Page 6 of No Strings Attached
There’s a cute little motel across from Cuppa Joe. Does that work?
I hesitate. I haven’t hooked up in months, not since the last one ended with an Alpha trying to pin me down. This could be a mistake, a long shot, but I’m desperate to feel something other than exhaustion.
Freckles-n-adventure
How’s 1 pm?
The response takes a few seconds, each one stretching my nerves thin.
Monroe_86
That’s perfect. We’ll let you know the room number when we get there.
A weird feeling settles in my chest, a mix of excitement and dread. I probably should have scheduled something for this evening, but I need something before I get to the fucking gala and this seems perfect. Unless it’s a disaster.
I try not to think about that as I finish getting dressed and head back out to the main room. Most of the staff has cleared out, just Nander and Tristan sitting at one of the tables alongside the rock climbing exhibit. Only Nander is paying attention to me, that predatory gaze of his racking up and down my form. Myblood boils beneath the surface but I tamper down my reaction, knowing that acting out will only get me yelled at.
Nander leans forward as he places his elbows on the table. “Damn, you smell like a dream. What’s got you all hot and bothered?”
A low growl vibrates through my chest. I hate how expressive my pheromones are, even with the scent blocker. Just the idea of being able to control one thing in my life has me excited for one pm in a way that Nander would never and will never understand. I slip into a seat across from them, Tristan looking up from his phone to pin me with that look of his.
I blow him off, again. “Look, we’re here to collab, not talk about my personal life,” I snap. “Yes, I’m an Omega. My scent fluctuates. Get used to it. Now, what was your big ass idea that just had to be done with me and none of the other creators Tristan works with?”
Nander’s grin doesn’t falter, his eyes glinting with something I don’t trust. “You’re easier on the eyes than they are,” he says, leaning back in his chair. “And a little moredaring.”
A frown takes over my lips as my brows furrow with confusion. “What are you talking about?”
He launches into his pitch, his voice full of fake enthusiasm. “Got an adventurous video planned for a new energy drink. Motorbikes, a small ramp, some high-energy stunts. I told the owners a little action would sell it better, and you’re the guy to pull it off.”
My stomach twists. Motorbikes? A ramp? I’ve never touched a bike in my life, and the thought of jumping as I ride one sounds like a death wish. He’s still droning on about the product but the conversation shifts into the healthy properties, the ingredients, and even the different flavors. It takes me a moment before everything clicks. “Wait, is this that product you’ve beentrying to bring to fruition over the last two years? This is your company, isn’t it?”
Nander’s smile widens, but he doesn’t answer. Tristan jumps in as he sets down his phone, suddenly in tune with what’s going on in front of him. “This is a great opportunity to be the face of something. We can start pivoting you into more modeling contracts with brands and—”
“No,” I growl out. “I’m not fucking doing that. I’ve never been on a motorbike in my life, and that sounds dangerous as fuck. Find something else to promote your drink or someone else.” Climbing and hiking are things up my alley but motor vehicles and things on wheels are death traps. Absolutely the fuck not.
I should have known something like this was coming when Tristan started signing me up for commercial auditions. Whatever makes him a quick buck usually serves his purpose. I push to my feet just as his glare forces me to sit back down.
“I thought I told you to behave,” he says, a dangerous edge to his tone. “If that means you learn how to ride a bike, you learn. When I tell you to jump, you ask how high, and when Nander gives you the plans for how his little commercial is going to go, you say yes sir.”
I look between the both of them, not understanding how we got to this point. Nander has been asking for a collab for a while and I keep turning him down, for good reason. But then he got Tristan involved. However, there’s no immediate money in this. The two aren’t related and as far as I know Nander doesn’t have anything on Tristan.
“Who’s the PR company running this?” I ask. Tristan runs his agency and Nander has a product, which means someone else is in charge of the marketing, or at the very least, footing the bill.
Nander clasps his hands together. “Hart Entertainment. Can you believe it? Someone that big picking up someone like me?He’s put in an advance and everything so behave. He’s paying your salary.”
Which truly means that he’s payingTristan’ssalary. I’ll only see a fraction of whatever those monies are but it makes sense now. Why Tristan agreed to this. Money gets him to act and apparently it’s enough to get him to sell me off.Lovely.
Elias
When Tristan all but told me I had no choice in this collaboration matter, I gave in. However, I didn’t think we were going to start shooting this shittodayand that’s when I found out that this was the commercial he was talking about. This fucking asshole.
Once again, I’m a sweaty mess but with a sliver of fear coursing through me as I straddle the motorbike’s seat, my hands tightened around the rubber handles. It’s way too fucking hot to be out on this unpaved dirt road, my vision tunneling, the edges blurry like I’m about to pass out. My doctor has told me time and time again that even without the heats, an Omega can only take so much.
I can take more than most but I’m still weaker than an Alpha.
Which is bullshit but I can’t cheat biology.
A wiry Beta working with Hart Entertainment shouts at me again from behind his fucking clipboard. “Do it right this time, Elias! Reset!” He’s been at it all morning, redoing takeswhenever he feels like it, egged on by Nander’s smirks. It’s like Nander’s doing this on purpose, punishing me for not giving him a second glance, for daring to push back. I’m tired, bone-deep exhausted, and this damn commercial shoot is sucking the life out of me.
