There had to be some sort of protocol when it came to dealing with your cheating, lying ex in the office—something like kicking his balls and having security take him out. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I could do any of that, so I had to settle for ignoring him.

Max didn’t make it easy. He followed me around like some puppy that wanted forgiveness more than anything else, and he kept trying to either flirt with me or make me laugh with his antics. Normally I’d be into it, which made me realize how much of an idiot I was for falling for his act. He still had the same easy charm, and it was difficult to forget that I was supposed to be mad at him.

“Come on, Leo. You know it didn’t mean anything. I was just having a bit of fun.”

I rolled my eyes. We were walking along the office halls of Think Train, the magazine we were both working for—the one I was going to own someday, I guess. He was whispering in my ear, trying to explain and make up some excuse about the scenario I saw. I was doing my very best to avoid him.

Or trying to.

“Leo, please talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said pleasantly, keeping a smile on my face. I had a meeting with the others in a few minutes—well, we all did—and I didn’t want to fight. I also didn’t want anyone in the office getting a smidgen of an idea of what had gone on between us.

“There is. I want us back, baby.”

I shot him a look that would have frozen lesser people in their place.

“There is no us and there is certainly no baby,” I muttered under my breath. Then I swept out of there and squeezed in between two of my workmates, chatting as we walked together toward the meeting room. My dad always held meetings on Mondays and Fridays to let us know the goals for the week, and to let us know how the previous weekly had gone.

I still wasn’t ready for today—specifically, for Monday. My weekend felt like it was too full of surprises, starting with Max and ending with that sexy incident in the elevator.

Almost immediately, thoughts of the tattooed Lucas, the sexy alpha I met in the elevator, filled my mind. Who’d have thought that the alpha I was absolutely sure wasn’t my type would end up being the one I was making out with that night? His kisses made me drunk, and for a moment I’d lost my mind.

As good as it felt to let loose, that wasn’t me. And it wasn’t going to happen again.

It had been a cowardly move, but I’d gone ahead and checked out of the hotel. Luckily, we hadn’t crossed paths in the lobby when I raced down with my bag.

Yes, his kisses made me tingle—heck, it had done more than that. But he also made me forget myself, which should never have happened in the first place.

“Good morning, everyone. Please sit tight. I have some major news to announce.”

My dad, Walter Kendrick, was a highly respected alpha, whose looks concealed the iron mind inside. He stood in front of everyone and waited for things to settle down. Then he opened a folder and his mouth, and I took my pen and notebook out to jot down distractedly.

But his shocking words had my mind jolting back to life immediately.

“As some of you were aware, a week ago, I sold the company out to a major corporation—a corporation that specializes in buying smaller businesses like ours. As you all know, we have been having some problems with revenue, and I’m happy to announce that will no longer be a problem going forward with our new parent company.”

This was a shock to me. How could I have been so unaware this was happening. Who else knew about this? He’d definitely been keeping this very close to his chest. Probably in an attempt not to worry me. He knew how my omega nature would cause me become sick with worry.

My dad continued with the details. He assured everyone, who were quiet in their shock, that their jobs were safe and there was no need to panic. He promised everyone that all their old policies would still be in place, with only some changes they would need to adjust to. He then said that there would be no week goal right now due to the transition, and asked everyone to hang tight and just keep doing their assigned tasks.

I reeled back, feeling like I’d been slapped in the face. My father was already dismissing everyone, and I waited for the employees to leave the room. I stood up quickly and went to his side, wanting to confront him.

But he held up a hand before I could even say a word.

“You and I will have a separate meeting in an hour. I still have an important phone meeting to attend to. My office is free after that.”

I couldn’t believe it. I’d worked in our company since I graduated journalism from college, with the dream of running it someday—and my father had suddenly sold it? I mean, I knew it was having some problems, but that was normal for most companies that were still in the print business.

Drat. My questions wouldn’t be answered until I saw my father again. I tried to be patient, waiting at my desk and staring at my computer screen blankly.

Finally, what seemed like the longest hour, was finally up. I raced toward his office right away, knocking twice before entering, before he could answer. He’d just hung up the phone, motioning me in and telling me to close the door.

I sat on one of the chairs facing his desk. Then I didn’t waste any more time.

“How could you?”

There was a long sigh from him.

“I had to, Leo. You of all people should understand. This magazine is losing sales because every other competitor out there has an online platform and a vlog on YouTube. What the hell is a vlog, anyway?” He said, angrily.

“This magazine could have been salvaged,” I argued. “We could have turned it around. Pivoted by building an online presence.”

“Exactly. This is the only way to salvage it. It’s too late to start building that platform and business model now. I should have listened to you when you told me we had to adapt to new technology years ago. I shouldn’t have dismissed it as a fad, which is why I am trying to do something about it now before it’s too late.”

“By selling it to a money-grabbing corporation?” I asked.

Dad sighed again. Then, in a calm tone, he began to explain that he’d already reviewed all the possibilities and was adamant this was the best decision to keep the business alive. Knowing my dad, when he said he reviewed everything already, it meant he did. I wasn’t kidding when I said he had high standards and was very thorough when it came to his other baby— the business.

Sadness filled my heart at the thought of him giving up what he’d worked so hard at. My dad was one of the proudest alphas I had ever known, so for him to ask for help must have meant he was desperate to make sure the business survived. I felt bad that I wasn’t aware of it—that I had been too short-sighted recently to see the problems he’d been facing.

He kept talking, telling me not to worry. He was stepping down from being the CEO, but I was still one of the main players in the business—and that meant I had to be the one to teach the new CEO the ropes.

“So, the new CEO still needs to be trained, huh?” I asked, resigning myself to the idea. Maybe he would be compliant. Trainable. Maybe.

Or maybe we’d have a hell of a time arguing over everything as the new CEO tried to put his own stamp on everything, like most alphas tended to do. I assumed it would be an alpha, because there were no omega or even beta CEOs that I had ever heard of.

My dad must have seen the look on my face, because he stood up and walked over to where I was, patting my shoulder. He then squeezed it, which gave me no choice but to squeeze his hand back.

“It will be fun training him,” he said. “I know how you love getting things done your way, so this is the perfect opportunity. You can set the new standard exactly the way you want.”

I shot him a look. “When is he coming, then?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could respond, there was a knock on the door.

“That’s him now,” my dad muttered under his breath. Then he called out for the person to come in.

The door opened, and in came the new CEO. Great. I started by looking at his shoes, which was expensive Italian leather. Then, the slacks, which were pressed to perfection and fit his huge thighs so well — Wait.

I froze. A white dress shirt was practically molded over his large chest—his very familiar large chest, which looked broad and rock-solid. The shirt was long-sleeved, covering his tattoos. He looked as slick as any businessman I saw, and twice as formal.

Except I saw this body—intimately—before I saw the businessman who owned it. Heck, I’d been touching it.

Oh. My. Holy. God.

I looked up.

There was the chiseled jaw.

The firm yet sensual mouth I had been kissing not long ago.

And stormy blue eyes that were currently meeting mine.

“Leo, I want you to meet Mr. Lucas Hiddleston. He’s our new CEO.”