Page 42 of Pack of Crooks

I definitely fit with the cluster of people waiting to go up for an interview. I very much look the part of corporate minion. A woman in a black power suit strides toward us and there’s nothing business casual about her. Her low heels crack against the marble, demanding attention. She eyes me and the rest of the applicants who were told to wait near the lobby reception desk. I vaguely recognize her as the Chief Human Resource Officer, but can’t remember her name.

“You all have the privilege of applying for this job.” She lifts one perfectly manicured eyebrow, her gaze cutting through us—almost as sharp as her eyeliner. “By the end of your interview, you will know if you’re hired. If you’re not, you will remove yourselves from this building without causing a scene.”

I glance at everyone else, wondering if that sounds as weird to them as it does to me, but they’re all watching her with rapt attention.

“Understood?” It’s meant to be a question, but there’s a touch of alpha bark to the word.

“Understood,” I parrot along with the other omegas. Her bark is strong, one I’m definitely not immune to, but that’s in my favor for once in my life.

Two of the applicants don’t respond. She lifts an eyebrow.

“Understood,” they say a little too late.

The alpha cuts her gaze toward them. “Get out.”

“What?” one asks, mouth dropping open.

“Betas are not who we’re looking to hire.”

Probably because she can’t bark them into submission.

With a wave of her hand, she shoos them away, eyeing the rest of us like she’s contemplating squashing us with her heels. The omega next to me doesn’t seem to mind that thought. I can practically hear the dramatic swoony music playing inside his head.

“Follow me.” With that command, she smoothly spins and struts toward the elevator.

“Fuck,” the guy beside me breathes.

“Keep it in your pants or she might cut it off,” I advise, moving with the group as we follow after the alpha.

He shoots me a worried look, wipes the drool from his mouth, and avoids looking at her. Probably for the best. I get in the elevator, move to the back, as far away from the alpha as I can, and lean against the railing. A female omega joins me, head held high.

She looks like she belongs in this world. If someone would have told me last year I would be applying to be an executive administrative assistant, I would have laughed in their face. But here I am. Riding up to the sixty-fifth floor of the Spiral.The skyscraper is full of companies whose names are known across the world. The top floor though? That belongs to Kain Industries, and for a good reason. Kain Industries is the big papa company to all the smaller, but still huge, subsidiaries.

Petrochemicals.

Telecommunications.

Entertainment.

Retail.

Basically, take a walk down the street and see those ads for the biggest cell provider? The leading pesticides? Allergy medicine? The hottest new fashion? The new movie everyone is talking about? Kain Industries influences all of that and more. The company basically dictates how life works. The products that are bought.

“Are you ready?” the omega beside me asks. Her pretty purple business dress is nice. Armani, I think.

I smile at her and nod. “Yeah. I’m nervous. You?”

She eyes the alpha and lowers her voice. “Terrified, but Kain Industries pays better than any other company.”

For a good reason, too. As soon as I found out where I’d be applying for a job, I did some research. If politicians are all evil, then the people who own and operate conglomerates are direct descendants from Lucifer himself. Kain Industries not only owns the majority of. . . everything in the United States, they systematically dismantle anyone they see as competition.

Their latest victim was a hot new social media start up. There was a lot of momentum for it and then suddenly they couldn’t get past the app store. Kain Industries was rumored to bar their access to prevent a mass exodus of their own app.

“Between you and me, I think we’re the only two that look fit for the job.” She eyes the others. Like her, I’m in a business dress, but mine is navy blue with gold buttons along one shoulder. Stylish but sophisticated. A little sexy, forming to mycurves, but not too much because assistants are meant to both be pretty and capable.

Executives will never take you seriously if they’re only thinking about fucking you,Bubblepop had informed me as we discussed what I should wear. The bottle of scent altering lotion that was delivered alongside this dress was a little offensive, but it softened my scent, made it a little weaker. Probably meant to protect me from advances from unmated executives.

The alpha leads us out of the elevator, into the fanciest business suite I’ve ever seen, and drops us off in a conference room surrounded by glass panes. Someone walks by and stares at us, like we’re animals in a zoo.