บท 22: Ch 22: The new job
The sinister smile on Roxx's face sent a shiver down Rika's spine. She knew this man only found joy in the most twisted circumstances.
Currently, the only thing Rika could find amusing around her was her situation.
'Oh god! Am I going to be fine out like this? No matter how desperately I needed a job, I should have never entered the mafia territory to look for one. Nothing good ever comes out of going into the family territory.'
Rika bit her lip to stop the curse from leaving her mouth.
The harder she fought to stifle her words, the more Rocxx's amusement grew. The glint in his eyes mirrored Emily's before she embarked on a thrilling adventure.
"Hey Rika, do you know this alpha? He looks like a total madman, and elders like us should be worried about him. Tell me what you want me to do, and I will try my best to help you."
Charon promised with a tense look on her face.
It was brave of her to offer this, but Rika knew Charon could not help her realistically.
Rocxx was a king in his territory; only someone higher than him in the family could bring him back down.
Someone could be Rika's brother, but not her.
"It's okay, Charron. As unfortunate as it is, I know this person quite well, so you do no need to worry about me."
Rika assured Charon about this. Charon did not look as assured about all this as Rika hoped she would. But Rocxx seemed delighted by Rika's assurance.
"Aww, I did not realise you thought of me like this. This is such a memorable day for me. Rika has acknowledged me after all this time. I know! I should call your brother and share this good news."
Rocxx pulled out his phone, and Rika immediately felt a slab of fear go through her heart.
Her brother was the last person Rika wanted to know what had happened. He would freak out and demand that Rika be back.
"Rocxx, can we talk about this? How about I do you a favour if you don't tell my brother what happened here? What do you say about it? Do we have a deal?"
Rika asked in an almost desperate tone. She needed Rocxx to take her side here.
"Eh! Well, this sure is something I did not expect to happen. But since Rika is asking me a favour, how can I refuse? I will not tell your brother anything about what happened here."
Those words made Rika sigh in relief.
"Now, I don't think being out here where anyone can see us is a good idea. Let's head into old lady Isana's shop. She will not mind us baring in and making ourselves at home."
Rika was unhappy about barging into an old lady's house, but Rocxx did not have such a problem.
"Old Lady Isana, we will take the back room for our talk. Please tell me if someone is coming to look for me."
Rocxx asked the old lady, and she nodded without looking at them.
From the looks of it, Old Lady Isana was an omega, and she relied on her sense of smell to check where people were.
When Rika noticed this, she realised she could not work with the old lady.
'Ah, what a bump! I was looking forward to finally working a job I liked.'
Rika followed the alpha into the back cabin, and Rocxx instantly closed the door behind Rika and Charon.
"What are you doing? Do you want to hurt us? Don't come any closer! I might not look like it, but I know how to defend myself."
Charon pretended that she would fight Rocxx, but the alpha only laughed at her cute efforts.
"Aww, this is too cute. Do you want to try fighting me? I am afraid you will not have much luck if you do."
Rocxx smiled at Charon, but there was something in his eyes that made Charon back down with fright.
"Tsk! This is not fair. That man is using pheromones to make me back down. This is not fair!"
Charon complained in a low voice, which was the only reason Rika knew that pheromones were involved.
"So, what brings someone like you into my territory, Rika? Are you here to see me? I bet my cousin would be jealous once I tell her about it."
Rika needed to stop Rocxx before he called Emily.
Her friend, Emily, will be here in the next few hours.
Maybe Rocxx noticed or saw her worried expression, but he put his phone down and did not make the call.
"I was just joking! There is no way I will call Emily here. She would make my life much more difficult if I called her now. So, now it is time for you to answer my questions."
Charon replied before Rika could.
"We do not need to tell you anything just to boost your ego. Rika, maybe this was not a good idea. Let's return for today. We can return to take care of our business some other day."
Charon grabbed Rika's arm and pulled her outside, but this was not a permanent solution to her problem.
Now that Rocxx knew about Rika's nearby presence, he would take full advantage of it and come after her. There was no point in hiding from him anymore.
"It's okay, Charon. We cannot run or hide anymore. Can't you tell by looking at Rocxx's face? He has no intention of letting us go."
The will to curse was building up in Charon's body. Rika could see the second Charon would make a mistake that would gather Rocxx's interest.
That was why Rika grabbed Charon's arm and pulled her to sit back down.
"I don't think this man means us any harm. If he wanted us dead, then we would be dead by now."
Rika was not kidding when she said that. Rocxx ran this territory, and that was a fact.
