CHAPTER FIVE #2
Gwen nodded. “I grabbed him at the buffet and dragged him to my table.” She laughed at a presumed memory knocking around in her head.
“Poor guy thought I was hitting on him, and I had on my wedding ring! I wanted him to meet Doug before they cut the cake. By the time we were throwing birdseed at the happy couple, they’d exchanged numbers. ”
“Wow.” Of course, Phillip Stallworth being sexy as all fuck, who could blame Doug? The warmth of Gwen’s story faded, however, as Will remembered how the story ended. “So sad that he’s gone.”
“Yes, but Phil never forgot how I plucked him out of the food line and matched him with his Omega,” Gwen said.
“After Doug died, he wanted to pivot into a new career, and he came to me a year ago with the idea for this place. In a way, we’re doing this for all the Phils and Dougs out there who haven’t yet met and deserve a chance. ”
Gwen rose and pushed her chair back into her cubicle. The story had taken some energy out of her, Will noticed. She walked with her shoulders stooped and her head bowed, carrying the weight of her late friend’s memory.
“I think Doug would be proud of both of you,” he said.
“Yeah.” Her tone turned wistful. “Thing is, if Doug hadn’t died I think we’d have ended up here eventually. We both liked our previous jobs, but they were paychecks, not passions. Sometimes you have to take a leap and give that dream one chance to become lucid and real.”
Will supposed, by accepting a job at a company yet to be named, he followed that thread. He turned his chair around and straddled it, hugging the back. “So, what vibes do you get from me?”
“What do you mean?” Gwen asked.
“I’m not mated. I’m not really looking at the moment, but let’s say I am.
” Will tipped his head in the direction of the storefront window.
“If you didn’t know his status, you could construe the barista as a lucky guess.
He’s the kind of hot that attracts everybody, regardless of their biology, you know? ”
He smiled as Gwen barked out a laugh, then added, “I mean, if Gabe and I hooked up we’d have some fun, but ultimately we will want to settle down with our respective Alphas when we find them. When you look at me do you see the type of Alpha I should be with?”
“Oh, so you want a freebie, huh?” Gwen’s voice took on a chiding tone. “I can’t launch a business if everybody wants the deep friends and family discount.”
Will appreciated his implied inclusion into Gwen’s circle of friends. “What about an employee discount?”
“It wouldn’t be fair of me to give you a profile off the top of my head, Will.
I have the education but I’m not a psychic.
Phil and Doug were easy to match owing to prior knowledge I had about my friend,” she said.
“Phil matched Doug’s physical preferences, too.
His last two boyfriends were of similar height and coloring.
The way Phil kept sneaking glances at our table during the reception sealed it. ”
She shrugged and flashed a playful grin. “As the kids say, I shipped it.”
“At the risk of being fired on my first day, and not to disparage your matchmaking skills,” Will said, chuckling at Gwen’s arched look, “do you think you’ll have a high success rate right off the bat?
” Her tale of bringing Phil and Doug together sounded like pure luck.
If Phillip Stallworth hadn’t properly scented Doug, they wouldn’t have progressed past the cake cutting at that party.
Picking up a pair of highlighters from her desk caddy, Gwen rolled them in her hand as she talked.
“I’m not insulted if you think this operation is a folly.
It’s not like Phil and I mortgaged our houses to set this up,” she said.
“We worked on the business plan and raised the capital over the last year to get to this point.”
Will’s heart panged, “Oh, I didn’t mean to…”
“You’re good,” Gwen cut in. “The job may seem like a novelty for the first few weeks or so, but I am optimistic.” She tilted her head, appraising him. “It wouldn’t surprise me if a client or a delivery person scents you and lingers at your desk.”
“You’ll tell me if their profiles match mine before I accept any overtures, right?”
“Oh, absolutely!”
Gwen’s words flattered him, and Will imagined his face turned pink to complement the heat he felt creeping up his neck.
Through high school and college, he’d accepted the role of token dateless geek among his social circles.
Friends paired off with each other for casual dating and eventual mating, while Will looked on with longing.
On the rare occasions he attracted the attention of a potential boyfriend, the prospects stalled after one or two outings.
Be it a friendly incompatibility or an incapability to see an asshole disguised as a knight, Will considered himself cursed in that department.
Just because an Alpha smelled good didn’t make him the right fit.
These feelings bolstered his determination to remain single for a while.
“I don’t know,” he said, thinking of Ray.
He’d done the right thing, he believed, in keeping up his guard, but saying no still hurt.
Ray seemed nice, and his vibe radiated like his crooked smile and tantalizing scent, sincere with an underlying sexy mischief.
Will wanted to believe Ray represented a turn of luck. “I suppose we’ll see.”
“What will we see?”
A new voice entered the chat, bringing with it that familiar scent of bourbon and leather, mixed with the man’s unique musk.
