Chapter Three - Day One

Tori’s POV

I spent Sunday on my own as Ellie got a call from her mom to say her sister was visiting from Oregon. She drove herself, straight after breakfast, and I spent the morning chilling in my bathrobe.

A long soak beckoned after which I tried on the lingerie I’d bought. Some of it was lacy and delicate – the teddies, all in pastel colours – and the corsets had saucy little bows.

I expected to be sharing an office with the Alpha, though didn’t think he’d let me use it when he was elsewhere.

Nobody trusts a new employee at first.

If I had to sit in the office off reception with Naomi I would manage. A laptop isn’t called that for nothing. She may even let me use the desk.

Ellie wasn’t back by the time I was due to set off for work. Calvin had said to turn up around ten. I called an Uber and fussed over my appearance during the twenty minutes it took to arrive.

No jacket today, just a tasteful skirt and retro blouse, striped with a white collar, the minimum of foundation and a touch of pale pink lippy. I changed my messy bun into a smart chignon in the nick of time. Then I was good to go.

The stockings were contributing to my anxiety as the cab ate up the miles. It didn’t help that there was an unseasonal nip in the air.

As it turned out I needn’t have worried. The Alpha had asked Naomi to apologise on his behalf, he had been called away on urgent pack business.

“Not rogues, I hope?”

The Gamma just stared at me over the top of her half-moon glasses. I guessed she was going to be watching what I did with the spreadsheets. She didn’t take her eyes off me as I attached the laptop set aside for my use to a docking station on the desk.

I was convinced that hadn’t been there last week.

Then she pulled up a chair.

“I’ve not been relegated just yet,” she said, cheerfully. “Let’s start with the membership fees. If I get distracted by a delivery, feel free to just carry on listing who is late in renewing.”

“Don’t I need to sign an NDA?”

“Not for this, Tori. As you will soon find out, our clients are anonymised.”

It was true, I discovered. They were all noted down by their initials. Only the Alpha had access to their identities.

“If you show me how, I’ll set the coffee machine going,” I offered.

“Shit. I knew there was something.”

I spent the rest of the morning navigating spreadsheets and generally feeling out of my depth until it was time for lunch.

“Is there a sandwich shop nearby?” I asked, closing down several windows.

I rubbed the back of my neck and stretched.

“They deliver. Tuna okay?”

“Great,” I said. “I’m buying.”

“Oh no, my dear. It’s a perk of the job. Calvin has it covered.”

Somehow the thought of him providing for me didn’t feel right. Call me stupid, because he was paying me generously to work there, but food seemed above and beyond. He’d be paying for my drinks next and I didn’t just mean coffee.

If he offered to buy me dinner I didn’t know what I would do. That was how it started and before you knew it you were in over your head.

Naomi took me on a guided tour of the place after lunch. The main room didn’t seem quite so daunting this time around, perhaps because of the absence of a certain Alpha. The private dungeons were all on the floor above. I asked the appropriate ‘newbie’ questions about safety and consent before moving on to the subject of room hire. Was there a separate charge?

“Take it up with the Alpha,” she said. Unbending a little she told me he was dealing with an issue at the pack’s sawmill. “I can’t see him making it back here now.”

An unwanted image of him rolling up his shirt sleeves somewhere out in the forest came and went. I could handle these feelings; I must.

“Is he called away a lot?” I asked.

Once I had earned his trust, it may be my chance to snoop.

“Why do you think I’m here?” she said.

This wasn’t going to be quite as easy as I’d figured.

Calvin phoned her, saying he wouldn’t make it back before six and to make sure I got home safely.

“Kind of him,” I remarked.

“Make the most of it,” she told me. “He’ll work you like a slave driver given half a chance. Come on, I’ll give you a lift.”

“Are you sure, Naomi?”

The Gamma shrugged.

“He’s the boss.”

Ellie would be at the hospital now and I didn’t want to shell out more than I had to in taxi fares. Plus, being on my own in a cab didn’t feel as comfortable as it used to, post Alex.

“It isn’t out of your way, is it?”

“Not really. I’m a few blocks over, a rental place. Got no reason to commute from the pack now Phoebe’s gone. Go on, I can see you’re dying to ask but unsure if you’ll put your foot in it.” Naomi sighed. “My niece drowned nearly a year ago. Took her own life.”

“That’s awful,” I said.

“Practically raised her, didn’t I, after my brother and his wife got killed in a plane crash.”

“It must have been tough.”

“Well, life moves on, as they say. And Calvin’s been good to me, keeping me on as Gamma when some days I struggled to get out of bed.”

“You don’t have to say any more. I know what that’s like. Um, drop me just here. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Count on it. Calvin said to pass on he wants you there for nine. Will that be a problem?” I shook my head. “Oh, I nearly forgot. He said to bring a suitable outfit. There’s a demo session to train aspiring dominants in the afternoon and he doesn’t want you to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.”