Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jack
Nothing could have prepared me for the rush of absolute rage that gripped me as the badly dressed, shifty alpha standing with my dad was introduced to me as Chester Monk.
Chester. The bastard who had broken my omega.
“How do you do?” I said, my voice like sandpaper, withdrawing my hand.
I’ll give him this much. Chester knew something was wrong and had the good sense to be intimidated by me immediately.
His neck and face flushed, and even though he was an alpha, he looked at me with all the wariness of a nerd who was about to be dragged out into the schoolyard and crushed by a jock.
“Er, nice to meet you, Mr., um, Salisbury Junior,” Chester said, raising a hand to wave at me instead of shaking.
I could practically see the man breaking out into a sweat. It was deeply satisfying to know he didn’t have the first clue why I wanted to kill him on the spot.
“It’s Jack,” I said, holding his gaze like I had my hand clamped around his neck.
Quincy shifted subtly closer to me. I liked that, and my alpha preened. Until I realized he was trying not to faint.
“I told you that you will not use that diminutive name,” my dad said, using his body and his voice to try to dominate the conversation. “Your name is John Salisbury, Jr.”
I broke eye contact with Chester to glance at my dad. It took me about two seconds to assess that now was not the time or the place to get into an argument over my name again. I had my omega to defend, and that was all that mattered.
“I’m glad you could join us, Mr. Salisbury,” the middle-aged beta woman who made up the fifth in the conversation said anxiously.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners?” I said, forcing myself to soften into a smile for her and shaking her hand.
“This is Amelia Yates, my boss,” Quincy introduced her quietly.
A sudden, silent tension fell over our awkward group.
Miss Yates glanced from me to Quincy. “Do you know him?” she asked, looking confused.
“No,” my dad answered quickly, which was as much of an admission otherwise as was possible.
Miss Yates extended the range of her glances to include me, Quincy, and my dad. She sent an awkward look to Chester as well, which made me wonder what the conversation had been like before I’d walked into the room.
“Okay,” she said slowly, deliberately withdrawing her hand from mine.
She cleared her throat, pink splashed on her cheeks, and clasped her hands together in front of her.
“Well. The Grand Hotel is so pleased to host you all. It is a rare privilege not only to play host to one of the brightest technical minds of our times—” she nodded to Chester, “but also to assist a state senator in bringing awareness of some of the most important technological advances of our time to the public. The Grand Hotel is at your disposal, gentlemen.”
“Let me give you a quick run-down of the capabilities this conference room has already,” Quincy addressed Chester in a pinched, wispy voice, “and then we can discuss what other enhancements you might need.”
“That would be great,” Chester said with a big, fake smile.
Quincy didn’t look at me as he stepped away from our group and up to the front of the room, where a podium already stood, but it felt like he glanced back begging me to help him. Or maybe that was just the feeling I had when Chester nodded to my dad, then Miss Yates, and followed after him.
I physically lurched toward Quincy, everything within me telling me to go after him and physically block the bastard who had hurt him from touching him, or even looking at him.
The only thing that kept me nailed to my spot was years of training to be my dad’s lapdog, which I resented now more than I ever have.
“Is something going on that I should know about?” Miss Yates asked, dragging her gaze back from where she’d been watching Quincy and Chester walk away and looking between me and my dad.
“No,” Dad and I said at the same time, both too quickly.
Miss Yates’s expression said it all. She knew she was handling a ticking timebomb.
“I want that omega removed from this assignment,” my dad followed up.
“Oh, I—” Miss Yates moved restlessly. “Quincy is one of my best and most trusted team members.”
“I don’t care,” my dad said. “I don’t trust omegas to work on anything tech or science-related. They don’t have the capacity for it. Reassign him to the catering or housecleaning staff, where I’m sure he belongs.”
Miss Yates’ expression hardened. “Mr. Barber has been a valued member of our events coordination team for years, Senator,” she said, snapping into stronger formality. “I trust him implicitly to do this job.”
I liked her. She seemed to understand how special Quincy was. That scored her serious points in my book.
“I only work with alphas or betas,” my dad said in his voice that brooked no argument. “Get rid of the omega and reassign an alpha from your team to assist Mr. Monk.”
“I—”
“Do it!” Dad barked, causing Miss Yates to jump.
