Chapter 7 - Adam
Taal leaned against the wall next to me, looking uncomfortable in his suit and carrying a half-empty flute of champagne in one hand. “You doing ok?”
I took a sip of my own champagne, ran my finger behind my shirt collar to loosen it, and shook my head. “Honestly, I want to go back to the hotel and curl up into a ball.”
“I’ve got some painkillers in my pocket if you need.”
“I took some before we left, but I might take you up on that later.”
“Is that a scent-blocking strip under your nose?”
I nodded. “I had to. It’s been so bad just at the office and around town. There were going to be too many people here.”
“What if he’s here?”
I snorted. “The strip barely helps. I’m pretty sure that if he was around, I would be able to smell him.”
“We’ll stay an appropriate amount of time to be polite, then I’ll get you out of here.”
“You don’t have to. I can get a ride-share back to the hotel so you can enjoy the party.”
Taal was silent for too long.
“What is it?” I asked.
He took a sip of champagne, then shook his head. “It’s getting worse.”
“Huh?”
“The past few nights… when you’ve fallen asleep against me… you… you tremble in your sleep. It…” he paused. “It scares me.”
“I tremble in my sleep now?”
He nodded and took another sip. “No offense, but I don’t want to leave you alone. I seriously considered crashing on that loveseat in your room. I know you’re trying to hide it, but…”
There was an uncomfortably long pause.
“Adam… I think you need to see a doctor.”
Fear curled in my middle. “It’s not that bad, right? Besides… we’ll find each other, then the sickness will go away.”
“When will you find him, though? It’s been more than a week, and you’re in rough shape. Your body can’t take much more of this.”
“Just give me a few more days.”
He sighed. “If you haven’t found him by this weekend… and if your symptoms haven’t improved… I’m taking you to the hospital.”
I stared at the floor. “Ok.”
Another pause. “How much champagne have you had?”
I shook my head. “Just this one, and I’m done after this.” I spied a nearby table where people seemed to have put their empties. “Actually… I’m done with it now. The big toast is over, and my stomach isn’t liking it.”
I started toward the table, but Taal stopped me.
“I’ll take it,” he offered.
Part of me wanted to protest, but the concern in his eyes made me give in.
I sighed as I handed the flute over. “Thank you.”
I leaned against the wall again. I felt like shit, but I was putting Taal through hell. His scent had been stressed for days. I’d managed to convince myself that it was work-related, but his confession about me scaring him…
He set both mine and his champagne flutes on the table and started back, but was then intercepted by the TechSpeed CEO, Brendan Wallace, who had flown in to attend the gala dinner that formally announced the partnership between our company and the Beischel Business Incubator.
Taal was led off into the mass of people, and I hoped that he would be able to stop worrying about me for a few minutes.
I looked up through the atrium-style building. The first two floors had businesses and various coworking spaces that the startups could use, while the third had a handful of business signs, but seemed to mostly feature offices and meeting rooms.
The ground floor was packed for the party.
Owners of the businesses that called the incubator home had all been invited, along with some of the founder’s billionaire friends.
The TechSpeed executive team had all flown in, though I’d heard they had a late flight back booked due to leaving their postpartum omega and infant back in Valle Granja.
I couldn’t say that I blamed them for wanting to get home to their mate and baby.
The management of our branch—which, while it still hadn’t sunk in, included me—were all present, along with mentors.
Then I’d noticed various members of the local press taking photos and conducting interviews during and after the speeches.
Rounding out the crowd were people in suits but with serious expressions and earpieces telling me that they were security for the billionaires.
I pulled out my phone, and my thumb hovered over the icon for my preferred rideshare service. It was unfair to Taal to ask him to miss out on the rest of the party just because I felt like shit.
“Adam! There you are!”
I glanced up to see Linden McKinney, the TechSpeed chief operating officer, striding over with another alpha at his side.
I straightened, slid my phone back into my pocket, and plastered what I hoped was a convincing smile on my face. “Linden,” I acknowledged with a nod.
“Wes, this is Adam Collins. He’s our SaaS lead for the Harris Cove branch.”
I stuck out a hand, and the alpha started to accept the handshake.
“Adam. This is Wes Abrams, founder and CEO of Abramsoft.”
I froze. “Abramsoft? You mean that Abramsoft?”
Wes laughed. “That’s the one.”
“It’s… wow…”
His laughter deepened. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Apparently,” Linden started explaining before I could ask, “Wes lives a few houses down from Alan Beischel. He also has been giving incubator businesses special discounts on his products. So he was invited to the party. When I told him what we did, well…”
Wes chuckled and turned to me. “Normally, this is when a CEO tries to strong-arm you into recommending our product over competitors, but I was actually hoping to set up a meeting to talk to you about something else.”
“What’s that?”
“While my team handles the app development these days, I like to stay on top of trends and business needs,” Wes stated. “Because of that, I think you’re in a good position to help me.”
“How so?”
He smiled. “You see pain points that don’t always come through bug reports and feature request forms.”
“Oooook…” I replied, unsure where he was going.
Linden laughed. “Don’t worry, Wes is still a CEO who wants to sell more products. And now that we’ve met, we’ll be holding discussions about affiliate rates for sales through us. But he wants to make even more sales by making a better product.”
