"Stick to the point, please," I said to Charles. Charles straightened up and went over to the window, his arms still folded over his chest. "I'm not built for ethics, Elena. You ought to know that. Alphas have their own ways of dealing justice." He turned to face me. "I'm built to value results. Profits. Everything else is secondary." "Including people?" "You know it includes people. I know you see it as selfish, but if I go down, think of how many others will be affected." I didn't like this argument. It wasn't the only option, but Alphas had used it for generations, refusing to slacken their grip. "In order for me to be successful and help all my employees and my family and the economy, I need you to stop distracting me. To get you to stop distracting me, I need to be with you enough to be overfed." "You've explained this before," I said. This time it was my turn to cross my arms, though it felt like a defensive move on my part rather than the gesture of aggression it was for
The interior of the department was not at all what I expected. There were the same types of cubicles, but various styles of music came spilling out in a cacophony of sound. And while the soundscape was active, there was almost no actual movement. I looked around and saw an office at the far end with glass walls. Inside a tired looking woman sat staring at something on her screen. I went in that direction. As I passed the cubicles I glanced right and left, smiling at people who looked up, startled away from their phones or online shopping at their computers. I certainly wasn't a good judge, but it appeared people were doing more recreational things than working. The woman in the glass office looked up and saw me, making eye contact and beckoning me inside. She stood up briefly, her vaguely smoky scent pleasant and mild. "Elena?" "Yes." "Welcome to Social Scene. I'm Sally Lugano, but most people call me Sal." She reached her hand over her desk and shook mine. "Charles says you w
There was absolute silence in the office. Even the music stopped. I stood and smoothed my skirt, trying to hold up my head. There was nothing I could do. I had indeed agreed, and picking a fight with Jessica in front of everyone wouldn't have been smart. Still, I didn't expect Charles to make such a thing of it, to expose his private affairs to the employees. As I walked through the cubicles, I heard Stan whisper, "Not as clean-cut as we thought, eh? Guess you'll need a new nickname." He gave me a wink. The rest of the office erupted in a hiss of whispering and giggles. I turned and looked back, and they stopped for a split second until I turned around again. There wasn't anything I could do, so I thought I'd go with it. As I the doors of the elevator closed I glanced back out and waved. A small "Get 'em girl!" responded, and then the doors closed. "I can't believe you would do this to him," Jessica said into the tense atmosphere of the elevator. "You've undermined his authority
I was annoyed. And yet something was different. This time there was something in his smile that was daring me, something more childish, as if he was issuing a fun challenge rather than the aggressive, domineering commands I'd seen in the past few days. I thought back to high school. He wasn't the only person to be wrong judging outward appearances during that time. I'd obviously been wrong too. He'd thought I was a doormat and I thought he was perfect. Turns out neither of us had been correct. This version of him, however, was a little less horrible, a little more like someone I could deal with. That, combined with the way he was smiling at me with his blue eyes, made me smile back. "You're on. If Sally rejects my idea, I'll have dinner with you for the month." "At 8:30." "Yes, yes, fine. At 8:30. Why so specific?" He shrugged. "I have a schedule, and a guy gets hungry." * The orphanage's front was an imposing facade of brick and windows. It was stark and quiet, without any p
Sally was still seated at the head of the table, typing into her laptop. I waited until she closed the machine and began to gather her supplies."Sally, may I have a moment?"She sat back down, her eyes tired and wary, but she smiled at me anyway."Of course, Elena. I'm glad you have questions."I could tell from the weariness in her voice that she was less than glad, but I wasn't picking up any sarcasm or anger.I suddenly felt sorry for the woman sitting at the head of the table. There was something heavy weighing on her. It was obvious in her every move.I approached and sat closer, leaning forward. "I just want to know what I can do to improve. Obviously, what I had wasn't what you were looking for.""Yes, it's not really the direction we are going in right now. Did you look at the archives like I asked?""I did. And I talked to some of the other staff about what they are doing."Sally looked at me silently, her eyebrows raised as if to say, and so...?"So maybe I misinterpreted w
My face reddened with embarrassment."You've got it wrong," I objected. "I was just looking at the latest edition of Social Scene."He grinned and I slowly realized he was joking."Ha ha," I said, sarcastically. "Very cute, Charles." I plunked back down on the couch and navigated back to Social Scene's homepage.He sat gracefully in the chair across from me. "Did that scare you?"There was no teasing in his voice, and no judgement. I looked up and saw he was looking at me with open curiosity.I touched my neck. To my horror, I felt my insides warm at the memory of his touch. I hadn't liked it at that moment, but the memory of it... that was different.I shook it off. There was no way I was going to allow myself to enjoy physical contact with Charles like that. Alphas were dominating, sure, but unless I had given my consent, I was not going to even think about being okay with that kind of touching."It's never fun to be reminded of one's own vulnerability," I said honestly.He nodded t
The sound of playing children surrounded me. I was sitting on a bench in the middle of the play yard, a small child of about six with a dirty but happy face sitting on my lap.Mrs. Addison, the headmistress, was sitting next to me keeping an eye on things.Some of the kids were already wearing the new sweatshirts I'd brought despite the warm sun."Thank you again," Mrs. Addison said, her scent reminding me vaguely of bleach. It wasn't unpleasant, just unusual, and unusual scents were something I was happy to support."Are you having issues getting clothes for the children?" I asked.Mrs. Addison sighed and nodded. "Sadly, yes.""I have to admit," I said, "I'm a little surprised since the orphanage where I grew up had quite the donations department. I didn't realize mine was special. I thought that's how all orphanages were.""Ideally they should be," Mrs. Addison said. "But there's been some weird holdup with the city and even state-wide funding. We aren't able to get the supplies we
"All right, Elena," Charles said, positioning me so I could look in the wall-to-wall mirror in the studio. Mats covered the floor except for a small periphery, and a punching bag hung from the corner. "How tall would you estimate this guy was? And it was a man, you think?"I nodded. "I'm ninety-five percent sure he was male. And maybe a half-a-foot shorter than you? It's hard to tell with the coat he was wearing but I think he was a lot wider than you."Charles nodded. He was wearing tracksuit bottoms and a thin, grey shirt. It made his intense blue eyes pop and I could see the muscles of his abs clearly outlined through the material.I swallowed hard. I needed to control myself and take this seriously. I needed to learn, just in case."Attackers tend to grab women from behind first. It's a more vulnerable position."He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned in toward me. His voice was gentle, concerned, and he spoke close enough that his vetiver smell overwhelmed me.My heart began