She nods again.
“Great, gather them for a team meeting in five.”
Margret finishes her typing, then looks at me with a big sigh. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
She’s gone before I can respond, calling out names and pointing towards the reception area.
A warm hand rests against my lower back. “Good job,” Kaiden murmurs from behind. That small praise sends a shiver through me. “We’ll be in the background most of the day, but if you need us, we’ll know.”
A gentle brush of his fingers along my spine, and he’s gone.
I take a deep breath, rolling my neck from side to side, then follow my staff into the reception area.
The gathering starts with Serena pulling me into a hug.
My entire body tenses.
She’s never hugged me before. I don’t think I’ve seen her hug anyone. And when she finally pulls back, she’s crying profusely, apologising over and over, blaming herself for everything that’s happened.
It takes several minutes for her to calm down enough to actually listen to me. I tell her none of this is her fault, but I can see she doesn’t quite believe it.
Eventually, Margret helps her to a seat, but her sad eyes don’t move from me.
There are a lot more hugs after that. Smiles, too. At one point, someone shows me an animation of myself dressed like a superhero in a pink cape, punching an alpha into space.
Finally, the greetings settle. My staff are spread out across the sofas and chairs in the reception area, talking amongst themselves.
I clear my throat, and a hush falls instantly. Every eye turns to me.
“Hey all, these last few days have been… insane, and that’s not going to change for a while.”
Some nod; others look a little worried.
“People are going to keep asking questions. You’ve probably already had journalists reaching out. I’m not goingto say you can’t talk to them, but I do ask that you tell them why I did what I did. I did it to protect my staff, my clients, and if what happened here had happened anywhere else, I’d have done the same.”
Someone whoops, and a few people laugh, including myself.
“I didn’t ask for this…” I gesture to the crowd outside. “And you guys certainly didn’t. So if anyone wants to take some time off, or decides this isn’t the place for them anymore, I understand.”
I pause, letting those words settle.
“We’re with you, Revea,” James calls from his seat on the sofa.
I nod. “I just don’t want anyone to feel pressured—”
“We’ve already talked about it,” Katie says to my left. “We’re all staying. We all want to help. Any way we can, Revea.”
“Like how you’ve helped all of us,” Serena adds quietly.
Soft murmurs of agreement ripple around the room while I blink back the sting behind my eyes.
“Oh, right… well. That’s great.” I smile, smoothing down the front of my dress as I fight to keep my voice steady. “Okay. Well, let’s show them what we’re capable of as women, as omegas.” I clap my hands. “Let’s get to work!”
As everyone moves away to their stations, I head to my office.
Luc leans against the wall beside the stairs, watching me, but as I pass, his voice drops low as he murmurs, “You are so fucking hot.”
I bite back my smile and keep walking.
