(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 250: A fresh gossip session

Andrew had never been in a place like this. It was like a coffee shop, but behaved more like a restaurant. The baristas? They came to the table, got the orders, and then came back and dropped everything off. It was clear it was a perk, since booths filled the business, and it appeared that most people here were here for business. It made sense that Andrew, Maxwell, and the realtor would come here, but Andrew was certainly feeling out of his element.

It also meant he had to be on his best behaviour when it came to his pheromones.

The barista, who had taken their order only about 15 minutes ago, came back with a tray with their drinks on it, a few slices of cake, and some other savory snacks. Andrew was sure that this realtor business, and probably others, had a deal of some kind with them. Andrew and Maxwell hadn’t ordered anything, nor had the realtor, but here it all was.

Andrew wasn’t complaining. He was starving.

So while Maxwell and the realtor began to go over the documents, the likes and dislikes of the houses that they had viewed, Andrew put his head down and consumed quite a bit of the food on the table. By the time that he realised that he should be participating in what was happening before him, he had eaten about ⅔ of the food on the table.

Andrew’s whole face flushed, embarrassment causing him to halt, and Maxwell glanced over at him, concerned.

"Are you alright, Baby? You seemed to be enjoying your cake, but you suddenly stopped." Maxwell’s soft, understanding tone only made Andrew’s embarrassment worse. Maxwell had told him how nice it was to have someone take over for him, and yet here he was, letting Maxwell take over while Andrew lost himself in some baked goods.

Maxwell, as if able to sense where Andrew was spiraling, and how, placed his hand on top of Andrew’s. Their hands were in plain view of the realtor, and Maxwell gave it a squeeze. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

"Baby. Stop with that train of thought. This is the boring stuff, the stuff we’ve already gone through, and you’re not yourself right now. It’s okay to take a step back." Andrew felt extra bad because Maxwell was having to soothe him in a way that was usually reserved for their private moments, but he had to do it in public. At a table with another person, no less.

Andrew swallowed thickly, staring at the half eaten cake before him.

"I just feel bad because of what you told me in one of the houses." Andrew muttered quietly, feeling like shit. The joy he’d felt while eating pretty good cake and pastries was gone, and Maxwell sighed.

Andrew tried not to flinch when Maxwell’s fingers touched his forehead, brushing away a few strands of his hair. Andrew glanced towards him, feeling like a bad puppy, and was startled by Maxwell’s gentle smile on his face, in his eyes. Andrew let out a shaky breath as Maxwell’s fingers continued to gently play with a strand of his hair.

"It’s okay. Really. Plus, I feel like you would faint at the numbers we’re throwing around. You only recently came to realise how much money you have." Maxwell leaned in, a teasing smile on his lips. "Do you want to take a guess at how much any one of those houses we looked at cost?" He asked, glancing at the realtor. Andrew did the same, before sliding his gaze back to Maxwell.

"I-I don’t know. Like, $800 000? They were stand-alone houses, so that’s pretty expensive." Andrew stuttered. The realtor looked shocked, while Maxwell laughed, spreading his fingers out and tugging Andrew’s head down. He reached out with his other hand and ruffled Andrew’s hair, smiling.

"Oh poor, innocent, Andrew. My Father recommended this company. How you thought anything was under 1.5 million surprises me." Maxwell’s smile was in his voice as he spoke. Andrew was shocked.

"Some of those were over that? How? It was like the builder threw everything together at the end." Andrew gasped, his gaze sliding to the realtor as he slammed his hand over his mouth. That was a really rude thing to say in front of the person who had shown them the properties.

Instead of anger, the realtor laughed, throwing their head back.

"Ah. That’s rather refreshing to hear. I do agree with you, Dr. Knox. Some of the more modern builds are coming out a bit...strange. We are under contract to show some of them to you, and I also had no clue there was such a size discrepancy between the two of you. Had I known a few more things about you two, I could have come up with a better list. Was this a last minute decision on your part?" They asked, kindly transitioning into a topic that would be easier for Andrew and Maxwell to speak about.

