DANAI
Getting up an hour earlier was a good idea, and Danai felt calm in the quieter morning. It was barely 8am by the time she got off the elevator, and the only person on the floor so far was the receptionist, who was stirring a mug of coffee behind her desk. Danai said hello to Ella, but decided not to stay and chat. She went to her office and closed the door behind her, intent on using the extra time to clear her head.
Though he’d claimed he would keep his questions to himself, Everitt did eventually share what he planned to ask Danai during the interview. Kind of. He had a long list of questions, and didn’t tell her exactly which ones he would ask. He wanted to go with the flow, and would decide what would work best once they were talking on-screen.
This wouldn’t be the first time Danai would be on Live TV, of course. Far from it. She loved hosting and speaking, and felt like she’d found the place that made her heart sing when she was at work. But, talking about herself and being asked the questions, being the topic of discussion, felt a little weird. Maybe the attention would be nice, but there was a lack of control that she would have to get her mind around.
She sat at her desk, just staring at the door for a while, until she realised that she’d messed up. Sitting in the silence would not calm her down, because in the silence was just her thoughts. Danai sighed, thinking that it would have been wise to tell Patrick, maybe, that she would be early. He’d be able to keep her company, and she’d poke him for more information about his love life. Her stomach grumbling also informed her that she forgot to eat something before she left her house, a bad habit her mom complained about whenever she watched Nai succumb to her nerves.
Danai thought to stand up, and maybe go talk to Ella after all. She didn’t want to disturb her, though. The kitchen was another option, and they usually had food there. But, what if she ran into one of the execs? The last thing she needed was for them to go on and on about their expectations for the segment and how much they were looking forward to it.
Nai was about to text Patrick after all when there was a knock on her door. She looked up to find Everitt standing there with a paper bag in one hand, a drink holder with two large cups in the other, and his bag strap across the front of his body. He smiled, looking very awake, and Ella held the door open for him. She raised her eyebrows at Danai from behind Everitt before she left them alone.
“W-What are you doing here?” Nai asked him, since he was one of the last people she expected to be in her office this early in the morning.
Everitt paused near the door for a second, and his brows came together like he was confused. Nai noticed his nose twitch, but before long he looked normal again. He put the bag and drinks down on her desk, used some of the hand sanitizer she had in the corner of it, before he started to pull things out of the bag. He put napkins down on the desk, then took out two things wrapped in parchment paper that read B’s Bagels, which Danai guessed were probably bagels.
His scent was strong today, and she thought he might’ve worn extra cologne or something. The cedar and campfire smell she was used to was now resembling wood being chopped and s’mores being roasted right under her nose. It was potent, and she could feel herself slick because of it. Danai shook her head, an attempt to shake away whatever the hell was going on with her. She suspected it was probably just nerves.
“I thought you might like some company,” Everitt said, holding an item in each hand, “so, I brought breakfast. Sausage, egg, and cheese, or bacon, egg, and cheese?”
Danai sputtered, “um...”
“Don’t tell me you already ate? This early?” Everitt’s expression fell a bit.
She shook her head, “no, I didn’t. Uh, sausage sounds good.” Danai put out her hand for the bagel, and Everitt looked relieved as he handed it to her. He pulled out the chair at her desk and sat down.
“Good, ‘cause I wanted the bacon one,” Everitt smirked, and Danai’s heart fluttered.
The man was surprising her more and more every time she saw him. Not only did he bring her food, cook, and spend the day with her just two days before, but now he’d brought breakfast just as her body informed her that she was starving and accidentally neglecting her needs. This unwanted work relationship was turning out to be a lot of the things she’d missed and didn’t even realise she’d started to give up on.
“What are those?” Danai asked, nodding at the drinks. Everitt picked them up and handed her one.
“I got you a Chai Tea Latte with soy milk, and myself a double-double coffee.”
