Chapter 37
Unfortunately, his concentration for the next few hours was just as bad. He couldn’t stop inhaling the familiar and comforting pheromones of Diego and Rohan. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him until he was about halfway done with the meeting with the representative of the factory that would produce a new line of kitchen utensils with his name on them. In spite of the terrible experiences he had undergone in the past when it came to relationships, the omega in him must have felt safe enough because he was beginning to think of Diego and Rohan as his alphas, which implied the pre-bonding process had already started.
His actions and words were changing, albeit gradually. He would always want to be close to them. He would constantly be hyperaware of their presence and scents. He would do his best to take care of them all of the time and soothe them when the situation called for it. The only way to break the process was to stop seeing them altogether, and he didn’t want to do that because it didn’t make sense,and he actually liked them both. Fortunately, he knew they also liked him. The only problem was they had yet to officially declare their intentions to court him, and he was too shy and maybe more than a little frightened to make the first move.
He had to find a way to nudge Diego and Rohan in the right direction somehow, and he knew two people who could help. He made a mental note to contact Ashton and Gregory later when he was at home in his bedroom. They would surely be able to come up with some suggestions that could assist him in achieving his goal. He just had to make sure to discard all of their filthy and sexually provocative ideas. He didn’t think he would be able to carry out those particular schemes anyway. He wasn’t like them in that regard. He would be too mortified, and he might end up messing things up instead. All he required was a way to push Diego and Rohan to formally court him without having to do something that was outside his comfort zone. After that, he, Diego, and Rohan would be able to date for real. 9
When Rohan reached the dining room early the next morning, he was greeted by an unusual sight. The table was overflowing with six types of pizza, five kinds of pie, and a giant pan of lasagna. He was still gaping at the amount of food when Percy came out of the kitchen with a large jug of freshly squeezed orange juice.
“Morning, Ro!” Percy greeted him cheerfully while approaching the table before setting the jug down. “Grab a plate and help yourself.”
“Uh, good morning,” Rohan said. “And thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Percy responded as he headed back into the kitchen. “Where’s Diego?”
“Right here,” Diego replied, appearing next to Rohan. “Are we having a celebratory party or something?”
“A what now?” Percy asked as he stepped out from the kitchen again. This time, he was holding three plates and some kitchen utensils.
“A celebratory party,” Diego repeated with a brilliant smile.
Rohan frowned at Diego. “What for?”
Diego grinned back and forth between Rohan and Percy. “Yesterday, the three of us agreed the maximum amount we would be willing to offer James for the building is two and a half million dollars.”
Percy nodded at Diego. “And?”
Diego’s smile widened. “I started at two million, and after some negotiation, James finally accepted a final price of two million, three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He called me a few minutes ago.”
Rohan was stunned. The first step, to secure a place of business, was finally completed. Then he slowly released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
“Does that mean we can start renovating it soon?”
Diego shook his head. “James asked we allow him and his mates a month to pack their things up. He’s also willing to sell the remaining physical copies of the books in his inventory to us at a fraction of their original price. I’ll have to sort through the electronic copies of whatever titles he has, though. I have quite a collection myself, and I don’t need to get everything from him.”
“Do you think there will be many people who are interested in borrowing books from us, though?” Percy inquired.
Diego shrugged. “Not sure, but after working as a librarian for years, I know people who can get their hands on those rare titles, either physical copies or electronic ones, for us. There are plenty of wonderful books from centuries ago, and they’re no longer circulated for public consumption. Even those from the previous century are difficult to acquire.”
“That means our target clients will mainly revolve around those who love to read.”
Diego stood in front of Percy. “Don’t worry. We’ll still get plenty of customers.”
“Oh? How can you be so sure?”
“The food and beverages on our menu will be impossible for them to resist. After all, you’re the one who will prepare everything. They will be delicious. Plus, if you make an appearance at our reading café once in a while, it will make for an excellent marketing tactic.”
Percy chuckled. “Are you that confident in me?”
“Absolutely,” Diego said, winking at Percy before turning to Rohan. “And if Percy’s name and popularity doesn’t draw in the crowds, Ro and I can take our shirts off and show off our muscular bodies. I’m sure there will be plenty of omegas, betas, and maybe even some alphas who will be tempted to patronize our café.”
Percy rolled his eyes. “Wow! You sure have lots of confidence in yourself, haven’t you?”
Diego flexed his muscles and snickered at Percy and Rohan. “Look at me. What’s not to like?”
Rohan folded his arms across his chest. “I refuse to take my shirt off.”
Diego huffed. “Don’t be such a prude, man. Take one for the team. The survival of our reading café may depend on your willingness to show some skin.”
Rohan scowled. “Fine, but I’m not selling myself.”
Diego nodded. “I won’t do that either, but most people like looking at beautiful things. There’s no harm in making good use of what we’ve been blessed with.”
Percy chortled. “You have no shame, have you?”
“Nope. Besides, everybody should get to enjoy the visual perfection that is me.”
Percy burst out laughing. “I rest my case.”
Diego chuckled while Rohan simply stared at the other alpha without uttering a word. Then the tantalizing aroma of all the food on the table reminded him of something he was still curious about.