Chapter 246: But Your Arms Were Open At My Door
[FROLO]
"You look breathtakingly beautiful today, Chairman Romanov," Sergei said, his eyes holding Katya’s.
The omega’s breath hitched as he squeezed Alek’s hand even harder.
And Alek noticed, again.
"You don’t look too bad yourself, Mr. Moskowsky," Katya forced out before Alek could say anything. The words were harmless, but they were also the same response he’d given Sergei in the bathroom earlier.
Was this a game for the alpha?
Thankfully, the conversation flowed again around them. Katya had to excuse himself to go mingle with others, but the look that Sergei gave him told him that the alpha knew he was affected.
That Sergei could see how he was affecting Katya. It wasn’t even malicious at this point, but there was no way of thinking about Sergei normally anymore.
The bathroom confession had made certain of it.
"Don’t talk to me like you don’t know I love you, Solnyshka," Sergei had said.
Words that haunted Katya even when he was across the ballroom from his boyfriend and his... coworker?
By the time the event ended in the evening, Katya had used up all his energy. So, he spent the drive home sleeping in the passenger seat, while Alek watched over him while taking them both home.
The gala had been a success. But it had forced the senator Alpha into a corner that he didn’t want to think of. Not right now.
Perhaps he still had to trust Katya... But after everything, would it be easy?
Still, Alek knew it was unfair to blame Katya for what Sergei had been doing. After all, each time Sergei was close, Katya squeezed his hand for support.
What of tomorrow, though?
When Katya was back at the office as the Moskowsky chairman? Alek couldn’t exactly shadow the most powerful chairman in the realm because he was jealous now, could he?
Fuck.
"Trust Katya," Alek mumbled before he turned his focus to the road.
Tomorrow would take care of itself.
Like routine, Katya and Alek went back to their system. Katya going to work like he always did, coming back home early and creating time for Alek.
It was safe, and Alek almost relaxed each time he didn’t smell Sergei on Katya.
He wanted to believe he had thought wrong at the gala that day, but Alek was an alpha, and he knew these games so well.
Yet like a faithful believer, a part of him hoped never to discover what it was that had changed for Sergei to be that daring.
The fact that Katya still didn’t even know or talk about it made it a painful memory for Alek because there was no way he could ask about it without sounding insecure and making Katya out to be a cheat.
His omega was not one, though.
He was sure of it.
Meanwhile, inside the Moskowsky building, so much had changed.
The Moskowsky chairman had grown colder, more distant, like a man with everything to protect.
It was almost hilarious because everyone could see that Katya was trying.
A little too hard.
And of course, Anya was the first to notice how unhealthy it had gotten.
"Romanov, you got a minute?" Anya said as she walked into Katya’s lab. The omega’s work headphones were on, and Anya pulled them back just enough to have his attention.
"Yeah, sure," Katya said passively, his tone professional. After all, he was not scared of Anya anymore. So, he stepped outside the lab, into his office, and she followed faithfully.
"What happened? Is there an issue with the prototypes?" Katya asked as he checked the reports on his desk, like he was trying to figure out whether he had missed something, and he didn’t notice.
"No. This isn’t about work," Anya said, not mincing her words.
"Oh... What is it then?"
"He scared you away, didn’t he?" Anya asked, and Katya struggled to maintain his composure for a hot second before he stared at the woman like he absolutely had no clue what she was talking about.
"Huh?"
"Boy genius... He confessed, no?" Anya asked, not playing along.
"I don’t—"
"Come on, Romanov. You’ve been colder to him in the last six weeks than you were when you were terrified of him," Anya said, and Katya sighed.
"I’m working, Miss Anya. My personal life has nothing to do with anything at work. If he’s being affected, that’s on him," Katya said, and Anya let out a quiet laugh.
"You two are unbelievable," Anya said.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You think just because you focus on work that what you two idiots feel will disappear?"
"I’m going back to work."
"Nine years," Anya said when Katya got up.
"What?"
"Never mind. Anyway, if you both want to stay miserable, that’s on you. But remember, you’re both the heads of this company, and employees see your attitude toward him.
"Now I know Sergei won’t give two shits about what people say about him, but we both know what he did the last time someone talked shit about you. I’m not asking you to get all cozy and shit with him just because he’s down bad for you;
"... but think of your employees, Chairman Romanov," Anya said, and Katya glared at her.
This woman had some nerve.
Coming to him while he was working to advocate for the one man who’d been messing with his mind? Of course, she’d choose Sergei’s side.
"Where is he?" Katya asked, not even thinking of what this could mean for him.
He wasn’t strong enough to stand against his heart’s desires, but if Sergei thought he’d use Anya to talk him into agreeing to whatever the fuck he was planning or doing, then he was wrong.
"His penthouse," Anya said, amusedly.
"What are you going to do?" Anya added, as if she didn’t know the fire she had started. She knew Katya hated it when people tried to blackmail him, even though this wasn’t even emotional blackmail per se.
"You wanted us to talk? Fine, we’ll talk," Katya raged before he stormed out, leaving an amused Anya in his office.
Anya contemplated giving Sergei a heads-up, but then the man-child had been a pain in her ass these past few days. Maybe it was only right that he get a taste of his medicine, no?
Outside, Katya clocked the penthouse level on the elevator, and it didn’t even take him a minute for the darn thing to stop.
When the elevator dinged, Katya expected a hallway... Not a room with seats.
And for a moment, he almost turned back, because this suddenly didn’t feel like the best idea.
"Anya? Is that you? I told you I’m not coming to the office. Leave me alone, stop trying to get me to work!" Sergei shouted, his voice hoarse, probably because he sounded sleepy.
"I want to talk," Katya shouted instead, and for a moment, it was like time tilted.
"Solnyshka?... The fuck?" Sergei said, and Katya could swear he heard a few things crash to the ground, before the alpha he’d been avoiding for nearly two months stood in front of him.
And maybe...
Maybe it was a terrible idea.
Fuck.
"You look like you wanna ram my head into the wall, little wolf," Sergei teased, like the idea of Katya in his penthouse wasn’t already rewriting everything he’d thought the first time.
"Don’t call me that," Katya grumbled, walking in as if the tousled hair and sleepy giant leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face didn’t have an effect on him.
"My feisty, beautiful little wolf," Sergei said lowly, not moving an inch, and Katya almost malfunctioned.