Page 11 of Follow the Rhythm (Fairview City Omegaverse #2)

I escaped from Ursula as soon as I could, but when I left the label office and headed back to my apartment, I realized I had no idea what to do.

I thought about showing up at Jess’s place, begging my way in, and letting her use me in any way she wanted, but that didn’t seem like the smartest move.

Instead, I sent her a text: Can we talk?

I covered the two blocks back to the condo building in record time. As I reached the front door and buzzed myself in, a black town car pulled up behind me. Ellis Fox stepped out.

He was wearing a soft gray button-down shirt, unbuttoned to the middle of his chest, and a pair of dark aviators. I held the door open for him, and he did a double-take.

“Charlie the tour manager. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Yep. You live in this building too?” I asked.

“The label owns a bunch of flats here. I haven’t moved out of the one they put me up in when we moved here.” His brows furrowed a bit. I cursed myself for being nosy.

We walked toward the elevator, through the lush stillness of the building’s lobby. Ellis removed his sunglasses and looked at me carefully.

“You look familiar,” he said finally.

I smiled. “I’d hope so, since we were in the same room a couple of hours ago.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Well, people tell me I look exactly like my dad,” I said. I tried my best to keep the weariness out of my voice. “He’s Dean Bennett.”

“Oh, you do look like him,” Ellis said with a brief smile that lit up his face before disappearing. “Minus the mascara, of course. But I bet that would suit you, too.”

I laughed. “The photos of my emo phase would prove you wrong.”

The elevator arrived and swept us upstairs. It looked like we were staying on the same floor, too.

We lapsed into silence. I checked my phone. No texts.

“You know Jess? The designer?” I asked, aiming for a casual tone.

Ellis shifted his shoulders. “Yes. We went to school together.”

“That’s a pretty wild coincidence,” I said, biting back the questions about what she’d been like back then. I was pretty sure Jess would not appreciate my talking about her to anyone.

“It is, isn’t it? I admit I’m reeling a bit. Where did Ursula find her?”

“I think Grace recommended her,” I said, thinking back to the conversation I’d overheard between them.

Ellis nodded thoughtfully. “I’m afraid I wasn’t very kind to her. Based on today's interaction, I don’t think she's forgiven my teenage idiocy.

“Oh, I’m sure if you apologize…” I trailed off. I didn’t know Jess that well, but she didn’t exactly seem like the forgiving type.

Ellis sighed. “If only it were that easy.” We arrived at my door, and he paused. “I was sorry to hear about your dad. He’s a legend.” His eyes were sympathetic.

“Thanks. It’s been tough on him, not being able to play.” The stroke had withered my father’s left hand. The last time I’d visited, he’d thrown his guitar across the room, yelled at me for being a “worthless disappointment,” then kicked me out along with the poor occupational therapist.

Ellis nodded at my door. “Looks like we’re neighbors. Come by if you ever need a cup of sugar.”

Was that an innuendo? Ellis smirked and left me standing in front of my door, the keys loose in my hand, until the buzz of my phone brought me out of my reverie.

There’s nothing to talk about. I’m quitting , Jess said.

Don’t do that because of me , I typed back.

Omg, your ego. It’s not because of you . I imagined Jess rolling her eyes and smiled.

Great. Then let’s meet up and talk about it.

Jess’s typing bubbles popped up and disappeared three times before she finally said: Fine .

Jess chose a coffee shop near her apartment, which was a bit of a hike from my building, and I used the time on the train to center my thoughts.

I could control myself around her. It’s not like we’d even be together that much, just the prep meetings with Ursula as they finalized the designs. It would be easy. She had been wearing descenter earlier, too, which helped.

My body chose that moment to remind me of the full impact of her intoxicating scent; the feel of her full breasts pressed against my chest, her nipples hard with arousal; the taste of her sweet, pink pussy. I cleared my throat too loudly, and the woman walking in front of me turned around, alarmed.