Ven, even if this man behaved like a useless kid most of the time, his status as one of the most dangerous alphas in their organisation's current structure did not change.
"Aww, I feel honoured to receive all this praise from you, Rika. Since I am in such a good mood, I will listen to what you want. Come on! Tell me what your wish is."
Rocxx asked the question, and Rika saw no point hiding what she wanted from him.
"I came here looking for a job. I heard that the florist was hiring people to help her out. However, now that I see the old lady's condition, I don't think it is a good idea."
Rika concluded, and Rocxx had a knowing look on his face.
Charon was inching away toward the gate door and dragging Rika behind her.
"Hmm, now that you say it, Old Lady Isana needs to retire. I will ask someone to take over this business so she can rest now. Will it resolve your problem as well, Rika?"
Rocxx asked, and Rika cursed in her mind.
The older alpha was making it more and more difficult for her to refuse.
The bottom line was that Rika knew she could not back out of this deal. She knew her fate was in his hands from the second she was discovered.
Rocxx knew that as well, and his grin said it all.
"If you need time to consider your options, you can take it. Work starts tomorrow. I hope to see you then."
In the end, Rika did find a job. But none of her wishes associated with it came true.
"What the hell-! Can you believe how rude that man was? He expected us to do as he wished just because he was an alpha. There is no way in hell you will be working here starting tomorrow! Did you hear me? We will find you a new job."
Charon spoke confidently. But it was wistful thinking on her part.
Rika was sure that Charon had recognised the marks these goons had.
"It's fine, Charon. I am not as bumped out as you would expect me to be. I will get used to this job soon enough. Besides, now that these people know I have protection, they will not mess with me."
That was the only silver lining in this whole situation.
Charon dragged Rika to many job posts to find a decent one. But most of these places took one whiff of the air around Rika and decided to retreat.
That made Rika clear that she had no option but to do as asked.
'Fuck! I just wanted to get away from my family. Who knew this single task would prove to be this difficult?'
Rika cursed as she opened the door to the shop in front of her.
On the other side, the previous owner, the old lady, waited for her. Along with her stood Rocxx and a man Rika had never seen before.
The unknown man looked almost like an alpha with his colossal frame and intimidating gestures, but somehow, Rika was not afraid.
บท 23: Ch 23: Drink the night away
"Welcome, my dear employee. Seeing that you made it here fills my heart with immense joy. Was your journey tough? Did you have to face a lot of foes? I know one of the problems you faced."
Rocxx's wide and seemingly welcoming smile only deepened Rika's suspicion. It was a trap, she was sure. Rocxx had no intention of releasing her as she had hoped.
She regretfully entered the shop and greeted Rocxx and the old lady.
"Drop the formalities. We both know that I am not here because I want to be. And before you even ask, no! I will not give you Suzie's number. I do not even know that number, so don't try to ask for it."
Rika denied any attempt Rocxx would make to ask for Suzie's contact information.
The older alpha had liked Suzie for years but was too chicken to go up to her and ask her out. (Mainly because of Mark)
As expected, Rocxx made a pouting face at Rika's accusation.
"Hey, this is not fair! Is that what you think of me? I'll let you know that I am a changed man. I did not call you here because I wanted to take advantage of you."
Rika did not believe him, but she pretended to give this man the benefit of the doubt.
Rocxx's expression said he had realised Rika's trick and still felt ticked off by her.
"Hey, I am telling the truth. Look, I did not even tell Emily or Damian that you were here. Do you think they would have left you alone if they knew about this?"
The answer was no, and Rika knew it.
She also realised that Rocxx was telling her all this so Rika would feel bad for him and lower her guard.
It was a good tactic, but Rika was too level-headed to fall for it.
"Stop pinning this on me! You did not tell those two anything because you are afraid of them. Stop making it out to be about me when it is not."
Rika quickly corrected Rocxx's misconception, which caused the older alpha to shudder.
"It is about you. Since you cannot feel pheromones, you don't realise how dangerous and possessive those two are. I do not want to discover what will happen to me once they learn about yesterday's case. And then there is Mark…"
Rocxx trailed off there. He spoke words that registered in Rika's mind and made her feel hopeful.
At the same time, she knew that she could not harbour any hope in her mind.
Not for her useless crush on her alpha couple friend or her older brother's affection.
"Alright! This is enough playing around. I came here because you promised me work. Tell me what I need to do."
Rika quickly changed the subject once she noticed that the unknown man in the shop looked awkward.
He was too big-bodied and awkward to fit in a flower shop.
