She chuckles. "I'm blaming fuckin' Clausius. He's the bastard with the vendetta. That fucker's had it in for me since Year Eleven physics."
I laugh. "Shouldn't be too much longer. Then you can gorge on cookie dough ice-cream and rant about any physicist of your choosing. But, um, speaking of ranting—"
"You better have something worth ranting about, babes. Fuck! I forgot to ask. Fucking oestrogen. Sorry, babes. How did it go with Ralph's mum?"
"Uh… she was really nice. Um, she gave me their numbers, and—"
"Well? What did they say when you called?"
I lick my lips. "Um. Still working on that part."
A screech erupts from the speaker. "What the fuck is wrong with you, babes? Why the fuck are you calling me and not them—"
I sigh. "I just… I need your help, Loz. I have to make it right but I don't know how. Help me figure out what to tell them. I don't know what to say—"
"Dellie. You are fucking ridiculous, sometimes. When you're back—" I hear her intercom chime. "Shit, babes. Sorry, hang on a tic."
Faint footsteps echo through the phone. "Whaddaya want?" I hear distant, crackly, deep voices. "Get to the bloody point." More male voices crackle through the intercom.
"Shit, you're here early." They start to speak again, but she cuts them off. "You'd all better just come in… Ms Treloar will be with you shortly. Front door's open, let yourselves in, turn left at the corridor and down the stairs—nope. Shut it. All of youse. I'm not having a conversation over the fucking crackle box."
There's another long beep, and a rustle as Loz picks up the phone again. "Ugh, I gotta go babes. Pack X is here a day early."
My forehead puckers into a frown. I know I confirmed with them on Saturday. "Did they say why?"
"They were fucking rambling on about something over the fucking intercom. Dunno. Babes, hurry up and get home so I can have some ice-cream to make up for having to deal with alphas who can't read a fucking calendar, would ya? Shit. They're coming up the drive now."
I laugh. "I'm literally two minutes away. See you soon, Loz."
Chapter 29
I'm nowhere near as excited as I ever expected to be, perched uncomfortably on Lauren Treloar's slightly too-low cream leather lounge. Even factoring in how uneasy I was about letting her down, I was braced for my alpha to act up around an omega approaching her heat. But he's just… slightly concerned. Without the scent of freesias, he's just… indifferent.
At least Ralph seems a bit more like himself. He was almost chatty in the car on the way over—as long as we remember to call him Ralph. I just have to hope this little ray of hope doesn't eventually break him.
The woman herself is pure elegance and grace—I guess that's to be expected of someone of her caliber, even as her heat approaches—and has handled the news with her characteristic composure. Even so, she's surprisingly calm for someone whose heat plans have just been thrown into disarray.
My voice is husky and thick. "Once again, Ms Treloar, I must apologise for the inconvenience. I tried to reach out to your assistant, but I wasn't able to connect with her yesterday—"
Her delicate hands fold in her lap as she lets out a gentle sigh. "It happens. I appreciate you coming out in person to let me know." Her gentle hint of an Australian accent, her on-screen trademark, is slightly clipped. "Help me understand what happened again?"
I clear my throat. "Well. We had an, uh, unexpected encounter with our scent match, and, um, I'm afraid it's had a… er, a bit of an effect on our alphas."
She chuckles. "I've heard there's a bit of that around at the moment."
Ralph shuffles uncomfortably. "Of course, Ms Treloar, we just wanted to assure you that the NDA will remain in agreement—"
Lauren scoffs. "I certainly hope so, otherwise my lawyers would be getting rather excited." Her face is implacable, but I can't help but notice how her hands are twisting at the fabric of her pants.
Shit.
Ralph nods. "Mmmmm. Um, and of course, we will ensure you get a full refund and adhere to the breach of contract penalties. And we will report it to the regulator, of course, and you are welcome to make a report as well, if you think it's necessary."
There's a faint rattle of a door unlocking from down the corridor. Seb's sudden movement catches my eye. His head has shot up. He's staring at the mezzanine balcony. Zeke looks up as a quiet feminine voice calls out something about a freezer.
My alpha is suddenly on alert. My breath slowly oozes out of me in a long sigh as I try to slow my suddenly racing heartbeat. "Honestly, Ms Treloar, I got it wrong on a few counts." I can feel myself starting to sweat.Fuck. Maybe this wasn't the best idea.
Ralph presses his leg against me. His mint smells slightly less dry and brittle than it did this morning. I can feel a slight tug through our bond. I sigh again.
