(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 217: A collector of sorts

Chapter 217: A collector of sorts

Richard made a face, glancing towards Andrew before he sighed.

"They...I told you that people made a connection that when you left, Maxwell’s attitude and personality changed, right?" Andrew nodded slowly, wondering where this was going. "Well, they leaked that you’re coming back, and everyone is...freaking out to put it politely." Richard muttered.

"Freaking out? How?" Andrew felt his heart race as he asked the question. Was that a bad thing? Were they going to chase him out because of the sudden change with their CEO?

"Well...ugh, I don’t know how to say this any other way." Richard huffed. "They’re going to hound you to never leave again. In fact, they are going to try to make sure you never leave. Either the company, or Maxwell. I heard someone say they were going to offer you blowjobs if it meant you stayed." Andrew gave him a horrified look and Richard met his gaze grimly. "I already told them you wouldn’t accept them and that seemed to deter them." Andrew stared at him in shock.

Why would they be so concerned? What the hell had happened while he was gone?

"How...bad was it actually, Richard? I feel like you aren’t being fully honest with me." Richard turned his gaze away.

"Maxwell’s Dad came over and yelled at him. In a meeting. I only caught the tail-end of it, but apparently it was really, really bad. Uh, that secretary of his was quite beside themselves. Maxwell...he looked like a shell of himself." Richard muttered, and Andrew thought back to how Maxwell had looked when he saw him yesterday.

He didn’t look well, that was for sure, but he thought that he’d be able to keep himself together enough to work. Maxwell had always been able to keep himself together. Granted, he’d never seen Maxwell throw up before, or cry like that before, but that couldn’t be related, could it?

Andrew wasn’t so sure, even as he said the words to himself. Richard’s grim expression really told him that things had not gone well while he had been away.

"I didn’t think Thomas would come over to yell at him." Andrew said quietly and Richard sighed, shaking his head.

"I was surprised too. Maxwell never lets alphas behave like that, even his own family members. But even the board of directors fled in the face of his anger. I think we lost a contract, and Thomas is working on getting it back." That really shocked Andrew. That wasn’t something that he’d expected. He didn’t have time to process it as the doors opened and Richard let out a quick breath. "Brace yourself." Was his final warning as the two of them stepped out of the elevator.

As soon as he did so, it was like the temperature in the room changed. There weren’t a lot of people in the lobby at this time in the morning, but there were enough. All eyes turned towards him as Richard grimly marched towards the front desk.

Murmuring started, everyone stealing glances at Andrew and Richard as they made their way towards the front desk. Andrew swore he saw Mr. Newman here, but it was far too early for him to be in. He should only start his day when Maxwell got here, and knowing what time that Richard liked to arrive at the office, this was far too early for him to be around.

It turned out that it was Mr. Newman, and not only was he here, but he had the package that Andrew had first arrived with in front of him, all of the badges and things that Andrew needed before him. He also had a small tray of drinks, his eyes were darting everywhere, and he looked like he hadn’t slept for days.

Honestly, he didn’t look much better than Maxwell. He almost looked exactly the same, only Mr. Newman didn’t hide the deep bags under his eyes with makeup. He was blinking slowly, practically falling asleep standing up and Andrew felt worry fill him.

"Mr. Newman?" Andrew called, and the man jerked, nearly spilling all of the drinks on the tray. Thankfully, the receptionist had been keeping an eye on him and managed to save not just Mr. Newman, but the drinks.

"D-D-Dr. Nice! You’re here!" Mr. Newman’s face brightened, relief flooding his features. "You’re actually here." He repeated and Andrew nodded, worried.

"I am. As I’m not fired, and my time off is over, I’m here this morning." Andrew said and Mr. Newman looked like he was going to cry.

"It is so good to hear your voice. I’ve been so worried since-" He cut off, shaking his head. He stared at Andrew, his smile uncomfortably wide, before he let out a shaky exhale and turned to the things before him, almost surprising himself with the drinks. "Oh! I picked up some drinks for you to have! I realised I didn’t know what you liked to drink so I got a few popular drinks for you to try or share with your coworkers. You can decide on what you want to take." Mr. Newman took in Andrew’s full hands and chuckled. "Or I can take them down for you." He replied, his smile a little unnerving.

Richard turned his face away from Mr. Newman, and also Andrew, but he had a feeling he wasn’t happy about this situation. Andrew put down his bags, stepping towards Mr. Newman and placing his hand on his shoulder in concern.

