The boardroom doors closed with a muted thud, sealing Adrian inside a room built for war.
Glass walls framed the skyline, the city stretching endlessly beyond, indifferent to the battles fought above it. The table long, black, flawless reflected the people seated around it like a mirror of controlled ambition. Executives, legal heads, senior strategists. All alphas. All seasoned. All dangerous in their own way.
Adrian took the seat Lucian had indicated earlier that morning two chairs away from him. Not beside. Not opposite. Close enough to observe. Far enough to remind him of his place.
For now.
Lucian Kael sat at the head of the table, hands folded, posture relaxed in a way that spoke of absolute dominance. He hadn't addressed Adrian directly since assigning the task, but the order had been clear.
Watch. Learn. Do not interrupt unless I say so.
The opposing delegation entered moments later executives from a rival firm angling for a partnership Kael Dynamics didn't need but might strategically exploit. Smiles were exchanged. Hands were shaken. Polite words coated sharper intentions.
Negotiations began.
Adrian listened.
At first, it followed the familiar rhythm proposals, counterproposals, calculated concessions. The room smelled faintly of expensive cologne and restraint. Lucian spoke little, allowing his team to lead, his silence a weapon sharper than argument.
Adrian's eyes flicked between speakers, absorbing patterns, mapping weaknesses. He saw it almost immediately.
The opposing team was lying.
Not outright. Nothing crude. But their numbers were inflated, their timelines optimistic, their assurances hollow. They were pressing urgency where none existed, hoping Kael Dynamics would blink first.
Lucian hadn't blinked yet.
But Adrian noticed something else one of Kael's senior executives was wavering. Agreeing too quickly. Offering ground too easily.
He smells blood, Adrian realized. And it isn't ours.
The conversation edged closer to a mistake.
Adrian felt it in his bones the moment where silence would cost them leverage.
He glanced at Lucian.
The CEO's gaze remained fixed on the opposing negotiator, expression unreadable. No signal. No permission.
The rule had been clear.
Do not interrupt unless I say so.
Adrian inhaled slowly.
Then he spoke.
"With respect," Adrian said, voice calm but cutting through the room like glass, "your timeline assumes regulatory approval without resistance. That's statistically improbable."
Every head turned.
Lucian didn't move.
The opposing negotiator stiffened. "I'm not sure I follow"
"You're banking on accelerated clearance based on past compliance models," Adrian continued evenly. "But those models don't account for the antitrust flags your last acquisition triggered. If this goes forward as proposed, you won't just delay implementation you'll invite scrutiny."
The room fell silent.
Adrian could feel Lucian's attention shift. Sharp. Focused.
The negotiator's smile thinned. "Those concerns have already been addressed."
Adrian met his gaze. "Then you won't mind putting them in writing."
A beat.
Lucian leaned forward for the first time, fingers steepling. "My analyst raises a valid point."
Analyst.
Not omega. Not new hire. Not mistake.
The opposing team exchanged looks. Their confidence cracked just slightly.
Lucian continued, voice cool and lethal. "If you can't guarantee clearance, then your valuation collapses. And I don't negotiate from a position of charity."
The balance shifted.
What followed was swift and brutal. Concessions were clawed back. Terms rewritten. Power reasserted.
Adrian said nothing more.
He didn't need to.
When the meeting ended and the room emptied, Adrian remained seated, pulse steady despite the lingering tension.
Lucian stood slowly, adjusting his cuffs. He didn't look at Adrian immediately.
"That was not permission," Lucian said at last.
"I know," Adrian replied calmly.
Lucian turned.
Their eyes locked.
"You spoke anyway."
"Yes."
Silence stretched between them, taut and dangerous.
Lucian stepped closer, stopping just within Adrian's personal space. "Do you have any idea what happens to people who disobey me in that room?"
Adrian held his gaze. "They get fired. Or broken."
"Or both."
"Then do it," Adrian said quietly. "But we didn't lose ground. We gained it."
Lucian searched his face, as if looking for fear. Submission. Regret.
He found none.
Instead, something dark and approving flickered behind his eyes.
"You crossed a line," Lucian said.
Adrian's voice was steady. "You told me Kael Dynamics cuts out mediocrity. I saw it bleeding us."
A long pause.
Then Lucian straightened, stepping back.
"Next time," he said coldly, "wait for my signal."
Adrian inclined his head. "Next time, I will."
Lucian watched him for a moment longer, then turned toward the windows, the city reflected in his eyes.
"Get back to work, Vale."
Adrian rose and left the boardroom, his heart racing not from fear, but from something far more dangerous.
Behind him, Lucian Kael remained alone, a faint, unsettling realization settling into his bones.
The omega he had hired didn't just understand the game.
He threatened to change it.