49. West
West
W ork sucked. I drove home, exhausted and ready to receive cuddles. It should have flipped me out, craving the touch of not one but two alphas.
Ember I was used to. Rian didn’t feel threatening. But Ben and Alejandro were alphas capable of hurting me.
Except both of them had done nothing but show me they loved me. That I had space. Neither of them had ever pressed me to be knotted, and I had to maneuver my way to the bottom if I wanted to feel their weight on me.
Ember was right. I wasn’t ready for bonding, but it almost didn’t matter. They knew me well enough to know when I wanted space and when I wanted attention.
I opened the door and found Ember curled up on the couch. She had a million candles lit and had a blanket wrapped around her. I came over and gave her a kiss. “How was work?”
“Fine. You?” She pulled me down to her, and I curled up under the blankets gratefully.
“A trash fire,” I said. “Greg found out about you being bonded and was in a pissy mood all day.”
Ember rolled her eyes. “That was never going to happen.”
“I told him as much.” I shook my head. “And then the portal we submit our projects into won’t stop messing up.”
Ember made a face. “Our matching software is still being stupid. I’m beginning to suspect computer gnomes.”
I sighed and put my head on her shoulder. “You might be right.”
I’d had to work some overtime for taking heat leave and then being there for Ember and Rian being bonded. My boss had made some snide comments about how it must be nice to get off work early to get railed, and it was all I could do not to punch him.
She pulled my hair out of its braid with a smirk that said she was getting away with murder. “We’ll check the systems tomorrow.”
I muttered a yes, and she worked her fingers through my hair. I didn’t like people playing with my hair, but Ember, and now my pack, was the exception.
“You’re still happy?” I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. She obviously was, but I wondered if having three other people’s feelings inside her wasn’t…crowded.
“Ecstatic.” She beamed and touched her chest. “I thought being bonded would feel…suffocating. But it’s not. It’s like having snuggles, twenty-four seven.”
That actually sounded…nice. Maybe soon. The more times I felt Ben or Alejandro inside me, the more connection I wanted. I wanted it deeper, stronger. It was on the tip of my tongue the last time we’d had sex to beg them for a bite, but then I came to my senses.
The men in question came home, and we cuddled on the couch. Ember put on her bloodthirsty documentary, and I found myself considering starting another orgy when my phone beeped.
I looked down. It was my boss.
Mr. Arnold:
Your work has been shoddy for months. The project you submitted tonight had unacceptable mistakes in it. Coming back from heat and bonding leave is no excuse. See me in my office tomorrow.
Blood roared in my head, and I felt sick. I swallowed hard, locking down my emotions.
“What’s wrong?” Ben touched my shoulder.
I sighed and pulled my laptop out of my bag. “Nothing. My boss is an ass.”
Ember snatched my phone out of my hand, no sense of boundaries. “‘Your heat leave and unacceptable mistakes’? What does the fucker mean by that?”
I rubbed my temples. “I keep submitting projects and they wind up screwed up on the other end. First it was here and there, but now it happens regularly. I don’t know why.”
“Do you have the original version? Like, before you upload it into the portal?” Ember asked.
“It’s still on my laptop.”
“Let’s go through your code. We can compare to what you did and then what came through.” Ember yanked her laptop into her lap with a determined look.
I groaned. “That’s going to take hours.”
“Better to have the proof for tomorrow.”
She was right, of course. “All right.”
I signed into the work portal and located my projects. When I pulled it up, I swore a blue streak.
Alejandro wormed his way to my other side. “That doesn’t sound good, mi amor.”
“It’s not. Half of my code is broken. Mr. Arnold has to know I didn’t write it like that.” It would take hours, but Ember was right. We could compare the work I did to the broken code in the final project I submitted this morning.
We kept the nature channel on, and Alejandro fed us snacks while Ben stayed for moral support. Rian wandered out of his studio nest long enough to cuddle against Ben and watch me work.
Ember and I worked side by side, comparing code to code. At one point Rian stage-whispered, “Is it weird that I find the two of them being computer nerds is really hot?”
Alejandro laughed. “Not weird, or at least, we’re all weird.”
“Yes, we’re sexy.” Ember didn’t look up from her laptop. “Give us twenty minutes and then you can rail us until we forget our names.”
Desire flared. I liked the sound of that. I finished my work, and we took our lust into Ember’s tunnel nest. It was nice, having people I could spend time with without having to make sure I stepped around their feelings.
We had amazing sex, with more orgasms than I could count. The next morning, I woke up feeling good about my work meeting.
It sucked, but I would show him the lines of code and clear up the misunderstanding. Rian and Ben offered to carpool because they had a light day, but they never knew when they were getting off, so I drove myself.
When I got to work, Mr. Arnold glared at me and gestured to his office.
Greg mouthed a question, but I shook my head.
Mr. Arnold gestured for me to sit down. His office was cold and sterile, the apex of boring middle-level management with a heavy wooden desk and two uncomfortable chairs.
I sat down. “I can explain.”
The balding alpha held up his hand. “Let me speak. Your work has been unacceptable for the last few months. I realize that you are an…omega.”