Danai didn’t remember telling Everitt the drink orders she preferred, and she had to assume that he’d gone to Patrick for the information. She took a sip and couldn’t help the moan that came out of her mouth. It was perfect. Not too sweet, not too hot, and had been stirred. Nai didn’t miss the way Everitt watched her, either, but decided to focus on her food instead.
She took a few bites of her bagel--which was delicious and amazing, the right combination of chewy and soft--while she watched and listened to Everitt. He talked about his Sunday, which he deemed uneventful but sounded busy and full of people. He’d gone out for golf with his family, which consisted of his parents, his younger brother, and an older sister. Danai was surprised to hear him mention them. As far as she was concerned, he didn’t have any family. They’d only recently started telling each other about their personal lives, but listening to him talk gave Danai something else to focus on, which eased her concerns about the oncoming TV segment.
“My little brother thought he could beat me in a round, and bet a hundred bucks and a new club on it. He’s an idiot, and he lost,” Everitt shook his head, but the short laugh he let out showed how much affection he had for his brother.
“How badly did he lose?” Nai asked.
Everitt chewed on his bagel, “not too badly. I got a little worried there, but I managed to get it done.”
Danai shook her head before taking another bite, and decided to shake off her flats. They still had a couple hours before they had to get ready, and she wanted to get as comfortable as possible. After she took off her shoes, she kicked out her legs, which was something she’d gotten used to doing in the comfort of her office, but she forgot how close Everitt was to her. Her left foot brushed against one of his legs, and her eyes widened in horror.
She bit her lip, then pulled her leg back, “sorry, force of habit.”
Everitt shrugged, “no big deal.”
She sighed, relieved, until she felt something touching her leg then. It was Everitt, well one of his feet, rubbing against her. He used both of his feet to bring her legs back towards him. Nai looked up at him, speechless, but Everitt seemed as calm as ever.
Their bagels were finished now, and papers had been discarded in the bag, so all they had left were their drinks. Danai took several sips of hers to calm down her increasing need for Everitt to touch her in less innocent ways than footsie. His scent invaded her nose, and her body felt warm as she moved her feet up his legs. Against her better judgement, she went for his crotch, and watched as he clenched his jaw. He closed his eyes, and gripped the arms of the chair.
This was a bad idea for so many reasons. Everitt had just started acting like an alpha that could control himself, and Danai was starting to like him because of it. Yet, here she was provoking him.
Everitt grabbed her feet with a grunt, holding them away from him, and looked her right in the eye. Nai gulped, and her heart pounded, but she wasn’t afraid. She felt excited, and was anticipating what he would do next.
Instead of doing anything, he asked her a question, “are you okay?”
Danai blinked, “what?”
Part of her started to wonder if he’d suddenly lost interest, but his scent said otherwise. Everitt was very aroused, and that made him making her stop even more confusing. He moved her legs to the side of his body, and away from his most sensitive area. Then he picked up his coffee, and downed like half of it, before he looked at her again.
“Are you in heat?” He asked, carefully.
Nai laughed immediately; the idea just sounded ridiculous to her. She’d never ‘gone into heat,’ at least not like other omegas did. The few heats she’d had were easily contained, and went away once she’d started taking her new suppressants. She didn’t feel this animalistic need to touch or be near alphas anymore, which was what she’d been working on with her doctor. Well, that was until she met Everitt. And her doctor had said that she could expect a regular cycle with regular heats soon enough, especially with an alpha mate that aroused her and-
No, no, no. Danai was not in heat. She’d know if she was in heat. She felt fine, aside from being a little warm. She was just nervous, and she got warm when she was nervous.
“I’m not in heat, Everitt,” she picked up her cup and took a sip. “We have an important interview today, and it has to be perfect.”
Everitt stared at her in disbelief, “I don’t think your body cares that we have an important interview today.”
She waved off his concerns, “anyway, you were talking about your brother, right? Are you gonna make him pay his dues for losing the bet?”
