The messy family life of EX Tradings' CEO finally revealed! Exclusive interview inside!
Experts push for strict omega legislation; protesters flock to hearings.
Noah had left an hour ago, and Owen had not moved since. The omega sat against the headboard, his hands folded in his lap and his eyes squeezed shut like he was waiting for a blow.
Darius could not tell if Owen had known about his pregnancy before Noah had dropped the bomb, but he was assuming not based off of Owen's reaction so far. He sat down on the far corner of the bed, trying to give Owen as much space as possible. "Did you know?" he asked.
Owen did not move. When he finally spoke, it was not to answer the question. "You're going to fire me now, aren't you?"
Darius blinked slowly. "What? Why would I fire you?"
"I'm knocked up," Owen replied bitterly. "Doesn't that make me unfit to work?"
Darius leaned his elbow on his knee and propped his chin on his hand. "Do you think you're unfit to work?"
Owen glanced up, his eyes wide and wary. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like: Do you think you're unfit to work?"
"No?" Owen sounded so small and scared that Darius could not laugh at the hesitancy in his reply.
"Okay, then." Darius shrugged. "If you still want to work, you still have a job. I don't think you're useless or dirty just because you're pregnant. By the way you've reacted to this, I don't think this was your fault, so I'm not going to blame you for it." His curiosity suddenly perked its head up though and made him ask, "It was your ex, wasn't it?"
Owen's whole face froze and then locked down like a nuclear bunker. He did not reply, but he did not have to. That reaction had told Darius enough.
So Darius left the subject alone as much as possible when they returned to work. He only brought it up when he asked a couple times a day if he could get Owen anything.
Owen seemed to hate being served or helped, like he was scared of the probable strings attached, but over the next couple weeks he started accepting what Darius brought him.
And Darius brought Owen anything Noah or the internet said helped with pregnancy. Peppermint or ginger tea, antacids, and even a pressure point wristband, which Owen started wearing 24/7. Whenever possible, he took work over to Owen to keep him from getting up too often, even though it was far from being the logical choice for a CEO. He could care less, especially when Owen thanked him with the softest smile Darius had ever received.
Today, when Darius brought over a steaming mug of lemon ginger tea, Owen looked up with soft eyes and a ready smile. "Thanks." He was so precious and adorable that Darius wanted to both hug and kiss him. He took the mug with both hands and sipped carefully. He closed his eyes and leaned his head onto the back of the chair.
Darius set his hands on Owen's shoulders and squeezed lightly in a gentle massage. "You tired?"
Owen sighed and adjusted his grip on the mug. "Yeah," he admitted. "No matter how much I sleep, I just get more tired every day."
Darius dug his fingers in a little deeper, and Owen exhaled a long breath. "Maybe take a nap?"
Owen's lips curved upward slightly. "Normally I would despise that suggestion, but that actually sounds really nice."
Darius pressed his fingers into Owen's neck under the guise of massage, but his heart thrilled at feeling Owen's pulse under his fingertips, and he almost shivered at the delicate scent of Owen's repressed pheromones. "You can take the couch if you want."
Owen did not open his eyes. "Okay."
There was peace for a minute, the gentle silence the two of them had slowly fallen into. Then Owen's phone rang.
Owen set the mug down on the desk and slid his phone off. He answered the call before Darius could see the caller ID. "Hello." He winced as the person on the other end started replying, their voice loud enough that Darius could hear some of the words. None of what Darius heard was nice by any means. "I was sick those days," Owen tried to explain, and Darius' heart broke when he shut his mouth and resigned himself to being insulted and screamed at. "Okay," he said softly when the tirade had ceased. "I understand." When he pulled the phone away from his ear, the call had ended. The other person had not even said goodbye.
"Bastard," Darius muttered.
Owen glanced up sharply. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough to know that you were on the phone with a total jerk," Darius replied. "Who was that bastard?"
Owen bit his lip. "My father."
Oh. Oops. But… "No father should talk to his son like that."
Owen looked down. "Well, he's an alpha, and I'm a major disappointment."
Darius frowned. "Because you're an omega? Or because you're pregnant?"
Owen swallowed hard and kept his eyes in his lap. "More the first, but the second definitely factors into it."
Darius scowled, wishing he could meet the man long enough to punch him for every cruel thing he had ever told Owen. "Then he's a blind idiot."
Owen slowly looked back up into Darius' face. "What?"
"He's a blind idiot," Darius repeated forcefully. "If he starts to yell at you again, give the phone to me. If you can't stand up to him, I'll do it for you."
Owen's lips parted in astonishment. "You don't even know my father."
"I don't have to know him to know that he's a tyrannical bastard. Let me deal with him. I've got plenty of practice."
Owen gave the chair a small push and turned to face Darius. "Why would you offer to do something like that?"
Darius spoke before his mind could filter the words coming out of his mouth. "Because no matter how hard I've tried to stay neutral, I keep caring about you. I don't know what it is about me or about you or about us together in the same room, but I can't stay away." He bent and put his hands on the back of the chair, framing Owen's face between his arms. "I care about you so much. I can't explain the attraction I feel, I just know that it exists and it's getting stronger every time I see you. Your pregnancy should have shut me down, but it's just turned me on. I like you, more than I've ever liked anyone, and it's killing me not knowing if everything is only one-sided."
Owen sat like a statue, frozen in stunned silence.
Darius wanted to lean in, get closer, touch Owen's perfect skin, but he forced himself to have self-control. He did not want to scare Owen.
Owen finally made a sound, something that sounded halfway between a laugh and a strangled scream. "What the hell?"
Darius flinched. "I know this kind of came out of nowhere, and I really shouldn't have said something right after your dad was yelling at you–"
Owen cut him off. "Where do you get off thinking I'm attractive when I'm knocked up by an an alpha you don't know? How is that even remotely reasonable?"
"It's not," Darius replied quietly. "It's emotional."
Owen's lips slowly closed back together. Darius had effectively stopped whatever he had been going to say next.
"All I'm saying is that I feel this compulsion to take care of you. That can't mean nothing. Will you let me put a title to my care? Because right now, CEO taking care of his assistant sounds like a major scandal waiting to happen."
Owen smiled faintly. "It really does. But CEO dating his assistant also sounds bad."
Darius conceded with a tip of his head. "I guess so, but it might give you some protection when it becomes obvious that you're pregnant. If you let me, I can pose as the dad and save you some really awkward explanations."
Owen's jaw dropped, and he stared at Darius for several moments without a single sound. "Why?" he whispered, tears building in his eyes.
Darius carefully pressed his palm to Owen's cheek. "Because falling in love with you is intoxicating and I can't stop myself."
For a moment, it looked like Owen was going to pull away, but then he ever so slightly tipped his head into Darius' hand. "What do you want from me in return?"
Darius cupped Owen's face in between his hands. "Nothing. Just be yourself and I'll be happy."
A flash of pain streaked across Owen's face.
Darius tipped Owen's chin up. "This is not some arrangement where you get my protection because you've promised me something. That's not what I want. I want someone who will let me take care of him even when he thinks he doesn't need it."
"My father's going to kill me," Owen said in a horrified whisper, but there was such hope in his eyes.
"Does that mean you agree?" Darius had to force his voice to stay calm and quiet when he wanted to shout in triumph. Let Owen's bastard father just try to take Owen away from Darius. Darius would make the man regret that he had ever been born.
Owen gave the tiniest nod, and Darius literally felt his heart combust.
Darius bent and hugged Owen gently, unsure of how much physical contact he was allowed. "Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?" Owen murmured into Darius' shoulder. "I should be the one thanking you."