But there were lines Peter hadn’t let himself cross even at the start of his career, and he wasn’t going to start crossing them now.
He had more to lose than ever.
“I’ll keep him where he is for the time being. That should keep him out of trouble, at least until we get a real reason to fire him.”
“Sounds good. Was there anything else?”
Peter sighed. “No, that was it. How are things with you?”
“Can’t complain. Having more fun than you, I’d guess.”
“Watch it,” Peter warned. He could practicallyhearMerchant smirking.
When the cocky alpha didn’t say anything more, Peter huffed out a laugh and hung up the phone without saying goodbye. One of these days Merchant was going to piss him off for real, and that wouldn’t end well for him.
Staring at the files on his desk, Peter put thoughts of Merchant out of his mind. He wondered if he should track down Chad and apologize, but when he thought it through he couldn’t shake the feeling that doing so would be a mistake.
The best thing was to do nothing. There was every chance that making direct contact with Chad would only make things worse, and worst-case scenario it would give Chad ammunition in an eventual lawsuit against Tank Security.
Peter would just move on and pretend nothing had happened.
Content to let things be, Peter put away the files Merchant had sent him and notified HR that all the new recruits were to be offered extensions of their contracts.
It was for the best.
***
Chapter 5
Chad stroked the gleaming metal of his new bike with a reverent finger, hardly able to believe that the beauty was really his.
After spending three days wallowing and feeling like shit, his mind replaying the encounter with Peter Tank and the other asshole over and over—obsessing over the weird feeling he’d gotten in his stomach when Peter put his hand on his shoulder and wondering what the fuck itmeant—Chad had pulled himself together, saidfuck it, and bought himself a motorcycle.
He’d had an old Yamaha before he joined the Army, but he’d always wanted a Harley. Now that his first massive Tank Security paycheck had hit his bank account, he decided he might as well splurge.
Who cared if he’d been humiliated by a pair of uber-alpha douchebags?Not him. Riding the powerful bike back to his apartment, the vibrations traveling up his body and making his cock swell in pleasure, Chad felt like he was back to his old self.
Peter Tank could go fuck himself.
Parking his bike on the curb, Chad swung his leg over the seat and removed his helmet. A cold wind hit his face, and Chad pulled his collar up to shield his neck. Walking into the lobby of his building, he yanked off his gloves and shoved them into his helmet as the door closed behind him.
As he walked up the creaky old stairs, trying to avoid a repeat of his first day in the building when the ancient beta woman on the second floor had yelled at him for running up the stairs and making a racket, Chad wondered if he needed to get permission to park his new bike in the building parking lot, or if it was open to all residents.
He’d have to call his landlord and find out.
As he turned the corner and stepped onto the landing between the second and third floor, Chad collided with a figure almost as tall and wide as himself. Managing to stay on his feet, the alpha he’d collided with was not so lucky.
“Wow, sorry man!” Chad said, shifting his helmet to his left hand and reaching out to help the alpha to his feet.
“Fuck you!” the alpha snarled, batting his hand away. Chad growled at the disrespect from what was clearly an inferior alpha. He lifted his shoulders and bared his teeth, taking a step forward so that he was looming over the younger man.
“Excuse me?” he asked, letting his voice drop into an unnatural baritone. The alpha glared up at him and started to get up, only for Chad to push him back down with a hard kick to the chest. The alpha stayed down, his gaze on the floor.
“Look at me,” Chad ordered, pulling himself up to his full height. Knowing that he was outmatched, the alpha did as he was told. Chad crossed his arms. “Did you not hear me fucking apologize?” he asked.
“Whatever,” the alpha mumbled. He sounded embarrassed, and Chad sighed. He wasn’t the kind of alpha who challenged people for no reason, and he wasn’t going to beat up some college kid for being rude to him.
“Get up,” he ordered, stepping back. The kid rose to his feet, his movements wary like he was expecting Chad to attack at any moment. Chad huffed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”
