DANAI

"Good morning Hal, Theo, Miranda," Danai said as she shook each of the execs' hands. Patrick shook their hands as well, then went to sit next to Danai at the boardroom table. These three were at the top of the production chain at Visionary Studios, and they made many of the big decisions. It was thanks to her superiors' recommendations to these execs that she held her current position. Of course, their company had a full board to make crucial decisions and many other people involved in the day-to-day, but Theo, Hal and Miranda were the first people worth getting to know. They were the segue to everyone else at the top.

"It's always good to see you both. How's it feel to have your own part of the production?" Miranda asked Danai. She gave the three people in front of her a smile, "it feels amazing. It's truly everything I hoped for and more."

They nodded, and Theo smiled, "fantastic."

They sat there silently for a few minutes, either looking at each other or someplace in the room. Danai opened her mouth to speak when Hal said, "we're just waiting on one more, and then we'll get started.

Danai looked at Patrick, hoping that the execs wouldn't notice the look she gave him. She thought to whisper but then decided that it would be safer to write him a little note. She pulled a pad of sticky notes from her blazer pocket, then took a pen from the table and scratched out a few words.

"Can you make sure I get this note to my mom, Pat," she asked as she handed him the small sheet of paper. "She loves getting little souvenirs from the studio," Danai told the production members when she noticed their curious glances. They laughed, each stating how relatable that was and "most moms do."

Patrick wrote something beneath her words, then passed it back to her.

She looked down at the note and smiled.

'I could have taken a long nap had I known we’d be sitting here grinning at each other' -Danai.

'Bubble tea after work? My treat' -Pat

She looked over at him and leaned in as she whispered, "no, my treat."

Patrick smiled at her, then sat up as the boardroom door opened.

"Looks like the wait is over. Thanks for joining us Everitt," Theo stood up, and they all followed suit.

Danai felt her face heat up as she locked eyes with the sexy alpha, and she cursed inwardly for even thinking of him as sexy. But it seemed like the suppressants had kicked in because she remained calm and collected as he smiled at her.

"Hello," she said, reaching out her hand to him. He took it and responded in kind, "hi."

Theo looked between the two of them as they stared at each other, "have you met each other?"

"We were in the elevator together earlier, but I never got your name," Everitt said, then looked at Patrick, "or yours."

Danai took her hand back as he released his grip, "Danai Martel. And this is my assistant."

Patrick offered his hand to Everitt, "Patrick Emerson. Nice to meet you."

Everitt shook Patrick's hand, then let go, "I'm Everitt Riley. I work at Future Productions. You might've seen my little show, I dunno."

The three execs and Patrick laughed at his little joke, but when Everitt looked over at Danai, she didn't seem amused in the slightest. "I know who you are. My brother is a big fan of your show," she said, giving a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Everitt nodded, then looked away from her as they all took their seats.

"Well, I don't want us to be here for too long, so I'm just going to get to the point. Danai," Theo looked at her, and she gave him her full attention.

"Yes, sir?"

"We want you to do an interview with Everitt at Future."

Danai looked around the room and shrugged, "well, I have some experience interviewing someone with a partner, so I guess that's fine. Who's the subject?"

Theo smiled, "you are, Dani. Everitt is going to interview you."

Against her better judgement, Danai started giggling. Her giggles turned to laughter as she tried to imagine why on earth they'd suggest this.

The two companies weren't on bad terms per se, but they definitely didn't work together. Not usually, anyway. Danai tried to think of the motive behind them having a Future reporter interview their new star, but all the reasons she could think of didn't seem to make sense. They just made her laugh even more.

After a few minutes, Danai realised that she was the only one in the room that was amused by the idea of her getting interviewed by Everitt. Patrick and Hal were smiling slightly, but that was only for a short time before they recomposed themselves.

She stared at them in disbelief, "you're not serious?"

******

"Well, this is my office," Danai said as she opened the door, letting Everitt walk ahead of her. He stopped at the entrance, and she could hear him sniff a couple times as he looked around the room.

