Chapter One
There have been very few days that I wanted a hole to appear below me and swallow me up, and that day happened to be one of them. I looked around the room from my position next to my father, President Elijah Daniels of Daniels Publishing, Inc. He was addressing the board about my brother, Elijah, Jr., his pride and his joy- the one who grew up to be exactly like him- dominant, tall, handsome, successful, and just that day had been arranged to marry a dominant Omega from the Jones family. Yes, that Jones family… THE Jones family.
If my family was known for being full of dominant alphas, the Jones family was known for having the most beautiful and talented dominant omegas. They were involved in everything from politics, to entertainment, to charity. The oldest, Paris (of course his name is Paris), was the most beautiful out of the newest generation. He graduated from a top performing arts school, knew so many languages, and was basically walking sex- shoulder length blond hair, striking green eyes, a musical laugh, and a soft voice that almost sounded like a whisper whenever he spoke. Apparently, his pheromones could bring down a whole room of alphas.
Not that I could ever sense any pheromones anyway…
So, I had to put on a fake smile as my father told the good news to the board. They seemed excited that the families would be joined by a marriage and the conversation then turned even more uncomfortable:
“Are there any plans for your second son to marry?” asked one of the many advisors. Of course they would ask this… No son could ever truly be a contributor to the family unless he made a huge marriage match.
I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks. How is father going to answer this? He had no plans to attempt to marry me off to anyone because of my condition, but the board didn’t know about that. No one did. It’s the Daniels family well kept secret- the recessive alpha that can not sense omega pheromones- me.
My father cleared his throat. “We are still looking for worthy candidates. Not many families measure up to the Jones family.” That brought a small chuckle to the board members’ mouths and the topic was (thankfully) dropped.
I was ushered away by my assistant, Hank. The beautiful, majestic, intelligent, beta, Hank. He was always the only person who didn’t make me feel like I was less just because of my condition. Then again, he would never be affected by it since he’s a beta. I had had the biggest crush on him when we were in high school. He was always small and delicate like an omega, but muscular at the same time. I never had to feel nervous around him and I could always tell him how I was feeling without any kind of judgement. And everything about him is beautiful, from his dark hair, to the ordinary glasses he wears, to his big, brown eyes. He was always perfect to me.
I was not at all jealous of his wife. Not at all. In fact, we had a beautiful friendship. She always treated me like Hank treated me, like a brother. I was his best man when he married her and I love their two children like they are my own. She also knew how lucky she was and I reminded her of it every time I went over for dinner. She called me Hank’s “work husband” and I called her “the other woman”. Hank hated those nicknames (especially when we would get drunk and use them at restaurants).
Hank ushered me out of the board meeting with a whispered, “Your 2 o’clock appointment will be meeting you in your office soon.” I nodded discretely at him, bowed briefly at my father and excused myself from the meeting. As I walked out of the board room, I finally took a deep breathe. I was so grateful that I wouldn’t have to sit through the whole board meeting. I didn’t want the topic of my marriage to be brought up again. I wished to stay single.
As we walked to my office, Hank looked up from his iPad at me and asked “Are you going to be able to make it through this meeting? Or should I try to reschedule it?”
I shook my head as we made it to my office door. “I’m feeling alright.”
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