Dad snorted and waved his hand like that was inconsequential. “There’s always a bit left for them that raised us, right?” he asked Shawn, like he was talking alpha to alpha. “Looks like you’ve found yourself an alpha with a bit of green in his grass, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m not certain Enzo wants you here,” Shawn said, cold as steel.
Dad laughed. “Ooh. He’s one ofthosealphas. Rick Deluca isn’t going to be happy about that.”
I went so tense that I knocked the fork off my plate. Shawn noticed. His look of revulsion for my dad turned into a serious look that went about five steps beyond just concern for me. “Who is Rick Deluca?” he asked.
“Ricky?” Dad shrugged. “He’s an old friend of mine. We go way back. He’s taken a shine to Zo-Zo here. Says they’ve been working on a deal for a while now. A deal I might just want a piece of.”
“I believe Enzo said not to call him Zo-Zo,” Shawn defended me.
I loved that, but I would have to appreciate it later. I swallowed hard, wishing I hadn’t eaten so much. I was in danger of puking it all over the table. Dad and Rick knew each other? Dad thought he had a stake in the so-called deal Rick and I had discussed?
My dad was going to try to sell me to a human trafficker.
“Now isn’t a great time, Dad,” I said, playing things as casual as possible. I took a drink of the orange juice Evelyn had brought with our food in an attempt to look unruffled, but it was a bad idea. My stomach definitely didn’t like that. “Shawn and I were just finishing up brunch, and then he has somewhere else he needs to be.”
“You’re coming with me,” Shawn told me in no uncertain terms.
I knew what he was doing. He sensed danger and he was trying to protect me. It was awesome, but I knew my dad. If he thought me and Shawn were together, and if he figured out Shawn had money, Shawn wouldn’t have another moment’s peace. I had to make it look like we were just two ships passing in the night, because really, as much as I didn’t like it, that’s exactly what we were.
I was saved from having to make up a story or put Shawn off in front of my dad when Evelyn came marching over to our table, hands on her hips and fury in her eyes. “I thought I banned you from this place for life, Jamie,” she said, going full alpha on Dad.
“Evelyn, love,” Dad said, trying to play it cool as he peeked at Shawn but jumping up and backing away from the booth and Evelyn so fast you would have thought the place was on fire. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“This is my diner, Jamie, and I said I’d call the cops if I ever saw you in here again.”
“Surely we can come to some sort of arrangement,” Dad told her, hurrying away from our table without even looking at me or Shawn. He was too busy not getting killed by Evelyn. “There’s no need to involve the cops.”
Shawn and I watched as Evelyn chased Dad out of the diner. She came back to apologize to us and to offer to comp our meal, which Shawn flat refused. That would have been a good time to leave the diner, go home, and bury myself under the ratty old quilt on my bed, but I was too shaken up to suggest it.
“Need a minute?” Shawn asked as we sat there with fresh cups of coffee Evelyn had insisted on pouring for us between us.
“Yeah,” I said, still trying not to let on how scared my dad mentioning Rick Deluca had made me. “He just really pisses me off, you know?” Anger was a good mask for fear.
“Tell me how I can help you,” Shawn said, reaching across the table for my hand.
I didn’t want to be weak, not now. This wasn’t a scene, this was real life, and weak people got eaten for lunch in real life. But Shawn’s hand felt so good around mine.
“It’s nothing,” I said. “He’s always like this. I’m used to it.”
Shawn definitely didn’t like that answer. “Different topic, then,” he said. “How would you like a job?”
“What?” I sat up straight so fast I nearly sloshed coffee out of my cup.
“You have a clear vision for things that would help elevate people in life,” Shawn explained. “That’s exactly what I want to focus on with my own charitable endeavors. And that’s without bringing the Wythe Foundation into things. I need someone like you to point me in the right direction. I’ve never even eaten at a diner before now. How am I supposed to know what people really need?”
I didn’t know what to say. Working for a foundation that actually helped people like me would be amazing. But I had no credentials, no qualifications. And I had my dad and Rick Deluca wanting a piece of me. Shawn was a good guy. He wasthegood guy. I would only bring him down.
But damn, I wanted that job.
“Sorry,” Shawn said letting go of my hand. I was terrified he was going to say it was all a joke and he wasn’t really serious, but he said, “I shouldn’t have just sprung that on you. But I would like to talk about it.” He reached for the pen Evelyn had brought so he could sign his credit card receipt and wrote out a phone number on a napkin. “This is my number. Why don’t you think about it for a few days, find your equilibrium again, and give me a call on Tuesday or Wednesday so we can discuss this more.” He paused, then smiled as he offered me the napkin and said, “I’d really like to see you again, Enzo.”
I couldn’t believe it. It was like something out of a movie. A gorgeous, sexy, powerful, rich alpha was giving me, a nobody omega who lived in a seedy apartment and worked a shit job, his phone number.
“Thanks,” I said, taking the napkin. “I’d really like to see you again, too.”
It was the truth, but it was also a pipe dream. Alphas like Shawn were never seriously interested in omegas like me. Ifolded the napkin and put it in my jeans pocket with a smile. I didn’t know what I was going to do, though. The DFC had nothing on this. Shawn wanting to see me again was the biggest fantasy I could have imagined.
