"You have to hand it to her, Dom," Tao, who was sitting on the black leather couch, smugly sneered at Inez. "Even after being shown her place again and again as the pack's trash, she is quite stupid."
He gave Inez a look and stated, "I mean, you would think she would get the message by now but that head's quite thick. Don't you think?"
Inez felt her heart stung a little when she heard Tao call her 'trash'; after Dominic, if there was someone she had trusted more than herself, it was Tao. Her foolish and naive self hadn't thought twice before spilling all her secrets to Tao and this man had publicized all of her secrets in front of the pack, making her a joke.
Some of the pack members still laughed and mocked her for acting like a baby, while some asked her if she wanted a tissue to wipe her tears after being treated like an unwanted child by her mother.
It was one of her biggest insecurities and secrets that she had shared with Tao, and that man had shown her why she shouldn't have done that.
Thus, even though her heart was hurting, she didn't acknowledge him. Instead, she waited for Dominic to speak.
The man held her gaze and waited for her to show the same pained expression that she had shown him in the past. But hey! There was a limit to which a person could feel pain and these men had long surpassed those limits. It would be a surprise if Inez still felt as hurt as she did the first time; they had let her down.
"Tao's right," After a long pause, Dominic spoke up. He arched a brow and asked, "What makes you think that you can refuse my orders?"
Inez looked at Dominic, and this time around she didn't look at him as her childhood friend or the boy who had once rescued her from her bullies. Instead, she looked at him like he wanted to, as her tormentor, and calmly replied, "The fact that I am the best event planner of this company? Or the fact that I bring more than enough projects for interior decorations?"
"You are a contractual worker—"
"A worker whose contract is about to expire," Inez countered with a calm voice. When she returned home, she was obsessed with the idea of finding out what made Dominic and the others replace her. So, even though the contract was more than unfair, she had signed it again and again.
Of course, there was also a little pressure from her mother, who simply refused to admit that they could never return to the past. But more than that, Inez was much more concerned with the truth behind their changes.
However, after last night, she couldn't help but wonder if it was even worth it. Now she was glad that the contract she had signed was coming to an end; as long as the contract expired, she could hand in her resignation and pat her ass before leaving the fuck out of this office.
And the fact that the day of her freedom was only a day away brought a thrill to Inez.
"Are you threatening me?" Dominic asked, his voice lowering by a pitch as a growl erupted from his throat. She could sense that his wolf was pressing against his surface as the room slowly started to feel much more stifling due to his alpha vibes that oozed through every pore of his body.
Inez was not an omega but being a part siren meant that her wolf was not as strong as an alpha. She lowered her head but refused to let her knees buckle under the pressure. Inez knew that he wanted her to kneel and oblige with his order but she simply refused to!
Thus, even though she could feel every nerve in her body scream in pain, she said through clenched teeth, "I dare not; I am just reminding you that if you want Eve to continue standing firm on the pedestal that you have pushed her onto, then you need to leave a way out for me as well. If work keeps piling on me, even I will make a mistake."
After she finished speaking, Inez heaved a sigh in relief.
She had been pushing herself way too hard these days. She did it because she wished to be acknowledged by Dominic and hoped to get the answers to her questions, but the motivation that had once pushed her on had become a burden.
She did it because she cared but what was the point of this care when it was only going to hurt her?
She noticed Dominic shooting her a fierce scowl. "You do understand that this can land you in trouble, Inez. I do not mind locking you up in the prison."
"Then you will have to explain the delay to Mr. Patrick; I don't think he will like it," replied Inez with her palms sweating.
BANG!
Dominic smashed his fist on the table. He glared at Inez, anger radiating from him. He demanded, "So all in all, are you going to handle this project or not?"
It was one thing that she was behaving as if the rejection never happened, as if she wasn't bothered by his refusal to accept her—but the audacity of the woman to defy him even when he had commanded her as her alpha made Dominic livid.
"No," Inez knew that she was playing with fire. But after weighing the pros and cons, she decided to be a little selfish. No one knew how hard she had worked on the last event, and without having enough time to rest, she was pushed to deal with Mister Patrick's engagement ceremony.
That man was a human and his partner was really particular about a few things. Because of this, Inez had more than six meetings piled up in just three days; she truly could not fit Killian Sokolov on top of them.
If Dominic was determined to corner her, then she could only choose one.
Dominic stared at her, and the way he was staring at her made Inez nervous.
However, she was determined to not show the effect that he was having on her and thus pursed her lips and stayed quiet while waiting with bated breath.
"Tao."
"Right away, Dom," the man behind her chuckled like a devil's minion, which made goosebumps erupt all over Inez's skin.
And then —
"HELP ME!"