Ev narrowed his eyes, seemingly confused by her avoidance of their other conversation, “Danai-”
There were two knocks on the door, then it opened to reveal Patrick with a yellow folder in hand. He smiled at both of them, then directed his attention to his boss. “Sorry to interrupt. I have all the questions printed like you asked, Danai.”
Patrick walked up and handed her the folder. He looked nice, in a brown sweater, dark jeans, and glasses. He always had glasses on. Danai noticed his eyes skim over the table, with their finished food and drinks spread across it. He looked at Everitt, who was still staring at Danai, and she noticed Pat’s eyes looking down at her legs in his lap. Patrick’s eyes widened at the sight.
“Thanks, Patrick,” Danai gave him a smile, which pulled him out of his daze. He stepped back with a nod, then practically ran out of her office. She smiled, almost laughed, but when she looked at Everitt he was not amused.
“Danai, seriously-”
She rolled her eyes, “I’m fine, Everitt. Just... All I need right now is to hear about the rest of your Sunday, or whatever else, before we have to get ready. Okay? Please?”
He stared at her for a while, like he was trying to confirm that she was as okay as she claimed. Or, maybe he was trying to convince himself that believing her wouldn’t be the catastrophe he apparently thought possible. Eventually, he sighed, and decided to go on with his story. Danai listened intently, grateful for the jokes he made, and tried to ignore the arousal in her body that didn’t seem able to go away.
******
Danai squinted at the set lights, using her hand to shield her face and keep her makeup from melting away. Patrick scurried onto the set beside her with a manual and electric fan in one hand, and a cold glass of water in the other. Nai had been feeling like she’d been stuffed into a sauna since she left her office, but she was chalking it up to nerves. They were already done with the first half of the segment, and only had a few more questions to go before they cut to a video about Danai’s story. Once they did that, she and Everitt would be free to go. As soon as they called for a break, Danai waved Patrick over and begged him to bring the things he was now handing her.
“Thank you, thank you,” she accepted the glass of water, then took a big swig of it, then handed it back to Patrick. Danai took the fans from him, and flicked her wrist with the manual one while the electric blew air into the other side of her face. She leaned back in her seat, sighing. During the first part of the interview she felt like she was going crazy with the way she had to focus on looking and sounding good while imagining she was in a blizzard to trick her mind into thinking she wasn’t burning up.
Everitt kept giving her concerned looks when he sensed the cameras weren’t focused on him, which Danai did her best to ignore. She attempted to chase him backstage after they were done, but he tried to convince her to let him take her home. Luckily, Patrick eased some of his concerns by saying omegas just got warm sometimes. Pat and Danai knew he was lying, but Everitt bought the whole thing and that was enough for her.
Patrick took the manual fan from Danai, and took over the job of cooling her down. He looked down at her with concern in his eyes, “you’re in heat, aren’t you?”
Danai threw her hands up, weakly, while still slumped back in her seat. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?!”
“Everyone, or Everitt?” Patrick teased with a small smile on his face. Danai rolled her eyes, then handed him the electric fan. Without any words being exchanged between them, he knew to hold it up for his boss. Nai leaned back further, closing her eyes and focusing on the cool air. There wasn’t much time left in the commercial break, and soon enough she’d be burning up again.
“What makes you think Everitt is the only person who noticed?” Nai asked, with one eye opening to look at her assistant.
Patrick sighed, “because your scent is very weak, and you’re actually good at hiding when something’s bothering you. I noticed the way you looked at him, and your legs have been shaking from being forced together for so long.”
Danai’s mouth fell open, “they have not.”
“Yes, they have.” Patrick nodded towards the glass of water that had been left on the desk, “drink some more. You’re gonna be back on the air soon.”
Nai couldn’t say she appreciated being told what to do, but she listened anyway. Patrick was right; she needed to hydrate. While there wasn’t much on-air time left, there was still time left, and her body was going through it. Danai sat up, took another gulp of the cold water, and let Patrick keep fanning her.
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