33. Sunshine
Chapter 33
Sunshine
I woke up not exactly rested, but still better than I had been. It was like a strange hangover, but at least there was bacon.
Logan fed us a nice hearty breakfast, we gave Julian kisses before he had to go to work and promised to keep him updated about the assistant situation.
Logan walked me to my car, and I gave him an extra squeeze. “When can I meet this person? I want to talk to Raina first but…”
But I wanted to get everything set up so I could stop feeling doomed.
He handed me a lunch box. “Her name’s Ginny. Sweet kid. Call me after you talk to Raina and we’ll arrange a time to meet up.”
In the meantime, I had my work cut out for me. Logan took half of the random stupid phone call stuff, but there were plenty of things left for me to do.
Luca pulled me into a deep kiss that left me breathless before releasing me for work.
It was a beautiful spring day, and the temperature was climbing. It was hard to believe May was almost over and summer about to begin. I walked into the Welcome Center through the back door with an extra spring in my step.
I met Ember in the reception area before we opened for business.
My cousin handed me a donut. “Carb up. You’ve got that “good sex with a pack” spring in your step.”
I rolled my eyes. “Actually, the spring is coming from having three incredibly sweet and supportive men to help me troubleshoot all my problems.”
Ember blinked. “Whoa. That’s actually sexier than good sex.”
“Right?”
“I don’t want to know.” Zephyr came into the reception area wearing slacks and a polo shirt. “We’re totally booked today. What can I do?”
Ember happily took over bossing around her older brother.
“Where’s your sister?” I asked before they could get too far.
“Her office.” They both said at the same time.
“You need help?” Ember looked worried. “I could spare an hour or two later this afternoon.”
“I have a solution,” I grinned with only partially fake cheer. I waved the piece of paper Logan had color coded for me. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Steeling myself, I headed into my cousin’s office. She was frowning at her computer. I paused to really look at her. She looked tired, and there was a massive cup of coffee on her desk.
“What’s wrong?” I sat down in one of her plush chairs in front of her desk. Her sparkly pink planner was open but covered in post it notes and three different pens.
Raina shook her head. “We’re taking in more clients than normal, and several of the matches are borderline.”
I groaned. I hated the borderline matches. The computer software we used based its algorithm on personality traits, job, hobbies, and all sorts of other things I didn’t understand. Could be witchcraft for all I knew about computers. Sometimes Stella liked to rub rose quartz on the computers before running the software “for good luck.”
Ember and Terran had built the program when we were teens, with West’s help, and told Stella that rose quartz couldn’t hurt anything.
But Raina was a bit of a control freak and made sure she vetted every match before letting anyone meet up. Sometimes it was really obvious who would be a good match. Anything above eighty-five percent was considered extremely compatible.
But sometimes a person had a bunch of decent matches, in the range of the seventies, with no obvious choice of yes, this person seems like a great fit.
It usually ended with the person finding their match, but sometimes they had to date a few people to make it work.
Raina hated that. For some reason she thought people shouldn’t have to date three different people or packs before finding their true love.
I thought that was unreasonable expectation and told her. Often.
I waved my piece of paper. Here went nothing. “I need an assistant.”
Raina preferred the direct approach, and I was still too drained to beat around the bush. I sipped my cup of chai latte Logan had made for me, the taste of cinnamon and spice on my tongue reminding me of Luca.
Raina sat up. “Are you okay?”
It was sweet, her first concern was for me. I tended to dread anything that could be considered a conflict, and I’d probably been unfair in assuming Raina would laugh in my face for asking for help.
I handed her the color-coded list. “I had a mini panic attack last night. I’m behind.”
I walked her through the last two weeks of random things popping up and taking time away from when I was supposed to be scheduling things, but I was also honest about forgetting or putting off stuff that I hated doing.
I told her about getting up last night, and about the pack helping me.
Raina touched her chest. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
I grinned. “Right? It’s like there’s nothing I can do to horrify them into leaving me.”
“Almost like they accept you for who you are, warts and all.” Raina arched an eyebrow. “No wonder you’re struggling with them. Derision you can handle, but love and acceptance? The horror.”
I rolled my eyes. “Look who’s talking. Brat. Anyway, Logan said half those things on my list are things an assistant can perform. Having one dedicated person to perform those tasks will free me up to do what I do best.”
