Page 26 of Executives' Omega
I nodded.
She rested her head against mine. “I don’t know Zane as well as Linden, he doesn’t come in for coffee as often. But he seems like an honest guy. If he says he has confidence in you, then he probably does.”
“But he shouldn’t have confidence in me.”
“Oh, honey. You don’t mean that. Everybody wants somebody else to have confidence in them.”
“But it’s misplaced. Eventually, I’ll fuck up… then…”
There was a long silence, then, “You’re afraid he’ll lose that confidence.”
I hissed in a breath, then nodded. A hiccuped sob escaped. “I don’t want to disappoint them.”
She shifted and wrapped her arm around me, pulling me against her. “Why is this job so different?” she murmured. “You’ve been scared before, unsure of yourself, But I’ve never seen you so torn up.”
I was silent, but there was only one answer: the guys—Linden, Brendan, Zane, and Alonzo.
“It’s them, isn’t it?” she asked after several minutes.
I nodded. “They’re wonderful,” I whispered. “It’s more than they’re the four hottest alphas I’ve ever known. They’re genuinely good people that I already can’t imagine not being around. I don’t want to quit. I want to keep working for them. I want to be around them every day.”
“Then don’t quit.”
I sniffled. “I have to… before it all goes to hell.” I squeezed my eyes shut, but still couldn’t keep the tears from falling. “I don’t want them to remember me as the guy who fucked up their company…”
“Oh honey,” she murmured, running her hand up and down my back.
It was going to hurt to leave—to not be with them every day. But it would kill me to see disappointment in their eyes.
I didn’t have a choice.
∞∞∞
Jace was glowing, appearing ready to burst, even though his twins weren’t due for almost two months.
I tried to imagine how much larger he could get and decided that it was good they’d chosen to have the baby shower when they did.
Uncle Eli’s house was decorated with far more baby decor than I expected he or Jace wanted. I had no doubt that Aunt Sharon had forced her way into the planning, but it was easier to get her focused on one task that she could own than have her add her input to everything.
Hell, she’d had a conniption fit when it was decided that alphas could also attend the shower. But Jace had put his foot down, saying that if his mates weren’t invited to a party to celebrate their babies, then there wouldn’t be a party at all.
Now she flitted from the living room to the dining room, to the kitchen, and back, acting like everything was just as she would have planned it—as if the entire party was something she’d put together on her own, instead of her being a pushy guest.
I watched Jace and noticed how he beamed every time somebody mentioned his mates or the babies he was carrying. He was happy, and I was happy for him.
But I was jealous too. I wanted that life, where somebody I loved would kiss me just because he could, where I could relax into a pair of strong arms—other than Owen’s—and feel safe for even a few minutes.
Worse, I wanted that connection with the men I worked for, and every day that desire was stronger. I could imagine Zane boosting my confidence with a hand at the small of my back, or Alonzo reassuring me when my clumsiness hit. Brendan was tough as nails when it came to business, but as soon as he dropped that veneer, he was one of the most caring people I’d ever met.
I could see myself sitting at a football game with Linden and his family—and I didn’t even like football all that much.
One of Jace’s mates—Shane, I thought—leaned over and kissed his forehead. They exchanged a few soft words, then the alpha headed towards the patio door, where most of the other alphas were outside gathered around the grill.
Aunt Sharon flitted through on another circuit, and I breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared into the dining room again. Then her voice rang out as something caught her attention. “This cake is beautiful! Where did you get it?”
“Roland made it,” Jace called back.
The click of her heels on the floor as she returned to the living room. “We’ll have to ask him to make one for the next shower.”
