Page 54 of Bubblegum Pop
“Benny, I haven’t been alone for two years. I’ve brought in at least two hundred thousand for just my heats. Isn’t that enough to give me one off? Just one?” Even though I’d heard that going through a heat alone was total hell, but I wouldn’t be alone.
He let out a heavy sigh and pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Candy, I can’t go around letting omegas off on their heats. Yeah, I can give you an extra day off for your heat, but I’m not the one who decides these kinds of things.”
“It’s been so long since I’ve been alone.” I bit my lip, pressing my hands between my knees. “I haven’t even had a holiday; I’ve barely left the Club. And the only times I’ve been out are on escort service, or home visits, or to the Spa or the Studios. I just go on shopping trips with the other hosts. That’s it.” I gave him my tear-filled eyes and trembling bottom lip combo I’d been practising since I was a kid, hoping it would be enough to sway him. I was ready to start full-on crying if I needed to. “Please, Benny… I just want a break.”
“For God’s sake,” he groaned. “I’m sick and tired of you lot thinking you can take advantage of me. This isn’t my decision, okay?”
“But—”
“Look, I’m the one who chooses who buys your heats, who gets to fuck you, who even gets to bid on you in the first place. But I don’t have any more power than that.”
He picked up a pre-rolled cigarette from the ashtray on his left, bouncing it between his fingers, running his tongue across his teeth before tutting. “But… maybe I make mistakes.” He shrugged. “I’m only human, after all.” He sighed dramatically, and my heart jumped in my throat with hope.
Benny huffed out a breath. “So, say, for example, someone used their well-earned wages to, oh, I don’t know…” He winced as he stretched, his spine cracking as he leant back in his chair. “Put in a bid for your heat.” He tilted his head. “I mean, I know you buggers try it all the time, but I can’t catch everything.”
It wasn’t exactly unheard of for a host to buy another for the night so we could have extra time off. Benny occasionally let us get away with it, but an entire heat off was a whole other level.
“So,” he continued, “maybe I miss a name or two.” He shrugged again as he put the unlit cigarette between his lips. “And maybe I accidentally chose that fake name.” He stared at me bluntly, and I gave him a smooth smile.
“Well, hypothetically, what kind of name might you miss?”
“Oh, one of those classic names guests use. Kara Mel, possibly.” He shrugged, pulling the cigarette back. “And say, for example, my good friends down at the security team all go out for coffee between nine and ten on the first day you have booked for your heat.” He twirled his cigarette between his fingers, rolling it nonchalantly. “I mean, it wouldn’t be my fault if they didn’t catch anyone entering your room for the day…”
He swung forward, thumping his elbows on the desk, meeting me head on. “I’m assuming you want the usual crew guarding you for your next heat?”
“It depends on how many people buy me, really. If it’s just this one person you mentioned, maybe I’ll only need a skeleton team. Probably three guards, at most.”
“Sure, if you say so,” he said, his voice monotone.
“And I think my dear Kara Mel is listed in their file as an alpha female. So, I probably wouldn’t need attendants, anyway.” I held a hand to my chest, sighing. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve been with an alpha female. I highly doubt she would ever bite me… not after the accident.” I turned my head, looking mournfully out of the window. “That poor woman, so young, too. Fell straight in a vat of boiling sugar. Very poetic.” I peeked at him with a wry grin. I could tell Benny was holding back his smirk.
“Okay, enough of your bullshit.” He grabbed his lighter from the top of the desk. “Bids close in two days. The current winner is sitting at a hundred thousand. You sure you wanna blow your savings on this?”
“Would you do it for your omega?”
“Hmph, fair point. Just don’t go about telling the other omegas I let you off. I don’t want a horde of hosts descending on me, asking for breaks.”
I shot up from the chair, excitement bubbling through me as I clapped my hands. A steam of perfume floated around the office as I bobbed up and down, beaming at him. “You’re the absolute best!” I leaned over the desk, giving him a flash of my cleavage through the royal blue dress as a special treat before I kissed his cheek.
“And if I see a single fucking bruise on your neck, I’m making sure your boys never come back, you got that?” Benny scowled, blushing as he wiped away the lipstick I’d left on his grey stubble. “You know what happens. I can’t take responsibility if you come out of this with a bite.”
I couldn’t afford to be thrown into the bargain bin—that was an omega’s worst nightmare. Despite a knot and a bite being totally different categories, I craved both.
I knew it was shit of me, but my body had been ready for them for years. I needed their teeth on my neck, for them to bond with me for real, not just the insanity of an unfulfilled scent match.
“Don’t turn this into some fucking production.” Benny glared at me. “Get fucked and then tell them to fuck off, alright?”
“Of course!” A hand fluttered to my chest. “I’d never try anything else.”
“Uh huh,” he grunted, narrowing his eyes at me. I wouldn't believe me either.
“Thank you so much!” I twirled, spreading my scent again, blowing him a kiss over my shoulder before bouncing out through the door.
“Just don’t do anything stupid. Please,” he called after me before I closed the door behind me, even though that was exactly what I was planning.
Stage one was officially complete. Now all I had to do was to put the other pieces in place. My alphas weren’t going to know what hit them.
Odin