“Which is plan events.” Raina tapped her pen on her sparkling pink planner. I gave myself a mental note to order Raina some more colorful pens. She deserved a little pick me up. “I bet if Holly made a similar list she would have the same issue.”
“She’s handling it, but how many more fundraisers or events could she be working?”
“Why not ask one of us?” Raina shrugged. “Ember and Terran are both very good at task-oriented lists.”
I felt only a little guilty for barreling on, remembering how Luca explained it to me. I gestured at the computer. “What if Ember and Terran occasionally pitched in on matching? How helpful is it for you to have to explain each case and person you’re trying to match?”
Raina’s face went sour. “Easier to do it myself.”
I gestured at the list in my cousin’s hand. “Hence that list. It’s just so much easier for me to knock that stuff out one by one instead of spending twenty minutes walking someone through why they can’t ask Mrs. Brewer for pink carnations.”
“Why not?”
I shook my head. “Don’t ask.”
“How is an assistant going to be any different?” Raina chewed on the tip of her pen. She sounded thoughtful, not annoyed, her hair in it’s usual bun with a purple pen stuck inside.
“Because I’ll walk her through each event, and each item that needs to be done. Once that’s done, I can release her to do the do.” I finished by wiggling my hands.
“Oh.” Raina bit her lip. She had a little line in between her eyes that meant she was thinking. “You could train her on how we like things done.”
“I could share her with Holly. Let her tackle both areas of the events business.”
“No.” Raina sounded thoughtful. Now her wheels were turning. I suppressed a great sigh of relief. She was on board with this plan, and I would have very little guilt to deal with. “She needs her own. It would be much easier to have two assistants than you trying to cross over each other.”
I could have asked Raina earlier, but the conversation was less stressful when I could easily form my thoughts because my guys had helped me.
I beamed. “Thank you. I’ve felt really lazy and guilty about dropping all these tasks.”
“Don’t be.” Raina frowned. “I need to check in with everyone else, see if maybe we need more support staff. I should have thought of this sooner.
“Nope.” I held up my hand. “Don’t do that to yourself. I should have talked to you sooner. The event planning portion of our business grew a lot quicker than we thought it would.”
Raina got a far away look on her face. “Think of your profit margins when you can really let yourself sink into the work.”
I laughed. Trust my mercenary cousin to be running the numbers.
“You said Logan had a candidate in mind?”
I nodded. “I wanted to talk to you first, but I’m going to meet up with her soon if that’s okay.”
“It is. Let me crunch some numbers, and I’ll let you know what we can offer her in terms of a salary.”
I beamed, unable to keep my joy down. I wanted to do a little dance. I was no longer doomed. There was light at the end of the tunnel, and it wasn’t a train coming to run me over.
Thanks to Pack Kahele. I was going to show them how thankful I was.
Raina looked at the list again. “The check marks are what you’ve taken care of?”
“Yes,” I shifted in my seat. Remembering the day of phone calls I had ahead of me. “I’ve got a lot of work still, but it’s getting handled.”
My cousin pulled her favorite black felt pen out. “I can do this half. Let me know if there’s anything special.”
I was already shaking my head. “I can take care of it.”
Raina pulled a piece of paper out. “I want to. Give me something small and easy to do today. Go wander around the grounds or be creative.”
Relief washed over me in a wave. “Thank you.”
Raina smiled. “Maybe go surprise your pack.”
What an excellent idea.
“Before I forget, I’m going to ask Talia about the bachelorette party.” I pulled out my phone. The party was one of the new events that popped up. It was easy to do, but I sucked at juggling tasks. “She had some really good mocktail flavored cupcakes. It’s a tight turn around, but I figured I’d ask her first.”
Raina scribbled notes to herself. “Sounds great. Do you need some backup bakeries if she can’t do it?”
I wished I was that organized. Life would be so much easier if I could just work a to-do list.
“I do.” I typed out a quick message to Talia.
I’d tried to keep up with her, but between my work and Talia’s work, we’d barely been able to hang out. We exchanged text messages, mostly Talia upset that her boyfriends weren’t treating her right and me making sympathetic noises in turn.
Sunshine:
Hey lady! Let me know when you’re free so we can hang out. Also, I have a bachelorette party coming up this Saturday.
