"Then we take the stairs."
Simon’s eyes bulge.
"Excuse me? Mr. Lowen, we’ll be wrecked after that, legs like jelly, unable to focus!"
"We don’t have another option. The meeting starts in an hour…"
"Mr. Lowen, I can’t… I don’t have the fitness level to do it in an hour."
Blue hesitates and bites his lip, thinking hard.
"Well, to be fair, I’d probably struggle too," he admits reluctantly. "I do yoga and swim, but that requires serious cardio. If I climb eighty-two floors, I won’t be in any condition to run the meeting properly. Perhaps we should cancel."
Simon frowns. "Mr. Lowen, the problem is… we’ve already postponed this meeting twice. It’s going to look very unprofessional if we do it again. This is a really bad situation. It’s extremely difficult to line up schedules with the Japanese side as it is…"
"What if we arranged a quick rental of a conference room from one of the companies on the lower floors?"
"We have a special high-security protocol implemented in our equipment. The Japanese won’t connect over a standard protocol, this is a government initiative. And we won’t be able to get everything set up in under an hour…"
Blue closes his eyes briefly, then says, "That’s eighteen hundred steps. For me, that’s at least an hour and a half. I won’t make it up there in under an hour."
I straighten slightly, feeling a surge of energy.
"But I can do it. I think I’ll manage it in under an hour."
I say it with unexpected confidence, even though there’s a flicker of doubt somewhere in the back of my mind, especially since I won’t be going up unburdened. But I push it aside.
"I can carry you, Mr. Lowen. On my back," I add, trying hard to sound sure of myself, which is new for me.
Well, time to step in, like Veyron said, and show Blue I’m there for him, that I’m reliable. I can shine here, and I trust my body.
But then Simon lets out a sharp, surprised snort and even starts laughing.
"Seriously? You’re going to carry him up eighty-two floors? You’ve got to be out of your mind…"
The mocking tone gets under my skin immediately.
"I’m an alpha, not a beta," I say, narrowing my eyes as I meet his gaze.
Simon’s expression hardens, and he grits his teeth.
"Arrogance walks before a fall!"
My irritation rises even more. "??, ?? ?????? ????????[13]! That mindset is exactly why you’ll always be a beta and I’m an alpha! That’s the fundamental difference in how we think," I shoot back, fixing him with a hard look.
Wow, I rarely am arrogant, but when I’m with Blue and other people are present around us, I change, the dynamic pulls something wild out of me. The new version is obviously more assertive, more certain. Am I stepping fully into something that was always there, just waiting?
I meet Blue’s eyes. He’s watching me closely.
I tilt my head slightly. "Every minute we stand here arguing with the beta lowers our chances of making that meeting. We should start. Are you getting on or not?" There’s almost a challenge in my tone.
Simon grimaces, and when Blue doesn’t respond right away, he speaks again. "What about me? There’s no way I’m making it up there in an hour…"
"You can stay here and wait until the elevators are working again. I’ll take Gabriel up on his offer," Blue says suddenly.
His eyes are locked with mine, and the look is unexpectedly intense.
Simon stares for a moment, his mouth slightly open, then exhales and gives a small, polite nod. "Of course, Mr. Lowen, whatever you wish. I’ll wait in the lobby."
