Bottom At Heart
Chapter 2

Clarence Octavius McKinley III was not sure why his father wanted him to head the meeting that afternoon. Usually, Clarence the Elder did his best to make sure that Clar was as far away from Desire Headquarters as was humanly possible. Which suited Clar perfectly well, as he wasn’t particularly interested in his father’s company if there weren’t models involved. And if there were models involved, Clarence the Elder worked even harder to make sure that Clar was on the other side of the planet.

Which is why the fact that he was sitting in the boardroom with his assistant, Quinn, and various marketing staff very peculiar. Because the meeting in question was with one of Wicked Entertainment’s hottest models and would be the first of many meetings with the new Desire brand ambassador. Desire was a luxury women’s fashion designer, which meant that the new brand ambassador had to be gorgeous, which was why Clar was both excited and anxious about the upcoming meeting.

He glanced at his watch. “What time should they be here?” He asked Quinn.

Quinn glanced up from his tablet, his beautiful little face serene. “Soon,” he replied in a sweet voice.

Clar resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Quinn was both his assistant and friend, and the little shit knew nothing annoyed Clar more than that soft, sweet tone. “You’ve already said that. It’s been fifteen minutes.”

“They aren’t late. And you have nothing else planned. Drink your coffee.” Quinn ordered, his voice roughening like he wasn’t a Beta.

Clar did roll his eyes this time, but still reached for his coffee. The staff members all shifted awkwardly, none of them daring to make eye contact with him. And that was fine by him. He just wanted the meeting over with so he could leave. He had a hot date with Kailee that promised that he’d get laid that night.

A door opening interrupted his absentminded fantasies about Kailee’s ass. He looked up and nearly choked on his coffee. The man who walked in was hands down the most beautiful, sexy, jaw-dropping person he’d ever seen. Pale skin, wavy dark shoulder-length hair pulled in a half ponytail, luscious red lips…he was almost more beautiful than a woman. But as Clar’s gaze travelled down the man’s body, it was obvious that while his face was beautiful, his body was purely masculine. He was on the shorter side, but there was no doubting the power in his lithe figure. The crop top helped too, clearly intended to show off his lightly muscled chest and stomach. Especially since as he walked in, the man’s arms were crossed over his head, making the hem of his shirt flirt dangerously with his areolas.

The tiny beauty’s attention wasn’t even on the people in the room. He was pouting at the person behind him with whom he was having a fierce whispered argument. Clar barely gave the taller man behind the smaller one a second glance. Sure, handsome. Whatever. Anyone standing too close to the tiny beauty was instantly rendered insignificant.

He stood, setting down his coffee. The taller man cleared his throat and the tiny beauty finally looked over at Clar. As their gazes locked, Clar nearly sat right back down as his slacks tightened painfully. He could only pray that his blazer would hide his very sudden erection. He was also really glad he dosed up on Scent Blockers. Otherwise, the room would have instantly taken on the musky scent of his arousal. He inhaled and was disappointed to replace that the tiny beauty was also on Scent Blockers. But he was wearing perfume that made Clar lightheaded. The urge to bury his face in the tiny beauty’s neck was overwhelming.

He cleared his throat. “Welcome. You must be from Wicked Entertainment?”

The tiny beauty nodded, slipping into the chair across from them. The taller man frowned at him, but the tiny beauty ignored the glare. “Yes, that’s correct. Shall we get down the business? I have a tight schedule.”

His luscious, sinful voice made Clar’s pants even tighter as he sat down. “Yes, of course. Quinn?” He glanced at his assistant, who was looking at the tall man with hooded eyes.

Quinn passed Clar the thick contract folder without missing a beat, his gaze finally leaving the tall man. Clar flipped open the contract. “Okay. So, my father has selected your company to represent our brand, and your company promised their top model?” He looked up at the tiny beauty, who was watching him with a cryptic expression. “I was expecting a woman, honestly,” Clar admitted, and was rewarded with a seductive smile from the tiny beauty.

