Chapter 156

But it was too late.

“Debbie is great,” Amy sang as she appeared at my door.

Her joyous expression faded when she saw the three Alpha girls standing around my desk.

When the trio saw Amy, I could tell they had correctly guessed she was a Beta.

They took one look at the second-hand store denim skirt and pink top Amy wore that was devoid of designer labels and instantly decided she wasn’t worth their time.

Amy saw it on their faces, and anger and humiliation burned in her soft brown eyes. I used to feel the same way when confronted by Alphas.

Sometimes, deep inside, I still did.

I knew she was deciding if she should leave. I didn’t blame her. It’s what I would have done.

I couldn’t let that happen after I invited her here to spend time with me. It wouldn’t be fair to Amy or me.

Plus, she was feeling fragile since her relationship with Justin seemed to be falling apart. She needed me a lot more than the Alpha girls did.

Maybe I should let Megan and the others know Amy was dear to me. That should be enough to ensure they wouldn’t mistreat her.

I stood and walked over to my friend. “Amy, this is Megan, Hallie, and Becky. Ladies, this is my best friend, Amy.”

The trio mumbled a polite greeting.

“I have seen you somewhere,” Megan said to Amy. “You look terribly familiar.”

“Have you ever been to Gray’s Restaurant?” I asked. “Amy’s dad owns it. He’s the chef there too. They have the best food.”

“Oh, maybe that’s it,” Megan said. “I do enjoy the food there,” she told Amy. “It’s a shame the restaurant is located on the edge of the Beta district.”

Amy’s face flushed bright red. She wanted to tell them off, but she didn’t dare. Betas were taught from birth their place in life is far below an Alpha’s.

I had to do something, even though the Alpha girl’s friendship was necessary for the company. I couldn’t let them hurt Amy.

“I’m sorry, girls,” I said. “I didn’t know you were stopping by to see me today. I’m afraid I’m too busy to chat.”

I waved playfully toward the door. “Amy and I have a lot of work to do. She has an idea for a charity event that will bring in a ton of money for the foundation.”

All the Alpha girl’s eyes lit up. Their social life was everything. It gave them a place to wear their most expensive clothes.

“Is it another ball?” Hallie asked.

“No. This is something new and exciting,” I said. “But I can’t tell you about it yet.”

“Just a hint?” Becky begged.

“All I can say for now is that it will be something fresh and fun,” I said. “It’s never been done in the city. It will be an event to remember.”

The Alpha Girls looked at Amy with a bit more respect at this revelation.

“We can’t wait to hear all about it,” Megan said. “Make sure you tell us first before you announce it to the public.” She looked Amy over before leading the others to the door. “See you later, Daisy.”

Without a word to Amy, they went out my door and headed for the elevators.

I shut my door in anticipation of Amy’s outburst. I wasn’t disappointed.

“What smug jerks!” she exclaimed. “They aren’t friends of yours now, are they?”

“Their fathers are the alphas who gave me my CEO test,” I explained. “Their goodwill is important to the company and my mission to improve life for Alphas and Omegas.”

“Good luck converting them into our allies,” Amy said. “They are nothing but spoiled brats. Did you see the way they looked at me?”

Amy punched a couch pillow. “I hope your plan works, but I don’t know how you can stand hanging out with girls like them.”

I didn’t know what to say. Amy had valid points. Even though I had connected with them, Megan, Becky, and Hallie are spoiled Alphas.

And despite some of the things they said, I now knew that they do look down on Betas and any other girls who are different from them.

I was saved from answering more of Amy’s questions about my relationship with them when her phone rang.

“Ooh! It’s Justin!” she squealed and hit the answer button on her phone screen. “Hi, Justin. I’m so glad to hear from you.”

The volume was up on Amy’s phone, and I could hear Justin’s voice perfectly. “What’s going on, sweetheart? You sound upset.”

“I just had an infuriating encounter with some Alpha girls,” Amy replied.

“Wow, where did that happen?” Justin asked.

I read more into the concern in his voice than Amy did. The encounter hadn’t helped his cause.

“I’m hanging out with Daisy in her office this afternoon, and they came to see her. I swear, Daisy is the only Alpha I can stand to be around.”

“Yeah, they can be the worst,” Justin’s voice was weak.

What was he doing? By agreeing to Amy’s blanket statement about Alphas, he was digging the hole deeper for himself.

“Not all Alphas are bad,” I argued. “Attitudes are beginning to change. Good Alphas need to stand up to the old ways of thinking.”

“Justin, say hello to my friend Daisy. She’s trying to save us from the Alphas.” Amy put her phone on speaker.

“Um, hi, Daisy,” Justin said. “It’s nice to meet you, sort of.”

“You too,” I said. “Sort of.” I bit my lip and stood awkwardly beside her as she sat on my office couch.

Amy was going to be furious if she ever found out the truth. I felt so guilty. I wanted to confess then and there that I had already met Justin, and we had spoken several times.

“Daisy knows all about our problems after living as a Beta most of her life,” Amy said. “Justin, you should interview her sometime. Having lived on both sides of the issue, Daisy would be a perfect subject for your paper on class biases.”

“You wouldn’t mind letting Justin interview you, right Daisy?” Amy asked. “I can’t believe you two haven’t met yet.”

I moved behind my desk to sit down. But Amy moved to a chair in front of me and laid her phone on the desk.

“How much longer are you going to be away?” she asked him.

“I don’t know, babe,” he replied. “My grandmother is really sick.”

“Justin’s grandmother is having kidney trouble,” Amy told me.

“That’s too bad. I’ll be sure to send her flowers,” I said. But my tone was like a verbal eye roll. I knew he was lying even if Amy didn’t.

Amy stared at me with her head tilted. That meant she noticed my attitude and didn’t understand.

She returned to the couch and chatted with Justin for another twenty minutes. The love and devotion in her voice tore at my conscience.

Justin seemed to genuinely care about her too. Or maybe he was a good actor.

But still, the lying had to stop. But I was as guilty as Justin and didn’t know how to come clean without losing my best friend.

After they hung up, Amy came back to sit in the chair in front of my desk.

“Are you going to tell me why you acted weird while you were talking to Justin?” she asked. “Is there anything you want to say to me?”

I mutely shook my head.

“If you don’t like him, Daisy, it’s fine,” she continued. “Just tell me the truth, and I’ll never make you speak to him again.”

Amy didn’t want to hear the truth. She would be crushed by it. But how could I not tell her why her boyfriend really left town?

My mind spun. Amy would be furious at us both. And it would hurt her badly.

“Well, what is going on with you?” Amy demanded.

I didn’t have a choice. I had to tell her Justin is an Alpha and that I’ve known it for weeks.