5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Lana

I stride back to my office, slowing down when I spot one of the older Omegas from the academy waiting on the bench across from the slightly ajar door. The long red hair and floor-length silky dress are instantly recognisable. Erika looks up from the sheets of paper in her hands and smiles brightly at me.

“Oh, thank goodness! Lana … I mean Ms. Cole! I didn’t know where you were, and your office door opened when I knocked on it, but you weren’t there, so I thought I’d better wait around. You know, just in case someone else walked by and decided to be a snoop, or whatever. I’m sorry, I’m rambling. I was just looking to talk to you about the changes.”

She holds up the papers and I realize she’s talking about the forms I gave the teachers to pass out amongst their students.

“I have a phone call to make. Just give me a few seconds and I’ll call you in.”

She nods and then breathes out a relieved sigh.

I leave her sitting on the bench while I step into my office.

I guess I probably should have locked the door before I left the room.

It doesn’t feel like there’s anything that important in here, but considering how many feathers I’ve been ruffling, it’s probably not the smartest idea to leave the room I’m stuck working in for most of the day unlocked and unattended for any amount of time.

I’ll try to remember to lock it.

Closing the door behind me now, I go straight to the phone and call the security office.

The head guard assigned to watch the bank of security cameras picks up in two rings.

“Yes, Ms. Cole?”

“I need someone to cover a patient’s room in the medical ward from noon onward. Can you reassign whoever you need the least, please.”

I hold my breath while he takes in that information.

The sound of typing lets me know he’s checking schedules.

I know we’re short this week. Employees are entitled to vacation time. I just kind of wish it wasn’t something we had to deal with on top of the mass exodus of the bulk of our security staff.

“I can send Rickett over at noon, but he can only work until eight. Night shift we’ve got skeleton crew, and no one can cover an extra shift, not tonight.”

“If we need someone for a little longer, I’ll call back later. Worst case we pull someone from the gates for a few hours.”

“Okay,” he says, not sounding sure. “But just so you know, we literally have one perimeter guy, these days. Just one on the gate and me, in here watching the cameras.”

“You?” I ask, realizing it’s Melvin, the same head guard who covered last night’s shift.

I called him after seven to confirm one of the nurse’s regular visitors.

“Yep,” he admits. “Me, again. It’s fine. I’m willing to pull double-shifts until we get some new boots on the ground. I just hope we get more cover soon. I’ve got a hell of a lot of vacation days building up.”

Shit. I bite my lip.

The staff I do have left believe in what I’m trying to do here. I know that. I really need to do better to make sure they don’t have to suffer for it.

“Thanks for your help, Melvin,” I tell him. “Hopefully we’ll have some more cover soon. No more double shifts once we do, and I expect you to hand in vacation requests then, too.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I hang up the call, and my stomach starts to grumble.

Skipping breakfast probably wasn’t a smart move, especially when it feels like today might be manic, but that’s a choice I made when I left my room this morning.

It’s too late to regret it now.

“Erika!” I call out.

The tall Omega with long, vibrant red hair enters the room in a purple designer cocktail dress and five-inch stiletto heels. Her makeup is flawless and matches the formalness of her outfit. She looks like she’s supposed to be at a fancy event, not at a college at nine thirty in the morning.

I guess the academy was always more than a college, and less than one, at the same time.

“You don’t need to dress like that anymore,” I tell her, realizing the dress code is just another thing that needs to be tackled here. “We’re no longer providing a designer wardrobe every season, and we no longer expect our students to adhere to a dress code.”

She nods slowly before closing the door.

“There have been a lot of changes lately,” she admits. “I’m trying to catch up.”

“I realize it might be a lot to take in, but ultimately, the changes are being made to help our Omegas decide what they’d like to do with their lives. Instead of just expecting you all to find a mate and leave once you’ve been claimed.”

“I get that. I do. I just …” She sighs softly. “I’ve been here for so long, and I’m starting to think I’ll never find my mate, or mates.”

“Take a seat.” I point out the sofas that are a few feet in front of my desk.

She sits down and fiddles with the sheets of paper in her hands.

I move around to the front of the other sofa and sit down across from her.

A narrow coffee table in between the sofas keeps us a few feet apart as we talk.

“It’s completely up to you what you want to do now.”

I wait for her to look up at me.

When she does, she seems conflicted.

