I knew. Dad had just told me. It was a marriage of money and politics for the creation of power, just like he’d said. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the two of them were also plotting something illegal to secure Dad’s position and advance his future ambitions, like he’d said. If people only knew how crooked power really was, they would be disgusted.
We reached the front of the line. I studied the menu board for all of three seconds before deciding on an artisanal tuna melt. Quincy ordered a veggie burger. We gave the cashier our drink order, and I pulled out my wallet to hand her my card.
“It’s on me,” I said, smiling at my omega.
“You don’t have to do that,” Quincy said, eyes going watery.
“I want to take care of you,” I said in a low voice, a little embarrassed about being overheard. “I want to protect you.”
“Um, sorry, sir, but your card was declined,” the cashier said, flushing slightly.
I frowned and took back my card, handing her another one.
That card was declined, too.
So was my debit card. When I pulled out my phone to check the app, my bank balance was suddenly zero.
By then, Quincy had already paid for our lunch and nudged me out of the way so the next customer could give their order. We moved to the far corner of the seating area and chose a table as far from the window as possible.
“It’s not a mistake, is it,” Quincy said, almost whispering, as we huddled together at the tiny table.
I was still staring at my phone and coming to grips with what I saw. “How can he work that fast?”
It was a pointless question. Dad had an entire team of people at his beck and call. He could have had a dozen people each call one of my banks or credit card companies and freeze them all within five minutes.
I put my phone face down on the table and reached for Quincy’s hands.
“I’m not going to let him intimidate me like this,” I said.
It was weird, but I meant that. I was a grown man, a lawyer. I had friends and clients who trusted me. Dad’s world was all about money and society, but I wasn’t interested in that world. Threatening to take away things that didn’t have any value to me would be pointless.
Except maybe I needed a little money.
“I don’t want to ruin your life, Jack,” Quincy said, his lower lip wobbling. He seemed to notice he was trembling and hissed a curse. “Fuck. I’ve been a basket case for the last hour or so, and now I’m almost certain it’s because Chester is nearby.”
“Did he threaten you?” I asked, voice so low and menacing I scared myself.
Unexpectedly, that made Quincy smile and huff a laugh. “No,” he said, then had to lean back as a server came with our lunch. Once that was taken care of and we had our space to ourselves again, he went on with, “Honestly, he seemed aboutas happy to see me as I was to see him. It was really awkward trying to explain the AV equipment to him. I might actually be happy Amelia removed me from the project. She said she’d give me another assignment for the expo.”
“So you’re okay?” I asked, picking up my sandwich. Really, I wanted to keep holding Quincy’s hands forever.
Quincy took a deep breath and let it out like he’d been trained to breathe that way by a therapist. “I’m okay,” he said, half to himself, then picked up his burger. “I won’t have to see him at all now. My sever feels like someone poured lighter fluid on it and set it on fire, but I’m sure I can make it through the weekend, and then I’ll never have to see Chester again.”
I really hoped that was true. I hated the idea of my omega in any sort of pain, especially because of some asshole alpha with toxic selfishness. The fact that he was working with my dad was only proof that he wasn’t worth the old, dried gum that was probably stuck to the underside of the table where we sat.
“I want to see you again,” I said, nudging Quincy’s foot under the table with my own. “I want to see you all the time.”
Quincy had just taken a bite of his burger, but he straightened and his eyes went wide. He froze for a second, then finished chewing and swallowed. “You do?”
I softened into a lovesick smile. “You’re the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me, Quincy,” I said. “Yeah, I know things are hard and dangerous right now, but I still want to be with you. I still want to invest as much time as I can into getting to know you better. I just want you in my life, no matter what my dad says.”
Quincy’s eyes filled with tears. He cursed and growled again. “Shit. I hate how emotional I am right now. But I want the same thing,” he said, reaching for his drink.
“Then fuck them,” I whispered, peeking around, mostly because there was a family in the restaurant now, and I didn’twant to spread bad habits to their kids. “What we do on our time is none of their business. We’ll get through the tech expo this weekend, and once my dad has moved on to the next thing and asshole Chester is out of the way—sorry,” I said quickly to the papa of the little girl, who had heard me say “asshole” and gasped. I leaned closer to Quincy and went on with, “Once we get past this hurdle, we can sit down and talk seriously about ways to be together, no matter what anyone else says.”
“You really think I’m worth it?” Quincy asked, eyes glassy.
I hated Chester with the fire of a thousand suns.
