Finn

“Your Finny! Your. Your…” I stuttered, starting to see a haze of red as I imagined doing unspeakable things to him. Like swapping out his daily matcha tea for an expired bottle of kefir. Or tripping him up a flight of stairs. Maybe forcing him to sit on a slice of peanut butter bread so that he had to walk around with a stain of questionable origin all day. Things that would certainly get me reprimanded but would feel temporarily oh-so-satisfying.

He only laughed harder. I sputtered and pressed forward, ready to give him a swift kick to the shin, but once again Ben was there to block the way.

“Lay off him, Boss,” Ben said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me gently behind him. “You kinda did leave us with a shitstorm. Brandy called out this morning too without fixing the slides. Our collective asses were puckered for a good hour there. Finn was a rockstar and fixed those slides in under a minute. Honestly, dude deserves a raise, just saying.”

I preened, feeling flattered that at least someone had noticed. Though I was far from mollified.

At that, Daniel did at least have the decency to look upset. His dark brows gathered into a tight vee as he shoved twin fingers through his thick, perfectly coifed hair, and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she hadn’t shown up. I… I promise I’ll try to never do that again.”

“Two-hour lunch. Who does that, especially today of all days!” I snipped from behind Ben’s massive back, still trying to get at him, but Ben had been a defensive tackle of the year in college and put those skills to good use, preventing me from moving an inch left or right.

“Which is why,” Daniel said good-naturedly, “I brought you all a box of Crumbles, as an olive branch. They’re on my desk.”

Like a herd of meerkats, everyone looked at Daniel’s desk before making a beeline that way.

“They have the best cookies,” Shaquita said enthusiastically.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Ben said, before moseying on over.

I wasn’t one for sweets, but I was still starving. The wet bagel hadn’t done much to ease my hunger. Still, I crossed my arms and glared at Daniel. He held up one hand while his other reached into his pocket as he said, “Sorry for the long lunch, Finn. Promise it won’t happen again. For a while.” The last few words were spoken mostly as a whisper.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. I was tired of always being treated like a child. Being called cute, and Finny, those things—especially from him—grated like nothing else could.

Just because I was an Omega didn’t mean I wasn’t damn good at what I did. I turned but stopped when I felt a tap on my elbow.

“Here,” he said, before tucking something pillowy and warm into my hand. “Tuna and Bulgogi. That’s what you usually get, right?”

My jaw dropped as I stared at the triangle kimbaps in my hand. They even came from my favorite street vendor. Covering my mouth with my hand, I grunted before saying, “This doesn’t let you off the hook.”

His dark eyes twinkled before he said, “Didn’t think it would, chipmunk.”

“Asshole!” I snarled, careful not to squeeze the kimbap into an inedible mess.

“There they go again…” someone said behind us as Daniel raced away from me with a chuckle.

How the hell was that man my boss? Hell, on paper he was supposedly thirty, but he acted like a damn child.

Muttering beneath my breath I plopped down into my seat, tearing into the cellophane wrapper of the tuna kimbap while I prepared for the next telemeeting.

~*~

I wasn’t sure how I’d been dragged into going to after work drinks. I’d had to text Rory and tell her I’d be too late for our dinner plans tonight. Instead, I was squeezed between drunk coworkers who were all giddy that by some miracle Enrique had pulled off the impossible and secured the proposal. Our company was several million dollars richer, and the marketing department was breathing a sigh of relief tonight.

The Directors were treating us all to drinks and tapas for securing such a big contract, therefore opting out of this little shindig had been out of the question—unless you were dying. Which I, unfortunately, was not. Ugh.

The bar was jam-packed with people, there was a live Spanish band with flamenco dancers at the front. I sipped on my beer, nursing the same one all night.

Looking around, I noticed my coworkers in various stages of party mode. Some were drinking, others dancing, and others chatting up people I didn’t recognize. Daniel was at the bar, already surrounded by a group of men and women, wearing his insufferable flirting grin as a male Omega twirled the tip of his crimson tie between his slender fingers. His body language was obvious.

Curling my nose, I clenched my now warm bottle and stared at the pitted groves of the table I sat at. Not that it was any of my business, I knew that, and yet the fact that he didn’t last longer than a night with anyone made me angry for some damned reason. What a waste of good looks.

“Ha!” I cried, knowing I probably looked half-mad laughing to myself. Not that I gave two shits about what anyone thought of me either. I didn’t want to be here in the first place. It was too loud and too peopley for me.

After an hour, I was long ready to go home. Rory had already ditched even the remote possibility of waiting for me, she’d gone clubbing. So even if I went home, I’d be alone, which after all this noise I wasn’t sure I’d mind.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“What’s a cutie like you doing all alone?” I opened my eyes and looked at a passably handsome man. He was of average height. With dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin.

“Ew. You don’t know me well enough to call me that,” I said, growing grumpier by the second.

Without even asking if he could, he plopped right down beside me. Instantly I stiffened, scooting away enough to give us space. Still, the skeevy creep didn’t take the hint, he followed me, until our thighs were pressed tightly together.

Brows dropping to a glower, I said, “Listen, man, back off. I’m not in the mood.”

He only chuckled. “I’m only trying to make friends here. I just moved to the city last week, I don’t have many friends, won’t you be my friend?” his voice dropped to a husky baritone.

I made a yuck face. The kind you do when you step in a pile of really, really soft dog shit. He chuckled.

What the hell was wrong with this guy? Didn’t he realize I wasn’t gonna be his easy lay tonight?

“Name’s Marcus,” he said, holding out his hand.

“I didn’t ask,” I instantly retorted, leaving him hanging. He glanced down at his still-empty hand and snorted as he curled it back into himself.

“Feisty, just how I like my Omegas.” The moment he said that I felt a cloud of Alpha pheromones envelop me.

My heart instantly rattled, and my body went rigid. His scent was peppery and far too strong. A tickle started at the back of my throat; tears formed at the corners of my eyes.

“Hey, asshole,” I coughed as my eyes began watering. “In case it wasn’t clear. I’m not interested, and this is effing sexual harassment!” I coughed even harder. I was pinned between him and the wall. The only way out was through him, but he was making it clear he had no plans to move. Not that it would have mattered, those nasty pheromones felt like wet cement on my limbs.

His eyes thinned for just a split second. Transforming his face from what’d been easygoing into something far colder and more sinister. My pulse hammered through my ears as the second wave of pheromones went off like a bomb, bathing me, enveloping me, drowning me.