“What if I don’t know what I want to do?”

“I think if you’re not sure, you should give it some time.”

She sighs and leans back, slouching in the silky dress and almost instantly straightening back up. She smooths a hand down over the material.

“This stuff creases so easily.”

“I know some of the old administrators sold a really specific picture to the Omegas here, but things are different now. I’ll be allowing Alphas and Betas equal chances to meet potential mates here, in events that will be less formal and a lot more secure. I’ll be vetting the men carefully before they’ll be allowed entry, and we’ll be starting small.”

Erika frowns. “I just … I followed all the rules before. I did everything that was expected of me.”

And now those rules are changing. They’re changing for the better, sure, but it’s not going to be easy for someone like Erika to take that in. She’s spent so long perfecting herself into the model Omega, readying herself for an Alpha mate.

“You know about Brooke,” I start.

She nods slowly. “She almost had to marry someone who hurt her. But her true mates saved her.”

True mates.

Those words have teeth, as far as I’m concerned.

I’m happy for Brooke. She deserved to find real happiness.

I’m just sad I was never meant to be a part of that.

It feels like an open wound.

I’m sure it’ll heal.

Someday.

“Brooke’s true mates didn’t meet the academy’s guidelines,” I reveal, making Erika’s eyes widen. “Basically, it took so long for her to meet them because they were kept away from her, due to the old rules. That’s part of why I’m changing things. Only the richest Alphas were able to access the academy to meet the Omegas before. Those rules were set in place to keep the academy’s donors happy. They weren’t created with any thought to the Omegas and their safety or happiness.”

She nods, slowly, letting it sink in.

When she doesn’t speak, I go on. “Everyone has a right to their freedom. Considering there’s still an antiquated law about Omegas requiring a guardian if they’re not mated to an Alpha, and I’m legally that guardian to all of the Omegas in this building, I have a lot of work to do to get things ready.”

“You’re my guardian,” Erika murmurs, as if she’s never considered that before.

“Each of the heads of admin were your guardian while they were in charge.”

She shivers. “Oh my. I hadn’t given that any thought.”

“I’d guess that’s typical for the Omegas here. They probably think they’re still under the guardianship of their parents while they’re here, but they’re not and that offers them a unique opportunity.”

“It does?” she asks, watching me curiously. “What kind of opportunity?”

“Freedom of choice. You can choose to stay here under my guardianship for as long as you’d like, providing you don’t take an Alpha’s mark I’ll remain your guardian and that means you can figure out what you want your life to look like without feeling under pressure to find a mate and move on. Of course, if you want, I can release you back into your parent’s care. Or you can continue to attend the events that we’ll still be hosting to find a mate.”

“It’s a lot to think about,” she admits. “When are we supposed to get this back to you?”

“If you have any reservations about staying at the academy, it would be best if you got that information back to me soon. I don’t want anyone who lives here to feel uncomfortable about any of this, and I know some of the Omegas might choose to leave.”

“I’d say I’m pretty comfortable here,” she says, giving me a wry smile. “But I’ve spent so long waiting for my mate to show up that I don’t know if I want to hang around for much longer, just waiting for the chance that he might be one of those men who weren’t allowed to access the academy before.”

“That’s completely valid. I don’t expect everyone to make the same choices. As you can see from the form, we’ll be covering various kinds of degrees and training courses if you decide you’d like to do something academic.”

“I don’t have the focus for that,” she says, shaking her head. “I tried, first time around. I’m good with organising things and I thought I might do well in some sort of hospitality career, but I’m awful at the studying side of things. It drove my tutor insane. I didn’t get past the first-year classes.”

I blink as I look at her, starting to smile as I remember how often Geraldine used Erika as a tour guide for visitors.

She’s good with people. Polite and welcoming. She’s also easy to work with.

“You know how our phone system works,” I murmur.

She raises an eyebrow. “Um, yeah? Why?”

“I could use a receptionist, if you might want to give working a shot.”

It would be like a trial run for her, and it would help me out in a big way.

Her eyes light up. “For real? An actual job on reception. Like with a paycheck and vacation time and all that stuff?”

“It doesn’t pay a fortune, before you get too excited, and we’d have to start with a temporary contract, but yeah. It’s a real job, that really needs filled as soon as possible.”

“I can start right now,” she tells me, setting the papers down and getting to her feet.

