Arrivals & Assets (Summertime Instalove #1)

Chapter 1 - Dylan

~April~

“Ahhhh,” I sighed as I dropped into my chair, then took a long drink of my iced coffee. “Caffeine.”

Adam, an omega who worked at the desk across from mine, chuckled. “What is that? Your third cup of the day? Fourth? You’ll be bouncing off the walls before long.”

I snorted and held up my company-branded tumbler—bearing the Techspeed Consulting logo. “Only my second.”

He made a show of rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “Full? In that thing? What is that, thirty ounces?”

“Forty,” I replied with a smirk.

“You do know that—combined—it’s over half a gallon of coffee, right?”

I grinned and took another long drink. “Yep.”

“Did you leave any for the rest of us?”

I mock gasped and held my hand to my chest. “Are you accusing me of depriving my coworkers?”

He started laughing.

I joined him for a minute before I could speak again. “Fresh pot is brewing,” I replied as we gave up the bit.

“Are you guys doing that thing again?” asked another of the delivery leads on the floor, an alpha named Taal.

“Naw,” I replied, swiveling in my chair. “Only half. Adam’s teased me about my coffee, but I think I’ll wait until this afternoon to give him shit about his grass water.”

“It’s called matcha, thank you very much.”

That made me laugh again. “I know what it’s called.

Still don’t know how you can drink it. I tried it from a few different places, and all I ever get is lawn clippings.

Vanilla lawn clippings, caramel lawn clippings…

” I shuddered. “Chocolate lawn clippings. Eventually, I decided to stop wasting my money. No amount of added sugar, flavor, or milk variety was ever going to mask the lawn clippings.”

Adam waved a finger at me. “And that’s where you went wrong. You’re not supposed to add sweeteners to green teas.”

“Tried that too. Unsweetened lawn clippings.”

Taal made a noise, shook his head, and wandered back to his desk.

Banter over with, I made sure that no emergencies had landed in my inbox, then pulled up the first status update of the day.

Everything was on track with no reported problems from the first team I oversaw, which was a relief.

The client had been notorious for scope creep, and I’d had to call down to the account manager several times to rein them in.

Seeing that they understood—even if temporarily—that it would cost extra for extra work was a win that I would take.

The second report was from a team that had been running smoothly and was maintaining that status.

Everything was not only on track, but potentially slightly ahead of schedule.

There was also a note in the account file that the client had called the account manager to thank the team, even though the project wasn’t complete yet.

I made it through two more status updates before my work chat channel chimed with a message. I opened it to see a meeting request from the executive receptionist, Micah.

I ensured that nothing would take priority over a meeting with the executive team, then confirmed the request.

“Hey, you ok?” Adam asked.

I blinked as I looked up at him. “Huh?”

“You got a bit pale, and I can smell your stress. Are you feeling ok?”

I let out a single chuckle. “Got a message from Micah upstairs.”

“Micah?” Adam asked. “What happened to Ryan?”

“He’s still out on paternity leave.”

“Ah, so what does Micah want?”

“Dunno. The big bosses want to talk to me.”

“Oooooooh,” Taal teased. “What’d ya mess up?”

“Nothing that I know of,” I replied, even as I tried to remember anything.

“Did you sleep with an omega who turned into a new hire?”

I snorted. “That would require sleeping with somebody.”

“You should try it sometime,” he shot back. “Or at least more often than you do. Warm man in your arms… popping a knot…”

“Says the man who always declares that he’s ‘just looking,’ and never takes anybody home either. When was the last time you got laid?”

“Knock it off,” Adam cut in. “I’m too close to my heat for you two to be talking about sex.”

“Sorry,” both Taal and I said at the same time.

We fell silent for several long seconds.

“The meeting could be about something good,” Adam noted, steering us back onto the main topic.

“Hopefully,” I replied.

“You were interviewed for that new branch, right?’ Taal asked.

I nodded.

“Hopefully it’s about that,” Adam said.

“Hope so.”

There was a beat of silence. The new branch was something many of us had applied for—especially those of us without families.

Working for the same company, but in a beachside city? Yes, please.

Even at my current salary, I’d be able to afford the hit of higher rent. On days when I allowed myself to daydream about it, I’d started browsing apartment websites.

And maybe I’d get lucky and meet an omega there. My dating life had seemed to stall in Valle Granja, and, if I was lucky, a new start in a new city would revitalize it.

A mate… maybe a couple of kids… I smiled as I allowed my mind to wander.