"Right! We should do that. Sorry, it slipped my mind that you were there. Not that it is your fault! Rika, meet him. He's Daniel. Despite his big body and intimidating face, he is a beta. Daniel. Rika. That is all you need to know. Get to know each other well."
"Rika, I will send you an official employee contract later. Have fun getting to know each other. I will leave now."
The alpha opened the door, but before he went out, Rocxx turned toward Rika in a severe tone.
Ah, before I leave. Rike, can you give me-"
"No, I won't give you Suzie's number. If you want it, get it from Mark."
Once more, Rika denied the alpha entry into her sister's contact list.
As much as she did not care what Suzie did or whom she interacted with, Rika did not want a creep to have her number.
Rocxx pouted and opened his mouth to say something. But then, at the last second, he considered his words and gave Rika a pitiful gaze before disappearing.
"Hey, how long have you known Rocxx? He felt and acted…. different around you. Just who the heck are you?"
Daniel asked in a worried voice. He also kept his distance from Rika and made it evident that he was uncomfortable with her.
"Rocxx is a childhood friend of mine. Just leave it at that, and do not pry any further. There is no point in putting yourself in danger."
Rika warned the man, and he quickly fell quiet. He suddenly realised that the less he knew, the better for him.
...
*ring*
Rocxx made the call as soon as he was alone in the streets.
"Hello, it's me! Your fantastic cousin is calling you to tell you that it's done…. yes, I chose a beta because you keep nagging me…. of course, he will not get along with Rika….no! Don't come here right now! Give Rika some time to adjust…maybe a month? Please don't get angry at me. It is not my fault she's a beta and does not get the signs that you both like her…. fuck! Fine! I will keep an eye on her."
The phone call finally ended, and Rocxx rubbed his head in regret.
Calling Emily felt draining to him, especially when Damian was with her.
"That stupid alpha couple had to go and fall in love with an insensitive beta like Rika. Now they are making it mine and everyone else's problem as well. It would have been better if they liked Suzie…no fuck it! It would not have been."
As cheerful as Rocxx sounded, even he had his breaking point. And he was currently approaching it.
He still had a drinking session with Mark to go through, but Rocxx already felt like falling asleep and giving up.
It was exhausting to talk to Emily and monitor Rika for her. He did not want to ask her how she knew Rika would be there.
Mark chose a high-class bar, and Mark was already drinking the night away.
Rocxx noticed many omegas wanting to get close to Mark but seemed hesitant due to the frustrated pheromones Mark released.
'Fuck! Is it going to be one of those nights? I knew I should have stayed home when I had a chance to.'
Rocxx regretted his decision to come out. But now that he was here, he might use the situation.
"Oh my! You look miserable, my friend. Did you fight with Suzie or your mother? Did one of the reports on Suzie's tests come back wrong? Come on! Talk to me about it."
Rocxx tried to make Mark feel better about the situation, but Mark continued to ignore him and nurse his drink. It was beginning to frustrate Rocxx tonight.
He was about to take a sip from Mark's drink when the older alpha growled at him and pulled his drink closer.
Mark was intoxicated and out of it, but his possessiveness knew no bounds. At that moment, he was the prime example of an 'Alpha.'
"Alright, fine! I get it. I will not try to take your drink away from you, alright? Now, can you talk to me about what is bugging you?"
Rocxx finally settled down and nursed his drink.
The bartender knew his order well on such frustrating days, and Rocxx soon had his drink.
But his friend still did not say anything to him during this time.
He was afraid that nothing would be said even after the drinking time was up, but Mark surprised him by speaking up.
"That fucker! How dare she do this to us? What did we do so wrong that she did not even turn around to rethink her choice of leaving us for a state academy? Rika, what are you thinking."
Mark complained as he drowned another glass of beer like it was water. His frustration shined through his eyes.
Rocxx could tell that his friend was struggling because of Rika.
It was funny to him how Mark could like and hate his sister at the exact time like this, but he was not suicidal enough to comment on it.
"Hey, it's okay! I am sure your sister just grew up and wanted to escape home. Most people have that thought at her age. It will be fine, right? You always told me that Rika was an independent girl you did not have to worry about."
Rocxx tried to help Mark and Rika simultaneously by assuring his friend that Rika's decision was satisfactory.
He understood why his friend was being like this.
Sometimes, even Rocxx needed clarification, as it was a beta. She looked and felt like an omega, and his instincts thought she was a beta until he tried to check her with his pheromones.
Rocxx had never seen such a unique case before, and he even suggested that Mark take Rika to a specialist to check her out.
But Mark had taken offence to his suggestion, and this topic had never been brought up again.
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