Chapter 1
~Jessica's POV~
Years, for years, I've waited to present and see what my secondary gender is, but I was, as most doctors said, a late bloomer. Normally, the secondary gender manifests around the age of 16 or a little later, but I was already 24, and so far, no sight of anything. At first, I thought I was a Beta, but all the analysis came out negative. No secondary gender. Hope clung to me through high school and college, and I kept telling myself I would show as an Alpha, mostly because I displayed dominant traits. Competitive and sassy were some of my biggest traits, along with a firecracker personality that made many misperceive me at first sight as an Alpha, only to be confused when I had no scent. No indication of my secondary gender.
Still, this lack didn't stop me from achieving my goals. I was a genius since middle school, and that's how I ended up at 24 working at a prestigious genetics corporation worth billions. Evolutionary and developmental genetics were my top mastery, and it was always a delight to find out more about the human race, and how we develop and evolve. This hunger for knowledge appeared also because I was in a race to find out why people like me, late-bloomers, didn't have a secondary gender.
Was there a break in our DNA?
Without a secondary gender, I could say that I integrated into society much more easily. Betas were the closest, as they and I both didn't have special characteristics. Omegas felt comfortable around me because I didn't see them as some walking uterus for breeding purposes only, and with Alphas... Well... That was another story.
With some Alphas, I was on a straight line, not disturbing each other, but some, it was like a small spark from a lighter fell into a box full of firecrackers. My personality was anything but docile, and I had a habit of headbutting with misogynistic Alpha's who acted like some primitive beasts. That's why ever since I joined Apex Genetics INC. had been a wild ride, mostly because the chief executive officer was an Alpha and the perfect definition of a hostile one.
Diego Perez was the leader of Apex Genetics INC. He created this futuristic company from scrap, and as much as I hated to admit it, he was a genius at, the top of the pyramid of intelligence and this could be seen in his research. After all, for the license project, I had written about him and his discoveries regarding DNA structure and changes for revolutionary and evolutionary purposes. The Spanish Alpha had entered Oxford University at the ripe age of 12 and was someone anyone would die to be.
And why wouldn't they want that? Successful? Noted. Rich as fuck? Noted. Insane Genius Level Intelligence? Noted. Tall, dark, and handsome? Noted. Stubborn, rude, and insufferable? Checkpoint!
I wasn't one to judge. Everyone had their flaws, even me, but Diego had an endless list of red flags. Ever since I entered his company, I had a target on my back, and Diego seemed to enjoy throwing darts at it at any chance he got. Despite all the hard work, impeccable results, and extra hours I spent in my free time in this company, he always found a flaw in my work ethic.
Perfectionistic and workaholic.
I didn't mind having a strict boss. That's how one has such a thriving company, but as weeks turned into months and more than one year passed since I started to work at Apex Genetics, I felt like Diego's distaste for me was more than just professional. Each time his crimson eyes landed on me, and he spoke vicious and critical words, they were personal.
Many of my coworkers assured me, it was simply how Diego was. Unapproachable and as stinging as a venomous spider who didn't like to have his web disturbed.
I tried to take their words for granted, but it was hard, especially when he looked at me as if I were a pesky fly.
To top it all off, the last month had been nothing but a series of unfortunate events. My relationship of three years with Julian, a Beta I met and befriended in college, then turned into love, broke down like a game of domino, I've had to pick up. It left me with a sour taste, sleepless nights, and a tsunami of wrecked emotions.
Right now, I am in a meeting at Apex Genetics that Diego hosted. He gave us a detailed speech about improvement and future upgrades of the laboratory. It was mandatory for the prime departments to be present for the meeting, and I was no exception, although, I rather be anywhere but here now, especially because of how the emotional part of my brain felt. Last night, Julian had posted himself on social media with his new girlfriend, and ever since I saw that picture I felt self-conscious.
I couldn't lie. She was a gorgeous woman. Pretty tall with curves in all the right places. The type of woman who had to fill everywhere it counted. Her dark, almost black hair was like the rich feathers of a raven and her flawless ivory skin seemed almost ethereal in that picture. She had dotted expressive make-up with red lipstick, and the skin-tight dress, a midnight blue, had hugged her foxy frame perfectly. I wasn't mad. Why would I be? She was a ten, and I was a minus hundred. I couldn't compare myself with her.