“Hey,” Taal said, interrupting my thoughts. “I’ve heard that new burrito place down the street is pretty good. Wanna hit them up for lunch?”

I smiled. “Just don’t let me order anything with beans.”

Adam laughed. “Don’t want to gas out the bosses?”

“No.”

Taal chuckled as we all got back to work.

The ambient noise of the floor surrounded us again: the clacking of keyboards, one-sided conversations from phone calls, and muted discussions as people reviewed various projects.

We headed out to lunch a few minutes before noon to avoid the rush.

I had just enough time to answer some questions from the teams I oversaw when we returned, then it was time to head to the meeting.

“Good luck,” Taal said as I stood.

“Thanks.”

My first stop was the men’s room. I did that weird sort of smile that let me check if there was anything stuck in my teeth, then I ran a hand through my black hair—smoothing it from where the breeze had ruffled it during our walk back from lunch.

I stood straight and tugged my polo shirt so that it lay flat against my slender frame. It wasn’t a suit and tie, but it wasn’t as if I’d known about the meeting when I got dressed that morning.

I stood there for a minute to settle my nerves, then I nodded to myself and strode to the elevator.

I couldn’t explain why I was nervous. I was high enough on the ladder that I already reported directly to the chief operating officer. Plus, I’d met with the executive team multiple times over the past several months for interviews about the new location.

“Hey, Micah,” I said as I exited the elevator.

I glanced over at the dark office where the executive assistant—Ryan—usually was. But he was still at home with his new baby—who’d been fathered by one of the executive team.

Nobody was sure who exactly the father was. But it had been an open secret that the four company founders were a thing, and that they’d added their assistant at some point. It was the kind of thing that everybody knew, but nobody wanted to think about.

Michah nodded at me. “Hey Dylan, they’re ready in the back meeting room. Let me call down; then I’ll be there.”

I swallowed and nodded. “Thanks.”

He grinned at me. “No prob.”

I walked past his circular desk area and noticed an assortment of sparkly pens scattered across the top—along with what looked like baby magazines.

I paused. “Looking for something for Ryan?” I asked, motioning at the glossy covers.

Micah turned a slight shade of pink under his blond hair. “I… am probably pregnant.”

“Probably?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I went into heat the day after Ryan had his baby. My mates took very good care of me.”

“Mates?”

The pink tint to his cheeks darkened. “I have four alphas…”

“Not…” I trailed off and motioned to the executive offices.

He shook his head and held up his hands. “Oh… no, no, no. Not them. But Ryan’s cousin, Owen, is one of my mates.”

I blinked several times. “Small world… I guess.”

He chuckled. “Head on back. I’ll be right there.”

“Ok.”

I strode past the large executive offices toward the small meeting room that they liked to use at the back of the building. The ones at the front of the floor—near the elevator—were for clients. The one at the back was for them.

“Knock, knock,” I said, poking my head through the open door, despite their likely seeing me walk up through the smart glass.

“Dylan!” Linden, the chief operating officer, declared, “Come on in!”

My muscles relaxed slightly. It wasn’t the tone of voice somebody used when they were mad—which meant that I hadn’t fucked up.

“Take a seat,” said the chief executive officer, Brendan.

“Thank you,” I replied, then nodded to the other two men. “Alonzo, Zane.”

Part of me always felt weird about calling the executive team by their first names, but they generally insisted that formalities were for clients, not employees.

“It’s good to see you again, Dylan,” said Alonzo, the chief financial officer.

“Agreed,” added Zane, the chief marketing officer.

I sat, and they followed. A moment later, Micah strode in, perched on a chair, and propped a tablet so that he could take notes.

“First off,” Brendan started. “I want to thank you for your patience during the selection process for the new Harris Cove branch.”

I nodded an acknowledgement.

“We understand it’s been several months of interviews and records reviews.” He paused and smiled. “That said, I’m honored to offer you the position as branch manager.”

Time stopped, and I momentarily forgot how to breathe.

“I… I got the job?”

He grinned. “Congratulations.”

“W-wow…”

“Don’t get too excited,” Linden said. “Now the hard work starts.”

I straightened in my chair and met his eyes. “Lay it on me.”

“That’s what we like to hear,” Alonzo said.

Linden grinned. “This branch… will be your baby. You’ve got a good track record of implementing and managing projects. We want to see what you can do when you’re given minimal direction.”

I swallowed. “Ok.”