Omega In The Office - Aria Grace Page 0,9

Mead’s apartment. First and last month’s rent, plus the security deposit. Earlier, I got a call from the bank telling me that my payment to the contractors has been declined because of insufficient funds.”

My expression tightens. “That’s not possible,” I mutter, circling the desk and dropping into my computer chair. “I just checked the accounts last night, and everything was fine.”

A few moments later, the computer hums to life, and I pull up the bank website.

“Well, it’s not fine now,” Lucius continues. “I talked to Mead about it already, and he swears up and down that the check should’ve been good.”

I clench my jaw as I log into the bank account.

I hate the way Lucius refuses to call Candor by his first name. I don’t know what the problem is exactly, but Lucius has been nothing but abrasive toward Candor from day one. When I tried to ask him about it, he wouldn’t give me a straight answer.

I guess I’m not the only one being less than honest these days.

The account comes up on the screen, and sure enough, we’ve got a negative balance, and Candor’s check has been declined.

“I don’t understand.” I glance back over the transactions for the past several days. “We should have had more than enough to cover the payment to the contractors, even without Candor’s check.”

Lucius stands just behind me and leans over my shoulder to peer at the screen. He’s so close, I can feel the heat of his skin against my cheek, and the scent of his aftershave fills my nose. If I hadn’t just gotten off, I’d probably have a brand-new boner right now. As it is, my balls still twitch in response to his presence, and my stomach feels like I just stepped off the teacup ride at the county fair.

“What’s this?” Lucius jabs a finger at a particularly large purchase that hadn’t been there when I looked last night.

“I don’t recognize the name,” I admit. “Does the amount ring any bells?”

“No.” He turns away and pulls open the filing cabinet where we’ve been storing invoices and receipts. It takes him a few minutes to flip through the file. “Dammit, there’s no invoice.” He slams the filing cabinet shut and plants his hands on his hips. “There’s only one thing it can be.”

“What?” I have no idea what he’s talking about.

He meets my gaze, his expression stormy. “The account’s been hacked.”

I fight the urge to laugh. “Joke’s on them. That’s all that was in there.”

“But if Mead’s check had cleared, there would’ve been a whole lot more,” Lucius reminds me. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and starts swiping at the screen. “I’m gonna call the bank, cancel the card, and try to get our money back. In the meantime, I need you to go and get that payment out of Mead.”

“I thought you already talked to him about it.” I rise to my feet as Lucius storms toward the door.

“I asked him what the hell was going on,” Lucius corrects me. “But, like you said, there would’ve been enough to cover the payment even without his money. I was more interested in getting to the bottom of our financial situation.” He taps something on his phone and lifts it to his ear. “You’re better at dealing with the tenants directly,” he says as he listens to the pre-recorded message the bank has as a greeting. “I’ll let you know how this goes.”

A moment later, he’s marching out of the office, leaving the door open behind him.

“If I’m better at dealing with the tenants, then why didn’t you just come to me first?” I mutter as I log out of the bank account. I don’t relish the idea of trying to undo whatever damage Lucius did while simultaneously asking for money.

Resting my elbows against the desk, I bury my face in my hands and try to clear my head.

Lucius is normally the sort of alpha who everyone wants to be friends with. He makes connections easily and leaves a lasting impression on the people he meets. That’s the whole reason he was able to get the loan to buy an entire apartment complex.

And yet, when it comes to Candor, he’s a completely different person.

I laugh aloud at the memory of my dirty fantasy. There’s no way Lucius would ever be part of something like that. Not that I want him to or anything. Our relationship isn’t like that.

It can’t be like that.

“Excuse me?” Candor’s voice interrupts my thoughts.

I sit