I wasn't overly short as a woman, but my lack of curves made me look like a teenager. My mediocre B-cup and small butt didn't help me, despite many telling me I had an hourglass shape, even with a petite frame. It still didn't help my self-esteem. My hair was down to my shoulders in a messy, curly bob with two pink streaks on the front part. I had average beige skin with slight freckles on my nose and cheeks, basic blue eyes, and let's not start with my dressing style.
While most women my age put on skirts and heels, putting on that professional office image, I was known for sporting pink Converse shoes, which became my trademark, ripped jeans, and graphic T-shirts. Today was no different. My old pink Converse with black ripped jeans and a white T-shirt tucked into my high-waisted jeans. The only touch of make-up, if I could call it, was some cherry balm, and only with the purpose of keeping them moist.
I felt like a kid next to the classy girls next to me at the meeting, who was flawless from top to bottom. My mind kept swirling to Julian and his new partner, so lost in my own head, I didn't realize someone had called my name, not once but twice.
I was briskly snapped back to reality when someone dropped a folder right in front of me on the huge meeting desk. A squeak left me, and I almost jumped from my seat. My blue eyes locked on the yellow folder with documents, and reluctantly, I moved my gaze up to see who threw it with such aggression, only to be caught up in the pools of crimson that made the scowl on Diego's face almost murderous.
At first, when I had met Diego, his appearance had baffled me. Who the hell has red eyes? According to some of the older ones who had started working here ever since the company was born, Diego had gone through some experiments during his first years as a geneticist. Something about enhancing the secondary gender senses.
My startled, doe-like gaze met his sharp viper-like eyes. His scowl turned into that stoic expression, cold yet instrumental in leadership to keep this company working smoothly.
"I am delighted to see my hypothesis about the modification of ARN in genders is putting you to sleep." His sarcasm was like a hive of bees stinging at my shame, especially when I felt everyone's eyes on me as if I was the prime image kg a freskshow.
"I do apologize, Sir. I am not feeling very well and-" I wasn't in the mood to butt heads with him like two angry bulls, but my apology was interrupted.
"We will talk after the briefing is over. Stay behind." There was no room for arguing, and undoubtedly, not a request. He didn't have to use his Alpha voice to state a command. A sigh left my lips, now more awake and glued to reality than ever.
Diego went back to his speech, almost like my presence didn't exist, and in a way, I was fine to be ignored. I didn't need his acidic gaze on me. Like everyone, I continued to listen to him, keeping my eyes focused on him, and my mind drifted again, but this time into observing the dark Alpha.
It was no secret Diego was tall, absurdly so, but that was one characteristic of Alphas. Their over-the-average height. Still, his height was ridiculous. He was a mammoth at 6'8 with a muscular frame that made many Alpha's cover in fear. His honey-tanned skin, almost bronze reminded me of melted caramel, especially with the rays of the sun peeking through the blinds of the meeting room. He wore a white classic office shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his elbows, and for the first time, I saw the ink. Realistic spider tattoos with cobwebs decorated his sturdy forearms, and I found it hard not to look. A smartwatch was wrapped around one of his wrists, and the black slacks he had with the black office shoes and the single red tie around his neck gave him the perfect conservative office look. Despite all the money he had for expensive designer clothes, he always wore brandless ones. He was the type that looked attractive in anything, and he was aware of it.
Today, his dark brown hair, was in a messy, slicked-back style, with the ends a little spikey. Probably from hair products. He wore his glasses as he read from the reports, drowned into his speech, and I was drowned into his sharp jawline, a deep frown of passion he always sported, and how his plump lips moved as he spoke.
I internally cursed myself, but I always had a weakness for exotic men, especially ones with color.
As much as I hated his sour-as-a-lemon personality, it was hard to puke at his avant-garde looks that made tons of Omegas swoon. The baffling part was that he never displayed interest. At some point, I thought he was asexual, more so as a joke. Normally, Alphas were extremely receptive to Omegas, especially ones who showed interest in said Alpha.
