3. Daxton

Chapter 3

Daxton

"This damn thing better work!" I turned the last screw and hit the power button again, but nothing happened. I'd been playing with the thing for a week, trying to put it all back together after taking it apart. Why I thought I could fix it on my own, I'd never know. But I did and only made it worse. Honestly, I thought I had it this time. I thought wrong.

And worse than that, I needed to have it.

A functional mass spectrometer meant the difference between me just playing laboratory and actually learning about who I was and what my company might be working on. It was a vital piece of equipment for what I was doing. Leave it to me to fuck it up.

When I was first handed the box of old equipment that held the mass spectrometer and was told to throw it all away, I knew it was a crap shoot. Everything in the box had been sitting on a shelf for years because it didn't work properly. But despite the thick layer of dust the device was coated in, it looked like it was in perfect condition.

So, I figured I could fix it.

Clearly, I had vastly overestimated my mechanical skills because I was no closer to getting the damn thing working than I was the day I brought it home. Heck, for all I knew I'd made it worse.

I really needed it to work, and I'd exhausted almost all other measures. Suck.

After creating a fake website so I could call the manufacturer's tech-support line, I attempted to get some help like a regular customer. But I quickly learned that the free tech support they offered was pretty much useless because I didn't have the codes they wanted. It was the equivalent of calling the internet company and them telling you to reboot your computer first…because of course no one ever thought of that.

The only way I would get any useful help was if I could somehow piggyback on AIDEN's account. Then there wouldn't be a charge at all because we had a ton of maintenance hours available that were never exhausted. It was risky, though. So very.

It wasn't as easy without my name being attached to an invoice. And once my name was attached, I might as well kiss both my job and my secret goodbye. AIDEN hadn't been able to keep what they did a secret for this long by not being diligent.

I picked up the business card sitting by my glass of water and tapped it on the desk several times, trying to work up the nerve to do what I kinda knew I needed to do. If it went well, I would be able to have all the answers I ever wanted. If it didn't… I shuddered to think what might result from that.

If I could get that cute omega to have dinner with me, maybe he'd help. He seemed nice enough, but taking the leap to ask for help is what had me frozen. What if he reported me to the company or he thought I stole it? What if he figured out what I was up to?

I looked at his name for the millionth time and rolled it around in my head.

Oscar Billings.

Adorable omega with thick glasses, corduroy pants, a pocket projector, and hair that was a few months overdue for a cut. Fucking adorable. He ticked boxes I didn't even know I had.

And if the way my beasts responded to him was any indicator, there was chemistry between us. I had to at least try.

I pushed all the digits to Oscar's number into the keypad of my phone, but it took nudging from all the beings within me to finally push the call button. I was still learning how to cohabitate with anything beyond a fly, but I was starting to understand their needs better and better with each passing day.

And right now, they needed me to make plans with Oscar.

"Hello, this is Oscar Billings. May I help you?"

My lips tugged up into a grin as I listened to his sweet voice. "Hello, Oscar Billings. This is Daxton Kramer from AIDEN. We met in the elevator the other day."

He was quiet for a minute and then seemed to remember that I was waiting for a response. "Yeah, Daxton. I remember you. What's up?"

"I was just wondering…" What the hell did I say now? The truth? That seemed too obvious, but I wasn't great at coming up with stories on the spot. "I was wondering if you'd like to have a drink with me."

"Oh, like, a date?" His voice went from suspicious to excited in just a fraction of a second. "Yeah, a drink would be nice."

We talked only for a few minutes, and when we hung up, I was already wanting to talk to him again. My beasts were all up and present as we chatted, like they were invested. And now that I'd hung up, they were begging to be left out—all of them.

As if that were at all a real possibility.

I could let one, maybe two out for a while, but nothing big. My apartment was small, and I didn't trust myself to drive like this. With my luck one of them would take over while I was driving, and that wouldn't end well at all.

No. Apartment shifting only.

Who wants out?

It was the wrong question to ask because all the smaller ones pushed forward as I undressed. I had two choices. Let them figure it out, or take over and choose one.

First, my cat pushed through, only to be overtaken by my squirrel, then my bunny, dog, gerbil, otter, and from there, I lost track. By the time they gave me my skin back, I was exhausted, falling asleep right on the floor.

The sooner I got answers as to what I was, the better.