“You’re sure?” I ask, as I slip my feet back into my low-heeled pumps.

“I’ve been so bored in class,” she admits. “And I’ve always wanted to have a real job. Maybe not behind a receptionist’s desk, but we all have to start somewhere, and I doubt too many Omegas get a chance like this without any real strings attached, unless maybe they’re passing for Betas, which I guess is a real option for me … huh.”

“If that’s something you’d like to talk about, I can have one of the doctors from the medical wing prescribe you suppressants. You won’t need them until you decide to leave, and hopefully that won’t be soon, but it’s an option.”

She shakes her head, grinning from ear to ear. “I was so afraid today was going to be awful. I never would have expected this.”

“You might want to brace yourself for some angry calls,” I warn her. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. There are some pretty pissed off donors and parents …”

“But I’m getting paid for the work, though, right?”

“You are.”

She looks way happier than she should for someone who’s about to spend the day dealing with angry people over the phone. I guess I always took it for granted that I’d get a job after college. For a lot of Omegas, it’s not something they usually get to do.

They’re so protected.

Only the Omegas who choose to live as Betas have an equal shot.

I’m not sure Erika was ever given that option.

I walk her out to the reception area, and I take another look at her elegant dress.

“You can go change first, if you’d like,” I offer.

She shrugs. “I don’t have any casual clothes other than my pajamas, and I don’t think any actual visitors would appreciate my sleeping kitty print as much as I do. Besides, I’ve been dressing like this for so long, I’m used to having pinched toes and poker straight posture.”

That’s true. She’s been here for years, and she’s always worn the designer garments she’s been supplied with. A lot of the Omegas do.

Some don’t, and some aren’t consistent about it, but Erika’s been keen to please from day one.

“Well, let me know if you need some regular clothes. I can have some brought in for you.”

“Really? That sounds awesome. Flats, and pants and blouses. I’ll look like I actually work here!”

I guess I’m adding a quick shopping spree to my list now. An online spree, over my lunch break most likely. Sounds fun, actually. It’ll be nice to surprise Erika when the stuff arrives, too.

“Okay,” I say as we get to the desk. “The phone system is on answering machine mode. I had to do that to go grab a coffee. You see that flashing light? That means we have messages.”

She nods. “It’s the same as the landline in my suite. I press this button to play them, right?”

“Right,” I agree. “Most of the donors will rant about their rights or threaten legal action about the rule changes, but I have a script I can email you for speaking to them. Our lawyer drafted it, and she gave us letter copy we can send out if we need to.”

“What other kinds of calls should I expect?” she asks, as she positions the chair and sits down.

“Parents asking to speak to their daughters. Obviously, they can be put through. There’s a room list on the desk if you need the extension numbers to transfer them to.”

“And this is the transfer button I use first?”

She points it out, and I nod.

“That’s it. If you get any calls for me, take messages. I’ll check them at noon. You can break for lunch when you want, just make sure you put the answering machine on. I’ll log you into the reception email.” I put the PC on while she picks up a pen and opens a pad of lined paper.

“This is so exciting!” she taps the button to play the messages on the machine.

The first one is an angry rant, and the caller hangs up in frustration.

“Donor call?” she asks.

“You’ve got it. If they actually leave details, you can call them back and go by the script. If they don’t, just erase the message. I’ll email the script over once I’ve got you logged in. If you need to send out any emails this week, copy me in. Just so I can monitor things while you’re in the training phase.”

I’m probably giving her too much slack, but it’s not going to be possible to spend the day standing over her, showing her the ropes step-by-step. She’s enthusiastic and intelligent enough to work through problems on her own. I don’t think there’s much she could say or do to make anyone any angrier than they already are.

I log in to the reception email, and I’m almost surprised by how few emails are in the inbox.

That’s probably only because I’m the one the donors are pissed off with.

They’re all coming at me directly.

“Just let me know if it gets too intense,” I tell Erika, feeling a little bad at giving her such a crappy start for her first real job. I do need the help, but it’s going to suck until the donors give up their tirades.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she responds as she wipes the angry call from the answering machine.

“Then I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

“Sure thing, boss.” She’s smiling as I leave, clearly excited.

One problem down.

I have help, and my security staff problems might be solved soon, too.

I think Erika’s enthusiasm might have rubbed off on me a little.

It’s starting to feel like this might actually be a good day.