Page 60 of Alpha Heat
Ray sighed. Xan heard the roll and scrape of his brother’s chair against the floor of his office, and knew Ray had risen to pace. “It’s actually not all about you, Xan. Has it occurred to you that Father has his own reasons for sending Janus to Virona?”
Xan stood and pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window, staring out at the men digging in the dirt. “Business reasons?”
“Personal ones, mostly, if you must know. But, yes, some business ones too.”
“Like what?” Xan wasn’t sure if he was asking about the personal or the business, but Ray continued on like he knew, of course.
“Janus has experience setting up satellite offices, like he did when he was sent to Grundytown after his last big romantic scandal. And you, little brother, have none.”
Xan pulled away from the window, leaving a smudge behind. He flopped backwards onto the sofa, the thick cushion catching his fall. It seemed unfair that Janus could stay in good standing with their father despite his many illicit affairs simply because they were all with omegas. But Xan had a few rumors flying around about his involvement with other alphas and he’d become the family pariah. “And how will I prove myself to Father if Janus is here to do all the work?”
Ray shuffled papers, a heavy sigh on his lips. Xan idly wondered how long his brother had already been in the office that morning. Caleb was right to point out that that Ray had no personal life.
Pages scraped and rustled, and the rumble of a drawer convinced Xan that, yes, even as they talked on the phone, his brother was toiling away. “First, get along with Janus. That would impress Father a great deal since you haven’t been able to accomplish that since you were toddlers together.”
“I was a toddler. He was older than me and a bully.”
Ray sighed again. “Second, don’t just sit back and let Janus take over. Exert yourself and put yourself forward, give your opinion, make good deals, and use good judgment. Especially on when you should concede to his.”
Xan rolled his eyes. “Why does Father respect him so much?”
“Respect isn’t the word for what Father feels for Janus.”
“Admiration then.” Xan’s throat went dry. “Adoration. Love. Whatever it is, he doesn’t feel it for me.”
Ray clicked his tongue. “You and Janus aren’t so unalike.”
Xan huffed. “If you’re talking about his love affairs and scandals we both know Father doesn’t care about them because he has them with omegas.”
Ray was silent for a moment, and Xan realized what he’d admitted. He sucked in a breath, the phone receiver sliding against his suddenly slick palm.
When Ray spoke, his voice was gentle with compassion. “Xan like I told you in my office, if it was only me, I wouldn’t care who you love. But as Father’s representative, I have to report that, yes, our board of directors and Father himself understand Janus’s antics a great deal more than they could or would understand yours. But that doesn’t mean Father thinks Janus hung wolf’s moon.”
“No, he saves that high opinion for Pater and you.”
“He loves you, Xan, and he wants you to learn how to run the company.” Xan could picture Ray rubbing between his brows in frustration and kicking back in his desk chair. “Let’s not have this argument again. I hate having to defend him to you and then turn around and defend you to him.”
Xan rose and crossed to the window again, watching the workers. “Being in the middle stinks, I know. I’m sorry, Ray.”
As usual, his brother was willing to shrug off his own problems and focus on Xan’s. “Make sure this next week gets off to a successful start. If Janus gets inappropriate with Caleb, let me know and I’ll take care of it. It’s almost like he can’t help himself when a contracted omega is around. He has to test the boundaries of propriety.”
“Caleb is special,” Xan said fiercely. “I won’t have him feeling harassed in his own home.”
“All alphas think their omegas are special,” Ray mused. “And I suppose they all are. But you’re right. I don’t want my brother-in-law feeling put out, either. We all like Caleb. But Father insists Janus stay with you for the time being.”
“How much of his duties here consist of spying on me to make sure I’m behaving?”
“I suppose that depends on you.” Ray sounded so tired. Xan wanted to tell him to go home and take a day for himself, but he knew Ray would ignore him. “Give Janus nothing to see or report, get the satellite office open as quickly as possible, and there will be less of a reason for him to stay on.”
Xan remembered the papers he’d gone over on the train ride the day before, in between worrying about Urho, dreaming of his cock, and irritating Caleb with his insecurities. “According to the schedules and reports you sent me, the office won’t be up and running for a couple of months at least.”
Ray laughed. “I’m just impressed that you read what I sent. Already this Virona experiment is proving to have good results. Now I need to work and you need to go into town to see whether or not the building is progressing as promised.”
Xan swallowed hard. He’d already forgotten that Ray had asked him to do that by phone the day before. He should have been down there first thing this morning to meet with the contractors.
Ray didn’t scold him, though. “Behave yourself, little brother. We’ll talk again soon.”
Xan hung up and stood in a hurry. He wanted to call Urho and hear his soothing voice, but he was already hours late to the very first assignment Ray had given. With his luck, that was where Janus had disappeared to this morning and why he wasn’t there to bug Caleb at breakfast.
