She just laughs. “Yeah. It’s rarer than you’d think, but I’ve been around when it happened once or twice, and let me tell you, it can get more than a little awkward. The best thing to do is givethem room. If it’s making you feel things, go take a break and drink some water. Lana should be around, so she’ll make sure it’s all above board if it happens to anyone tonight. If she’s not around, let me know and I’ll call her.”
“Uh huh,” I murmur.
“You don’t sound sure,” she says. “I’m guessing it’s not something you’ve experienced before?”
“I’ve seen movies, but I’ve never met an Omega in real life.”
Thoughts of my mother flood back to me, but I only really have that one memory of her sweet voice singing me to sleep. I didn’t get to meet any other Omegas at Ivan Hamilton’s house.
“Okay, well, it’s kind of like this incredible scent just fills your senses all of a sudden, and it starts to heat up your body and well … it really makes you wish you had a boyfriend to jump on. Let’s put it that way. Or girlfriend, I guess,” she adds, giving me a curious look. “If that’s your thing?”
“I’m into men, but I’m definitely not looking for boyfriend.”
She nods slowly. “Me too, except I am. Looking for a boyfriend, I mean. If only men weren’t so annoying. Sometimes I think life would be easier if I was into girls.”
“Oh, for sure.”
“Anyway,” she starts. “Guests can order hot drinks from the kitchen, and we take care of those, so I’ll show you how the machine works once you think you’re familiar enough with the ballroom to move on. The dance floor is a no-go area for food and drinks. The bar staff monitor that, so we just make sure we don’t walk around on the dance floor with food trays. The seating area all the way over there is food and drink free too, so we don’t go over there.”
“Seems simple enough.”
The only area I’m supposed to be working in is small enough to feel manageable.
This side of the room is carpeted so it’s easy to tell where the dancefloor starts.
I walk over to the bar and look back at Katie.
“So, we leave any empty glasses here?”
I brush my fingers over the cold, smooth marble counter.
The color is almost black, shimmering with flecks of silver.
Pretty, but dark, like most of the décor in the room.
“Right. It doesn’t matter where you put them, you can leave them anywhere on the counter. Whoever’s working the bar will move them.”
I nod, taking that piece of information in for later.
“Well, I think that’s kind of it for the ballroom,” Katie says, on hand on her hip. “It’s not too difficult, really. I mean, it used to be kind of different, but Lana had the private booths ripped out because of how they could be used, and there used to be thick curtains up separating the dance floor and the back seating area, but it’s all so much easier to navigate now.”
“Private booths?” I ask, because I can’t picture what they would look like.
“I know, right?” She shakes her head. “It’s disgusting that they were even a thing. The old heads of admin went along with anything the rich guys who used to keep this place running had to say. I used to think Alphas were just like automatically hot. Now, I automatically assume they’re creepy, at least until they show they’re not. I’ve only been here for a couple of years, but the crap that used to go on in this room was wild. It was practically impossible to keep the Omegas safe. I felt so sorry for some of them. You have no idea how happy I was when Lana took over.”
I still can’t really picture what a private booth would look like, but it sounds like they were a bad thing, so it’s probably better if I don’t have the mental image of what they were.
Alphas always seem perfect in movies, especially the romantic ones, but in real life I only know one Alpha, and Ivan Hamilton is much worse than a creep. But that doesn’t feel like the kind of story I should be sharing with someone I’ve barely known for ten minutes.
So, I smile back when she glances at me, and I stick to a safer topic.
“Lana seems great.”
“Oh, she is! She’s seen it all, too. She worked on reception before she got that job. I was always worried she’d find something better and leave. I had my fingers crossed she was going to step up sometime and run this place. She’s what we needed here.”
“What happened to the old administrator?”
“You don’t know?” She sounds shocked, but then she nods. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! I forgot where you came from for a second and I …”