Can you make forty cupcakes using the mocktail flavors by Saturday morning? It’s okay if that’s too tight of a turnaround time. I just wanted to offer to you first since you’re awesome. :D
I hit send.
I left Raina’s office and went into my own.
For ten whole seconds I debated just doing the call list anyway. Raina said she would help, but that was my work to do. Even though we all used to pitch in where the business needed help, before we grew so big that we had to have one person in charge of specific areas.
But if I didn’t have the task list of doom today, I could keep working on the four bonding ceremonies I had coming up. I’d actually have the space to do research into some cool locations and present the packs with something that didn’t feel rushed.
Before I got sucked down the research rabbit hole, I called Logan.
“Hey, Sunshine.” His voice was soft when he said my name and I went gooey inside.
“Hey, Logan.” I couldn’t keep my smile off my face. “I’ve got an assistant position open. And Raina was so moved by my argument, she’s going to get Holly one too.”
“That’s excellent.” The clatter of pots and pans sounded in the background.
“Are you busy?”
“No, darling. Just our normal prep.” More pots and pans clattered in the background. “When would you like to schedule the interview?”
I bit my lip. “Is tomorrow too soon?”
Logan chuckled. “Nope. I’ll let her know. Should I send her over to the Welcome Center?”
I cocked my head, fiddling with the paperwork on my desk. “Hmph.”
“Doesn’t feel right?”
“No.” I looked around my office, which had returned to it’s default state of “looks like we were robbed”. “She’ll need to work here at some point, but I’d rather somewhere more neutral.”
“You could use the banquet room?” Logan suggested like I might scoff at the idea. “It’ll give you some privacy after I introduce you two?”
“Yes.” I perked up. “That’s perfect. You already know her.”
“Alright.” He sounded relieved.
“You’re not meddling, Logan.” It was hard to put my emotions to words. I was touched that he cared so much that he would go to the trouble of trying to solve any issues in my life, however minor.
Luca and Julian acted the same way. I knew I loved them, but somehow seeing their love in action, through their words and deeds, was still a lot to handle.
How could I not fall in love with the pack that saw to my every need? Who supported me, took care of me, and made me feel just as needed and special in their lives?
“Just making sure,” he said. “You’re a hell of a businesswoman. I’m just here to offer support.”
“I know.” My voice was thick with emotion. “I can’t thank you or the others enough for helping me through this.”
“That’s what we do,” Logan said. “We’re…”
He paused for a minute, like he was going to say something else. Like they were my pack.
“We’re here for you,” he finally finished. “You’re not going to scare us off.”
It was wonderful they realized how hard it was for me to open up to them. That they actually appreciated that. “I feel like you guys are doing all the support and I’m just being selfish.”
Logan huffed a laugh. “Not that it’s a tit for a tat, but you talk me through all my menus, you work next to Luca and keep him company, and you spoil Julian within an inch of his life. Video games, blankets, cuddles, whatever. Your special date before his heat. You give us plenty, Sunshine.”
When he said it like that, I realized I was providing for the pack. I wasn’t just having my little meltdowns.
“I like helping you with menus. I like working next to Luca, it helps me focus too. And I love spending every single moment of the day with Julian. Hardly a big ask.”
“Exactly.” Someone shouted in the background, and Logan grumbled. “Giving you everything your heart’s desires is hardly a tall ask.”
“I know you’re busy, I’ll let you get back to work.”
Logan grumbled again.
“I’ll see you tonight?”
“You will,” Logan said. “I’ll bring some of the flan home.”
“Ooooo.” My mouth watered at the idea of a fancy dessert.
We said goodbye, and I hung up, fuzzy warmth building inside me.
Everything…was going to be okay. I moved some papers around my desk to feel like I was doing something, but my mind raced. No matter how weird I was, Pack Kahele just took it in stride. They helped me, rather than making me feel broken.
A part of my mind whispered that I was just a beta. At some point there wouldn’t be any use for me.
I shook my head, sipping my chai tea. That wasn’t true, no matter what I was afraid of. Julian wanted me to move in with them. Logan and Luca too.
They loved me.
They hadn’t asked me to bond them yet, but I doubt they would before I was comfortable moving in. I kept them at arm’s length at times. If Julian hadn’t kissed me, who knew how long it would take for them to feel like I was ready for more? They were reading all my cues.
