Thankfully, nothing big happened after Quinn had called in sick on Friday. Quinn did learn through Mr. Harrison and a few of his coworkers who had emailed him through his work email that shit had gone down.
Michel had made a right fool of himself, cussing out Mr. Harrison and trying to destroy the older alphas' office. Mr. Harrison had taken exception to that, especially when the man had tried to destroy photos of his family.
Photos Quinn had never noticed in his office, and Quinn considered himself fairly observant. That part wasn't important, what was important was the fact that his half-sister had come down to Quinn's floor after hearing the ruckus that Michel was causing and found Mr. Harrison and Michel in a yelling match. Mr. Harrison hadn't put his hands on Michel, but was warning him that just because he was of the same blood as the company founder did not mean that he could treat employees the way that he was.
Mr. Harrison was not afraid to go to the labour board with the evidence he had, and when his half-sister heard that, she swooped in. She tried to cover everything up with sweet words and platitudes, but Quinn's coworkers were worried.
Terrified, actually, that Mr. Harrison had just painted a target on his back. Quinn knew that he had, and his chest ached thinking of how the older man was doing it because of Quinn. At least, Quinn hoped that wasn't the case but all signs were pointing to it being true.
Either way, it seemed that Quinn's issues had been resolved, but now he had bigger ones. Mr. Harrison was going to be a target because it was clear that he wasn't 'in line' like the others now. All because of fucking Michel. At this point Quinn should attempt to ruin his reputation and then leave the company, but that felt like it would cost too much money to do that. Money that Quinn didn't have because the man was too expensive and cheap at the same time.
Quinn sighed, shaking his head. He would worry about that later, now he had to worry about something else entirely.
Noah was supposed to pick Quinn up. At first, Quinn had agreed to that, not needing to know the actual address of where he was going, but as time trickled on and Noah still hadn't shown up, Quinn grew anxious.
He didn't want to be late. He didn't care what kind of party it was, he had standards set for himself and one of them was not being late. Noah normally wasn't late either, but it was getting dangerously close to the start time of the party and Noah hadn't shown up yet.
Even Mr. Winters had messaged him, asking if they were on their way and Quinn had to tell him that Noah hadn't shown up yet. Mr. Winters was ready and willing to send someone to pick Quinn up and he was about to accept it when a knock came at the door.
Quinn was already wearing his jacket and his shoes, a small bag slung over his shoulder. He'd brought a few things, just in case. He was sure that Mr. Winters was very well prepared and the party wasn't just for him, but Quinn was worried. It had some lube, condoms, cleaning clothes, a few of his favourite outfits, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and deodorant. One could never be too careful.
They were going to be mostly alphas, after all, and they had sensitive noses. Puberty had been hell for both of his cousins because not only had they had to worry about the funk that came with every body hitting their sexual maturity, they had to also deal with a secondary sex change as well. It was just polite on Quinn's part.
Quinn moved towards the door quickly, almost just throwing the door open before he remembered that he needed to be careful. He looked through the peephole and was glad to see the dusty blond head of his friend and his usual, scowling expression. Quinn opened the door and Noah stormed in, huffing and puffing already.
"Sorry Quinn. I wanted to leave early, I promise, but my father got a hold of me before I left the house. We got into an argument and that delayed me, and then I didn't plug my phone in properly as I was leaving and I couldn't message you. It was a whole fucking thing." Noah muttered, looking irritated already. Quinn relaxed.
"It's okay, Noah. As long as you're okay. Should we go?" He asked and Noah hesitated.
"Can I get a glass of water before we leave? I need to cool down." He mumbled and Quinn nodded, stepping back to let Noah further into the apartment. Noah stormed towards his kitchen, opening the cupboards with the carefulness of a large animal in a small enclosure before moving to the tap and somehow making that motion just as loud.
Quinn smiled, glad to see that in what felt like the month since Quinn had last seen him in person that he was doing okay. His hair was a little longer, he looked exhausted, but Noah was still Noah.
"Should I drive there? You look tired. You should get some rest." Quinn said quietly as Noah raised the glass to his lips, gulping the water down eagerly. Noah slid his eyes to Quinn, shutting off the tap at the same time. He demolished the glass of water in seconds, showing that he truly had been that thirsty.
"I'll be fine. I'm not actually sleepy, just exhausted. I've been sleeping fine, just dealing with their antics and keeping up with Leo's damn playboy lifestyle he set out for me has drained my social batteries. This is pretty much the last thing that I need to do so I'll be fine after this." Noah told him and Quinn nodded.
"Okay, as long as you say so." Quinn told him. Noah put the glass down, careful since he didn't want to shatter it, and stared at Quinn for a moment. His eyes narrowed as he scanned him from head to toe.