Danai looked up at him, "something wrong?"

Everitt seemed to whisper something under his breath, but she couldn't tell what it was. She was about to ask him what he'd said when he smiled, "nothing." With that, he walked into the office and sat in front of her desk.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she sat behind her desk, powering up her computer. Danai leaned toward him, "so, how do you want to do this thing?"

They were told to "put their heads together" and talk about what they had in mind for the on-air segment. Apparently, Future and Visionary's CEOs had some drinks and came up with a mutually beneficial plan for their respective studios. Danai would attract viewers from Future and get them interested in Visionary, while Everitt interviewing her would get Visionary viewers to tune into Future's channel.

Although she laughed at the idea when she thought of it as a possibility on her own because she didn't know that would ever happen, Danai had to admit that it did make sense. Of course, she wasn't surprised when she learned that she'd have to mention the interview several times on her show before it aired to encourage more viewers to tune in.

"Well," he started, "I'm not going to tell you any of the questions I'll be asking you. But, I do want to get an idea of who you are beforehand. That'll help me fine-tune my questions and pace the whole thing."

Danai scoffed, "you can drop the 'mightier than thou' act." She gestured around her, "we're the only ones here."

"You'd know if I was really acting."

She felt a strong urge, once again, to roll her eyes to stare into her brain. Still, it was nice to know that Everitt lived up to his reputation of being a condescending asshole. That was one of those things that eased her mind about some of the people in show business. Sometimes, they were the exact same person they made themselves out to be on TV.

"Okay, what do you wanna know," she asked Everitt, leaning back into her swivel chair.

He pulled out his phone and a pen pad, then looked up at her, "mind if I take notes and record? Just a part of my process."

Danai shrugged, "that's fine."

He went ahead and tapped ‘record’ on his smartphone, then leaned back in his chair. His right leg crossed over his left, and he hit a pencil on the notepad, staring at his subject. Danai looked closer at the pen, realising that it was one of hers that he must've grabbed from her cup.

'Arrogant and impolite,' she thought to herself, making a note of what to expect from him in the future.

"How old are you?" Everitt asked her.

"I'm twenty-six."

'What's he gonna ask next, my horoscope sign?'

He looked at her in silence for a few moments before he asked, "I'm guessing you're an Aries?"

She was surprised by this. Not only because she was right about what Everitt's next question would be, but mainly at his impressive guess. As little as she wanted to admit, so far, she could understand why he was as successful as he was.

And still, she made another mental note.

'Predictable.'

Although she was impressed, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction because there was a chance that he just got lucky. "What makes you say that?"

"Your personality. Well, what I've seen of it so far. I'm guessing I'm right," Everitt asked, smirking.

"You are," she told him. "How old are you?"

"I'm thirty. Ready for the next question?"

"Yup."

Everitt continued to ask her questions, which either surprised, amused or sparked Danai's curiosity. They were starting to have a good time, which surprised her even more, and Everitt as well. She didn't think she'd have anything to talk about with someone like him, and he wasn't one to be the least bit interested in rookies like Danai.

"Alright, I just have two more questions, and I'll be out of your beautiful hair," Everitt said, which made Danai suddenly more conscious of herself.

She glanced over at her computer screen, which served as a mirror, then touched her dark, tightly coiled curls. Receiving compliments on her head of hair was nothing new, and many had said that they wished they were blessed with it in the past. Though she knew better than to take his words to heart, coming from Everitt, the statement seemed to hold more meaning.

"Where do you see yourself in two years?"

This was an easy one to answer because Danai thought about it all the time.

"I see myself with a Nano award under my belt, being considered one of the best reporters in the industry, having a published novel, and..."

Danai let her words trail off, as she wasn't sure she should share all her hopes and dreams with a man she’d just met that day. As entertaining as he was, Everitt was still Everitt, and he even worked for the 'enemy.'

"...And what?"

