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I rubbed my nose into his shirt, breathing deeply. “So do you, alpha. I want to bottle this and wear it forever.”
“You’re in luck then, omega. I have no problem with covering you in all our scents every day.”
I snickered and felt a blush rise to my cheeks. I probably would never get used to flirting, but damn, it was nice to hear. Declan chuckled at my expression and reached out for my hand. I slipped my fingers through his. Storm took Ryan’s hand, and Victor led us all down to the ground floor to the restaurant. My parents and Dell were waiting right outside the doors, looking uncomfortable.
We all greeted them, and Victor went to speak to the hostess. She seated us at one of the large corner booths in the back of the space. Storm and I slid into the middle seats. She draped her arm over the back of my chair, twirling my curls in her fingers. The waiter hustled over, taking our drink orders and dropping off menus.
“How are you, Riley?” my dad asked me.
“I’m . . . good. Really good,” I replied, slightly surprised to find it was true.
My parents smiled. I could see the concern lingering in the depths of their eyes, and I knew it would take a while for that to go away. Today had been a traumatic experience, one I never wanted to relive. But this afternoon? Well, that made a lot of the bad seem insignificant.
I never wanted to see Alpha Brown again, and it really bothered me he had gotten away, but I had a pack now. Two alphas, an omega, and a beta that were all mine forever. I was protected. I felt secure. It was what I had always dreamed of but had hardly dared to believe was possible for me. I scanned the faces of each of my pack members, feeling a pulse down our bond letting me know I wasn’t the only one thrilled with the outcome of the day.
At that moment, the waiter returned, and we got distracted with providing him with our orders. When it came to my parents’ turn, I watched them order the cheapest things they could find on the menu. Victor, ever observant as he was, noticed. I watched him as he fiddled with his hands, trying to avoid speaking up. After the waiter left, he couldn’t bite his tongue anymore. However, what he said was nowhere near what I was expecting.
“Mr. Druman, what is it you do for work?”
“Hmm? Oh, I work as a floor manager for the factory at the edge of town.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“It pays the bills,” he said, chuckling.
Victor joined him. “Declan and I have a proposition for you.”
“Oh? And what might that be?”
“I don’t know if you know, but we own Birmingham Builders. We are always on the lookout for new locations to expand our business. When we came into town, we saw a dire need for new job opportunities. We would like to open a branch of our offices here. It should open up around two hundred jobs for the residents.”
“That’s nice,” my dad said, sounding confused. “But what does that have to do with me?”
Declan shared a look with his brother and gave Victor a small nod. “Well, we won’t be able to run the business currently. We will need someone that can do that for us. Be our right-hand man to get it underway.”
“Someone with managerial skills. And drive. Someone that likes to work and does a good job. You wouldn’t know anyone like that, would you?” Declan asked, grinning.
My mom elbowed my dad and he grunted. “Gosh dang, woman. Give me a moment. I might be interested if that’s what you’re hinting at.”
“We are,” Declan said. “The job comes with on-site housing, a company car, a full benefits package, and an annual midyear bonus.”
“Midyear?”
“Yes. A lot of companies wait until the end of the year, but we know sometimes, having a little extra halfway through can be a big help. So that was what we went with,” Victor answered. “So, what do you think?”
“I think this sounds too good to be true. What’s the starting rate?”
Victor stated a number that had both my parents blanching.
“Per day?”
“Oh, no. We pay hourly.”
“That’s far too much. Don’t offer me anything more than what you would pay anyone else.”
Declan and Victor shared a look. “But that’s not more than we pay anyone else. We have a tiered system based on experience and position. That rate is on the lower end because you would be fresh to the company.”
My dad looked shell-shocked. I didn’t know what he made at the factory, but their offer must have been a lot more than he was making now.