Will’s heart pumped harder as Ray’s presence loomed.
He tracked the Alpha, stealth and handsome in a tight black tee, sweatpants, and slip-on shoes in a checkerboard pattern, as he sauntered deeper into the office.
Unlike the last time Will saw him, Ray showed off more of his ink.
Both upper arms sported colorful shapes, blue feathers on his left and chess pieces on his right, which hinted at grander designs underneath the shirt.
The underside of Ray’s right forearm, close to his wrist, featured a round symbol similar to the yin-yang but in three parts instead of two.
Ray’s curious expression panned from Gwen to Will.
He wrinkled his nose, as though hoping to catch a whiff of Will.
Good luck to his olfactory sense if it could power through Will’s suppressants.
“Hey, glad you were able to come,” he said, sliding off his backpack.
“I went to the gym for lunch and ran late. Work clothes are in here.”
No changing in the locker room? Clever Alpha. Ray wanted Will to scent him post-workout, and get the full effect.
Will didn’t hear his own acknowledgement of Ray for the blood pumping in his ears.
Ray wore glasses today, and in Will’s mind they changed his appearance for the better.
Ray cut a handsome figure without them, but the thin aviator-style frames enhanced his eyes and drew Will’s attention to his sharp cheekbones and cute, oblong dimples.
A man could get the tip of his tongue stuck in one, they looked so deep and delicious.
“So, what are we talking about?” Ray asked. His impish grin fixed hard on Will as though ready to suss out a lie if Will attempted one. It was enough to inspire a nervous laugh in response, even though Will and Gwen hadn’t gossiped about him. To his relief, Gwen cut in with a semi-truth.
“We were discussing starter jobs, and whether or not they’re still relevant in this economy.” She returned the highlighters to her caddy. “I can’t remember, what was your first job, Ray?” she asked. “You serve time in a drive-thru window, too?”
Ray sauntered over to his cubicle. Two days after claiming it, he’d put on a few personal touches.
Will spotted a line of bobblehead figurines atop the high shelf, all effigies of popular science fiction film villains.
Next to them at the far end sat an instant camera, presumably for decorating the low walls with snapshots of happily ever after couple photos.
“I mowed lawns. Well, more than that,” Ray was saying as he spun around his chair and sat. “My uncle owns a landscaping business and I did a bit of everything. Mowing, cleaning gutters, resodding, yada yada. I stayed on part-time the first few years I worked as a high school counselor.”
Gwen nodded. “Nice to have the extra cash, but it really makes a statement that people in education feel the need to work second jobs for luxuries,” she said.
“Well, the way I see it, it got me outside. I didn’t have to work for Uncle George, but I liked having mad money.” Ray spread his knees, showing off spots on the insides of his thighs where the fabric turned threadbare. Will forced his focus on Ray’s face.
Ray added, “So you’re aware, once in a while I’ll pitch in during the busy season if he’s short-handed.”
Gwen swiveled in her chair, facing him, and rested her elbows on her knees.
“What a good nephew.” She drew out the words in a suggestive tone.
“It’s almost time for spring planting,” she said.
“The garden store pop-ups are setting up in the shopping center parking lots. I bet that plays havoc on you guys, all those extra scents in the air.”
“Trust me, I can tell an Omega apart from a rosebush.”
Ray looked right at Will, saying it. The heat radiating between them could have nurtured a whole greenhouse full of flowers.
“Anyway.” Ray cleared his throat and stood.
“I checked my email this morning, and Phil sent me enough work to keep me busy the rest of today.” Ray unzipped his bag and set out a few notebooks on his desk.
“He’s set up four appointments with potential clients.
Personal connections, I guess like a trial run, but you probably knew that. ”
Gwen affirmed it. “We have to start somewhere.”
“And I downloaded the door app and played around with it last night,” he added, flicking an appreciative glance at Will. “Easy to use.”
Will nodded. That was the point. He thanked Ray and turned back to his desk when Ray excused himself to freshen up and change in the bathroom. “This won’t be a recurring event, by the way. I’ll set my alarm next time.”
“Don’t worry about it. Plenty of room back there.” Gwen’s voice chimed in behind Will. What followed next in a huskier tone had Will executing a slow turn in his chair that no doubt looked comical to his new boss.
“Isn’t it a shame we won’t get to see him coming into work in shorts and a tank, all sweaty and covered in specks of cut grass from his side hustle.”
He stared at Gwen, open-mouthed and baffled. Was it yet his place to call out such inappropriate language in the workplace? Yeah, this was a matchmaking agency and perhaps some off-color humor came with the territory, but damn. The images Gwen evoked with her teasing left Will hot and bothered.
The thought of Ray in a skimpy yardwork outfit, skin glistening and tanned from the sun, could damn near trigger a heat.
Oh, what the hell. “Why would you think that’s… what?”
Gwen said nothing more but offered a sly wink.