My phone chirped.
Talia:
Yes I’ll do the cupcakes sounds good
Sunshine:
Okay great! I’ll see you Saturday morning around nine
Cupcakes sorted, I crossed it off my to-do list with a flourish.
The rest of the morning passed like I was floating on a cloud, and Holly poked her head into the office around lunchtime.
I grinned. “Hey stranger.”
Holly rolled her eyes. “Sorry, wedding season is nuts.” Her dark brown hair was pulled into a bun today, and she wore a navy blazer with cream-colored pants. Her green eyes sparkled with mirth as she sat down. “I heard you managed to get us some assistants.”
I pulled out the color-coded list. I told her about my late-night panic, and how wonderful the pack had been.
“Logan did this. It was shocking to see how much of my time is being used on something that can get delegated out.”
Holly frowned at the list. “I don’t want to know how much time I spend doing the same thing.”
“Exactly.” I pulled my lunch box out of the fridge. “How many more events could we manage if we weren’t bogged down in simple tasks?”
Holly grinned. “Which is what made Raina agree.”
I laughed. “She did get excited at the idea of more revenue.”
I gestured at my pesto chicken flatbread sandwich. “You want some? Logan’s been experimenting.”
“I just had a massive steak and baked potato with Aiden and Noah.” Holly put her hand on her stomach. “If I had known you would offer me food I would have waited.”
“I’ll get you a to-go bag tomorrow. I’m interviewing a candidate at Talk of the Town.” I took a bite, and pesto-chicken goodness flooded my mouth. Logan was a genius when it came to food. And my body. And making me feel better.
“That was fast.” Holly smirked. “I see things are going okay with Pack Kahele?”
“When does the feeling of “I’m just a beta” go away?” I picked up a chip. “I keep waiting for them to decide they don’t need me anymore.”
Holly made a face, grabbing a stack of papers off my desk. “Are they making you feel like ‘just a beta’?”
“It feels like they’re treating me like another omega. Logan makes us all lunch. Luca sends me flowers, brings me home chocolate and presents, and Julian is attached at my hip.”
Pure happiness bubbled up inside me. “It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect. They asked me to move in with them.”
“Ah, so that’s terrifying.” Holly started sorting the papers out by invoices. I would be offended if I didn’t want her to sort things out for me. “If it’s your own insecurities, you’re just going to have to tell yourself that you’re a vital part of the pack. Just like an omega or alpha.”
“Yeah yeah, we balance the pack out.” It was a struggle not to roll my eyes. “You hated hearing that as much as I did growing up.”
“I did.” Holly shifted more papers around. “It wasn’t until I was in a pack that I saw it work firsthand. I’m their anchor point. They all come to me for comfort and reassurance. Biology puts alphas and omegas into each other’s orbits all the time, the push-pull of nesting, being taken care of, and sexual desire. But betas don’t make those “demands”.”
Holly used air quotes. “We’re just there, a place to relax and chill. Aiden and Noah said they’re much more relaxed now that I’m around. They don’t feel the sharp spikes of hormones as much.”
I took a bite of my sandwich. All three of the guys had said something similar to me at some point. And despite my fears, I had been helpful during the heat.
“You should move in,” Holly said. “You know you want to.”
I chewed my sandwich, nodding. “Julian’s right. I basically live there now.”
“Stop waiting for the other shoe to drop and do it.” Holly grabbed another stack of papers and sorted them into a pile.
“If they were going to be disgusted by my less admirable traits, it would have been last night.”
“Exactly. Instead, they swooped in to help.”
They did.
I should move in. My heart thumped at the idea. I could pack up most of my stuff this afternoon. I wouldn’t have to give up my cottage, but I could get the rest of my clothes that hadn’t already migrated over. My books, some of my photos.
I grinned at the thought of Julian’s face when he came home from work to find most of my stuff in his house.
Our house. I did a little dance in my chair and grinned like an idiot. “You’re right. I’ll get my stuff together.”
The door opened, and Ember swooped in like a pterodactyl. “It’s lunchtime.”
She was unreasonably excited. I pulled a second lunch box out of the mini fridge. “Chef Alejandro was experimenting in the kitchen yesterday. He sends his regards.”
