts.” He finally said, and I nodded, finally eager for something to distract me from his perfect face. “I’ve been testing this marketing campaign, and it does well with almost everyone.” He started, glancing at me.

“Except for omegas.” I said, finishing his statement. He nodded.

“Exactly. And I can’t figure out why. Aside from the obvious.” He said, and I realized what he was referring to. Many omegas had boycotted their company ever since I’d accused them of the kidnapping conspiracy. But that wasn’t quite it. Omegas had particular buying habits, and I knew exactly how to market to them. It was one of the reasons I had been able to increase Harringday’s profits so much since I’d taken over. Omegas were in charge of most of the shopping decisions for packs. The board may not like an omega in charge, but they couldn’t deny the facts. I made the company money.

“How are you marketing to omegas?” I asked, curious as to how this particular alpha perceived people like me.

“Well, here’s one of the ads we tested.” He said dubiously, turning his screen toward me. I could tell he was already halfway regretting showing me the ad. I scanned it, reaching out to scroll through the rest of the strategy.

“Well there’s your problem. Your ad is speaking to omegas as if you are the expert.” I said, sitting back and taking in Liam’s look of bewilderment.

“I don't get it. The ad is all about the features and how the product canhelpomegas.” Liam said, turning the laptop back to look at the ad again.

“That’s the thing. Omegas get talked down to constantly. Our whole lives we have to be careful, being told what to do and having our agency taken away, especially omegas in this province.” I said, leaning forward as Liam watched me. “We already know more than anyone what we need. The problem with your ad is you are talking at omegas, and not building trust with them. You are focused on selling a product when you should be focused on building a relationship with your customers.” My words seemed to stun him.

“So you’re saying it’s condescending?” He asked, his cheeks turning slightly red as he looked at his laptop.

“Not necessarily, it’s just that we get the same messaging from everyone, all the time. ‘Here’s what’s best.’ That’s all we hear. If you focus more on a campaign that connects rather than explains, you might have a different outcome.” I said as I sat back, taking a sip of my water. Liam looked at me again, like he was finally seeing me.

“That’s… really insightful.” He said, as if he was surprised.

“Look, I’m not going to give you any insider secrets or let you gain any headway against my company that you didn’t earn. But try to see if you can view your customers differently. Not for your sake - for theirs.” My words settled into the air as he sat back and closed his laptop.

“You're so sincere, I almost believe you’re actually trying to help.” He said with a rueful smile. I gave him a matching smirk.

“I’m not messing with you. But I won’t dispense any more free advice. Consider it a thank you for the breakfast earlier.” I said, and packed up my computer. There was no way I’d get any more work done with him staring at me like that. Pretty soon I’d need to up my suppressants with how charged things were getting.

He opened his mouth to say something, but paused.

“What? What is it?” I asked, tired of everyone tiptoeing around now that our unfortunate scent match had ruined everyone’s plans for life.

Liam exhaled through his nose, shutting his laptop with a quiet click. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, and studied me with an expression I couldn’t quite place - somewhere between frustration and reluctant admiration.

“How did you do it?” he finally asked, his voice low.

I blinked. “Do what?”

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