“I’ll try to talk to father,” he said.
“Are you sure? He’s not in a very listening mood. He took my head off yesterday.”
“So, are you going to get bonded?”
“I’m still thinking about it. I don’t have a lot of options. I’ll have the same problem with another alpha,” Jamue stared at his feet. He promised Mac he wouldn’t give in, but he had no choice. Master Rosh was better than another strange alpha - his parents wanted him. “Do you have medication I could take? I only have to endure Master Rosh’s touch twice a month.”
“Oh, little brother, that’s not how a bond works.”
“That’s how mine will work or I’ll stay alone for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t want that for you. I want you to be happy. Let me talk to father.”
Jamue nodded.
His brother pulled him into another hug. “I'll try my best to convince him.”
He let him go and walked down the stairs.
Jamue walked to the washroom. He had to get ready for work.
They had a lot of work to do. Their opening and their first tasting event had to be spectacular.
He won't let his messed-up life ruin what he’d worked hard for, Jamue thought as he switched the bathing bot on.
He took a quick bath and got dressed. Done, he made his way downstairs, where Mac and Nava were finishing setting up for their opening later this afternoon. Mac straightened from his table and stared at him.
“There you are. Are you feeling better?”
“Everyone is showing me so much love today. What’s going on?” Jamue asked, walking to his desk. “Sirhe was worried enough to come to see me.”
“I saw him. He looked worried. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. He’s going to talk to my father for me. He’s probably dreading it. Father can be…” Jamue searched for words to describe him.
“Overbearing?” Mac offered.
“Yes, and unpleasant,” he said. “I doubt he would agree to anything he says. But I’m not going to think about that today. I want to have a lovely opening day.” Jamue smiled.
“Can you drop these off?” Mac said, loading a delivery bot with two cylinders of spirits. "We should have delivered the spirits a while ago, but I kept forgetting.”
“What?” Jamue looked inside the bot. Mac had Sweet Core and Smoky Blue in there. They were their best-selling spirits.
“The omega that helped us convince Ashur to buy from us. We promised him a few bottles, remember? Please deliver these to him. I could have the delivery service take them to him, but I think we should deliver them personally. And since you’re good with people...I thought...”
“Now? We are a few hours away from opening. And we still have so much to do. I can’t leave,” Jamue said, looking around their undecorated space.
“I know. Nava and I will handle everything while you’re gone. Go and deliver the spirits. He was our first customer. He’s important.” Mac said. “None of this would have happened without him.”
Damn, he was convincing.
“I know, but…”
“Imagine how he’d feel knowing we officially opened our doors today without thanking him.” Jamue opened his mouth to speak, but Mac shook his head. “Please, he made our dreams come true.”
“Okay,” Jamue said giving in. He turned on the delivery bot. “I’ll be sure to thank him.”
“Don’t worry, Nava and I will have everything read.” Mac handed him the address.