He didn’t seem convinced. “Why don’t we go out for drinks tonight? Krystal can bring that friend she was talking about?”
“No. I need to focus right now.” I downed the rest of my coffee. Despite my exhaustion, despite the sleepless nights, I was still forcing myself to workout. Any deviation from my normal routine felt like courting disaster. I had to keep myself under control.
“I know it’s none of my business, but you need to have a life outside of work,” Victor said.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied dismissively.
February was proving to be as cold and miserable as January had been. The early morning crowds on the train thatswept downtown huddled in their coats. I pretended to be on my phone like everyone else, but other things occupied my mind.
Bridget was perfectly professional around me. It seemed we’d both decided to pretend that embrace had never happened.
But it had. Her scent had been stronger than ever. I didn’t know what an Omega perfume was supposed to be like, but her scent was already more than enough to drive me insane. Not for the first time in the last few weeks, I wished I understood more about her designation — and my own. Was my reaction to her normal? It didn’t feel normal.
But I suspected this was why unbonded Omegas weren’t usually working with unbonded Alphas. Bridget would never, ever be in danger from me, but the thought of her alone in that room with Andrew was enough to make me get off a stop early so I could stalk through the cold, rather than sit one more second with my own fevered imagination.
But even the cold couldn’t make me forget what really haunted me: the sound she’d made as she pressed against me. She’d whimpered, a soft, helpless sound that inflamed the part of my mind I tried to keep firmly locked away. I’dgrowled, like an animal, while the Alpha inside urged me to claim Bridget as my own.
That whimper. Would she sound like that if I touched her in the ways my mind conjured up in the hazy hours of almost-sleep I endured every night? Would she like it if I took control the way my Alpha wanted me to?
You can’t think about that, I scolded.Think about work.
That was actually an excellent distraction, considering how chaotic things had been. We were receiving the new Omega MSC samples that day. They were arriving fresh, too, rather than from the biobank we’d worked with before.
“A new supplier?” I’d asked when Lisbeth provided the details. Securing the samples would have normally been under my purview, but she’d insisted she had better connections.
“Lucky, right? A new biobank opened here in the city. But we can’t afford another fuck up.” She handed me the paperwork for the delivery. “How this lab runs is a reflection of your leadership. Don’t make me regret giving you the responsibility.”
Now more than ever, the threat was obvious. No more costly mistakes if I wanted to keep this job.
The delivery arrived on time. Bridget and Anvi worked on plating the cultures, a faster process since they didn’t have to worry about cryoprotectants.
I studied the delivery paperwork.Axion Biostorage. I’d never heard of it, which made sense if it was a new lab, but working with an untested supplier made me nervous.
Once Bridget and Anvi finished plating the cultures, we took a break for lunch. Anvi designated herself as the one to go pick up our orders from the deli down the street. I guessed she was still trying to make up for missing her weekend shift.
Bridget always left for lunch. No matter how terrible the weather was, she would go out on her own. Even when Lisbeth offered to cover a meal for us, she declined.
That day, she hesitated before leaving, then came to stand in my office doorway. Her eyes darted to Lisbeth’s empty office as she leaned against the right-hand side of the door frame. I sat at my desk, pretending to work.
“This is really awkward, but I have to tell you something.” She twisted her fingers together like she did whenever she was nervous. My stomach dropped in anticipation. Were we going to discuss it? The prospect was both terrifying and thrilling in equal measure. I sat back and gave her my full attention, as if I hadn’t already been unconsciously tracking her movements.
“You were right about Andrew. Mr. St. James, I mean,” she said, her cheeks blazing red. I scowled. “He is — was — interested. Um, in me. I guess.”
My inner Alpha reared in rage. What had he done? I schooled my expression as best as I could. I wanted to jump up and find him, rip his arms off, or his smug head. “Did he make you uncomfortable?”
“No. But you should probably handle talking to him on your own. I don’t want to jeopardize the study.” She met my eyes defiantly. “See? I can be professional.”
Was that the only reason? If circumstances were different, would she want to pursue a relationship with him? Would they get back in touch once the study ended?
None of that was my business.
“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll handle it,” I said.
“Don’t be rude, though. They were really nice about it.”
I’m sure they were.I simply nodded.
Two weeks later, we had enough cells from the new cultures to test for immune responses. All three of us worked together to run the assays needed on each of the six samples against the ten subjects.