Wes nodded. “That’s where you come in. I want to pick your brain to determine why and under what circumstances you recommend one product over another when working with clients. Where does our product fall short? What features are needed that nobody has?”
“I think I get it…”
Linden smiled. “This is a good opportunity for us. We don’t normally get direct pipelines to developers like this.”
“It’s good for us, too,” Wes agreed. “Customers sometimes have difficulty articulating what’s working and what’s not. But you speak the lingo. And while we obviously can’t do everything, being able to talk to somebody who can bridge that gap should allow us to make better products.”
I nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”
“That’s what I like to hear!” Linden said, then he paused and studied me. “Are you feeling ok?”
I forced a smile. “It’s nothing you should be worried about.”
He frowned. “If you say so.” Then he turned to Wes. “Did you want to meet anybody else?”
“Let me set up an appointment, then we can go speak to your new branch manager.”
“Ok.”
Wes turned to me. “I have Friday afternoon available. Does that work for you?”
I blinked as I realized it wasn’t just talk in front of my boss. “Sure. I can do Friday.”
“Great. I work from home, and security is always a bit tighter over the summer. So I’ll send somebody with a car. Can I have them pick you up around twelve forty-five? That should get you to my house for a one pm meeting.”
I nodded. “Works for me.”
“Great!” He paused and swiped his phone screen. “I’ve got you scheduled. See you Friday.”
I nodded. “See you Friday.”
They started away, then Linden turned to me again. “Are you sure you’re ok?”
“I will be.”
He scowled and pulled out his phone. “I’m getting you a car to take you back to the hotel. I’ll let Taal know since I know you’re close.”
“You don’t have to. I was about to order one myself anyway.”
“Even more reason for me to get it for you. I saw you and Taal come in together. Can I assume he drove?”
I nodded. “We’ve been carpooling lately. My rental is in the secure loading bay at the office, and he’s been driving to and from the hotel.”
“I see. Well… You may not have reported directly to me, but I’ve known you for a while. You’re a smart and capable man, and I know you know what kind of networking opportunity a night like this is. If you were ready to leave…”
He let the statement hang unfinished.
“I’ll have a sedan here in three minutes,” Wes announced, nostrils flaring.
“Pardon?” Linden asked.
Wes cast a concerned smile at me. “I’ll see you on Friday.” He turned his phone toward me. “Look for this logo on a black sedan, then give them your name. Your ride tonight is on me.”
“Y-you don’t have to,” I protested.
He gave me a smile that I couldn’t quite decipher. “Let’s… just say that I understand. Get some rest. Ginger tea will help your stomach.”
“Wha..?” I started.
“We can discuss it on Friday if it’s still an issue.”
Linden looked between us, confused.
“Ok…” I replied weakly.
“I’ll let Taal know I sent you back to the hotel,” Linden said.
“Thank you.” I faced Wes. “Thank you for calling a car for me.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome.”
They walked off, Linden casting one last glance at me before they disappeared into the crowd.
I made sure that my phone and wallet were both in my pockets, then headed out. As promised, a black sedan with the logo Wes had shown me was waiting in front. And a few minutes later, the driver had dropped me off.
It was a couple hours later, and my room was dark when Taal used the key I’d given him to enter.
He didn’t ask if I was awake; he knew I was. And I knew he knew.
I’d managed to twist the bedcovers as I tossed them off when I was too hot, then pulled them over myself again when I was immediately cold.
Taal smelled of scent-neutralizing soap as he straightened my covers, climbed into bed beside me, and pulled me against him—telling me that he’d washed away the scents of the party before coming to me.
“Linden asked,” he murmured as he tucked me against his chest.
“What did you tell him?”
“The truth.”
A stone formed in the pit of my stomach. “What did he say?”
“He asked why you haven’t requested sick leave.”
“What did you say?”
He chuckled. “I asked him what good it would do. Most sicknesses, the solution is to stay in bed. But that just prolongs this. You’re not going to meet him if you’re not around people.”
“To think they were always telling us that they wanted us to use our sick days if we’re sick… and I get the one thing where staying home is a bad idea.”
“They’re probably talking about it on the plane right now. He wasn’t happy that you were working while sick, but he also understood that this isn’t a normal circumstance.”
“How long until we get a notification from HR regarding fate-sickness and PTO?” I asked.
“A month, maybe two,” he replied, smile in his voice.
“I think it does complicate things that it’s usually because of people fighting it. Not like this where I don’t even know who he is.”
“And if somebody’s fighting fate, they probably want to stay home.”
I nodded against him. “I don’t think there’s a good answer.”
“Probably not,” he murmured. “Now, get some rest. I’m beat.”
I swallowed. “You don’t have to leave. I trust you.”
“Really? You’re not worried about your mate smelling me on you when you finally meet?”
I yawned, Taal’s presence finally calming my body. “You’re one of my best friends. And it’s not like I’m taking your knot. I think he’ll understand.”
I paused. “Besides… I don’t want you to worry more than necessary.”
“Ok. I wanted to know if the tremors stop anyway.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nothing you can do about it.”
“Still…”
“Get some sleep.”
“Ok.”
I closed my eyes and allowed exhaustion to take over.