Shit. “Just leave my employees alone. They don’t need to deal with your insanity.”
Austin let it slide, but his expression said he hadn’t missed my reaction. “You need to take a few chances.”
“I am. I’m starting—” I glanced around and lowered my voice. It was probably unnecessary because we had a private table toward the back of the room, but we had to be careful. “I’m starting the club with you and that’s a huge chance.”
“You know that wasn’t what I meant.” Austin’s expression lost some of the teasing, and the flirtation fell away almost like a mask dropping to the floor. “You’re missing out on life. Just smile at the guy. Talk to him. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. He’s interested, but he thinks you don’t see him that way. I know neither of you want to ruin your working relationship, and that’s understandable. But just don’t walk away because you’re scared.”
Scared. Worried. No matter how I described the anxiety I felt, it didn’t make a difference. “It’s too much to lose, and honestly, I don’t want to see the look on his face when he realizes I’m not the omega he thinks I am.”
That would be more painful than ending up on the front of the gossip magazines.
Austin gave me a look like he thought I was stupid. “You have no way of knowing how he sees you because you guys only talk about work. Yes, it’s obvious he appreciates having a boss that’s powerful and has his shit together. I might not have a traditional job, but even I can see how that would be important. But don’t mistake how he sees his boss for how he’ll see his omega.”
His omega.
“Even if I concede that he might be interested in me.” I held up one hand as Austin started to beam. “Hypotheticallymight be interested in me, he’s never given any indication he wants a nontraditional relationship.”
Austin rolled his eyes. “What we want is very traditional. People just don’t want to admit it.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Yes, it is, but go on.” Austin, Queen of the Drama, nodded toward me like I was one of his subjects and he was gracious enough to let me continue.
“Shouldn’t I try to look for someone who’s at least hinted he finds submissive omegas sexy or that he’s the least bit dominant?” That method wasn’t entirely foolproof, as my past had pointed out in great detail, but just randomly offering up the fact that I wanted to submit didn’t seem like the best idea, either.
“In a perfect world, yes. You could date a few times and they’d hint about what they were into, or you could just list it out online and you’d have dominant alphas falling all over you.” Austin’s expression turned a bit wistful, like even though he was teasing, he thought it would be perfect. “But darling, we’re in politeness hell. No one is going to do that. Eventually, you’re just going to have to pull up your big-boy pants and tell a guy you want to bend over for him.”
I should have known better than to take a drink while he was talking.
Wine coming out of your nose didn’t feel any better than water.
4
Shane
“If the pizza’s cold,I’m eating your half too.” Simon wasted no time shoving himself through the door, taking the still-hot box from my hand.
“Asshole.” Shutting the door behind me, I juggled everything long enough to lock the door and set my keys down on the little table by the door. “You need a life.”
Simon snorted from my living room and I heard the low drone of the TV before I’d even gotten into the room. As I walked in, he shrugged as he picked up a slice. “You’re the one just getting home. So who needs a life?”
“I had shit to do. Unlike you, who just wants to mooch off my TV.” It would have been nice to say I had privacy and peace after I’d moved out, but that had never been the case. My having my own place just gave the rest of the family someplace else to hang out.
And Simon was the worst.
“You need a roommate or something.”
He was lonely.
“I’m not bored or needy or whatever shit you’re thinking.” He waved his hand, shooing me away.
I’d have taken his assholery more seriously, but he’d always hated being alone as a kid too. “Don’t eat all my pizza.”
All I wanted to do was head upstairs and shower, but I had a feeling my dinner would be gone before I got back down. Tossing my jacket on the back of the couch, I sat beside him. Relaxing, I sighed, ignoring the screen. I wasn’t much on sports or even TV in general. I’d rather read a book or just relax in the quiet.
Simon glanced over at me. “You look beat. Boss man driving you crazy?”
I didn’t talk about Tanner or my job much with anyone, even family. They’d teased that he was like working for some kind of crime boss, but they seemed to have forgotten I’d always been private. In a family as big as ours, keeping something to myself wasn’t easy.
