Page 50 of Feeling the Heat: Part Two
It’s this newfound righteous fury that has me digging through my purse from the launch party at 11pm on a Thursday night to find the phone number the head of the Omega Legal Defense Fund gave me. My week at a job that isn’t a toxic cesspool of casual designation discrimination and harassment gives me the courage to call the next morning despite literally running into her at the party. And it’s sheer determination to stand up for myself and stop hiding that has me walking into their office later that afternoon when Sandra can fit me in for a meeting right away.
As soon as I get into the lobby and see the Omega Legal Defense Fund sign over the receptionist’s desk, my courage wavers. This is the biggest non-profit advocating for omega rights in the country, and I have the audacity to think that my petty little unlawful firing case matters? There are omegas out there dealing with far worse things. I have a job. I have relative financial security. I haven’t even been an omega for that long.
I don’t have time to keep overthinking things because apparently this office is the one place in the world where things aren’t running late, and I’m guided by Sandra’s assistant to a conference room right away.
My palms sweat, and I’m glad for the excessive amount of scent neutralizer I put on before I headed over here because I’d smell like rancid coffee from how nervous I suddenly am. I plaster on my best confident and not a total imposter smile as the assistant opens the door to the conference room , and step inside.
Then promptly freeze in place when I see the last person I’d expect to find here sitting next to the silver-haired alpha I’m meant to be meeting with.
His face splits into a brilliant, cheeky smile as I gape at him.
“Ms. Clairmont, thank you so much for coming in to talk with us,” Sandra says, standing up when she sees me frozen by the door. She gestures over to the man next to her. “I hope you don’t mind, I asked one of our associates to join us since he’ll likely be working a lot with you if you decide to go forward with your case.”
“It’s good to see you, Camille,” he says, extending a hand to me. I can’t decide if I want to smack it away and yell at him or tug him into a hug and purr.
I settle for a half-hearted glare. “Hi, Jackson.”
21
Well,this is a nice surprise.
It’s impossible for me to drop my huge grin, even when Camille glares at me in a way that makes my cock give a highly inappropriate twitch.
When Sandra asked me to join her for a last-minute meeting, I was distracted by the fact that she already trusts me to assist with an important potential new case. I’ve been working at the Omega Legal Defense Fund for a little over two months, so I didn’t realize I was on the lead partner’s radar at all. I thought it was a miracle that I landed this job after my unconventional gap in practicing law, but apparently it worked in my favor that I took a break to work for an omega clinic. Showed that I had the sensitivity and understanding needed to work with omega clients in need, according to the hiring manager when he offered me the job.
Guess I should’ve asked who the client was before agreeing to the meeting, but honestly the look on Camille’s face right now is totally worth the awkwardness of the next few moments.
Sandra looks between us, her shrewd green eyes narrowing a hint at the way I’m beaming and Camille’s surprise. She can pretend to be mad all she wants, but I can tell she’s happy I’m here.
“Oh, do you two know each other?” Sandra asks.
Not wanting a repeat of the awkwardness that Camille dealt with the first time she came to our house and her boss walked in and took her so off-guard that she felt the need to lie, I nod. “Yes. I’m sorry, if I’d realized the client was the omega my pack is courting, I would’ve said something beforehand.”
Camille’s gaze softens as she realizes I’m as surprised to see her here as she is to see me. “It’s new. I didn’t know Jackson worked here, otherwise, I would’ve mentioned it.”
There’s a flicker of guilt that I didn’t tell her, but I’m not sure when would’ve been a good time to bring it up. All our conversations since the night she stayed with us during her heat spike have been kept strictly light and upbeat. If I mentioned work, I’d have to tell her I quit my heat minder job because I couldn’t do it now that I’ve met her. I’d have to bring up the elephant in the room of River leaving and me needing to step up and get a better-paying job to pull my weight for the pack.
Sandra’s typically stern features relax into a smile. “What a lovely coincidence—the woman I’ve been hoping would reach out and my best new attorney are courting. Though I suppose it does pose a potential issue if either of you is uncomfortable mixing work with your personal lives.”
As much as I want to blurt “no” and proclaim that if anything it means I’ll do everything in my power to make Camille’s case a success because I’d do anything for her, I stay silent. It’s not my decision to make.
Camille gives me a searching look, and I smile softly,willing her to understand that whatever she decides will be fine with me. She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and pulls her focus from me with a soft flush painting her cheeks.
God, I’d pay anything to know what she was thinking that made her blush. My damn dick perks up again, and I’m really glad there’s a conference table in front of me right now. If we do end up working together, I’m going to have to strap my dick to my leg so that I don’t end up getting fired for being the creep that gets a boner in the office.
“I have no issues working with Jackson. I trust that he can keep things professional. As long as that isn’t an issue for the case. I don’t know what the rules are for legal representation, or really much of anything about law other than stuff I’ve seen on television that probably is incredibly inaccurate. And this is all if I even have a case to begin with, or if I decide to pursue legal action. I’m worried I might be wasting your time.”
Maybe I’m already screwing up the whole “staying professional” thing, but Camille’s nervous stream of words has me moving to her side and resting a hand on her back. Some of the tension in her spine releases at my touch, and more fades as I rub a soothing circle against the silky material of her blouse clinging to clammy skin before gesturing for her to take a seat. “I’m sure Sandra wouldn’t have squeezed you into her very busy schedule if she didn’t think you had a reason to talk to us.”
The alpha nods, the corners of her eyes crinkling a bit with warmth as she watches me reassure Camille. “Yes. Ms. Clairmont—may I call you Camille?”
“Of course,” Camille replies as she takes a seat at the table, and Sandra rounds to the other side. I’d much rather sit next to my omega, but I resist the urge and join Sandra across from her.
“Camille, I’ll be frank. Your situation, while unpleasant andunfortunate, is one I’ve been looking for. Between the virality of your story, the sensational nature of your new status as an omega, and what, from everything I can tell, is a blatant unlawful termination from your previous employer, you’re the perfect storm. With the rise of the ‘Alpha Rights’ movement and a push for stripping omegas of legal protections and liberty, we need a case to draw a line in the sand. And I think that case could be yours.”
Hearing Sandra speak, conviction and alpha strength infused in every syllable, it’s clear why she’s in her role. I knew that Camille had legal grounds to sue Pulse for her wrongful termination, and maybe even Alpha Net for defamation, but I didn’t consider how important those cases could be.
Howpublicizedthose cases would be.
