Page 34 of Lying Lainey

There was no way Halstead would let something like that slide.

What these boys didn’t realize was that it wasn’t the money in the bank that made them our equal. Each of us had given our blood, sweat, and tears to get to where we are now. Solarbyte had only been around for five years, and Enigma was going to be turning thirty this year. It had taken ten years of endless labor for Halstead to obtain that first defense contract that put him on the map. That man earned the right to be respected by all who came after him, including myself. He might not program anymore, but that’s what built this empire. Fuck, I still went to him when something didn’t make sense to get another perspective, and he could pick up on things as if he’d never been away from the keyboard.

“Instead of puffing out your chest and beating your fist on it like some alpha gorilla demanding respect, maybe you should think about why you don’t have it in the first place,” Halstead commented as he traced a finger aimlessly around the rim of his whiskey glass. “As everyone knows, respect isn’t just given, it’s earned. So why don’t I respect you? That’s the question you should be getting all ruffled about because if I don’t respect you, chances are no one around you does either. Your own brother doesn’t respect you, so how can I?”

“Angel respects me,” Xavier snapped. “That’s beside the point, I asked you if we made the cut or not.”

“No,” Halstead answered simply. “You most certainly did not make the cut. In fact, I have one piece of advice to share with Angel before I ask that you both leave before the dessert comes. Fire your brother.”

“What?” Xavier demanded, shooting to his feet and knocking over the chair. “Who the fuck do you think you are to say something like that?”

“A man who once had to fire a person who was very dear to me at that time in my life. You might say we were once brothers,” Halstead shared. “He wasn’t good for my company, wanted to cut corners, take too many risks, and in the end, I had to cut him out of the company. I bought out his shares and paid him handsomely for them so he wasn’t left without anything while he decided what to do with his life. However, not having him was the game-changer I needed before I got that defense contract. That was all the confirmation I needed. So, Angel, if you ever decide to fire your brother from the company that he already does so little for, we’ll talk about how Enigma can help your business.”

Angel looked at Halsted with a pained expression. It was clear he already knew that one of his biggest issues was his brother. However, it wasn’t that easy to cut a person, especially a family member, out of the business.

“Thank you for your time,” Angel murmured and pulled out a checkbook from his pocket, filled it out, and handed it to Halstead. “Your consulting fee as well as enough to cover dinner… my way of apologizing for taking up your time this evening.”

“Don’t fucking do that,” Xavier grumbled. “The old man didn’t give you any advice worth listening to.”

My heart hurt for the kid—his brother would sink him if he weren’t careful. I’d heard, like the others, that he was the one to say that security wasn’t a priority over the ability to get more games and updates out. Now they had a PR nightmare, and their one hope in fixing it just asked them to leave.

“Shut your damn mouth, Xa. You’ve done more than enough tonight,” Angel barked, which interestingly enough, had Elaine jumping in surprise.

When it was clear Xavier wasn’t going to play nice, I stood, planting my hands on the table. “You’ve been asked to leave. I suggest you do so while it’s been requested nicely. If you want to play with the big dogs, then I suggest you realize when you’ve lost a fight.”

Angel grabbed his brother’s jacket and hauled him out of the room just as the server was entering through the other half of the double doors. The woman gasped and spun, nearly dumping the tray full of dessert. Since I was already standing, I caught the tray and held it steady until the server regained her balance.

“Thank you.” She sighed, clutching a hand to her chest. “Spilling this would have been a nightmare.”

Glancing at the food, I understood why. It had been dessert fondue with bowls of steaming hot caramel and chocolate that had little burners underneath to keep them warm. Once I was sure the woman had the tray, I took my seat again, excited for the treat. I wasn’t a major sweets person, but this type of thing I could get behind since I could control how sweet it was. As the waitress set out the items for us to dip, I kept trying to find out where the cinnamon scent was coming from.

No, it wasn’t just cinnamon. It was almost like a chai with the clove and cinnamon spiciness but the warmth of vanilla. The scent had me all fucked up because I couldn’t place where it was emanating from, and I needed to know. My mouth was watering, but at the same time, my cock was getting harder by the second. Finally, I closed my eyes and let my nose lead me to the source. When I felt the warmth of skin under my lips as I let myself drown in this spicy heaven I found myself in, I snapped open my eyes.

Here I was up in Elaine’s personal space with my face buried in her neck and the rumble of a purr in my chest. Two things registered in my brain at that moment. Elaine was an Omega who I was scent-paired with, and she was in motherfucking heat.

“Elaine,” I managed to rasp out as I fought against the urge to ravage her body that was screaming for an Alpha. “It would appear you might have left a few things out about yourself on your application.”

“Kerian,” Halstead snapped. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? I realize we agreed to test out a personal relationship with Elaine, but don’t you think…” Halstead paused as Elaine let out a gasp in reaction to me taking her breast in my hand and finding her nipple.

In doing that, the subtle perfume she’d been releasing exploded, filling the air with her spicy-sweet scent. My lips placed teasing, featherlight kisses down her neck, and I used my other hand to slide off the fabric covering her shoulder, revealing the perfect skin underneath for me to keep kissing.

“Holy fuck,” Halstead blurted.

“More like thank fuck,” Quintin interjected. “This changes everything.”

Forcing myself to pull back, I looked at my other lovers watching me with our Omega. Their pupils were blown, nostrils flared, and chests heaved as they tried to draw in her scent deeper.

“Tricky, tricky, Omega,” I purred, grasping her chin and turning her to face me. There was a mix of fear and unfocused need brought on by the heat. “Did you know you were ours?” I questioned.

“Yes,” she whispered. “The second I met you all, I knew we were scent-paired.”

“Then why lie to us? Do you find us so unappealing that you needed to hide who and what you are to us?” I pressed, needing to know where we stood before anything went further.

If she didn’t want us, then I was certainly not going to force myself on a woman, heat or no heat. There were plenty of other ways to deal with that issue. None of this made sense—why work with us? Why entertain the idea of dating us if she knew we were already hers? Yes, there were those who were scent-pairs who decided to go their separate ways, as it wasn’t a biology without flaws. However, ninety percent of the time, those who were scent-paired were perfect for each other in most ways.

“I’m hiding from someone,” she admitted. “I’ve been running a long time, and it’s safer to be a Beta.”

“Who?” Halstead demanded, but I glanced past her and shook my head slightly.