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"So...let me get this straight," he starts, "you left your long time girlfriend for thepossibilityof a future with this random omega you just met?" His brow furrows. Which, when he says it like that, it does sound ridiculous, but–
"She's my mate." I shrug. There really is nothing else to say but that. He lets out anahhin response, because once you find your mate. That's it. Game over for anyone else.
"Wait. She didn'tactlike your mate. Other than when she got a little jealous. Are you guys fighting or something?" The elevator pings as the doors slide open, and we step inside.
"Or something," I mutter. "Listen, I have to go to a meeting right after this, so let's talk about this offer." I have to go talk to Tillie again about the art of negotiating and bring her down from the pedestal she has placed herself on.
He sighs. "I don't know. It's a nice offer, but if the book doesn't do well, I won't have made as much as I would going with one of the other offers. The advance will be all I have."
The difference between Dillan and Tillie is night and day. I wish I could give this man half of her confidence. "Dillan, your book is going to do well. They wouldn't have offered you so many concessions if they didn't think so, too. These big publishing houses offer the nice big cash advances that way they don't have to offer as much with royalties or other incentives. The fact that this smaller firm is willing to concede so much means they want this manuscript bad. It's agreat story,and it's going to sell." The other two firms offered about thirty thousand as an advance but one to two percent in ancillary and royalties. If this sells the way I think it will, he'll double that advance in the first year.
"Yeah, I guess that's true," he concedes, still looking torn. The elevator slows to a stop at the main floor, we exit, and walk across the foyer toward the revolving doors that lead outside. There are already a lot more people walking around on the sidewalk outside, hustling about their busy days.
"Look, you have until the end of the week to decide. We can counter the other offers to see if they're willing to come up on the royalties, but I don't think they'll budge on the cover, title, movie rights, or tour dates. Probably not even royalties. I'll get those meetings set up as soon as possible, but start thinking about all the offers if theydon'tcome up, okay?" He nods and then goes through the revolving door first. "Good," I say when I hit the sidewalk after him, "I'll call you later then with an update."
Now I'm off to deal with Tillie. Not only that, but I have to do another, equally unpleasant thing, and text Hudson to say he was right. Summer does feel something, and he's right about her getting jealous. But the last thing I want to do is pump rainbows up his ass about it. Oh well, I suppose this is the day for unpalatable chores.To think it started out so well, I think, feeling the phantom tingle of Summer's silky tresses between my fingers.
Twelve
Summer
"Hey, girl,"Ava husks down the line. She called me on my way to work. "We still on for tonight?" she asks.
"Yeah, I can't wait. Work has been so busy this week, I need some girl time." It's Wednesday morning, and we made plans earlier in the week when I texted her during a lunch break to see if she wanted to get together soon to hang out. We have only spent time together at the bar, but we’ve gotten close the few months I’ve been working for her, and I could use some girl time outside of work to distract me from the emotions Pack Monroe throws my way all day. She wants to go clubbing Friday night but says she doesn't have anything to wear; thus our shopping trip this evening when I get off work.
"No offense, but you sound awful. Are you sure you want to go shopping tonight?" I feel run-down, that is for sure. I'm exhausted all the time. Emotionally and physically. I'm tired of working so hard to block out their emotions. Of getting little to no sleep, or when I do, having nightmares all night. The constant alcohol consumption is draining the bank and my energy. I've tried to limit how late I drink, not wanting to go into work smelling like a brewery. But even so, I'm still hitting the liquor cabinet the minute I walk through the door after work.
During the day, they're easier to ignore. I've been swamped enough that my focus is one hundred percent on work, and I'm sure they're also too busy during the day to be single-minded in their torture. So work is my reprieve, but the evenings spent alone are hard. I'm hoping by keeping myself busy with Ava tonight, they'll be easy to ignore.
"I'm one hundred percent sure. I can't wait," I muster in a tone that I hope is at least a little enthusiastic. I must not succeed because the line is quiet for a second too long before she agrees, says a goodbye, and then hangs up.
