Page 35 of Omega's Tempting Fate
She stared at me. “What’s a few minutes Cody? He’ll be in later this afternoon anyway, after some phone meeting he had scheduled.”
I would be in the place he was living, surrounded by his scent. That was the problem.
She crossed her arms. “There’s a side gate. I know we normally go through when it’s unoccupied and double check everything, but you don’t have to go inside.”
I let out a heavy breath and nodded. I’d been so worried about being there with him that I’d forgotten the gate. “Ok.”
“Good.”
She turned to head back into her office. Part of me wanted to yell and scream that it wasn’t fair that I had to work with him, but I also understood her position. The few people she’d interviewed for the summer position had been wildly unqualified.
She said she could bring in a temp if I had to go on leave, but I knew what that really meant: somebody who could handle the bookkeeping and basic administrative tasks, so she could do everything I normally did. No marketing to either homeowners or prospective guests for however long that took, which was a major hit to the business.
There was just no way for everybody to get what they wanted.
I grabbed the keys to the company car and headed out. I’d make the visits short, and hopefully be back in the office to decompress a bit before Wes came in.
The first two site visits were good. I noted the supplies that the cleaning staff reported low stock of so that I could replenish things before the next guests arrived. Then I drove to my last house before returning to the office: the one Wes ws staying in.
I parked in the small driveway and took several deep breaths. I didn’t have to go in. I’d go look at the pool, then come up with some excuse to be out of the office for the rest of the day.
Maybe shopping for supplies would work. It was easy enough to spend several hours in a warehouse store, and surely Wes didn’t need to come along to shop for toilet paper and coffee pods.
I’d just about decided that shopping was the best excuse when I saw the front door open. For a moment I thought Wes would see me there, then Corey stepped out.
I saw red. Was Wes—my alpha—so desperate that he would fuck another omega just to keep himself under control?
I clenched the steering wheel, ready to scream.
Then Corey spotted me and grinned, jogging over.
I blinked away my anger. That wasn’t the demeanor of a man caught doing a walk of shame.
“Hey!” Corey said as I rolled down the window. “Long time no see! I fully expected you to come visit the puppies last week.”
How could I for even a minute think that one of my best friends would sleep with my fated mate? What was wrong with me?
“I…” I started, still trying to push aside the surge of jealousy. “I’ve been busy.”
He laughed. “I get it. Well, you need to stop by. They’re getting so big now, and super playful. They’ll also be weaned before you know it, and I’ll have to turn them back over to the shelter to be adopted.”
I smiled. “You’re right. I’ll have to come visit them before they find forever homes.”
“Supposedly there’s already interest, but the shelter always refuses to send out unweaned pups. A couple people got cranky, but fuck them. I know what I’m doing to get them on solids, and if they can’t wait long enough to get a healthy dog, then they don’t deserve a dog at all.”
“Hear, hear,” I replied. Then, “So what are you doing here?”
Corey blinked at me and laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Huh?”
“What else would I be doing? I just got back from walking Wes’s dog.”
“He has a dog?”
“Did you even look at what’s on that schedule you always seem to keep?”
My cheeks heated. Donna had been the one to set everything up for Wes, and I’d been trying so hard to ignore it all that I hadn’t bothered to look. “No.”