He paused, and my blood ran hot. He always made it sound like I was a sex addict, but he also made sure to stand too close whenever looking over my shoulder.
“You have hormone fluctuations and all that.” He waved his hand. “But that’s no excuse.”
“You’re right,” I said, opening my laptop. “A home invasion and our nest being destroyed made Ember go into heat early and took me with her. But that has nothing to do with this.”
He got a pinched look on his face, like I wasn’t following his script. “I’m sorry to hear about the home invasion.”
I turned the laptop around. “These are screenshots of my project on my computer. Before I uploaded it into the server. I also emailed it to your work email.”
Mr. Arnold sighed. “Mr. Sullivan…”
“I don’t know what happened, but my project was intact before I uploaded it.” I pointed at the screenshots, showing him the before and after. “I completely agree. The project that was uploaded is a bad job. But that’s not what happened.”
Squinting, he leaned forward, looking at the two images. “I don’t understand your point.”
“Something is corrupting my files on the portal we submit our projects.” It seemed obvious to me.
Mr. Arnold shook his head. “Only yours? If this was a company-wide problem, then we would have many other projects with the same issue.”
“Let me dig into it.”
“You’re suspended.” Mr. Arnold frowned. “My hands are tied. This is the third project you’ve submitted that wasn’t usable.”
My body went hot and cold and hot again. “You can’t.”
He glared at that. “I can and I have. I’ll look into your claims, but the decision has already been made.”
I wanted to argue again, but the set look on his face made me realize I wouldn’t win.
I was just an omega skating by on my designation, in this alpha’s mind. “Fine.” I gritted my teeth. “I’ll look into it as well. Because I haven’t had so much as a black mark in six years.”
“Which is why it’s only for three days.” Mr. Arnold gestured at the door. “We’ll review when you get back.”
Fury rose in my chest, and for a minute I considered decking him. My omega instincts were on a rampage, feeling both betrayed and unsafe, a potent combination that made me want to lash out.
But two nights in jail had been enough for me. I reminded myself if I was in jail for assaulting my boss, I couldn’t cuddle my pack in my nest. So I left the office.
My head pounded, and suddenly all I wanted was to be around my pack.
I pulled out my phone. Alejandro was busy with a catering job, and Ember had a bunch of client intakes scheduled. Ben and Rian’s studio was a few blocks away.
I could hang out for a bit and then head home.
I texted Rian and Ben in the group chat.
West:
I’m gonna swing by for a little bit if that’s okay.
I drove over there, assuming they might not be able to look at their phones. I could always turn around and leave if they replied and said no.
But I was curious about the studio, and anger churned in my gut. I would just wallow if I went home now.
And honestly, it still felt like I was at Ben and Rian’s house. I could lie around there by myself, but it wasn’t the same as the cottage I shared with Ember.
I pulled up to the studio and checked my phone.
Ben:
hell yeah come on. Use the side door.
I parked and walked around to the side of the building to the door.
I knocked, and Ben opened up with a grin. “Hey, stranger.”
He stepped back, ushering me in.
I saw the allure for sure. On the other side of the window, Rian sat in a chair with thick headphones on and a guitar in his lap, while a massive man with tattoos sang.
“We’re recording, but you’re good to hang out as long as you want,” Ben said, gesturing around the room. “Are you okay? You smell off.”
His sensitive nose never stopped catching me off guard. My scent didn’t smell burnt. I got really good at not letting stress alter my scent.
I had to learn or suffer the hellish consequences.
I let out a breath. “I’m suspended.”
“What?” Ben’s voice was sharp, a hint of alpha bark. I felt my cock stir at his tone. Now isn’t a good time to get fucked , I told my inner omega. Later .
I told Ben about my boss.
By the end he was growling. “That’s discrimination. He can’t keep telling you that your hormones are the reason for your performance.”
“I know.” I rolled my eyes. Ben sat next to me, his knee brushing mine. My cock twitched and I tried to keep my thoughts pure. “But it’s a pain in the butt to call it out. You wind up sounding hysterical.”
“Okay.” Ben’s voice was calm. “You speak with HR and tell them my boss said my heats were no reason for a bad job on the morning of…and then give time and dates. That way it’s specific and clear.”
The thought of making a stink about it made me tired. I’d already endured one hell of accusations and ridicule. Was I really sure that was what happened? Maybe my stepfather didn’t mean to make me feel that way. And so on.
I’m an omega , I thought bitterly. I’m always up for sex, right?
“Thanks.” I patted his leg. “But I got this. I’m going to go over the portal the company uses and find the reason why my projects get corrupted. Mr. Arnold doesn’t touch me or even really leer at me. He’s just an ass.”
Ben grumbled. “I can go in there and go alpha on his ass if you want me to. I also have a really great lawyer on speed dial if you ever need it.”
I sighed and changed the topic. I spent the rest of the afternoon with Ben and Rian, enjoying being around them.
That night, Ember looked ready to murder Mr. Arnold on my behalf but I stopped her. I just wanted to enjoy being with everyone.
No point in making trouble. I just wanted to keep a low profile at work, as much as the computer issues would let me.