Dimitrios nodded absently and swiped the screen to answer the call, putting the phone to his ear as the door swung closed behind Leon.
“This is Dimitrios Cirillo.”
“Good morning, Mr. Cirillo. I spoke with Remi Laroche this morning and he has agreed to meet with you.”
Dimitrios felt the knot in his stomach unclench. He hadn’t realized how queasy he’d felt until that very moment when the stress disappeared and was replaced with excitement.
“Great. So what’s the next step?”
“For the safety and comfort of both parties, we always recommend meeting the first time in a public place. I’ve asked Mr. Laroche about his schedule and he’s available after 5:00 PM on weekdays and all day on weekends. If you want to schedule a reservation at a restaurant I will pass the information on to Mr. Laroche and he will meet you at the scheduled time.”
“Yes. I’ll make a reservation somewhere now and call you right back with the details.”
“Yes sir. Would you still like me to email you his profile?”
“Absolutely. Send it over and I’ll call back shortly.”
Dimitrios hung up and thought for a few moments, trying to think of a good place to take Remi for their first meeting. Somewhere public, but preferably with secluded tables so that strangers couldn’t overhear their discussions. Because this meeting was not just for them to meet each other, but also to discuss what kind of payment would be appropriate, and talking about limits, boundaries and schedules.
He did a quick search on his phone and called the number for Harmonie. It was quick work to get a private table after Dimitrios dropped his name and title, and he accepted a slot for 6:00 PM, agreeing to the exorbitant fee they attached to the reservation without question.
He looked at the time and realized he had less than five minutes before his meeting, but he still risked it, dialing Magic Shop.
“Thank you for calling Magic Shop where we help you find that someone you’re looking for. How can I help you today?”
“This is Dimitrios Cirillo, can I speak to Samantha King?”
“Yes sir, one moment please.” The call went to hold and the advertisement started to play.
“Here at Magic Shop, we are dedicated to matching you with the perfect alpha, beta, or omega to suit your needs and desires. Our matchmakers are all trained and licensed to the highest possible stand-“ The ad cut off.
“Mr. Cirillo, good to hear from you. Have you scheduled a meeting place and time?”
“Yes. Tonight at 6:00 PM at Harmonie.” There was a knock at his door and he knew it was Leon telling him it was time for their conference call. “I’m sorry, I have a meeting. I have to go. But you’ll let him know?”
“Of course, have a great day.”
Dimitrios hung up the phone and stood from his desk. He would never ever admit to the little happy dance he did, pumping both fists into the air before clearing his throat and straightening his tie. He put his phone in his jacket pocket and headed out of the office, not quite able to suppress the smile tugging at his lips. He was so ready for it to be 6 o’clock and wished the clock would move faster.
The conference call that was supposed to take one to two hours tops ended up lasting a whopping three hours and fifteen minutes. It was extremely frustrating to deal with the manufacturing plant trying to cut their own costs by using lower quality materials, but he and Leon were both in complete agreement that they would not sacrifice quality just to save a buck. Their parts were not known for being the cheapest, and Dimitrios didn’t want them to be known for that. Their business had succeeded because their products were of higher quality than their competitors, and that was the one thing that could never be sacrificed.
Of course the heads of all the departments were there, offering opinions to the co-owners, both for and against the use of cheaper materials. Dimitrios and Leon stayed firm however, because they were never going to improve on products if they started declining in quality. Their computer parts had grown quite the following among the serious elites in the field and that was the clientele to which they were culpable.
Dimitrios was thoroughly annoyed by the time the meeting was over. Having to make the same point over and over for three hours would do that. He collapsed into his desk chair and rubbed his eyes, trying to get himself back into regular work mode after such a frustrating call. He glanced at his computer monitor to see that it was lunchtime. Dimitrios needed to get out of his office or he was going to start throwing things.
Just as he was about to go in search of Leon, he pulled his phone out to check if he had any missed calls, but saw the email from Magic Shop. He smiled as he opened it, frustration bleeding away instantly as he opened the attachment and looked over the profile.
Name: Remi Laroche
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Status: Omega
Occupation: Student/Unemployed
Compensation: $1500.00 monthly minimum