I swipe up to clear the notifications and pull up my contacts. There’s only one person I actually feel like talking to right now. She answers on the second ring.
“What’s wrong?”
A grin spreads across my face, and I already feel ten times lighter. “Why does something have to be wrong? Can’t I just call my big sister to chat?”
“You never call me this late,” she answers, though her voice is more fond than annoyed. “You know I usually turn into a pumpkin after I grade papers, and you don’t want to risk waking up your nephew and giving me a reason to plot your death.”
“Shit,” I mutter, glancing at the clock on the cab’s dashboard. “Did I? I wasn’t even thinking about the time.” It is a little after ten here, which means just past nine in Missouri. Jess usually has him down by seven. Guilt settles heavy in my chest.
“No, you got lucky,” she laughs. “He’s out cold. T-ball wore him out. It’s a lot for a tiny human.”
I chuckle. “I can imagine. What the hell does T-ball even look like for four-year-olds?”
“Pure chaos. Kids abandoning their bases, chasing the ball in packs, occasionally forgetting they are supposed to play baseballat all. But they are adorable in their uniforms, so it evens out. What is going on with you?”
I sigh. “I pushed a little too far in court today. If you want to see it, the clips are already floating around online. NYTV filmed the whole thing.”
“Isn’t that, like, half of your job?”
“Usually,” I admit. “But this time feels different. I am not talking about the surprise witness so much as… something I said. It got more personal than it should have.”
“That doesn’t sound like you,” she says, voice growing concerned.
I rub the back of my neck with the hand not holding my phone, face suddenly hot. “You remember that defense attorney I told you about? That I go up against all the time?”
“The hot redhead?”
I snort. “No. Well, yes. But… anyways. I think I just let her get under my skin a little too much, and I acted out of character.”
Jess laughs softly. “Mark, for someone who prides himself on staying in control, you are really spiraling here.” Her voice turns teasing. “Do you have a thing for her?”
I frown. “Ava Kendrick? Don’t be ridiculous. She’s hot, yeah, but she’s a vicious trust fund baby who lives solely to drive me insane.” Even as the words fall from my lips, I feel a small voice inside of me singingliar, liar, pants on fire.
“Kinda sounds like the gentleman doth protest too much,” she says lightly. “But fine. Whatever you say. Is she an omega?”
“An omega high-profile defense attorney?” I scoff. “Be serious.”
“Right, I wasn’t thinking,” Jess admits. “They’re not allowed to do that, are they?”
“Well, it isn’t that they aren’tallowed.”
“Unbonded omegas can’t go to school outside of the omega schools, though, right?”
“Well, yeah, for safety reasons. But once they are bonded, they could go to law school. It’s just that the timeline doesn’t really allow for someone to rise in ranks like Ava has.” It sounds and feels like I’m making excuses, and I’m not sure why. “Anyway, no, she’s not an omega. Just a beta.” As if anything about her could ever be described with the wordjust.
“Mm-hmm,” Jess hums. “And yet you are calling me at ten at night to unpack your feelings about her.”
“I’m not calling abouther,” I say, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “It’s just… the mayor was pleased with how I handled things today. Said it made me look strong. The kind of alpha voters like to see.”
“And how did it make you feel?” Jess asks quietly.
I hesitate. “I don’t know. Kind of dirty, I guess?”
“Mark,” she says gently but firmly, “you did not claw your way out of Missouri and into that office so you could start acting like every power-hungry politician in Manhattan.”
“I know. It’s just that they expect it,” I admit, “and I need the donors.”
“Do you? You want to run for office because you want to change the status quo,” she reminds me. “You can be ambitious and still be ethical. You can be powerful without being cruel.”
