"Well, you should have expected this after what happened yesterday," said Cecil. Though she looked at Inez with pity in her eyes, that was her limit of sympathy, and Inez didn't blame her. After all, the last time someone helped her in the pack, they were brutally mutilated by Tao.
The poor guy had to stay in bed for more than two months, and that was how everyone in the pack got the memo. No one was allowed to help Inez and if they dared to show mercy on her, then they would be the ones suffering for it.
Ever since then, no one dared to show even an ounce of kindness to Inez and preferred to be just an onlooker.
Inez closed her eyes and breathed in and out. She wanted to calm down and think rationally but she couldn't. Her wolf was already in pain; she didn't even get enough time to lick her wounds and heal but before Inez could even think of a way to bring peace to her wolf, Dominic came up with another way to torment her.
After another failed attempt to calm herself down, Inez shook her head and told Cecil, "Tell him that I am not doing it."
With what happened last night, Inez thought that Dominic would be done tormenting her. He had not just rejected her; he had destroyed a piece of her soul. It should have been enough, but apparently it wasn't.
"Are you sure?" Cecil asked as she raised her brows. "Making this decision will bring you pain in the long run. He is not going to like it."
"Well, he has to deal with it," Inez bristled. "I have enough mess in my hands; maybe if he asked his sweetheart to do her job instead of paying her for strutting around in those slutty lingeries that she calls dresses, I will have enough time to meet with Alpha Sokolov."
Inez was not exaggerating. When Tao and Dominic asked her to join their company, she had agreed in a heartbeat, all because she thought that they had moved past whatever bullshit that they were going through.
Except they didn't. They had made use of her trust in them and had her sign a contract where she agreed to work as a shadow worker for Eve.
Thus, all the work in which she poured her heart and soul—well, its credit went to Eve automatically.
So, while Eve lived a carefree life pretending to be a genius interior decorator and event planner, it was Inez who did all her work. At a pay that could never be called decent.
Cecil shrugged. She didn't bother to convince Inez before leaving.
Inez watched her leave before turning her attention to the new project that was handed to her by Eve and pursed her lips. She looked at the notes that Eve had taken down before resigning herself to the fact that she had to call the client and retake these notes.
Because they were a mess!
And Inez was certain that Eve must have done it deliberately. She loved it when Inez was scolded by the clients for being a messy assistant. Even though she wasn't, this was what she chose and Inez had to pay for her decision.
She sighed and picked up the phone on the table, already prepared to hear a diatribe from the client.
"You have been called to the office." Cecil returned after half an hour and pointed at Dominic's office just as Inez placed the receiver of the phone down. She gave a look to Inez and stated, "He was beyond pissed when I told him that you had refused. Just a heads-up."
"Thanks," Inez got from her seat and locked the laptop before leaving her cubicle. She walked past the many cubicles while ignoring the snickering and contemptuous looks that the other shifters flashed her. It was hurtful at first but now she was almost used to it.
Ignoring the looks, she went to the office where Dominic was and raised her hand to knock.
Knock. Knock.
She hit the surface of the wood for two times before dropping her hand.
"Come in," a muffled voice drifted past the wooden door and Inez cursed when she felt her wolf perk up. Even though she had been humiliated like that, she still held some hope for her mate. Pathetic.
Inez ignored the way her wolf started pacing inside of her; instead, she pushed open the door and walked inside. She ignored Tao, who smirked at her and said, "You called me, Alpha?"
"I did," Dominic raised his head and looked at Inez. His eyes flashed with dissatisfaction when he saw that the woman was still standing tall without any signs of breaking down. He thought that after his rejection, Inez would make a fuss but other than her initial objection, she did not show any signs of discomfort or disappointment.
It made him upset and angry. His wolf for one was filled with rage at the idea of her cold response. Even though they rejected her, according to his wolf's expectations, this woman should have begged them. Lowered her head and pleaded with them to take her back.
Only then would a part of them be satisfied.
And the revenge that they wanted to take on her would have been fulfilled.
However, Inez didn't do anything. She didn't reach out to them, even though Dominic was fully expecting her to.
But when she didn't, it made him mad.
Thus, he deliberately brought up the project that they received from Killian Sokolov and pushed it into Inez's lap. He wanted her to react, which he knew she would because she was already busy with the project that Eve had received.
And Inez didn't let him down.
"I heard that you rejected the project that I asked you to handle; any particular reason for that?" he asked even though he knew that she was already buried in work. He was more than just formal with her; even though he had rejected her yesterday night, Dominic wanted to make Inez realise that she mattered less than a grain of salt to him.
"Other than being strapped with two projects, three meetings, and five home visits, I don't see any other reason, Alpha," replied Inez with a sarcastic sneer. "Of course, if you can just wait for my soul to leave my body after all the work that you are piling on me ... I think I can manage this meeting with Alpha Sokolov."