JUSTICE
Justice
I rounded the corner into the dining room and stopped dead.
Ren.
He was standing at our assigned table, like he’d just arrived. He had no right to be that beautiful. He kept his hair shorter now, but it better suited the angles in his face. Another suit. Not Armani, but it didn’t matter. He still looked good.
Good and pissed. I widened my field of vision to take in the entire scene. Bob loomed over Mackenzie’s chair, one meaty hand planted on the table beside her wineglass as he leaned down to speak to her. Across from her, Theo stared at his lap, methodically twisting his napkin into knots. And Ren was 30 seconds from ripping his arm off.
“Omegas should be grateful for the attention,” Bob was saying, his aura pressing down on the table as I approached.
“Absolutely fucking not.” I padded my back pocket for my phone. Fuck. Instead, I snagged a passing server and said, “Bring me the maitre d’ right now.”
“Twill! Delighted you could join us!”
Join us? Like it was your fucking table? Like she was yours.
“I’ve been reading up about AI disruption and would love your perspective.”
“Just.” Ren said, flicking his eyes toward Theo and then Mackenzie. He said my name, his name for me, as a statement. There was no rising intonation. Not a question. He wasn’t inquiring about my wellbeing. It was a check on my anger. And the fucker was right.
Bob took a seat. He claimed the seat next to Theo. Next to Theo. And then he scooted his chair three inches to the right. Abso-fucking-lutely not . Ren raised an eyebrow at me.
“How can I be of service, Mr. Twill?”
I connected with Ren again. His smirk told me the table would survive my shift of focus. I turned to the maitre d’ and his shiny badge, sporting the name William.
“I need a reservation at Tiger’s Table. For right now.”
“Sir, Tiger’s Table is fully booked for the next three days…”
“William, I appreciate that. Any restaurant will do. Anywhere but here.” As William’s face fell, I put out a hand to stop the apologies and move us right into problem solving. With a gentler edge to my voice, I said, “It’s not the service, which is excellent, it’s the company. I don’t have my phone with me. Perhaps you can contact Todd White, my personal concierge?” I pulled my money clip out and peeled off a hundred.
“Of course, Mr. Twill.”
He took a few steps away with a phone to his ear. I put my hand on the back of Theo’s chair, my fingertips just grazed his shoulder. That extinguished a few flames. Mackenzie’s dazzling smile did more of the same.
“Mackenzie, you look incredible. Was the cream I sent for your nose alright?”
“Belle èpoque is so exclusive, I’ve never even seen it before.” Her smile got even wider.
There was a gentle touch at my elbow.
“The Meridian Steakhouse would love to accommodate your party. If you’d follow Janet,” a woman in the smart uniform the concierge team wore was hurrying to William’s side.
“Change of scenery. We’re going to the steakhouse for dinner.”
Theo craned his head to look up at me. His smirk was half amused, half delighted. He stood, then held a hand out to Mackenzie.
“Ah, the steakhouse on this ship is wonderful.” Bob said, attempting to get out of his chair. I shoved him back down and loomed over him.
“Bob,” I made his name sound as ridiculous as he was. “I would rather eat broken glass than share a table with you.” I let my aura wrap around him, an oppressive reminder that he was not top dog. Ren’s chuckle was the cherry on the humiliation sundae.