She looked at the box suspiciously. “He hasn’t even met me. He doesn’t know I’m hot.”
Many, many, many alphas had tried to date Ember and West. The combination of Ember’s energy and West’s dark brooding was too much for most single alphas to resist.
None of them made it out of round one. Ember muttered about alphas trying to come between her and West and dumped them without ceremony.
Holly laughed. “You’re an omega. He’s a chef. He wants to feed you, sight unseen.”
“Hmmm.” Ember opened the container. It was done up like a bento box, with a fried pork cutlet sliced very fine and a plum dipping sauce with tempura vegetables, and a seaweed salad. “This looks amazing. I accept the food.”
Ember swung out of my office, and I couldn’t help but grin. “Logan suggested he pack Ember some of Alejandro’s food.”
Holly laughed. “So your alpha’s playing matchmaker.”
“He’s not my alpha.”
Holly arched an eyebrow.
“We’re not bonded.” I shifted in my seat. “Okay, okay. I’ll work on not feeling like the fourth wheel and accept their love and support for what it is. I’m moving in. Happy?”
Holly beamed. “Yes. Yes I am.”
I considered leaving early to start packing, but just as Holly was getting up to leave, my door opened again, and Talia stormed inside.
Her face was red, and her eyes were puffy.
“What’s wrong?”
Talia looked at Holly and then me. “Stephen and Jones broke up with me.”
“I’m sorry.” Holly said, putting a hand on Talia’s arm. “I’ll give you some space.”
I sat down on the couch next to Talia, secretly glad I had a light day today. Some of my tasks were put off this last week because Talia had been fighting with her boyfriends and I needed to talk to her on the phone about the situation. “What happened?”
“Everything was going great.” She sniffled. “I don’t know what went wrong.”
I handed her a bottle of water.
“They said they didn’t need me.” Her voice cracked. “That I was too high maintenance, and I acted like I was an omega.”
“Those bastards,” I hissed.
“Right?” Talia was outraged. “I spent hours helping them with their sales pitch, I brought them cookies and cupcakes for their offices. I worked late and got up early to go to their events. And now this.” She gestured with her hands, her voice shaking.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, wishing there was something I could do.
“Alphas are all the same,” she snapped. “Absolute selfish jerks. Making you jump through hoops just for a scrap of attention.”
I patted her back. “Honey, that’s horrible. You don’t deserve to be treated like that.”
“Don’t let those alphas of yours do the same thing.” She held up a hand. “Don’t make my mistake. Just because we’re betas doesn’t mean we’re not important.”
“They don’t,” I said softly. “Thank you for looking out for me.”
“Two alphas who already have their omega? How are they not treating you like a fling?” Talia frowned. “Don’t let them treat you like you’re just there for the ride.”
“I won’t,” I said again, shifting my weight. I didn’t get around to telling Talia that me and the pack had said we loved each other. I guess now was the time. “They said they loved me. I’m going to move in.”
“Okay.” Talia paused, her anger momentarily derailed. “You’re sure about that?”
“Yes,” I replied, and I was. Moving it was the right next step. It was time to stop worrying that something would go terribly wrong and take them for their word.
“Good. Because betas are awesome.”
“ We are,” I agreed. “Super awesome. If your boyfriends didn’t see that, they weren’t the right ones for you.”
Talia sniffled again, her eyes welling up with tears. “I don’t know what else I could have done to show them I was perfect for them.”
“Let them show you ,” I said. “Next time, let them prove to you why you should join their pack.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Talia said bitterly. "Not with any of the packs I’ve dated.”
I held my tongue. Telling my friend that was exactly how it worked for me, and Holly, wasn’t helpful. I listened to her rant and soothed her as best as I could.
I texted the guys to tell them I would be staying at my cottage, so I could be there for Talia. I felt guilty for being disappointed I wasn’t spending the night with my pack, but Talia had begged me to stay with her, have one more girls’ night out before I became an old lady.
I agreed, and we went back to my cottage and ate ice cream and popcorn and watched horror movies. Our favorite way to get over a breakup. I also figured I could start packing my stuff up once my friend left. She stayed late, and the next morning I headed over to Talk of the Town with boxes of clothes in my trunk. Almost time to spring the surprise on the pack.