Page 10 of Follow the Rhythm (Fairview City Omegaverse #2)

W hat an absolute clusterfuck. First Charlie shows up, and then Ellis had to choose my first meeting with my new boss to finally get his head out of his ass?

When Grace had called me to say the tour production manager was looking for a junior designer, and she’d agreed to meet with me, I’d thought she was joking at first.

“She wants to meet with me ? Based on what? My weird online store that I showed you?” I’d asked.

“And your portfolio,” Grace answered. “I can Google things, too. She said you seem talented, and she likes your sense of humor. I think she bought one of the possum stickers.”

I hadn’t wanted to take the meeting, but my bank account was crying out for mercy already.

Turns out paying for all my food, rather than eating Austin’s delicious cooking at the Center, was pretty expensive.

Even though the thought of seeing Ellis again made me go hot and cold with dread, I didn’t have the luxury of saying no to a paying gig.

The interview with Ursula, conducted over Zoom, had gone really well. I instantly liked her give-no-fucks vibe. She was tough, and told me bluntly that it would be a ton of work, but she seemed fair. She also promised extra payment if the band agreed to use some of my illustrations in the show.

“I only got one real reservation,” she had said at the end of the meeting. “The Omega thing. Is that gonna be a problem? Cause I thought you girls had to be bonded to, ya know, not go crazy.”

“No, it won’t be a problem. When you get to be a crusty old Omega like me, the… impulses are easier to control. It also helps when you basically hate all men.”

Ursula groaned. “Don’t talk to me about being old, kid. And as long as you promise not to go feral on me, you’re hired.”

And now, here I was, already causing problems on my first day. Though, to be fair, neither of the problems in question were really my fault.

I felt my face flush hot. I finally glanced at Ellis, and my stomach clenched with panic. He was finally looking at me with that intense gaze that had always made me feel important. In fact, everyone in the room was staring at me. I forced myself to hold Ellis’s eye contact.

“Hey, long time no see,” I said, as nonchalantly as I could. My heart was hammering away inside my chest.

“What is this? You know her?” Bea asked Ellis, incredulous.

“Jesus Christ, can I just get through the slide deck? I’m begging all of you to please shut up,” Ursula said.

Ellis was still staring at me. “I didn’t recognize you.”

“Well, it has been a long time,” I said dryly, then turned back to Ursula. I refused to look at anyone else. “Sorry, let’s get back on track,” I said in my best professional voice.

But I couldn’t focus on anything she was saying, not with the adrenaline I had coursing through my body.

Charlie’s scent had bowled me over as soon as he walked through the door, and I was breathing as shallowly as possible to avoid it.

I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn’t deal with that and Ellis at the same time.

I’d spent the whole night before worrying about how I would feel when he ignored me again.

As usual, thinking about Ellis brought up all the things I didn’t want to think about, like vultures circling around an animal carcass.

Memories of my mom, quiet and withdrawn even before the diagnosis that took her away.

Presenting as an Omega in my junior year of college and being terrified and unprepared, since my mom and aunt had both been Betas.

Watching Aunt Natalie waste away like Mom, but on an even slower and more brutal timeline.

And through it all, I’d been pining after a boy who’d made me feel special when I needed it most, then left me behind. The old wounds that I thought had closed were ripped wide open by the proof that I hadn’t meant anything to Ellis at all.

But never once had I prepared myself for the possibility of a public reunion. It was so, so much worse than the alternative.

I stared unseeing at Ursula’s presentation, white-knuckling the arms of my chair, until she reached the end. I looked down at my blank notebook and pretended to make notes.

“I like the direction,” Kieran’s voice rumbled. “Makes total sense to me.”

“Good. And you?” she asked.

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” Ellis said dismissively. I pressed a fingernail into my thigh to give the panic an outlet.

“Don’t be a dickhead,” Kieran said.

“ I don’t think the concept works. It’s much too dark. Shouldn’t it be more fun? Ellis’s brand is going in a more positive direction,” Bea said.