Jess glared at me from a table in the corner when I entered the cafe. She had a huge mug of coffee in front of her. Or maybe it just looked big in her tiny hands. I tried not to picture those hands wrapped around my cock, and failed. I needed to get a hold of myself.

“Hi, beautiful,” I teased, hoping to rile her up.

Jess didn’t disappoint. She scowled. “I could report you to HR for that, you know.”

I slid into the seat across from her. Her olive skin was flushed, and her dark eyes were bright. She leaned towards me unconsciously, I thought, and my inner Alpha was pleased; she was reacting to my scent. I couldn’t catch hers at all.

“Fair enough. Hi, Jess,” I said, grinning. “Thanks for meeting me.”

“We don’t have anything to talk about. I’m not working on the tour, you are, end of discussion,” she said.

“If it’s not because of me, then why are you quitting?”

Jess glared down at her coffee cup, considering. Then she looked up defiantly. “None of your business.”

“I agree with Ursula. Your work is great, and I imagine this is a good opportunity for you. Don’t give up on that just because we’re…

compatible.” That was an understatement.

Jess’s scent seemed perfectly crafted to switch off the rational parts of my brain and bring all my Alpha instincts to the surface.

“Oh my god, are you dumb or deaf? It’s not because of you,” Jess said. “It’s just a personal thing. Also, what is it with Alphas trying to tell me what I should do?”

“What Alphas?” I asked immediately. Jess rolled her eyes.

“Jealousy is not cute.” Her cheeks flushed again. “Kieran also doesn’t think I should quit.”

“You talked to him about it?” I tried not to sound jealous, but judging by Jess’s exasperated face, I failed.

“This is pointless,” she said, draining her coffee mug and standing to leave. I stood up with her, blocking her exit so she bumped into my chest. She glared up at me, and I fought the urge to wrap her in my arms.

“Is it because of Ellis?” Her eyes flashed, and I knew I was right. “He said he wasn’t kind to you.”

“When did he say that?” Jess demanded.

“Sit down, and I’ll tell you.” I smiled as she hesitated, clearly deciding if my gossip was worth it, until she dropped back in her seat.

I told her about my brief encounter with Ellis while she stared down at her nails.

“Well, at least he remembers being an asshole,” Jess said under her breath.

“What did he do exactly?”

“We were friends in high school. He graduated, and I never heard from him again. It seems so dumb, talking about it now, but it felt important back then.” I could see the vulnerability she tried to hide.

“I think he feels bad about it,” I said, then considered my next move. Even though it was incredibly stupid, and she didn’t return the feeling, I wanted to be around her as much as possible. “And wouldn’t quitting just show him you still care about him?”

“I don’t care about him,” Jess snapped.

“It kind of seems like you do.” I smirked. “I think doing this job and ignoring him completely is a much better revenge.”

Jess furrowed her brow. “Are you trying to manipulate me into working with you?”

“Of course not, beautiful. Want another coffee?”

By the time I returned with two lattes, Jess looked resigned, and I knew I’d won.

“If we’re going to work together, we can’t hook up anymore.”

“Didn’t we already decide that?” I asked innocently.

“Yes, but that was when I planned on never seeing, or smelling, you again,” she replied, blushing.

“As long as you keep wearing descenter, we’ll be fine.”

“Deal.” She held out her hand for me to shake.

As our palms touched, my heart tripped over itself. I brushed my finger across the delicate skin of her wrist, and she shuddered. Her pupils dilated, darkening her chocolate brown eyes to onyx. A small tendril of her scent curled towards me.

Suddenly, the fact that we were in a coffee shop and had just agreed not to touch each other seemed completely irrelevant. She was mine , and every second I spent not worshipping her body was a second wasted. Good thing I was an expert at not listening to my dick’s very bad ideas.

“See you at work,” Jess said abruptly and fled the building.

I had to stay and finish my coffee very slowly.