“Yes, I am also surprised that I was chosen. Especially given that you’re a woman’s fashion brand. But I’m flexible. New experiences, right?”

The heat in his gaze and the word choice made Clar shifted uncomfortably, almost positive that the tiny beauty was making a pass at him. Usually, Clar wasn’t into men, let alone Alphas. But he would absolutely make an exception for this man. He needed to taste that pale skin.

“Yes, of course. Now, as a brand ambassador, you become the face of our new line, which will entail commercials, photoshoots, and fashion shows. You will also be asked to make several appearances on media programs that sponsor our products.”

The tiny beauty held out a hand to the taller man, and Clar saw for the first time that he had long manicured nails painted blood red. Those nails would look sinful trailing down his chest or digging into his back. He exhaled. He was about to pass out from blood loss.

The taller man handed the tiny beauty a file, and he flipped through it. “I see that this is a six-month contract. That’s fine with me, but I do have a few stipulations before we sign.” He closed the file, and looked up at Clar, a smile tugging at his lush lips. “I will be taking time off in the next couple weeks. My rut is scheduled to start later this month and I need at least a week off.”

At the word rut, Clar knew that his cheeks flamed. While rut was a normal thing, most people didn’t talk about it. If they had to, any number of euphemisms were used. “Of course, that’s understandable,” he managed.

The tiny beauty nodded. “Good. There are a few other things, but our assistants can discuss it. The main one was the time off. Now, what will I be modelling?” He addressed the question to the market director, who was sitting at the table looking starstruck.

She blinked and cleared her throat. “Okay, so, the reason we asked for a male model despite being a woman’s brand is because we are trying to make a break into a different market, one that’s been relatively untouched: men’s lingerie.” She slid a folder down the table. The tall man grabbed it, handing it to the tiny beauty. “We’ve run several focus groups, and all the data shows that our male customers would appreciate us producing garments in their size. The current market, the products are either garish, low quality, or simply not cut to suit a male form. So, we are taking the initiative to provide luxurious products to our male cliental.”

The tiny beauty’s eyebrows raised. “That’s kind of awesome actually. And I’m glad you’re interested in combating the male stereotypes.” He gave the marketing director a warm smile. “And I’m glad you chose me, because it’s definitely been hard sometimes, being a beautiful Alpha. So, I like this a lot.” He looked down at the file, flipping through a few pages. “We can discuss this more with my company, but for now, you have my approval. You can iron out the fine details with my manager regarding products and scheduling.”

“Perfect. Um, I know you said you have a tight schedule, but I was wondering if you had a moment to look at some of our initial products?” The direct looked nervous. Clar had been listening silently to the exchange, and he had to exhale slowly. The thought of this tiny beauty in lingerie did things to him.

The tiny beauty glanced at the tall man. “I don’t know. Floris?”

“If you want to give him a sampler, we can inspect it and give you our thoughts.” The tall man, Floris, said. Clar finally gave the tall man a proper look. He was handsome. He looked every inch of what an Alpha should look like. Clar glanced at Quinn, and knew his friend thought so too.

“Okay, that works. Ellen, the bag?”

A young-looking intern stood, going over to the tiny beauty. She was not using Scent Blockers and her sweet Omega arousal was very obvious. She was bright red, her face averted. She handed the bag to the tall man, Floris, and was about to run when the tiny beauty’s fingers curled around her wrist.

“Don’t be so ashamed, love. You smell so beautiful,” he purred, nuzzling her wrist.

The girl turned so red she could have burst into flames. Clar felt his stomach drop in disappointment. He wasn’t sure why he was disappointed. Maybe the fact that the tiny beauty was actively flirting with the intern. Maybe because his chances of burying his dick deep inside the tiny beauty narrowed significantly. But then again, he had fully thought he was straight most of his life until the tiny beauty waltzed into the conference room. Hopefully, he could convince the tiny beauty that sex with him would be far better than whatever the intern could offer.