Chapter three

Alexander’s POV

I liked to think I was a reasonably intelligent person.

I’d graduated top of my class. I could type ninety-five words per minute. I could juggle three phone lines, book travel across six time zones, and dodge a coffee mug thrown in frustration (yes, that happened—no, I won’t say with who). I could organize chaos. I could smile while being chewed out. I could survive corporate warzones.

And yet, here I was.

Spending my Wednesday morning trying to decode a three-word email from Brandon Cole like it was written in ancient Greek.

Fix the proposal.

That was it. No details. No red marks. No indication of what the hell was wrong with the twenty-eight-page document I stayed up past midnight perfecting.

Fix what, exactly? The font? The margins? My will to live?

I reread the email for the fourth time, then stared at the blinking cursor in my reply draft, debating how sarcastic I could be without getting fired.

Eventually, I settled on the safe route.

Sure. Could you clarify what needs adjusting?

His response came thirty seconds later. Of course it did.

All of it.

I groaned and dropped my forehead against the keyboard.

“Rough morning, soldier?” came a familiar voice from the doorway.

I lifted my head just enough to squint at Jake, one of the only humans working in this building and somehow always in a good mood. “If I don’t make it, tell HR I went down fighting.”

Jake sauntered in and perched on the arm of the spare chair across from me, clutching a can of soda at ten in the morning like it was holy water. “Let me guess—Brandon?”

“Who else?” I muttered.

“Man has the emotional range of a rock and the warmth of a glacier,” Jake said, shaking his head. “He glared at me once for breathing too loud near the elevator.”

“Sounds like him.”

Jake grinned. “You know who doesn’t glare at me, though?”

I already knew where this was going, but I humored him anyway. “Let me guess. Mia?”

“Damn right.” His smile turned sheepish. “She waved at me yesterday. I think we made progress.”

“You’re dangerously optimistic.”

“I’m human. It’s all I’ve got in a building full of scent-sensitive werewolves and terrifying Alpha CEOs.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “But hey, I’ve seen the way she talks to you. Maybe put in a good word for me sometime?”.

“You mean the way she brings me sympathy tea after Brandon wrecks my soul?”

“That’s the one.”

I snorted, about to reply when Mia herself poked her head into my office. She flashed Jake a smile who nodded like a child.

“That sounded like the universal sound of workplace despair.”

Jake sat up straighter like a kid caught doing something bad. I didn’t even lift my head. “How do you know the exact tone of my suffering?”.

“Because I hear it three times a day. Minimum.” She stepped inside and perched on the edge of my desk, holding her tea like she wasn’t breaking ten HR rules just by being a friend. “Let me guess. Brandon being Brandon?”

“He sent a three-word email.”

“Let me guess again. ‘Fix the proposal.’”

I looked up slowly. “How did you know that?”

She snorted. “He said the same thing to Marketing last week. They almost staged a walkout.”

I leaned back in my chair with a long sigh. “Why is he like this?”.

“Because he’s an Alpha who thinks perfection is a baseline expectation. And you, my poor sweet Beta, are tragically good at your job.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Absolutely. It’s also why he hasn’t fired you.”

“Yet,” I echoed grimly.

She gave me a small smile and nudged the mug on my desk. “Come by for lunch later. I’m bringing cupcakes.”

“You’re trying to bribe me into staying employed.”

“And it’s working.”

Jake watched her go, dazed.

“She’s perfect,” he whispered, like she’d just floated out with angel wings.

“She’s an Omega and you’re a human,” I reminded him.

“Let me dream, Alex.”

I laughed despite myself, then turned back to my screen, resigned to rewriting the entire document from scratch. Unlike me, Jake had a higher chance of being with his crush.

Before I could continue, my screen lit up with a new calendar notification.

Quarterly Review with Legal — 1:00pm

Scheduled by: Brandon Cole

Location: Conference Room B

And beneath it, a second message:

Don’t be late.