Getting a Mate in Four Easy Steps

Chapter 2-3

Percy grinned when Rohan and Diego entered the small and private meeting room while Joyce, the lawyer who represented the alpha auction house, tailed them a short moment later. She was carrying a portable tablet as she made her way toward the chair on the other side of the table right across from Percy. Rohan and Diego ended up sitting on either side of Percy.

“I have to admit, Mr. Watts—”

“Percy, please.”

Joyce smiled. “Okay then, Percy. I’m frankly amazed by the amount you’re willing to part with for both Rohan and Diego. In the history of the auction house, we had never received a bid higher than one million and seven hundred thousand dollars for one alpha, and you came up with two million dollars. Twice. In one day. That’s incredible.”

Percy shrugged. “I really like them both. In that two-hour period when we had the opportunity to mingle with one another, they were the only ones who made me feel comfortable and relaxed enough around them, both in terms of their scents, their personalities, and their characters. All of the other alphas were overeager, to put it mildly, and I didn’t like the stench of the alpha pheromones coming from some of them.”

Joyce chuckled. “Okay then. Anyway, congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Joyce nodded. “Now, we need to discuss certain things. I’m sure you’ve all read the contracts, and you know that everything that happens from the moment you leave the auction house until the ending period of the contract has to be consensual. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I need to reiterate that the in-house legal team has already performed background checks on all three of you before you were allowed to participate in the auction earlier, and the results are satisfactory. Anyway, let’s start with Rohan’s and Diego’s jobs.”

Percy turned toward Rohan. “I know you’re a bartender and a barista. Is there any way you can reduce the number of hours for both of them?”

Rohan seemed surprised. “Oh! You won’t mind if I continue with my jobs?”

“Not at all,” Percy said, and he decided to address both Rohan and Diego. “As I’d mentioned earlier, I sometimes have to be at the studios to shoot some episodes of my shows or take care of my other business ventures, but I don’t have a full schedule on a daily basis. In fact, I only work four days a week. My activities are usually fixed at least one month in advance so the three of us will be able to work things out among ourselves to make sure none of our schedules will clash with one another. Will that be fair enough?”

Diego beamed. “Absolutely.”

“I agree,” Rohan added.

After that, the three of them discussed their living arrangements. Percy was glad Rohan and Diego consented to move in with him. That would make things easier for them, especially since he wanted them to form a temporary bond with each other as quickly as possible, and in order to do that, they needed to learn more about one another. If they couldn’t feel comfortable enough throughout their interactions, the bond might fail.

“What about transportation?” Percy inquired.

“I have my own car,” Diego answered. “But it’s an older model.”

“Meaning what exactly?”

“It’s not fully autonomous,” Diego clarified to Percy. “It’s an ancient model from the last century. It’s automatic and partially autonomous, but I still have to drive it myself.”

“Oh, wow! That’s fantastic. I don’t even know how to drive,” Percy admitted. “My car is fully autonomous. You both will see it later.”

Diego seemed excited. “Cool.”

Then Percy turned to Rohan. “What about you?”

“I have none. I rely on public transportation.”

Percy reached for Rohan’s hand and squeezed it gently. “No worries. I’ll take care of that for you.”

Rohan shook his head. “I don’t need—”

“It will make things easier for all of us,” Percy cut Rohan off midsentence. “Our initial contract will be for one whole year, and we have the option of extending it later. I know it’s the twenty-third century, and public transport is improving and getting to be a lot faster and more convenient than it used to be, but a private vehicle will get you from one place to the next within a much shorter time period. Most importantly, you don’t have to waste time waiting for buses or trains to arrive, time we could spend together.”

Rohan appeared to hesitate for a brief moment before he eventually nodded. “Okay. That will be acceptable.”

After that, Percy informed Rohan and Diego what their monthly salaries would be in addition to several other benefits. It was obvious he had offered them a lot more than they expected so he explained why he needed them in the first place.

“As you can see and smell, I’m one hundred percent omega,” Percy said in a casual tone while chuckling at his dry attempts to joke about his secondary gender designation. Joyce, Rohan, and Diego laughed at the same time. “Financially speaking, I’m doing okay, but I’m unable to protect myself. I consider myself a strong and independent omega, but I can’t deny the reality that I’m physically weaker than an alpha or a beta. It’s just the way it is. I’ve been groped multiple times over the years, and as much as I wish I could report those people to the proper authorities, I couldn’t do that because I didn’t have any evidence. Moreover, they were very sneaky whenever they did that to me, and I couldn’t point out who the culprits were because they always did it in crowded places. I need an alpha to protect me. Well, I’m hoping to have both of you with me when I’m out in public in the future. At least for the next year.”

“I’m in,” Rohan responded immediately, and the man might look calm and collected, but Percy could detect the anger and something else he couldn’t quite identify in the mixture of scents the alpha was releasing.

“Count me in as well,” Diego added. “You can rely on Rohan and me. That’s what you hired us for after all.”

Joyce clapped her hands once. “Excellent. This is one of the easiest cases I’ve ever had to handle. Are we all in agreement then?”

Percy, Rohan, and Diego nodded. Then Joyce offered Percy the tablet and instructed him to sign two different contracts, for Rohan and the other one for Diego. The contracts appeared as holographic images above the paper-thin tablet. Percy took some time to read through the contract until he was satisfied. Once he was done, it was Rohan’s and Diego’s turns to go through and sign their respective contracts. After that, Joyce saved the contracts before e-mailing them to each of them.

“Thank you, Joyce,” Percy said. “Is there anything else?”

“Nope. Please be reminded you can all contact us in case of any disputes among the three of you, but judging by your earlier interactions, I have a strong feeling you will get along just fine. Have a great evening, gentlemen.”

Percy, Rohan, and Diego bade farewell to Joyce before leaving the small meeting room. Percy knew he had made the right decision in bidding for Rohan and Diego because the moment they stepped out from the room, the two alphas immediately stood on either side of him. Most importantly, they didn’t place their hands on him, and he liked that. After all, he didn’t know them well enough yet for such an intimate gesture. Maybe they would get to that point in the near future.