Page 18 of Omega's Pretend Mate
There was a knock on my office door and I looked up to see Christian standing there.
“Mind if I come in?” he asked.
I motioned to one of my guest chairs.
He closed the door behind him, then took the two steps to the chair and sat.
“I went over all your trust info last night,” he said, hands clasped between his knees.
I sighed. His posture was enough to tell me what I already knew. “It’s pretty ironclad, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “I did see one potential opening for you, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The opening is the one thing you were trying to avoid. I think your best bet is to get married.”
“What?” I cried.
Christian shook his head. “I know, but… The wording says matedormarried, which means you don’t have to have a bond bite to trigger the clause. It doesn’t even specify that you would have to marry an alpha. More importantly, it doesn’t say that you have to stay married past that one year mark. There’s nothing indicating that the role of trustee would revert in case of divorce.”
I crossed my arms. How could he suggest marriage when that was exactly what I was trying to avoid? But the longer I stewed on it, the more I saw that he was right. There was nothing about staying married. I didn’t like it, but it would be playing by the rules they’d set down for me.
I sighed.
“I’m sorry,” he continued. “I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but it might be your best option. Find somebody you trust, write a bulletproof prenup just to be safe, and get hitched. The biggest risk is if your grandfather survives longer than expected, but that’s a bridge to be crossed after that first year is over.”
I groaned and slumped in my chair. Would it violate the spirit of the wording? Absolutely. But at the same time, I was tired of being treated as less-than because I was omega.
“Thank you,” I said. “I hate it. But I have to admit that it’s an avenue I hadn’t considered.”
“I wish I could have found something better for you.”
I shook my head. “You already did more than I can properly thank you for. I appreciate you taking a look at all.”
He smiled. “I’m sure you would have done the same had our positions been reversed.”
“You mean if alphas were the irresponsible ones by default?” I asked.
He chuckled. “I’m surprised we’re not already. I’m not sure about your caseload, but I swear the number of times I see an alpha doing something stupid…”
I laughed, knowing exactly the kinds of cases he was talking about. Laughing felt good, and I realized it had been too long since I’d really done it.
“I’d better get going,” he said, standing. “I’ve got some paperwork to finish.”
I smiled and nodded at a pile of law books with flags sticking out of the pages. “I know that feeling.”
He laughed. “I think never-ending paperwork is true in almost any job.”
I returned the laugh. “Probably.”
His smiled faltered. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come up with anything better for you.”
I shook my head. “No, I really do appreciate it. And…” I blushed. “I appreciate you taking care of me the other night. I was stupid and was in a position to be taken advantage of, but you saw to it that I had a safe place to be.”
“I saw a person I know who needed a friend, and, again, I think you’d have done the same for me.”
“Probably.”
