Now it’s the next day. I drag myself away from my laptop and stare at the dark morning sky from my apartment window. I’ve barely slept. My eyes sting. But I’ve got a tablet full of sources, screenshots, contacts, and links, and I am ready to make my systems more thanadequate.
When I step out of my car, my building looms in the early morning darkness. The air is crisp and cold as I fumble for my entry card at the back entrance.
I rush inside, reaching for the wall to turn on—
Why are the lights on?
I make quick work across the marble floor in my trainers, taking two steps at a time up my office stairs, pushing open the door to find—
Mr. Inadequate.
Sat at my desk like he never left.
Is this a nightmare? Did I fall asleep while researching?
The typing stops. “You’re here early,” he says, peering at me from over my screen.
When I don’t respond, still struggling to accept this is actually reality, he continues typing.
No. This is not happening. This ismyoffice, that’smydesk, and how did he even—
“How the hell did you get in here?”
“Your sign-in system,” he answers, not looking up.
“Oh, so you decided to hack into myinadequatesign-in system just to prove a point?”
He stops typing, then slides my desk chair to the left so he can look at me fully. And look at me, he does.
I’m not in my normal work attire. I’m wearing baggy joggers covered in stains from hair dye, a hoodie triple my size, unstyled hair in whatever bun survived during my minimal sleep, and thick-rimmed glasses because my eyes were too sore to even attempt my normal contacts.
I’m sure he’s thinking,What a mess.Just like her systems.Inadequate.
“No… I borrowed Luciano’s card.”
“Oh.” I so wish I’d said that in my head. But lack of sleep will stop that mental filter. “Well,” I say, dropping eye contact because he’s still looking at me. “Why are you here?”
“I’m working.”
“Still?”
He nods.
I hold my tablet tighter to my chest, suddenly feeling very small and unsure as I look over him.
And annoyingly, he still looks exactly the same as he did yesterday.
When we met, everything about him screamed military background. His carved expression, studious gaze, the strength in his stance, his lean, muscular body. Beside Luc and Val, he fit in perfectly, and I knew immediately that they were pack, most likely served together.
My omega also immediately took notice, focusing on the small details, like the russet strands woven in his short, auburn hair, the small silver scar threading through his lips, those pale blue eyes that never stopped moving, not until I was right in front of him.
Clearly, a dangerous man. A dangerous man who said my systems wereinadequate.
But he’s so damn gorgeous that fact doesn’t even negate his looks—
No, come on, Revea. You’re the big boss here. This is your office, and now is the perfect time to set him straight.
I take a deep breath, lift my head, and then walk over without stopping until he’s right in front of me. And he never looks away.