"Are you alright, Mr. Newman? You look...like you could do with a nap." Andrew told him carefully. Mr. Newman flinched at Andrew’s touch, and Andrew immediately withdrew it. Mr. Newman swallowed.

"Sorry, it’s not you. I just get a little jumpy when I’m...tired." Mr. Newman said, blinking slowly and Andrew glanced back at Richard.

"Uh, Mr. Newman, why don’t you come with us down to our level? I obviously have my hands full, so I would appreciate it if you could carry those things with you and help me out. Would you?" Andrew flashed him a wide smile, watching as Mr. Newman blink several times when faced with his expression, before he nodded numbly.

Mr. Newman began to gather his things up as Andrew turned to grab his bags again. He was able to meet Richard’s gaze, and the other man gave him a nod of approval. Andrew was glad that Richard agreed with getting Mr. Newman away from the harsh gazes around them, and he hoped that they were both on the same page.

Richard headed towards the lower elevators, waiting as both Andrew and Mr. Newman caught up. Andrew waited for the smaller man, keeping his steps shorter and matching his pace. He knew that Mr. Newman was an omega from the slightly soft smell coming from him, but that was it. He had never viewed him as weaker, but he did know that lack of sleep did contribute to pheromone releases.

Richard, Andrew and Mr. Newman said nothing as the elevator moved down. Andrew did notice that the first three buttons on the elevator didn’t actually exist, and he was surprised that he hadn’t noticed it before.

He hadn’t really paid it any attention, but it must have been a nod towards the fact that they were taken up with the underground garage for employees. It wasn’t obvious, but Andrew liked it. It was a nice touch. The basement floors did start at one and moved down in number, but it was very Maxwell to not use the first three buttons.

Richard, Andrew and a more nervous appearing Mr. Newman headed towards their office. Andrew was half expecting that the others would be there, but that wasn’t the case as Richard unlocked the door and flicked the light on.

"Mr. Newman, can you put those things over on my desk?" Andrew asked and Mr. Newman nodded, moving towards the desk while Richard and Andrew took off their coats and hung them up. They shared a look.

"What room?" Andrew asked softly and Richard glanced around.

"There is a cot under my desk, folded in half. I’ll set it up. There are some blankets in the cupboard under the kettle." He said back just as softly. Both men nodded to each other before setting about with their tasks.

Mr. Newman, fully unaware of their plans, took his time setting up the things for Andrew, trying to do a nice thing. So when he heard the snap of something metal nearby, he flinched, spinning.

His eyes widened in horror as Richard was setting out a cot, and Andrew was rifling through a cupboard.

"W-What’s going on?" His voice raised, squeaking, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. Richard raised his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Relax, Mr. Newman. Nothing untoward is going to happen to you. We’re just both concerned about your health, and think you should get some rest down here while you have a moment." Mr. Newman’s gaze slid to Andrew, who was standing up with a blanket and met the omega’s worried look.

"He’s right, Mr. Newman. I don’t know Maxwell’s schedule, but I don’t think he’s coming in any time soon. You have some time to catch a little bit of sleep. With both Richard and I here, you’ll be able to sleep knowing neither one of us will take advantage of you. Richard’s a beta, and we were practically raised together. He wouldn’t do anything, and neither would I." Andrew chuckled. "My Mom would come back from the dead to beat my ass if I did." Richard also chuckled at that.

"Oh man, I can already see that. She’d go right for the balls too." Richard said and the two watched on as Mr. Newman glanced between the two giants.

That was the case when he was compared to them. Richard was tall for a beta, and like Andrew had been mistaken as an alpha in their youth. Mr. Newman was on the smaller side, even for omegas. Then there was post manifestation Andrew to throw into the mix. There was a reason the smaller man was nervous, but as it became obvious that neither of the men intended to harm him in any way.

"Mr. Beckett wouldn’t like it." Mr. Newman said and Andrew chuckled.

"If I had the ability, he too would be put into a cot and made to rest, but that isn’t something I can do right now. So, it’s your turn, Mr. Newman. Now, as long as you are sure that we aren’t going to attack you or anything nefarious, go lie down. Do you need ear plugs? Music?" Mr. Newman blinked, staring at them before he swallowed, ducking his head.

"No. I should...be okay." He mumbled, finally shuffling towards the cot and Richard smiled.

"Alright, with that settled, let’s get you up to date on what’s happening here." Richard said as Andrew handed off the blanket in his hand and the two ignored the omega in the room with them and got to work.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.