She reached across her desk, her hand going for the 'stop' icon on his smartphone's screen. Her hand was nearly there when he grabbed it, staring into her eyes. Her eyes went to his gaze, and she sucked in a quick, audible breath.

His hand was hot as it touched hers, and her skin felt like it was burning up.

Danai opened her mouth to speak but felt like the words would get caught in her throat. She could see the dark of his eyes dilate as they stared at each other, and her palms started to moisten.

The smell that Everitt noticed earlier in the elevator and then again in the office grew more potent, and he could now place the scent. It was sweet, like honeysuckles mixed with baby's breath, but the smell seemed to start invading his senses.

Everitt leaned toward her, the sudden need to claim her mouth vital and urgent. His eyes went down to her lips, and he watched as she bit the bottom one slowly. He wasn't sure when it happened, but the next thing he knew, his hand was under her chin, and he was running his thumb over her lips.

He pulled her chin close, bringing her face towards his as he went to taste the woman in front of him. His lips hovered over hers, and they could feel each other's breath as they moved closer and closer. They were millimetres apart, when there was a knock at Danai's door.

Danai jumped, which caused Everitt to snap out of it. They both looked toward the door where someone stood on the opposite side. Luckily, it seemed like they couldn't have seen anything past the blinds over her glass door, walls and windows.

She cleared her throat, sitting up tall in her seat, "come in."

The door opened to reveal Patrick, who was clutching at his bag as he entered the room. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

Danai shook her head, "you're fine. What's up?"

Patrick smiled at Everitt as he stepped further in, "are we still on for boba?"

"Yes, sorry. Let me just finish up here, and I'll meet you at your desk?"

Patrick nodded, then left the office as quietly as he had come in. Once the door had closed behind him, Everitt shot up from his chair. He went over to Danai's couch, but her scent was strong there too. There was nowhere for him to sit, so he stood and paced the length of her office.

"You're an omega."

Danai buried her head in her hands, massaging at her temples as he paced around the room.

"Yes, I am. Is there a problem?"

Everitt stomped toward her, dragging her up from her chair.

An involuntary gasp escaped from her as she stood up, "excuse me-"

Everitt bored his eyes into Danai as he towered over her, "there is a problem when you're off your suppressants and in heat."

She grabbed his hands, prying them off of her and away from the clothes they were just attached to. This was why she couldn't understand what just happened. Once again, Everitt had proved himself to be an ass, and she didn't want anything to do with him.

"I am not in heat and, not that it's any of your business, but I took my suppressants earlier today, which I do every day. I don't know what's wrong with you, but it's not my problem."

She glared at him as she took several steps back. Her arms crossed over her chest, and she did her best to contain her frustration with him. Sexiness be damned, it was about time he left her office. 

Everitt looked at her, shocked. "But you... Your scent-"

"My scent is basically undetectable. Like I told you before, it's my body spray and cream. Don't use pheromones as an excuse for your horny behaviour."

He looked bewildered as she said that, scoffing at her naivete. It was in his nature to be attracted to pheromones, and she was telling him to, what, turn off his nose?

"I'm an alpha; half the time, pheromones are the cause of my horny behaviour," he said as he backed away from her. His hand went to his shirt, pulling it up to cover his nose. "You're secreting them right now."

Danai took several steps back as well, so far that she felt her back touch the wall. She couldn't stand looking at him, so she stared down at her feet.

"I think you should go," she uttered.

Everitt sighed, then went to collect his things, his fingers plugging his nose. He looked over at Danai when he was close to her door, and he waited for her to look up at him.

She could feel his eyes on her but didn't want to make matters any worse. After a few minutes, he left and took his alpha scent with him.

Danai sank to the floor. Her whole body was aware of his absence and craved the alpha's touch. The hairs on her arms stood up, and her face was hot. She put her head between her legs as she waited for her body to relax, hopefully in time for her to get boba with Pat.

Though, at that moment, it definitely wasn't the most important thing on her mind.