Not Diego. No wonder he was dubbed the stone-cold Alpha.
Before I knew it, the briefing was over, and gradually, everyone stood up from their seat, collecting their notes and running off to continue with their work. The moment the meeting was over, I felt intense eyes on me. Piercing rubies were cast on me, and I swallowed the lump in my throat as Diego was waiting for everyone to leave while making sure I was nailed on my seat. I didn't dare move. All I wanted was for this to be over, get back to my department to work in peace.
"Now. What was it about not feeling well? Because to me it looked like you were dreaming with your eyes open." Diego's smooth yet sharp voice cut through the meeting room once the door closed behind the last person leaving.
I bit the inside of my cheek as I felt my fierce personality surfacing. Counting to ten, I opened my mouth to reply.
"With all due respect, Sir. I think anyone can have a bad day and be with their thoughts toward other topics." I spoke in a calm voice, pushing back the urge to hiss like a wildcat at the arrogant Alpha.
His eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Topics like what? When someone is at work, their mind should be focused there. Negligence has created disasters in history. Mistakes which people had to endure for decades because of daydreamers."
As much as I wanted to hate his words, he was right, but that was no justification to act like an asshole toward the staff that has a bad day.
"We are all human beings. Everyone has bad days." I stated, this time with a more powerful tone.
"Speak for yourself. You don't have to go through ruts or heats." His words switched a button inside of me, and like a coiled viper, I pounced or rather stood up from my seat and glared daggers at Diego.
"So this is about? My lack of a secondary gender? Is this why you've been giving me such a hard time ever since I joined your company?" Each inquiry was thrown towards him with vitriol. The calmness vanished, and I was back to my fierce self.
Diego was rather calm, but it was that deadly calmness of a stoic Alpha who could crush a windpipe. His chilling body language spoke more than loud aggression could. He gave me an unimpressed expression.
"Don't act like everything is about you because it's not, muñeca... because it is not." His words were like arrows dipped into sulfuric acid, and he continued to speak with acrimony. "If I was lenient with everyone who had a bad day, the company wouldn't be in this current state. Everyone would think slacking off is nothing, but one bad day can turn to two, then a week, and just like that everyone is getting the impression they can get away with everything." The more he spoke, the more I felt like the temperature dropped in the meeting room, and I wished I brought a sweater, because goosebumps erupted over my forearms.
"The only reason I haven't kicked you out on the side of the curb like a stray gatita is that the department you are part of is having the best results," I had to suppress a smile at that, a sense of pride overcoming me, knowing all these late nights in the laboratory paid off. (gatita= kitten)
"But don't even think that you are off the hook because of this. I won't tolerate incompetence." He spoke with a tone of finality, his red eyes cutting through my soul for a second, making me feel like he took a scalpel and opened up my chest cavity.
"Are we clear, niña?" He asked me coldly, and as much as I wanted to smash my forehead into his, I slowly nodded.
"Yes, Sir," I spoke through gritted teeth, maintaining eye contact with him, which for an Alpha was a challenge at dominance.
"And drop this Alpha act. It's ridiculous." My eyes widened, and my hands clenched into fists.
"Excuse me? Now I cannot stand up for myself? I should bow down to all mighty Alphas?" His pupils turned to slits. Ah... There it was. That aggressive look of an Alpha ready to pounce and assert his dominance.
Still, Diego kept the physical violence at bay, putting back the thick icy walls of stoicism like an ultimate shield.
"You should know the hierarchy. Secondary gender or not, I am still your superior, and you should start acting your age. Know when you made a mistake and admit it with dignity, rather than play make-believe dominant because... you look anything but intimidating right now."
I was left speechless, and while my brain processed his words, he collected his files and walked toward the door, leaving me all flabbergasted.
"And get back to work like everyone else." He added with a tone of authority before walking out of the room.
The temptation to run after him and claw his pretty red eyes out was like cocaine running through my system, but I pushed aside this urge. I swore I had to be an Alpha. All these aggressive urges, all this hot temper like a volcano ready to combust.
Why wasn't I presenting my secondary gender!?