“Alright, if we’re all in agreement, Charlie and I can start working on logistics,” Ursula said, ignoring Bea. My heart leapt with relief. I stood on shaking legs.

“Do you need me?” I asked Ursula quietly. Ursula shook her head, and I fled before anything else could go wrong.

I made it into the hallway and took huge inhales of fresh air not tainted by Charlie’s scent. Then I threw myself into the elevator and basically punched the button for the lobby.

“Hold up,” Grace called and slid her boot between the doors to keep them from closing. I groaned in frustration and hauled her inside, then jammed the door close button over and over until the doors finally, blessedly, slid shut.

“What the fuck is going on between you and Charlie? And Ellis ? You know him? Why didn’t you say something?” Grace asked, shaking me slightly by my shoulders. “I NEED the tea.”

“Just… give me a second.” I pressed the lobby button impatiently. My hands were shaking again, and my heart was pounding unevenly. I took deep breaths. Everything was fine. The walls were not closing in. I was out of that room.

As soon as the elevator stopped, I fell out into the elegant marbled lobby and beelined for the door to the courtyard, Grace hot on my heels.

I darted into the shade of a couple of potted trees and caught my breath. I sank onto the lip of one of the pots, and Grace settled across from me.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just get panic attacks sometimes,” I admitted.

“Shit. Sorry. Me too.” Grace took my hand. I clutched it gratefully. Austin had always been great at helping me through panic attacks, especially when I was new to the Omega Center; now I knew why.

The courtyard was bustling with attractive, important people having lunch, but our shady corner was out of the way enough to feel secluded. I did my box breathing; inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four, and hold for four. After a few rounds, my heart rate started to calm.

“Better?” Grace asked. I nodded. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. My desperate need for gossip isn’t as important as your mental health.”

I exhaled a shaky laugh. “No, it’s fine. Ellis and I went to high school together. We were…” How did I explain what Ellis had meant to me, what I thought I’d meant to him? “We were close friends. Then he graduated and left for London, and I didn’t. Nothing that juicy.”

Grace gaped at me. “What are you talking about? That’s so juicy. You were friends with Ellis Fox in high school? And you don’t lead with that in every conversation? Seriously though, was he always an entitled prick? Cause I gotta tell you, he’s driving me fucking crazy.”

I rolled my eyes. “He was a little… arrogant. But not in a bad way. And he was always nice to me for some reason.”

“Did you guys like, date?”

“No,” I said emphatically.

She nodded slowly. “And him not recognizing you is what made you run out of the greenroom the other night?”

“Yeah, pathetic, I know. I had a crush on him, he didn’t return the feeling, and we fell out of touch.

It was all so long ago, too. It’s just embarrassing.

But now, this is almost worse. Like I’m some kind of crazy stalker showing up at the show, and now I’m inserting myself into the tour. I’m going to quit.”

“What? No! You can’t!”

“I can’t do a good job if I’m a fucking mess all the time,” I snapped. “Ursula was wary of hiring an Omega, and now I’m just proving her right.”

“Okay, hold on. First, you’re not a mess.

And honestly, I think you handled that pretty well.

If I was working for my famous high school crush, I would also be freaking out, so I don’t think you can blame that on being an Omega.

And isn’t this a great opportunity? Ellis is an idiot; just ignore him. That’s what I do,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “Unfortunately, I find him very difficult to ignore. Hence the obsessive fandom of his band.”

Grace grimaced sympathetically. “Yeah. I was obsessed with this girl, Mallory, in high school. It was brutal.”

“Imagine having to see her now,” I said.

“Oh, I saw her like two years ago when I went home for a funeral. We hooked up. She’s still pretty hot,” Grace said.

“This is not helpful.”

“Yes, it is! It got the crush out of my system. Maybe you just need to fuck Ellis,” Grace said, like it was a revelation. Then she wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, yuck, he’s just the worst.”

I sighed. At least I’d gotten out of there with some dignity intact. I could wait a few minutes and then sneak back to tell Ursula she’d have to find a new designer.