I’m headed into work early because of another night of poor sleep. Of dreams of vicious alphas with familiar faces. I plan on doing some editing on the manuscript I'm currently reading before the day starts. It's not for work, technically. I found it in the slush pile at the office and wanted to see if I could find a story in the pile to pull me in. So far, the one I’m reading isn't it. It's about a drunken elf on a quest to find a magical amulet that he thinks will bring back the dead. The underlying theme seems to be about absolution, but it reads like a middle schooler wrote it. Still, I'm determined to finish it. Maybe there is a redeeming ending.
"Summer," someone pants from behind me, and I look around to see Maverick jogging toward me, sweat beading down his face. He's looking at me and waving to get my attention. When my eyes meet his, his lips pull into a huge grin, showing off a set of dazzling white teeth as he jogs up to me and stops right beside me. I feel inexplicably lighter when he smiles at me. His bourbon and citrus scent envelopes me like my very own weighted blanket. It's a comfort I didn't know to ask for, even with the underlying scent of sweat from his run. My eyes take a darting glance down to his clothes, and I try not to linger at the way his black t-shirt is stretched over his broad shoulders and chest or at the way his shorts stop well above his knee, allowing the thick, corded muscle of his thighs to draw my attention.
He's still grinning when I meet his stare again, and I suddenly feel very awkward, like I've forgotten how to interact with the opposite sex. Especially when they look like they've just walked out of one of my own naughty fantasies. "Uhh, morning," I croak and then promptly cough, choking on absolutely nothing; other than my own embarrassment maybe, or possibly the air.
He chuckles. "Morning, Summer," the way he says my name sounds sinful, "what are you doing up so early?"
I feel my mood dip momentarily at the question, and then his scent hits me again, and it washes away all the bad. "Trouble sleeping. You?"
"I'm an early bird. I like to get a run in before work," he says, still sounding slightly winded, but not nearly as bad as I would be after running enough to work up a sweat. I glance down at his clothes again against my will and gulp at the noticeable bulge in his workout shorts. I have an insane urge to reach out and…
I snap my eyes back up to his face. Refraining myself from feeling further humiliation, I keep my eyes locked firmly on his. "What do you do for work?"
"I'm in real estate."
"You're a realtor?" I clarify, not sure what elsein real estatecould entail.
"Yeah. Well, and I flip houses with Hudson." My cheeks start to heat at the mention of Hudson. Last time I saw him, I literallyran into himand then proceeded to act like a jealous girlfriend when that pretty beta girl draped herself all over him. Still, even thinking about it now makes me want to throw something.
I try to set aside my post-incident embarrassment and ask Maverick, “That sounds fun. How long have you been doing that?” Pack Monroe and I used to watch all the reality television shows about flipping houses. Everything fromPack ProjecttoAlpha House Hunters of Miami.It always seemed like such a fun job.
“A few years now. Hudson does construction and handles the work we need to contract out. I help where he needs me too and handle all of the real estate aspects. Buying and then reselling and such,” he says animatedly, sounding absolutely in love with what he does. His joy is infectious, and I’m grinning back at him, watching as he bounces on his toes as he talks about this new house him and Hudson have just bought in Naperville. They’re starting work on it soon.
The more he talks, the more he gravitates toward me, and I’m not sure he even notices until he’s less than a foot from me, the heat from his body warming my slightly chilled skin from the cool spring morning. Butterflies erupt in my stomach at his proximity. I fight the urge to lean in closer to his body and wrap myself in his comforting scent. There’s something strange about my body's reaction to him. It’s like I feel completely at ease with him. Like I’ve known him my whole life, and I want to jump into that feeling. Not to mention the lustful reaction I get everytime I’m near him.
Almost like he can hear my thoughts, he stops talking abruptly, and his eyes darken. My tongue darts out and wets my lips absently as my eyes sweep across his broad chest again, wanting nothing more than to place my hand on it and trace every dip and crevice. Right before I can do just that, his phone pings.
