“We need to talk,”Adriansaid.
“I’m in the middle of an interview, Adrian. You’ll havetowait.”
“We need to talknow.” Adrian stepped forward, coming to stand beside Cedric. At such close proximity, Cedric could pick up just a hint of the omega he remembered from high school. There was no doubt about it—itwasAdrian Lowe. “It’s aboutGabriel.”
The atmosphere changed. Like a blackout curtain pulled across a southern-facing window, the room was robbed of its light. Sterling’s professionally playful expression faded, and he eased up from his chair with thinly veiled urgency that Cedric wagered would have looked like fear had Sterling not been in such tight control of himself. When Sterling met his eyes again, his expression was drawn and his emotions were masked. “I’m sorry, Mr. Langston. Would you excuse me for amoment?”
“Of course.” There was no other answer. Whatever was happening was serious, and Cedric was in no position to pin Sterling to an interview when it was clear he was needed elsewhere. Burning bridges with Sterling Holt was a bad,badidea if Cedric wanted to remain an integral part of Aurora’s kink community—and if he still wanted a shot at the job he was interviewing for. “I’ll wait here. Takeyourtime.”
Sterling and Adrian exited the room, leaving Cedric to process what he’d just seen. It was ludicrous to think the eighteen-year-old Adrian Lowe he remembered from high school would be the same person after half a decade, but to think that Adrian’s life would have shaped up in such a way that they’d meet again in Sterling’s office? Cedric still couldn’tbelieveit.
With a heavy outward sigh, Cedric settled in his chair and tilted his head back until it couldn’t go back any farther. The ceiling was plain and white, offering little distraction. He let his eyes drift out of focus while he came off hisinterviewhigh.
While he wished Sterling and Adrian the best, he knew that the interruption likely meant he’d be overlooked for the job. Whatever emergency was going on would distract Sterling from their interview, and Cedric would fade from his mind and be disregarded as a qualified candidate when he sat down to make his choice. Cedric did his best to accept that reality for what it was. The faster he moved on from the loss, the faster he’d be able to bounce back. It wasn’t that he was hurting for money, but the lateral move from professional Dom to manager at The Shepherd was too good an opportunity to pass up. The connections alone wereworthit.
What it would have meant to Brittany sweetened the deal thatmuchmore.
Minutes passed. There was arguing in the hall—one-sided, by the sounds of it. The only raised voice Cedric heard was Adrian’s, but he was silenced following a heavy thud that vibrated through the office wall. Cedric lifted his head and turned in his chair to look at the door, an eyebrow raised. No further noisefollowed.
Five more minutes passed. There were footsteps down the hall, and then the door was opened once more. Adrian stepped through the doorway with partially lidded eyes and ruddy lips, his hair mussed. His blown-out pupils paired with the dreamy look on his face hinted that he was teetering on the edge of subspace. He no longer held his baby daughter to his chest. Sterling entered behind him, the baby cradled in his arm. She cooed and tugged at his jacket, but in that moment, Sterling’s eyes were only for Adrian. If Cedric had ever doubted the validity of their relationship, he no longer did. The chemistry between them burned red-hot, and the Dom emerging from inside Sterling fitted the starry-eyed submissive Adrian had melted into toaT.
“I apologize for the interruption.” Sterling took his seat, careful not to disturb his daughter. Adrian stood behind him—he did his best to look firm, but the faraway, relaxed look in his eyes betrayed him. “I’ll be blunt. Due to personal circumstance, the position I was looking to fill is momentarily closed while we adjust to a new familydynamic.”
Cedric’s heart sank. He knew to expect as much, but to hear it from Sterling so firmly and directly?Ithurt.
But Sterling didn’t stop there. He met Cedric’s eyes, and the uptick in Cedric’s heartbeat and the way his breath jammed in his throat spoke for his excitement before it resonated inside of him. The intensity in Sterling’s gaze pinned him, but Cedric met it and returned it. He would not allow himself to come across as meek. Not now. He’d left submission behind five years ago, and nothing could make himgoback.
“Another position, however, has opened up.” Sterling adjusted the baby in his arms, keeping her cradled protectively to his chest. Her presence did not detract from the stern, immovable force that was Sterling. Even with a pink-onesie-clad infant, Sterling commanded respect. “…One which I believe you would be a prime candidate for, and one which may serve as a test, of sorts, to determine if you’re a proper fit for the management position once it does openbackup.”
“All right.” Cedric pressed his lips together. “I’mlistening.”
“I want to see what kind of a Dom you really are.” Sterling looked into his eyes, but his gaze didn’t stop there—it pierced Cedric deep, as if Sterling was looking to pluck out the truth from his very soul. “I want to see your work ethic in action. I’d like to hire you on twenty-four seven to care for an omega who is desperately in need of release from the life he’s been broughttolead.”
“Twenty-four seven?” Cedric’s fingers tightened against his palm, well out of Sterling’s line ofsight.
“Full-time domination.” Sterling’s expression did not waver. “Paid, of course. You will not be asked to overstep any of your limits or boundaries, nor will you be restricted as to what you can or cannot do, so long as you believe it is in the best interest of thesubmissive.”
Adrian planted his hands on Sterling’s desk and leaned forward, subspace blown to pieces as his eyes narrowed and his lips scowled. “But if you touch my brother, I will personally see to it that you willnevertouch him, or any other omega, everagain.”
Gabriel.
They wanted him to dominateGabrielLowe.
Cedric’s gaze locked with Adrian’s, and his eyes narrowed. “It’s not your decision whether the domination is sexualornot.”
The room went silent. The tick of the clock hanging on the wall filled the emptiness, but Cedric barely heard it. His eyes stayed locked on Adrian’s. Back in high school, Adrian had barely been a blip on his radar, but Cedric remembered him well enough. After he’d gone into heat, he’d changed—become bolder and more outspoken, like he had a point to prove, and no one would keep him from proving it. Cedric would not allow himself to be spoken over, and he would not allow his potential submissive to suffer at Adrian’s hands, either, whether that submissive was Adrian’s brotherornot.
It was Gabriel’s decision whether Cedric lay his hands on him. Adrian would not speakforhim.
Eventually, Adrian scowled and dropped his gaze. He set his hand on the back of Sterling’s chair, eyes narrowed and directed to the side, like he wasinsulted.
Cedric returned his attention to Sterling. “Forhowlong?”
“However long it takes.” Sterling set a hand on his daughter’s back, but his eyes did not leave Cedric. “A few months at most, if I had to guess. The problem with Gabriel isthathe--”
Adrian’s hand moved to squeeze Sterling’s shoulder, and Sterling stopped what he was saying and shook his head. Cedric looked between them curiously, but he didn’t push for further information. Whatever it was they wanted to tell him about Gabriel, he would find out onhisown.
“I can’t take the job unless I meet him. I need to know it’s what he wants.” Consent and communication, above all else, were essential if an arrangement like that was going to work. Power was always in the hands of the submissive—Cedric only ever satisfied their needs. He never forced a client to do anything they weren’t one hundred percent certain they wanted. Sterling, of all people, should have known that. “A full-time arrangement isn’t something you take lightly. I need to know that he trusts me, and I need to know I can trust him to expresshimself.”
