Indebted To The Billionaire Alpha

I felt him press up against me, felt the evidence of what he wanted from me. And, I won’t lie, the thought crossed my mind. Once. Very, very briefly. I needed this job. I was already two months behind on rent, three months behind on my electric bill, barely keeping up with my tuition and my brother’s, plus the ever-mounting costs of caring for Mama. I could do what this douche knob wanted, and keep my job. It wouldn’t take long. A few unpleasant minutes, if that long. He was old, past sixty, I’d guess. Fit enough for his age, but by no means virile.But…no matter how desperate I might be, that would never happen. Not like this. Not with this guy. If he was hot, and I wanted to, maybe. It would be one thing if this were a kick-ass job that really paid the bills. But it was a temp job. Hourly, and a shitty hourly rate at that. Barely enough to cover one bill, much less all the bills I had to pay.I turned, letting him hold on to my wrist. For the moment. I lifted my eyes to his, putting

I took a deep breath, put the check face down on my lap, and blinked several times. Hard. Okay, look again. Yep. It said, Pay to the order of Freya Lomie, in the amount of twenty thousand dollars and zero cents. At the top left of the check was the payer: Trn, Inc.And there, in the bottom left-hand corner, on the single line opposite the illegible signature, was a single word. YOU. All caps, all in the same bold, neat script that appeared on the envelope. I examined the signature again, but it was little more than a squiggly black line, but there was no way to be sure. I guess that would make sense, given the fact that the payer was TRN Incorporated. But that didn’t tell me much.No note, nothing in the envelope except the check. For twenty thousand dollars.What the hell was I supposed to do? Cash it? Twenty thousand dollars would pay current rent due, as well as the past due amount; it would get the electricity turned back on after paying what I owed them…twenty thousand dollars wo

Here.” I folded her fingers over the edge. “I know you need it.”She stared at me. “Um. No.”I nodded. “Um, yes. You didn’t think I wouldn’t share with my best friend, did you?”“Freya. You can’t give this to me. You need it.”I smiled at her. “You do, too. I have enough now. You’re not just my bestie, Kelly. You’re…you’re like family. So just take it and say thank you.”She sniffled. “You’re gonna make me smear my mascara, hookerface.” Kelly took a deep breath, blinked, and visibly forced away the tears. “Thank you, freya. You know I love you, right?”It was a big deal for her to say that. She had grown up in a tough household. No abuse, just cold and closed off, not the kind of family that exchanged declarations of love on a regular basis. I knew she loved Tom, but I’d never heard her say it.I was very much the same, growing up in a stable and happy home, but not one where everyone was given to frequent hugs or I-love-you’s. Kelly and I had been best friends for more than five year

I feel a tear prick my eye. “No, Mama. I love you. You know I love you.”“You love me. My daughter would never say that. You’re an impostor! A fake! You’re their agent! Get out! Get away from me!” Mama rushed at me, and I had to back away quickly to avoid her flailing hand.I jerked open the door and fell backward through it, felt myself caught by a nurse.“We’ve got her, sweetie. She’ll be okay—she’s just having a hard day. She didn’t sleep well last night. She hasn’t had her meds yet, and we’ve got to give her a shower today.” The nurse patted me on the shoulder. “She knows you love her. She was asking for you the other day, you know. Asked if you’d come to visit her soon.”“She—she did?” I heard my voice break.“She did.”“Well, if she asks again, tell her I love her. Tell her—tell her I’ll visit again soon.”Inside the room, another nurse was talking Mom down. I watched for a moment and then turned away, waving at the nurse.I cried on the way home, as I always did after visiting

I sighed. “Fine.” I closed the door, unlatched the chain, and let Marcus in.He eyed my apartment with open amusement. “I must say, I would have expected you to find yourself a nicer place with the money you’ve received.”“Nothing lasts forever. I had no guarantee the checks would keep coming. I can afford this place on my own. Sort of.”“Wise of you.”Trying to delay things, I asked. “Can I get you anything to drink?”Harris blinked at me. “No. Thank you. We don’t have much time. Get dressed, please.”I went into my bedroom, rifled through my closet until I found the blue dress I had worn to a fundraiser gala with my last boyfriend. It dawned on me that Marcus knew I had a blue dress, and that in itself was terrifying.It wasn’t an expensive dress, but it fit me like a glove, showed off my curves and accentuated my skin and hair. I glanced at Marcus who had my two suitcases—Mom and Dad’s old luggage—on my bed and was packing all of my jeans, yoga pants, skirts, blazers, dresses, and