Page 16 of Omega's Formula

I try to hide my surprise. I wasn’t expecting anything. “How modest?”

She names a figure. It’s more than I expected. Enough to give me a fresh start somewhere, if I want it. It doesn’t cover the loss of my research but it’s better than nothing.

“That’s acceptable.”

Sara nods, typing again. “There are a few other conditions, most common sense. You’ll be expected to maintain the appearance of a genuine marriage for the duration. That means no public statements to the contrary, no obvious affairs, nothing that would embarrass Mr. Nilsson or give the Bureau reason to investigate.”

“Fine.”

“If at any point, despite your best efforts, the marriage becomes public, you may also be required to attend certain events with Mr. Nilsson. Charity galas, corporate functions, that sort of thing. We’ll try to give you advance notice, but there may be occasions where that’s not possible.”

I grit my teeth. The thought of standing next to Erik in some fancy ballroom, pretending to be his happy omega mate while a bunch of rich assholes look down their noses at me... but I can do it. For Ellie, I can do anything.

“Fine.”

“Excellent.”

“That’s it. Any questions?”

I sit and think for a moment before answering, then shake my head.

She taps something on her tablet, and a printer in the corner of the office whirs to life. “I’ll just get these documents printed and bound for you. It should only take a few minutes.”

While we wait, I let my gaze wander around the office. There are personal touches here and there—a Star Wars mug on the desk, a vintage video game poster on one wall, a small collection of action figures on a shelf. Not what I expected from a corporate shark.

“You’re not what I pictured,” I say without thinking.

Sara looks up, amused. “What did you picture?”

“I don’t know. Someone more...” I gesture vaguely. “Corporate.”

“Oh, I can be very corporate when the situation requires it.” She smiles, and there’s something sharp underneath the friendliness and I’m reminded of who she works for. “But this isn’t a hostile negotiation, Mr. West. You want something, we want something, and we’re finding a middle ground. No need for bloodshed.”

“Tell that to your boss.”

Her smile falters slightly. “Erik is... complicated. But he’s not a bad person.”

“Funny. He destroyed my career. Good people don’t behave like that.” I don’t ask her if she was in the legal team at the time. It was four years ago. She might have been but I don’t remember her name on anything.

She opens her mouth to respond, but before she can, the office door opens and a young man in a black suit hurries in, juggling a stack of files.

“Sara, I need these signed before—” He stops short when he sees me, eyes going wide. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s fine, Kao.” Sara waves him in. “Kao, meet Nolan West. Kao’s one of our junior associates.”

Kao sets the files on Sara’s desk, but his gaze keeps drifting to me. There’s something knowing in his expression, something that makes me tense.

“West,” he repeats slowly. “As in... the prime match for Mr Nilsson?”

I make a face. “So much for you all keeping the marriage secret.”

“I drew up the papers. Don’t worry, I’m sworn to secrecy too.” He grins, and it transforms his whole face from anxious juniorlawyer to something warmer, more genuine. “My friend had a prime match last year, actually. It worked out very well.”

I blink, thrown by the non sequitur. “Good for them.”

“Yeah, he was pretty freaked out at first. The whole mandatory thing, you know? But it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him.” Kao shrugs, looking almost wistful.

“Kao.” Sara’s voice is gentle but firm. “Those files?”