"Are you okay? You look a little flushed, Quinn. Are you sick?" Noah asked and Quinn felt his brows furrow. He was flushed? He felt fine. Quinn raised the back of his hand to touch his forehead, finding that Noah was right. He was slightly warmer than normal, but Quinn just thought that must be because he was wearing his jacket inside for so long.
"I feel fine. I did have the problem of feeling ill for weeks, but it's past as of this Tuesday. It might just be residuals from that, but I promise I actually feel okay right now. Don't look at me like that, Noah." Quinn said, noticing how Noah began to glare at him.
"Quinn…" Noah said and Quinn waved a hand dismissively.
"I'm fine, really. It felt like weird intestinal stuff and it figured itself out. It might have just been from Michel trying to pull shit anyways. Let's just go. We're already late and Mr. Winters' has been worrying about us." Quinn said. Noah snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, he's not worrying about me, that's for sure. He's been asking about you nonstop, though." Quinn felt his face warm at his friend's words as Noah stormed for the door again, his boots loud on the floor. He stepped outside of the apartment, waiting for Quinn to lock it before moving towards the elevators.
"That's not-" Quinn tried to say but Noah just laughed, shaking his head.
"You don't have to justify it to me. Do you think I care? I'm just glad you have one person at this thing outside of me that likes you, though I can see that number increasing." Noah said, his eyes curling up at the corners. Now Quinn did feel like his face was warming.
Quinn reached out and punched Noah on the arm, Noah laughing loudly as his body rocked from the hit.
"What? Am I saying anything wrong? We're going to a party where it's good to be desired, and out of half of the dominant alphas that I know, he's not the worst and likes betas over omegas, any day. He'd show you off proudly if you two became an item after this." Noah said, smiling at his friend. Quinn blushed harder.
"Noah!" Quinn hissed. "Who in their right minds forms relationships at an event like this?" Quinn hissed and Noah shrugged.
"Does that matter? We don't have to be like others, Quinnie. We are going to fuck up my parents day, ruin my reputation, and just live our lives. We don't have to hold ourselves to the standards of everyone else, Quinn." Noah's words felt particularly heavy as the elevator arrived and they stepped in. Thankfully, no one else was in it already and the two of them went down to the first floor in silence.
Noah had parked in front of the front door with his hazards on. A sign that he was 'delivering food'. It usually was used for emergency vehicles, but food delivery people also did the same thing. Noah normally didn't do something like this, which just went to show that he was changing on a certain level.
Quinn wasn't upset that he was. He needed to, to survive his family and to come out of it with something he was proud of. Quinn just was at a loss that Noah had changed so much in the time that he hadn't seen him when it felt like Quinn hadn't changed at all.
It actually felt like Quinn had been stuck in place, pinned in place because of damn Michel and his damn meddling.
"While that might be true," Quinn said, speaking up as they climbed into the car out front, "I don't see Mr. Winters as the kind of man who would date just one person. He seems like the playboy type, but not in a rude way?" Quinn said as he closed his door and pulled on his seatbelt.
Noah laughed, his shoulders shaking as he pulled on his own seatbelt.
"Fuck. I mean, yeah, that's pretty accurate, honestly. I bet if he decided that he wanted to have you, you'd have to sign a contract or something and there'd be a 'no love' clause or something. Fair enough, but I do think he'd be okay to help you get over Michel. Leo treats his people well, Quinn." Noah said, shifting the gears in the car, glancing at Quinn, and then taking off.
Quinn clutched the small bag he'd brought with him in his lap. He was sure that Mr. Winters did. Quinn could remember how he'd touched him at their meeting, and how natural but calm it'd felt. Quinn's face warmed again before he sighed.
"I just don't think I'm ready for anything yet. It's only been a little over a month since it happened." Quinn said softly. Noah grunted.
"Fair enough. No rush. Take your time and if someone does interest you here, as Leo. He'd probably willingly hand over addresses if the other party showed interest too. As long as everyone consents, he's okay with anything. I thought it made him a freak in university, but I'm slowly learning it just makes a respectable freak." Noah muttered, turning the car towards the Heights. It was a fancier part of town, but mostly newer builds.
The older wealth lived in older parts of the town, where celebrities normally lived in the Heights. Quinn swallowed. He fumbled with his phone, texting the man that they were talking about and letting them know they were on their way.
"I wouldn't ask Mr. Winters for their identities or contact numbers. I'm not really expecting much from this, Noah." Quinn admitted and Noah snorted again.
"Really? Well, you're always free to come to me if you need a break." Noah said, smirking, and Quinn blushed. What the hell did he mean by that?