“Dad, can I have a word with you,” I said, raising my voice and turning my body slightly to block Miss Yates. It wasn’t a block so much as putting myself between her and my dad as a shield.
“I’ll just have a word with Mr. Barber,” Miss Yates said, clearly and deeply offended.
I nodded apologetically to her as she turned to cross the room to where Quincy was showing Chester something having to do with the podium. I really wanted to go intervene over there, but I had to deal with my dad first.
“How could you be so rude?” I demanded. I wished I sounded stronger and not so much like I was half afraid he’d slice my head off.
Dad stared at me with wide eyes, unused to me standing up to him, even in a small way.
“This doesn’t concern you,” he said. “You need to stick to defending the legal interests of the family.”
“You’re the one who asked me to meet you here,” I reminded him, shifting a little more so that he would stop trying to keep one eye on Quincy, Miss Yates, and Chester and focus on me completely.
I got the attention I was after, but it took every inch of the backbone Quincy had helped me to start growing not to fall back into docility where my dad was concerned.
“He did something to you,” my dad said. “I don’t know what it was or how he accomplished it in such a short period of time, but that omega poisoned you somehow.”
“Quincy didn’t do anything,” I lied. “You’ve been telling me for years that I need to alpha-up and be the sort of man that will make the Salisbury name proud.
Well? Here I am. I’m standing up for what I believe in, and what I believe in is treating all people fairly and letting those who know what they’re doing do their jobs. ”
I felt strong for saying that.
For about three seconds.
“You have no idea what’s at stake here, Junior,” Dad hissed. “Chester Monk isn’t just a brilliant scientist and businessman. His new computational tools are the key to accessing information from every business and voter in Barrington, in the state, in the entire country, even.”
My brow flew up as the deeper implication of what my dad was saying started to sink in.
“His backing for my campaign will assure victory,” Dad went on. “And my victory will enable me to funnel contracts his way, which will lead to more security for my position as governor and fuel future ambitions.”
“The two of you have formed an alliance,” I said, shocked but not surprised. My dad had a way of finding the brightest, most unscrupulous minds to tap into so he could advance himself.
“Of course we have,” Dad murmured tightly. “Don’t be a na?ve fool. Power in this world rests on the three pillars of money, society, and politics. Nothing else matters, and that includes disgusting, aberrant omegas who are only good for release.”
Bile rose up in my throat, and I had to clench my hands into fists to stop myself from attacking my own father. Especially when I glanced to the side and saw a crestfallen Quincy stepping away from Miss Yates and Chester.
“We’ll talk after lunch,” Miss Yates said quietly to him.
Quincy looked at me for the briefest of moments before heading for the door at the far end of the conference room, looking bewildered and upset.
“Power is hollow if you don’t have a heart,” I told my dad, then turned to follow Quincy.
“Where are you going, Junior?” he asked, calling me that on purpose.
I almost ignored him and kept walking.
Almost.
“I’m going to make sure a good, competent omega who knows his job isn’t too upset,” I said, darting a glance to Miss Yates, who had taken over explaining whatever Quincy had been showing Chester.
She wasn’t listening, but I still wanted to protect Quincy by not letting on that he was connected to me and my family.
I didn’t know if his job would be at risk if he was perceived as having a conflict of interest. “I’m going to be human instead of some cold machine that eats people in order to generate the illusion of power. ”
I turned to leave again, but my dad called after me, “You do that and you’ll pay the price.”
I huffed out a breath and turned back to him for a second time.
“What price?” I demanded. “For years, you’ve done nothing but tell me that I am a reflection of you, I am your only heir and successor.
You might not love me, but you value me as an asset, I know that.
What are you going to do to make me pay? ” I said it like it was a joke.
I had a sick feeling in my gut that it wasn’t. But it was worth the risk.
Quincy was worth the risk.
“Go, then,” Dad said, quietly fuming.
“I will,” I said, then nodded and marched away from him.
I didn’t calm down until I left the room. Even then, my fury only resolved into worry when I didn’t see Quincy anywhere in the busy hallways or lobby of the hotel.
I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.
“Where are you? I’ve just told my dad off, and I’m worried about you.”
I lowered my phone and looked around, like the buzz from Quincy’s phone would alert me to where he was.