41. Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

Lana

D espite my earlier reservations, I get used to Owen’s presence by pretending he’s not in the room, kind of like I did last night. I keep my gaze on my screen, and eventually I’m able to focus and start working on my speech.

It helps that he’s quiet.

He’s taking his time with those forms I gave him, using his phone to fill out details.

I save my updated, not-quite-final version of the speech and move on to the angry email I’ve just gotten from a designer we used to use four times a year for a bulk order of custom dresses.

She’s claiming a breach of contract.

I’m not surprised she’s upset. The orders we used to place with her were very high value, and there’s a good chance she went exclusive with us because she wouldn’t need to retain other customers with the huge total she was raking in from the academy every quarter.

Still, the snotty tone of her complaint makes me roll my eyes.

Her rant is as entitled as the donor complaints have been.

It’s hard to sympathise with any of these people.

She might not have had a direct hand in oppressing Omegas, but she knows why my predecessors were ordering those clothes.

I pull up the standard response letter with our lawyer’s details enclosed.

I take my time checking I’m staying within our rights while I make a few changes to the letter.

Once it’s ready, I forward it along to the designer, and I move her email to my ‘dealt with’ folder.

When a buzzing starts at my hip, I jerk away from the feeling, and I let out a relieved sigh a second later, realizing it’s only my cell phone.

“Everything okay?” Owen asks, his low voice making me shiver slightly as I take my phone out of my pocket.

“I’m just getting a call,” I explain, as I look down at the screen.

I don’t know the number, but, lately, that’s not unusual.

It’s a cell number, so I answer it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Lana Cole?”

“It is,” I confirm, glancing over at Owen.

He’s watching me now, sitting up straight, looking as if he’s poised to take action.

“Who am I speaking to?” I ask, when the response isn’t immediate.

“I’m part of the Alpha Alliance. You asked your contact to find you a professional.”

Right. I asked for a psychologist for the Jane Doe we have in room nine.

“I did. Are you the professional?”

Okay, now Owen’s standing up, clearly suspicious about who I’m talking to.

“I’m calling on his behalf. He can be there tomorrow. Your contact will send you the details.”

“Great.”

“Save my number. You’ll want to call me when we’re outside the gates.”

“What should I save it under?”

He’s quiet for a second, and that’s when Owen gets to the front of my desk.

I look up at him and he leans in close.

Oh my God, he smells so good.

For a second, I think he might be about to kiss me, but he moves his head to the side, and I realize he’s just trying to listen in on my call.

I can feel my cheeks burning as the guy on the phone sighs.

“Just put it under Damian.”

“That’s your name, or his?”

“Mine,” he says. “We’re pack. I’m not letting him go in there without me.”

“Is that how he works?”

Thinking about our patient, I can’t imagine her being happy about being in the room with two men, plus one of our doctors.

“It’s how our pack works,” he says. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

He hangs up, and Owen moves back.

“What was that about?” he asks, as if he has a right to know.

I guess if he’s going to work security for me, he’ll need to know about this.

“We need a psychologist for a patient. The Alpha Alliance seemed the safest way to go for that, considering Warren Corvina was abusing the Omegas in his care.”

“I heard about that guy,” Owen admits. “He had clinics all over the country.”

“Has,” I correct him. “They haven’t been shut down. Not yet. He’s in prison, but there are plenty of psychologists out there who trained with him. We don’t know if any of them are trustworthy. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“So, you called the Alpha Alliance to find someone they trust for this patient.”

“It might not be a perfect solution, but it’s the best that we’ve got.”

“They brought her here, right?” he asks.

“They did.”

“So, they should have a vested interest in making sure they got you the right guy.”

“That’s true. I don’t know why I’m so worried. I trust the alliance more than I trust most people.”

“Good,” he says. “You shouldn’t trust most people.”

But I should trust him.

He doesn’t say it, but it’s heavily implied in his tone, and the way he looks at me.

My skin feels too warm on my face, and my neck.

I do trust him, and I don’t even know why.

“I’ve filled out your forms,” he says, after a beat.

He moves back, picks them off the coffee table and hands them over to me.

“Thanks,” I murmur as I take them.

“I’m betting Pete and Shadow will be here soon,” he adds.

“Uh, what?” I ask.

“They know I’ll need to run an assessment of the building, inside and out. So, they’ll be with you while I’m busy with that.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard.”

He smiles. “You have no idea what you need.”

I blink at him. “What …?”

Did he just say what I think he said?

And with such arrogance, too.

“Sounds like my boys. I’ll be right outside.”

He steps out of the office, leaving me staring dumbly after him.

What a dickhead!