Waking up at 3:30 AM to get dressed for a flight, and a long day of work followed by another flight back across the country already had Dimitrios feeling agitated. Talking to Remi last night and getting off had taken the slightest edge off, but now his body was back in revolt. He knew he would need more than just that to be satisfied. He needed the real thing.
He was basically a bundle of raw nerves. Not exactly the best state to be in while making major billion-dollar decisions, but he’d dealt with worse than this. He had been a workaholic for many years, and he could work in basically any condition, whether sick, horny or tired he always made it through somehow.
The flight was on time and Dimitrios slept the two hours they were in the air, feeling slightly less irritable when he woke. By the time they were out of the airport and through the city to the manufacturing plant, it was nearly noon and he was starving. He just sighed and walked with Leon into the facility. His business partner was in about as good a mood as he was, but they both knew this was more important than their personal comfort, so they stayed focused.
Dimitrios could see problems almost from the moment he stepped foot inside the factory. There were stacks of boxes everywhere, manufacturer names mixed between the stacks. The lack of organization was an immediate red flag.
He listened to the whole spiel that the manager of the facility gave out, and he had to admit the man was a gifted salesman. If Dimitrios didn’t know what he was doing, then he would probably have been fooled by him. However, Dimitrios was no novice at this and he knew that they were overstating their capabilities. So he decided to do a test. If he got an honest answer, he would consider them.
“Won’t our business affect your current client list? I know you have several major companies here, and I don’t want to be put on the back burner for someone else whose account is bigger.” Dimitrios said, watching the other alpha for signs of dishonesty. He didn’t see any, he was clearly a good liar.
“No sir! We’re completely prepared to handle all your orders.”
So, that was a ‘no’ on the honesty. Dimitrios didn’t deal with liars. Not in business and not in his personal life. He had no time for dishonesty, and he was annoyed enough already. He kept his mouth closed until the end of the tour and as soon as they walked out to get in the car that they had rented, he turned to Leon.
“Absolutely not.” Dimitrios said flatly.
“Obviously. Even I could tell that the place was a fucking circus. No way in hell are we using them.”
They had just enough time to stop and eat before they had to get back to the airport to fly back to the Northeast. Unfortunately, they weren’t headed to New York where Dimitrios could have Remi waiting at his apartment. They were going to Rockport, Maine—his hometown.
The flight was turbulent, but Dimitrios wouldn’t have been able to sleep either way. He hadn’t been back home since the fall out with his parents. It felt odd to be going back there. Dimitrios knew he wasn’t going to see his parents, and that there was absolutely no way he’d run into them in the few hours he’d be in town, but his mind still clung to the idea.
By the time they arrived it was evening already. His body was exhausted and jet lagged from the multiple flights and odd hours. The business partners went directly to their hotel rooms to crash, equally exhausted from stress and travel.
As soon as he was alone in his hotel room, Dimitrios kicked off his shoes, dropped his suitcase onto the sofa and went to the bed to collapse. He wanted to just fall asleep at once, but instead he pulled his phone out and found Remi’s contact, typing a message to him.
Dimitrios:Hey pretty boy. How was your day?
He waited a few moments, the quiet of the room making his heavy eyelids droop, until he heard the little ‘ding’ of an arriving message.
Remi:Good. Tiring. Honestly I fell asleep as soon as I got home just woke up when you texted
Dimitrios smiled at the phone, but felt a little bad that he’d woken the omega up from his much-needed sleep.
Dimitrios:Sorry I woke you. I’m actually about to crash myself. Just wanted to check in on you.
Remi:Its okay I need to get up and eat something anyway
Dimitrios:Have you eaten at all today?
Remi:Yeah, all my classes today were cooking so I got to snack a little bit
Dimitrios:What are you going to have for dinner?
Remi:IDK… Ramen probably.
Dimitrios scowled at his phone. Remi needed to eat better. Ramen was not a decent thing to eat as his only meal. Of course, Dimitrios had eaten ramen as a meal countless times over the last years, so he was being a hypocrite, but he didn’t really care.
Dimitrios:What’s your address?
Remi:It’s [insert contact]
Remi:Why?
Dimitrios:I’m gonna order you some food, Baby.
Remi:That’s totally not necessary. You really don’t have to I’m fine