Hired for Heat (The Hired Series)

8. Sandra

Sandra went back to work quite satisfied with the meeting. She had found herself actually enjoying the Alpha's company once she realized that he was being crude just to try and shock her. After she figured out his game it became fun to banter with him and see if she could shock him in return.

Though he was still heavy in her thoughts, she was able to focus better on her work and stayed well past her usual time catching up on the things that had been left unfinished that morning. With her heat coming, she couldn't afford to get behind on anything. That was the one thing that Sandra had always hated about being an omega; that for approximately a week every four months, she would have to trust someone else to run her company while she was unable to function. If anything critical happened during that time it would have to wait, and some clients had issues working with her because of that.

When she made it home late that night, she quickly ate the cold takeout that had been left on her counter before crawling into bed, dreaming of a mountain of muscle with dark blue eyes.

***

The past week had passed in a blur of moments that seemed to last forever at the time but looking back seemed to barely last a heartbeat. There had been multiple times when Sandra had almost reached out to Ms. Burrie to schedule another meeting with Austin, but she couldn't come up with an excuse that seemed good enough. Just wanting to see him again did not seem like a valid reason when many omegas never saw their stud outside of their heat.

Sitting through another meeting that seemed to be dragging on, Sandra began to tap her pen on the table. It took a moment for the tap, tap, tap to register and for her to realize what she was doing. Forcing herself to put the pen down and place her hands in her lap, it wasn't long after when she realized she was bouncing her leg and she just couldn't sit still any longer.

Lurching out of her chair, she called the meeting to an end, fanning herself as she paced the length of her meeting room. It was a little early, but Sandra knew what was happening. The beginning stages of her heat usually lasted a day or two before she reached the point where she could no longer function, so she made her way to her office to try to finish the things she still had to take care of before taking her leave.

Contacting her assistant to cancel all meetings for the next seven days, Sandra cranked the air up in her office and sat, working through a pile of blueprints that needed her attention and wouldn't be able to wait a week for her to come back. Realizing she should give Ms. Burrie warning that she would be coming in soon, she sent off a message to her. It wasn't long before she received a message telling her that she still needed to finish the paperwork she had received the week before.

Groaning, she opened the contract and began to read through it once again. She had skimmed through it before but apparently had forgotten to complete it and send it back. Filling in her personal information, Sandra's heart raced as she officially requested that Austin be the Alpha to tend her. She was still nervous, but the excitement was beginning to block it out.

Making sure the funds where in her account to cover the payment, she hit send on the contract and sat back in her seat. The Haven wasn't cheap, it actually cost about half of what she usually paid herself for a month, and she had really debated about whether it was worth the expense or not. There were other places of course, but Sandra wasn't the type to skimp on something and get the second best once she decided she actually wanted it. Meeting Austin had cemented that she definitely wanted to try it at least once. If nothing else, it would be a memory to look back on the next time she sat alone in her safe room begging for an Alpha to save her.

Shaking herself, Sandra went back to working as fast as she could to get everything finished. While she could probably wait until the following night before reaching the point where she had to be locked away, she would prefer to go to The Haven in the morning and spend the day getting comfortable in the room before her heat kicked into high gear. It would be a while after that before her pheromones reached the point where they brought Austin in unless she asked for him early.

Debating on whether that would end up being more awkward, Sandra decided to wait and decide once she was there and settled in. After finally clearing all of the work she had to finish, she messaged her assistant and let her know that she was heading home and wouldn't be back until after her heat had passed.

She was still very agitated when she made it to her suite, so after packing her bag and preparing for the morning, she decided to do some exercises for a bit to try and wear herself out. Sandra was sweating and out of breath by the time she quit almost two hours later and made her way to her bathroom. She debated between a bath or a shower. Deciding she needed to try to get to bed sooner, rather than later, she opted for a quick shower. Chugging as much water as she could hold once she was out, she crawled into her nest and fell asleep surprisingly fast.

Sandra had just picked up her bag to head to The Haven when her assistant messaged her the next morning with an urgent matter. Growling to herself, she stopped on her office floor and made her way to her desk, her assistant giving her a wide-eyed stare at seeing her in something other than a full suit.

Since she had thought she was going straight to her room at The Haven, Sandra had worn a loose dress that matched the color of her eyes and swirled around her knees. Dropping her eyes when they met Sandra's scowl, Natashia gave her the blueprints that had come in that morning and needed her immediate attention. The contractors were in the middle of the build and were waiting on her before they could move forward.

Grumbling under her breath about people changing her plans without consulting her and causing messes she had to clean up, it was an hour and a half later before Sandra stomped out of her office and slapped the corrected blueprint on her assistant's desk. Telling Natashia that anything else would just have to wait or be handled by someone else on her team, she turned and stalked away without waiting for a response from the startled woman. 

Standing impatiently in the elevator as it descended through the building, the first cramp hit her, forcing a gasp from her parted lips. Sandra's heat didn't usually come on this fast and as she clutched her lower stomach, she wasn't looking forward to the long ride out to The Haven.

Climbing into the back of the AutoCab, she pulled her knees up to her chest and waited for the next wave. It wouldn't be long before they would come almost constantly, and she would be unable to stand up straight.

Sending a message to Ms. Burrie so that the woman would be able to help her to her room in case she wasn't able to make it on her own, Sandra leaned her head back against the headrest and groaned as another cramp tightened her abdomen. Puffing out a breath as the cramp released, she prayed for a quick trip.