My hands were still shaking slightly. I needed to calm down a bit more before I went back upstairs. “Tell me more about this Mallory girl. Was she your first girlfriend or something?”

“Nah, she was pretending to be straight back then. I never had that luxury.” Grace sighed and leaned back on her hands. “It drove my parents crazy. They really wanted two perfect little daughters, but instead they got Austin and me. A disappointment to say the least,” she said with a bitter laugh.

“Austin never really talks about your parents. I’m guessing it’s because they’re bigoted assholes?”

Grace nodded sadly. “We haven’t seen them in years. But it’s cool. We have each other.”

“You’re lucky,” I said.

“How about your family? Are they as fucked up as ours?”

I considered just blowing off the question, but that felt ungrateful after she’d helped me calm down. “It’s just me. My mom died when I was pretty young, and then my aunt died about four years ago. But on the bright side, no one left to disappoint.”

Grace looked stricken. “Jesus, I’m so sorry.”

“Stop, it’s fine,” I said, forcing a laugh. This was why I didn’t tell people things.

“And your dad?”

I shrugged. “No clue who he is.”

That wasn’t exactly true. I knew he was part of a pack that kicked my mom out when they found their Omega, but I’d shared enough personal trauma for the moment.

“Goddamn it,” I said under my breath. I spotted Kieran across the courtyard, clearly looking for someone. Presumably for Grace or me. I considered hiding behind the plant, but that would be truly pathetic. He saw us and started walking over. His giant strides ate up the ground between us.

“Are you alright?” he asked when he reached us. His strawberry and mint scent was refreshing and, annoyingly, helped clear my mind a bit more. I glared at him.

“Panic attack,” Grace said, patting me on the shoulder.

“Seriously? Don’t tell him that,” I snapped at her.

Kieran looked at me carefully. “You seem fine now.”

“I am fine. I just got overwhelmed by the work. But don’t worry, I’m not going to mess things up for you. I was just about to tell Ursula I’m backing out of the contract,” I said.

“Don’t be daft. Your illustrations are great. Is this about Ellis? How do you know each other?” Kieran’s voice had just a tinge of jealousy.

“Oh, they totally -” Grace started, but I jabbed her in the diaphragm so she’d shut up. I did not need Kieran Walsh knowing I had a schoolgirl crush on his bandmate.

I sighed and gave him the short, sanitized version: friends in high school who lost touch, etc. “I swear I’m not a stalker,” I said when Kieran just looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“I don’t think you’re a stalker, Jess,” he rumbled.

“And it’s your choice, of course, but don’t quit because of that.

Your work is brilliant. It reminds me a lot of this.

” Kieran started pulling up one side of his shirt, revealing taut, muscled skin.

My stomach clenched with a mixture of panic and delight that made my head spin.

I remembered to breathe, and sucked in a huge gulp of his scent.

He kept pulling up that damn shirt until he revealed his ribcage.

A black and white tattoo of a woman stretched across his upper ribs. She was in profile, her hair adorned with delicate flowers, and two antlers curved up and away from her face. It was in a different style from my illustrations, but the symbolism was the same. A wild woman.

I reached out without thinking to trace one of her horns, my heart suddenly pounding. Kieran’s skin jumped under my fingertips.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, before remembering we were in public. I took a big step back. Kieran dropped his shirt.

I met his gaze and was struck again by how pretty his eyes were. They were a mix of green, blue, and gold that looked turquoise in the sunlight.

“Don’t decide today,” Kieran said, his voice like gravel. A shudder traveled up my spine.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I said, but it came out so half-heartedly it sounded more like a question. Kieran’s eyes brightened, and he turned to go.

“Forget Ellis. You should fuck him ,” Grace said in a low voice, and it took me a moment too long to respond.

“I’m not fucking anyone.” But then I remembered Charlie and groaned.

Thankfully, Grace seemed to have forgotten about his reaction to me in all the excitement.

That was another mess I’d have to handle if I wanted to keep this contract.

For the first time since I’d moved out, I missed my uncomplicated life at the Omega Center.

It was boring, but at least it wasn’t this messy.