[A few hours later-]
The mood had lightened and everything in the café was back to its usual self. There was no longer a tense and concerned atmosphere amongst the staff since Raelynn had already taken her fever medicine and was recovering in Vale's office. Derek was checking in on her every half an hour or so to make sure that the medicine was working. From the looks of it, Raelynn's condition was beginning to improve and she should be up and about in the next day or so.
Vale breathed out in relief, 'I think Derek would freak out if it was really her heat. That guy is extremely protective of her.'
Vale could not help but smile at that thought as he fished out a mint sweet from one of his apron pockets. Not many omegas get to meet an alpha who is as gentlemanly and caring as Derek. Alphas usually think that they are above everyone else-- especially omegas. As a result, alphas tend to think of omegas as nothing more than mere objects that they have the right to possess. However, Derek was different from the majority of his gender. He treated everyone equally and cherished Raelynn as if she was a treasure.
'He really is one of the few alphas who is this down to earth' Vale thought to himself as he observed the surroundings of the cafe.
Business was fairly better than most weekdays as a steady stream of customers kept coming into the café. The customers were enjoying themselves as they chatted away, ate, or read the café's comics. The staff in the cafe worked hard as they diligently attended to the customers. Like clockwork, everyone was happy and minding their own business. The man smiled and reached into one of his apron's pockets to fish out another mint sweet.
"Dixy, darling!"
Almost instantly, there was silence in the cafe and all eyes turned to look at Vale. No one amongst the staff and customers has ever called him by nickname. It was always 'Boss' or 'Sir'. It was not as if they were forced to do so in any way. However, for some inexplicable reason, there was always an awkward mood whenever the man's name was mentioned.
Moreover, no one actually knew Vale's full name. Only a few of the staff knew that his surname was Dixon, but even then, not a single soul has ever referred to him as 'Dixon' or 'Mr Dixon'. No matter how kind and friendly Vale was, there was always this invisible wall that he put up. Other than what little they knew about Vale's relationship with his brother, Jeremy, there was not much information about his personal life. With his unwillingness to open up to people and tendency to just stay indoors within the cafe - basically not having much of a social life- many had assumed that he was on the run from something or someone.
Thus, it was a big surprise to everyone when a tanned, chubby man who was dressed in a colourful flamboyant outfit, strutted into the cafe and yelled out to Vale. What was even more astonishing was that the stranger called him 'Dixy' instead of 'Dixon'.
At the call of his name, Vale stiffened. There was only one person who called him that. Feeling the stares of many eyes boring into him, he cleared his throat and turned to greet the person who had just entered, "Morris, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, darling. Can't I visit my honey cupcake whenever I miss him?" Morris looked at Vale and clenched a fist at his heart. "Ah, does my Dixy feel uncomfortable with my presence? What should I do now?"
Vale wanted to strangle the man who was beating around the bush and clearly trying to make the staff and customers misinterpret his words.
'I've known him for nine years and he has not changed one bit', Vale sighed to himself.
Mustering all the strength he got to not shake Morris by the collar, Vale attempted to smile politely at the man, "Come, let us talk in private."
"Oh my~ Dixy is so shy~ You only want to 'do it' in private?" Morris teased and Dixon's jaw nearly dropped.
'This man is incorrigible. If this continues, everyone will find out that--' Vale's train of thoughts abruptly stopped when he noticed a taller gentleman standing behind Morris.
Unlike Morris, the gentleman was dressed in sombre colours. There was a stark difference between the two of them. Morris had rainbow feathers and diamond buttons, the gentleman wore a black and grey formal suit. Where Morris was loud and talkative, the gentleman had been standing quietly all this time as he watched Dixon's every move. For a brief moment, the man looked somewhat upset or annoyed about something but immediately smiled when his eyes met with Dixon's.
'I think I've seen him somewhere. Was it during a shoot or--?'
Morris gasped. "Oh! Where are my manners? This is Mr Coleman. He is the CEO of AO Company."
'What is the CEO of the world's renowned company in the research of omegas and alphas doing here?' Vale thought to himself.
Nonetheless, Dixon kept the question to himself. He just smiled and offered to shake his hand, "Dixon. Nice to meet you, Mr Coleman."
The man smiled as they shook hands. His much larger hand enveloped Vale's hand. For an instance, Vale could not help but feel like a little boy when he glanced at the man's hand.
'Whoa. It would be nice if I was this big.' Vale thought to himself.
Standing at a height of 5 feet 2 inches, a majority of people towered over him. As a result, not many of his partners had viewed Vale as the dominant one in the relationship. Ladies wanted to cuddle with him and men wanted to 'take' him. Although the relationships in the past had never lasted long enough for there to be an intimate, sexual relationship, it was still something that bothered Vale at odd times.
Breaking around from his line of thoughts, Vale looked up and saw that the man was still smiling though Vale could have sworn that he saw a flash of some unknown emotion in the man's eye, "Please. Call me Vincent."
"Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you, Vincent."
"Likewise, Dixon."
"Phew~" Morris said and clapped his hands loudly. "Okay! Since that is done, let's continue this is private~" Morris gestured to the bags that both he and Vincent were carrying. "There is simply so much to do and try on, if you get what I mean." Morris winked and Dixon could hear some of the female customers giggling. Clearly, many were misinterpreting Morris' words.
'At this point, I am no longer sure if it is worse for them to find out that I am modelling freelance or assume that I am a sex maniac', Dixon thought to himself and sighed resignedly.
'Either way, I will never have peace again.'
Feeling his ears heat up in embarrassment, Dixon offered to carry some of the load but both of the men refused-- especially Vincent who was carrying most of the bags. Taking note that the tall, muscular man was capable of carrying not just the bags in his arms but possibly more, Vale just nodded.
Vale then proceeded towards the stairs to lead the men up to the third floor. Vincent followed closely after Vale while Morris was slow to follow. Glancing back, Vale saw that Morris was smiling and waving flirtatiously at some of the male staff in the cafe. The staff wave back awkwardly. Morris relished making men flush in embarrassment in the most innocent of ways. There was no malice or ill intent. It was just in Morris' nature to make big, grown men squirm in discomfort without laying a single finger on them.
Then again, it was his job to bring out the best or required emotion of people for photoshoots and such. Thus, by teasing people like this, it was indirectly how Morris recruited new talents or in some cases, got inspiration for the next photoshoot. With constantly using fresh faces and producing new concepts, Morris was a rising star in the fashion industry.
'I guess that's probably why I had put up with his antics for so many years.' Vale shook his head with a smile. 'I guess that the staff could always guide Morris up to the room if he ever needed it.'
Taking a couple more steps, Vale scratched the back of his neck upon feeling a slight prick. He turned and looked down at Vincent who watched him curiously. Shrugging off the feeling, Vale continued up the stairs.
'Ah. I can't help but feel like I'd forgotten something. Hah… I guess that I will eventually remember whatever it is later. Hopefully, it is not something urgent.'
Unbeknown to Vale, Morris quietly pulled out a few magazines from one of the bags he carried. Winking at the staff who were watching him, Morris placed the magazines on a nearby table in the café.
"Hoho~ I wonder how he is going to react when he finds out~"
Chuckling mischievously, Morris hurried up the stairs.