Page 2 of Unsuitable Omega

2

Jai

Jai got ready for his first day working at the Ricci Corporation with a can-do attitude. He took in the clothes he was wearing and had to stop himself from fidgeting. He hoped no one could tell he’d raided the bargain bins at Goodwill, but that was all he could afford. And he wasn’t going to let it bring him down.

Jai’s parents had died when he was eleven-years-old and he’d gone to live with his maternal grandparents who’d only just recently passed away. They had supported Jai all his life and were the only family he ever really had, and now he was all alone in the world. And in the city for the first time in his life. Alone. He’d had no choice but to move after he’d sold his grandparents’ house to cover the debts they’d left behind. Living in the small town he’d grown up in would have meant making a choice between a select number of jobs; working at the town diner, or the grocers, or maybe ending up at the factory doing some sort of menial labor. And even though he only had his high school diploma, he knew he wanted more for his life.

Getting the job at the Ricci Corporation was like the angels smiling down on him. He was excited to be working for them because they were known for supporting omega rights. Omegas were even known to get picked and trained if they were seen to be good at their jobs. And that was all he wanted—a chance. A chance to make a better life for himself, keeping the promise he’d made to his gran before she died. She’d made him swear he wouldn’t be sad for too long, that he would grieve them and move on with his life. He knew she’d meant he should find an alpha who would take care of him and pop out babies. She had the old school idea that he would find the one alpha for him and fall head over heels. But that wasn’t part of his immediate plans.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want that, but he’d spent his teens taking care of his grandparents whose health had been failing them. So he wasn’t exactly sure what fun looked like. For the first time in his life, he was all alone, with no responsibilities, and a part of him wanted to make up for lost time.

The Ricci Corporation was in a huge office block, and Jai had never been anywhere quite so imposing or luxurious before in his life. He was new and at the bottom of the totem pole, so he would be generally entrusted with only the most menial of tasks, especially with his qualifications being what they were. Luckily, he’d been smart enough to keep up with his AP classes while still taking care of his grandparents. Jai knew his resumé left a lot to be desired, but he was a hard worker and a quick study. And he was willing to do just about anything to not lose this chance with the company because right now he was on a temporary contract, but a permanent job salary would make a big difference to his life.

Jai was rushed through signing his forms and was given an ID card to get him in and out where he needed to go. Then he was pointed to a desk and shown a stack of files that he had to input into the computer. As he was moving through the pile on his desk, he was also listening to the general office gossip going on around him. “I’m so glad the company isn’t making any cuts right now. The current job market is a bitch to get hired in.” A female voice lamented outside the cubicle he was working in. “My friend lost her job almost three months ago and she’s still not been able to find one. She had to get a job at the mall.”

“Ohplease, the Ricci Corporation is one of the most successful companies in the country,” a male tone said, “Nickolas Ricci may be a cold-hearted, unfeeling alpha, but he knows how to keep his companies thriving where others are failing.”

“You’re right,” the woman said, “Mr. Ricci does seem to succeed where others fail, and sometimes he’s right there to buy the pieces of their companies when they do so.”

Jai listened to all the gossip about who he assumed was the owner of this company. He knew barely anything about the man but if he supported omegas in the workplace, then he was a fan of the alpha. He couldn’t imagine an alpha in favor of omega rights would be as cold and unfeeling as they made him out to be. Besides, his grandparents had told him that Nickolas Ricci had paid for Jai’s parents’ funeral after they’d died in an accident on their way to work at a factory owned by his company. He’d probably done nothing more than approve a check if it’d even gotten that high up for approval. Still, the company didn’t have to, but they’d done so anyway, and his grandparents had never forgotten that act of kindness.

To him, it had made sense to get a job at a company that his grandparents had rated so highly. It also made him use the unknown alpha as a yardstick for measuring any future alpha who may come his way. Jai had grown up very sheltered. Growing up with elderly, sick grandparents did not lend itself to having a social life. So he had no idea about current events or anything of that kind.

He worked steadily through lunch which he ate at his desk since he’d brought it from home. Jai wasn’t about to waste his money on a sandwich that could buy him enough bread, ham, and cheese for a week. Nope. Not him.

He was making good time on the stack of files he was working on, until one of the managers, a young alpha, pointed at him and told him he would be serving refreshments at an afternoon meeting. Jai wasn’t surprised. He’d been told that his job was whatever they told him to do. Although he had to admit, he wasn’t too comfortable with the lascivious stare he got from the manager. Jai knew his looks tended to draw attention, but he tried his best to make himself blend into the background.

He inwardly cringed at the way the alpha seemed to undress him with his eyes, but said nothing. Sometimes Jai wished he could just be overlooked, but he knew that would never be the case, even though he had no idea what to do with all the masculine attention.

He was pointed towards a trolley with coffee and cookies was told to take it to the boardroom. The young alpha manager said, “Serve them and don’t draw any attention to yourself.”

Jai so didn’t need to be told twice, he was very adept at making himself invisible. At least, so he thought.