“Absolutely.”
She grinned wide and I snapped a few photos. “Be in one with me?”
I slipped in next to her, held the phone aloft and captured her sweet smile.
Madison took back the phone and stared at me expectantly. “What’s your number so I can send it to you?”
My heart kicked against my ribs as I recited the digits. She sent it to me, saved the photo in a hidden folder, and hastily deleted the conversation. Did she really have to go to that extent to hide her life from her partner? I kept my mouth shut. Waiting for a few lessons wouldn’t kill me, and when she was more comfortable around me, maybe the conversation topic would come up organically. It wasn’t my place to butt in, anyway. Much as I might want to do otherwise, I had to keepsomesort of professional boundary. I would crush on her in silence and focus on making sure she felt safe enough here that the arena could be a reprieve from whatever bullshit she was obviously experiencing at home.
I just hoped my heart survived it.
“You’re sure I’m not stealing you away from anything important?” Madison asked as I helped her reach one of the display pillows so she could check the texture.
“Youarethe important thing,” I said with a laugh. “You’re the store’s best customer bya lot.”
“Oh, okay.”
She was so fucking cute. Her dark hair hung down her back in a single braid today, and she wore sparkly gold eyeshadow that showed off her big brown eyes. A cart full of stock trailed behind her, her smile as bright as the sun as she picked out items for her client.
Madison always came in when I worked, usually occupying a solid half of my day, which, on top of getting discounts for my sisters, was why I would never quit. It might be a little pathetic, but seeing her smile was like a drug hit every time, and she had turned me into quite the junkie. The corporate overlords never minded, since my time with Madison really helped me keep my finger on the pulse of what omegas in the city were looking for, which let me develop strategies to help the business grow.
She swept her hands over the fabric on a pillow I offered and retracted them sharply, shaking them out. “That’sterrible. Who approved this fabric?”
“I don’t know, probably corporate.” I replaced it on the shelf and she touched a much softer pillow to replace the sensation.
“Best of Nests has been getting unruly.” She huffed. “They’re focusing more on appearance than about texture and that’s the most important part.”
“You should file a formal complaint about bad customer experience with the products. They’d listen.” I knew they would, because I would make sure of it.
“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but it’s definitely a pattern I’ve noticed. This place is supposed to be all about luxury and they’re starting to slack.” She sighed, staring up at the wall that contained every color option available. “They’re shifting the colors too, making them slightly off. Do you know if they changed suppliers? Or if the suppliers changed dyes?”
“I can find out.” No one else noticed details like that, but she did. Madison had an eye for perfection I’d always admired.
Her brows furrowed, lips dipping into a frown. She knew every inch of the store, every item we carried, and every company that made them. I had suggested to corporate a few times that they hire her as some sort of consultant. They weren’t opposed, but they hadn’t taken any steps toward it. Honestly, I should make the move on my own and beg for forgiveness later. The store would thrive because of her and I had the authority to hire. I wasn’t sure if she would want to, but I was confident she would love it.Andit would have the bonus of her making actual money. It was fucking stupid she did all this work for clients and they only paid for the product. Tyler ruined everything. She could’ve had a thriving franchise at this point if he had let her do things officially.
I took a deep breath, shoving down my distaste for his existence. Every so often I had to check in with myself to make sure that my hatred of him was because he was genuinely a dick and not because I was hopelessly in love with his lady.
“I need to find pillows I don’t hate.” She turned to me, dark eyes luminous, soft pink mouth parted. “There has to be something else, Jude.”
We weren’t supposed to bring clients into this area, but… “We got a new shipment, but I haven’t had a chance to go through it yet. We’re not putting it out for a couple more days.”
Her bottom lip jutted into a pout. The universe was testing me. She could ask me for anything and I would fucking trip over myself to make it happen.
“Wait here.” I disappeared to steal a store apron and looped it over her neck when I returned. It wasn’t strictly necessary, but at least it would look like she was an employee if anyone checked the cameras and wanted to tattle to the regional manager above me. “Come on.”
She hooked her arm on mine, trotting along at my side, and I tried not to think about a future where we did this out inpublic as partners. Omegas didn’t pair up with betas, especially not omegas with belligerent alphas, but that didn’t stop me from wanting it.
Madison watched me slice open one of the new boxes, and I pulled out an assortment of pillows wrapped in plastic, carefully cutting through the covers so she could check them out.
“Oh my god, this one feels like a cloud.” She glided her fingers over the plush fabric. “Does it come in purple? Cream is fine too, if not.”
I opened up a few more boxes, each one a different color, until we came to the one filled with shades of purple. I dug through it, emerging triumphant with what she sought.
She let out a little squee of excitement and locked her arms around my torso. “I know I tell you that you’re the best all the time, but you really,reallyare. This is going to be perfect for my friend’s nursery.”
I bit down on a pitiful whimper and locked my arms around her for the few brief seconds of contact that was certain to keep my crush thriving for another few months at least.
I almost died on the spot when she sighed softly and squeezed a bit tighter before stepping back. That was new. I was more than used to her touching me out of excitement, but she didn’t normally have any response like she regretted letting me go.
