Page 44 of His Gift
But only for a second.
“I can start reaching out to businesses today,” Shawn said. “Walt, you have more contacts in Norwalk than I do. Maybe you could put out some feelers later?”
“Yeah, I could do that,” Walt said slowly, still suspicious. I didn’t blame him. What was likely years of family manipulations and gaslighting wasn’t going to vanish after one conference call.
“I’m still not certain I like any of this,” Mr. Wythe said, glowering through the screen. “This family and our foundation were built on tradition, and we have ways of doing things. I don’t take kindly to strangers coming in and changing things. Don’t you agree, Walter?”
It was an opening for Walt to speak out against me, or against Shawn in some way. More than that, it was a way for Walt to be Daddy’s favorite for a second, something I had no doubt would appeal to him.
I could see the turmoil in Walt’s face, even through a screen. I was weirdly proud of him when he said, “I think we should give Enzo’s idea a trial run this year and then reassess after the holidays.”
Shawn shifted slightly by my side. We hadn’t bonded, even though I had a little bean of his baby cell-dividing and growing inside me, but I could feel his surprise and relief at Walt’s support.
“I, for one, think it’s an exciting idea,” the omega Mr. Wythe spoke up. “It can’t hurt to give it a try for just one year, can it, Tristan.”
“I suppose not,” Mr. Wythe said. “But I’ll expect a full report with a breakdown of the benefits and costs during the first week of the new year.”
With that, Mr. Wythe tapped something on his end and left the call. I blinked at the abruptness of his departure, and I couldn’t help but feel like it was a temper tantrum because he hadn’t gotten his own way.
“It’s nice to have you join Wythe Industries, Enzo,” the omega Mr. Wythe said, his smile a little brittle. “I’ll deal with your father,” he told Shawn and Walt. He, too clicked out of the call without so much as a goodbye.
That left just me and Shawn and Walt connected.
The box with Walt’s face had automatically grown to fill the entire chat window when the other two left. “I don’t know what’s going on here,” Walt said, “but I feel like the two of them are up to something.”
“It’s probably just the usual,” Shawn said, slumping back into his huge chair, though he didn’t seem relaxed. “You know how those two are.”
“Yeah, I do,” Walt said, still as tight as a coil. “You didn’t tell them I’m pregnant. You could have. When I slipped up about my doctor’s appointment, you could have blurted everything.”
“It isn’t any of my business,” Shawn said, squirming to sit straighter. “You could have told Dad and Papa that Enzo and I were a couple. You know they would have used that as an excuse to veto me hiring him.”
Walt shrugged. “I still might drop that bomb, if I need to.”
I glanced back and forth between the two brothers. Okay, maybe there was a temporary truce, but we were a long way from binding up wounds and crying on each other’s shoulders in reconciliation. But that could still happen. Christmas was a time for family miracles, after all.
“Are you okay?” Shawn asked, sitting forward suddenly. “Is this doctor’s appointment for anything serious?”
I couldn’t have been prouder of my alpha if I’d tried. If anything was going to build bridges, his genuine caring was it.
Walt looked surprised by the question. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, his voice softer. He, too, moved back from his computer, and even though it wasn’t quite him standing up and showing off his baby bump, the top half of his torso, including his expandedmammaries, were visible. “It’s just one of those routine things. I…I might find out the baby’s sex this time. I chickened out last time. I still don’t know if I want to get too attached. You never know what Dad and Papa will make me do with the baby once they find out.”
I wanted to gasp in horror. Would Mr. and Mr. Wythe make Walt give up his baby because he was single? Would they have pressured him into an abortion if they’d found out early enough? If the answer to either of those things was yes, I wanted nothing to do with the Wythe family at all.
Except Shawn. I wanted him to be my entire life going forward. And Walt. I felt like Walt needed me, needed us.
Walt didn’t feel the same way, though. “I’ve got to run,” he said, then, just like his parents, cut the call off before Shawn could say goodbye.
Shawn blew out a breath and sunk back into his chair again. I felt terrible for him. My family hadn’t been a picnic before they were blasted into oblivion, but at least they hadn’t been sour and manipulative.
“Would it help if I slipped under the desk and got your cock out?” I suggested, even though it wasn’t the right time for a joke.
Shawn broke into a grateful smile. “No,” he said. “What would help is you getting onboarded, and then the two of us figuring out a solid plan for the Christmas Eve job fair.”
I smiled and stood, but that didn’t feel like quite enough. My alpha was hurting after the thousand paper cuts that the family meeting had been. He swiveled his chair to face me, but before he could stand, I leaned forward, planting my hands on the arms of the chair, and bent toward him so I could kiss him.
Shawn flinched in surprised. I was a little surprised at the boldness of the gesture myself. I liked being the bottom in a relationship. But being the sub didn’t mean you never took initiative when you saw the person you loved suffering.
“It’ll be okay,” I told him, remembering the way he had said something similar when I’d been at the height of my heat emergency. “We’re going to get through this together. It’ll be great, you’ll see.”
