Chapter Three

Rowan

There's always a time in between jobs where you get a new position but you don't have enough money to buy the things you need for the next job—because you've been unemployed.

It was precarious to say the least.

"What are you up to today?" Artemis asked, knocking on the frame of my open bedroom door.

"I think I'm going to try and apply for some credit to buy the new clothes for my job."

"So, you got it?" He beamed and stepped inside the room and sat on my bed. Artemis was a good roommate. We split everything evenly and cooked for each other. Never fussed over who was going to clean what and when. We were both hardworking and kept tidy.

"I did. I'm nervous and excited at the same time."

"What's the deal with the new cuff?" he asked.

"Oh." I stared at it. Seemed a shame to take it off when Talon had put it on me with such care. It was a piece of him, to me. "It's for the club. They gave it to me. It tells the members that I work there and am off-limits."

"Damn. I mean, what if you're not on shift and don't want to be off-limits."

I whirled in my chair. Artemis was already dressed for the day despite having the day off from work. "I kind of asked the same question."

"And?" he asked.

"And nothing."

I had thought about Talon almost nonstop since leaving the club. The way he looked at me. Growled, not in an aggressive way but as a possessive alpha. He touched me with such tenderness. Always made eye contact.

A great urge to please him had taken root deep in my soul. To hear his preferences. To make them manifest and hear the words of praise pour from his lips.

And even, to my surprise, to let him punish me if I did something wrong.

But at the end of every fantasy, reality slapped me in the face with its icy hand. An alpha like that? Put together. Clearly successful, with the most attractive omegas at his feet? Why in the world would he look twice at an omega like me?

I'd convinced myself that my interview was nothing more than him taking pity on me.

And it would take a lot to change my mind.

"I've got an idea," Arty blurted. "How about I take you shopping?"

I laughed. "The shopping isn't the problem. I have no money. Hence, the applying for credit."

"Yeah, but anything you order, you're not going to get in on time. Let me treat you for once. I have a ton of money in savings. I can spare some for a friend. You can even pay me back if you like. Let me help. You have been moping around here for a while. I've seen you try and try to get a job. You look so damned happy. Please."

I blew out a long breath. It felt like stealing from him. Taking something that wasn't mine. I earned my own way in this world and I prided myself on it.

"Rowan, you'd do it for me if the roles were swapped, right?"

He nailed me with that one. "Yes."

"Then let me do this for you. I'm offering. You didn't ask. At least two outfits so you can switch out and wash them. You need to look sharp for Cuffed. That place is swanky."

Swanky. Not the word I would use, but he was right. I couldn't show up in one of those button-downs from the discount store. The ones that came with a clip-on tie included.

"I do have to look nice to get bigger tips."

Artemis clapped. "Now we're talking. Get your shoes on. Let's go."

We went to a place I'd never heard of in a strip mall about an hour from our apartment. Artemis said he knew the owner and that he would give us some good prices. We arrived at a fancy shop that sold tuxes and suits.

"This is too expensive," I said as Arty put the car into park.

"Trust me, okay? Kenny knows what he's doing."

Once inside, Kenny said he had some suits and other things in the back we might be interested in. Apparently, pretty often, people ordered suits and outfits and paid but never picked them up. He came out with shirts and pants, all in black, of course, and deeply discounted because they had been left.

Kenny was a master, that much I knew. I'd never worn things that fit me the way Kenny dressed me. Each one tailored as though made for me.

By the time we were done, I had five pairs of pants and shirts plus two belts fit for kings but at discount store prices. Artemis insisted I get a pair of nice shoes along with socks because no one wanted to see a man with white socks when his black clothes were impeccable.

He wasn't wrong.

I hung up everything in my closet after telling Arty about a hundred times how grateful I was.

Tomorrow was my first day and while I was excited to work again and feel like I was contributing to my life in a financial way, I craved seeing Talon.

Except he was my boss and I shouldn't feel that way.

Clearly, that didn't stop me.

That night, I tossed and turned until I couldn't stand my bed anymore. I got up and went to my computer and fed my new hunger.

I searched for Talon Marwood in the search engine, feeling like a fool for wanting to stare at his images, even if they were nothing more than the back of his head or a blurry silhouette.

Except this time when I searched, there were no results. None. It was as though they had been wiped from the internet.

Damn it.

Good thing I would get to see him tomorrow night.