Andrew cleared his throat, flushed, and felt awkward, but he spoke instead of Maxwell.

"It wasn’t last minute on our part, so much as we hadn’t decided on what our range would be, or who we would contact. Max’s Dad overheard us, and set up this meeting. Max and I have discussed moving prior to this. There are some...security reasons, which is why we’re looking a little more urgently." The realtor’s expression softened.

"Ah. That makes a bit more sense. I am sorry to hear that. Do you have any other realtors you are looking at? I promise I won’t get upset, but if you’re just following the whims of another, you might not get to see places that you could really like. You didn’t hear that from me though." They winked, and Maxwell and Andrew let out a few soft chuckles.

"My...aunt? Second Cousin? Was in the room when Max’s Dad overheard us, so tomorrow we are going with her realtor." Andrew told them and they nodded, taking a sip from their cup.

"Perfect. Who is it? Do you two know?" Andrew had to scroll through his phone to find what Kim had sent him, mainly because May had been spamming him with photos of the art gallery and making fun of him for not being there with them. Pretty rude, Andrew thought, but Richard and Rose did come by their attitudes naturally.

"Uh, this group." Andrew said, sliding the phone across the table to show the website that Kim had sent him. The realtor read it, before their eyes widened and they seemed...impressed.

"Well, I try not to make assumptions, but...Dr. Knox, are you a true alpha?" Andrew had no idea where that was coming from, and from his blank expression, along with Maxwell’s confused one, they clarified. "Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to overstep! It’s just this group doesn’t work with anyone who isn’t a true alpha. They usually are associated with some of the older true alpha families. Since you were able to get a viewing with them, and on such short notice, I made some assumptions. Forgive me." They bowed and Andrew grew flustered again.

"Ah, it’s not-I manifested only relatively recently, so I’m just not used to that. In fact, I’m not really used to the special treatment some people will give me just because I am a true alpha. Max and I knew each other before I manifested, so it’s just..." The realtor nodded, their cheeks flushed with their own embarrassment.

"Rest assured, I’m not making any assumptions. That’s not part of my job. I’m just here to help you find a house that you two like enough to make a home." It was cheesy, but Andrew appreciated it. Andrew gave them a grin, before sighing and sliding his phone back towards him and into his pocket.

"Well, if you say that they are a true alpha exclusive group, I hope they don’t treat Max as lesser than." Andrew muttered out loud and Maxwell had been mid-sip. He nearly choked.

"Andy! They wouldn’t do something like that." Maxwell told him between coughs, but Andrew saw the way their current realtor tensed. Kim probably wouldn’t have noticed it, and Jenny might not either. They both kind of grew up in the same generation and also the same group. They probably wouldn’t view the treatment as poor is what Andrew was trying to say.

Andrew, however, was very sensitive to how others treated his partners. Even his friends with benefits had gotten Andrew’s special treatment, omega or otherwise. No one was allowed to disrespect them, not even Andrew. Maxwell, as the man he planned to spend the rest of his life with, was going to be held to a higher standard. More so because he was Maxwell fucking Beckett, a world class business man in his own right. If someone reduced him to ’just an omega’ Andrew was afraid he would get violent. Especially right now.

"Well, we’ll see. Is it too rude if we walk out on them?" Andrew turned, asking the realtor. They looked conflicted.

"It...might give you a bad name in the industry." They muttered, and Andrew grinned.

"Oh. Perfect. I would love that." Andrew said cheerfully. "I wouldn’t want to work with anyone who doesn’t treat Max and I as equals. So, keep our numbers, and once again, I apologise for my behaviour." Andrew said, a happy grin on his face as Maxwell sighed next to him, his head in one of his hands as his lips curled up in a smile.

For someone who didn’t didn’t like attention, Andrew had no problem putting his neck on the line when it came to things he cared about.