Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 261

Chapter 261: Ch 261: The meeting
Mark looked shocked for a few seconds before his shock melted into a grin filled with mischief, and he grabbed Rika’s shoulder teasingly.

“You will make me back away if I don’t back down? Oh my! Now, I look forward to the tricks you will pull on me. Should I be scared?”

Rika’s eye twitched to see her brother not taking this seriously, but she tried not to fault Mark for having a screw loose.

That did not mean Rika would let him get away with this.

“Stop messing with me and be serious. This is no laughing matter.”

Rika jabbed Mark hard enough to make him clutch his stomach and kneel in pain. He looked shocked to see Rika’s assault, and he tried to open his mouth to complain.

But their mother’s look made Mark back down this time.

“I have to agree with Rika this time, Mark. Even though I think it is ridiculous for people to make such assumptions about us, it affects our company’s reputation. Even your father got tricked because of what happened.”

Rika did not look at her father, but she could still feel that man’s awkwardness was reaching her across the room.

Her father looked flushed and embarrassed but also determined not to let this bother him…much.

An awkward silence descended across the room, but the female alpha was quick to cough and break this awkwardness.

“So, Rika, how is your work going? Are you having any trouble with it? If you have any complaints, you can tell me about them, and I will resolve them.”

Rika opened her mouth to speak up but decided it was not worth rattling her coworkers out.

Nothing had happened to Rika, and she was sure that people would calm down as they got used to her presence around the office.

‘I feel things will get ugly if Mother gets involved in this mess. It will be best if she does not do anything and let things be.’

“No, nothing’s wrong. Everything is just fine, and I am adjusting to the office life. Plus, I’m only here for one month, and I am sure I can care for myself for that duration.”

Rika assured her mother with a firm look in her eyes.

She was affirming to her mother that she did not need her help.

Her mother looked taken aback but not surprised at Rika’s defiance. After all, Rika had always been this kind of person – independent and self-reliant.

“I should take my leave now. I don’t want people to gossip about my presence in your office more than necessary. Also, please limit your interaction with me for the unseen future. I don’t want to entangle my life with yours anymore.”

Rika quickly left the room, and the three people left behind looked at her, departing awkwardly.

Finally, the only omega in the room lost all the tension in his frame, and his body collapsed where he sat.

Natasha looked at her husband teasingly, making the man flinch.

“I cannot believe that you would think I was cheating on you. Do I look that unreliable to you? Oh my! It breaks my heart that you think about me like this.”

Natasha teased her husband, and the omega flinched before he looked back at her with a guilty expression.

“W-Well, can you blame me for this? A lot of reliable sources said that you were cheating, and I just…. I think I’ve seen way too many dramas in the past few days to come to his conclusion. I will try to be more practical about it.”

The omega felt speechless and embarrassed. He quickly got up to leave for home as well. He did not want to stay here and felt guilty for doubting his wife.

“You’re heading home? Be careful on your way, and call me once you reach home.”

With those final words out of the way, Natasha waved her husband goodbye, and he finally left the room.

It left her alone with Mark, and she could tell that Mark had been holding back all this time.

“Is there something you want to say to me, Mark?”

The older alpha asked casually, but Mark’s serious expression told her that whatever he wanted to discuss was important. This was not going to be a fun conversation to have.

“Mom, would you be angry at me if I fired off a few people and made their lives miserable? I am not asking for permission to do something; I’m just asking because I am curious.”

The older alpha just looked at her son blankly before she sighed tiredly.

“Well, you’ve done crazier things, and I have not gotten angry at you for this. Once again, it depends on what you did to decide if I get angry at you.”

Natasha assured, and Mark nodded.

He left her office without a reply, and Natasha suddenly felt a headache forming. She could tell that something nasty was about to happen and needed to do damage control fast.

“Oh, man! All of my kids are such a handful. At this rate, I will have no other option but to leave this company to Rika. She is the only one with a clean social record in here.”

Natasha wanted to proceed with the transfer immediately, but she knew the traditionalist supremacists in the council would interfere and try to put Suzie up the ladder.

And as much as Natasha loved Suzie, she would be the first to rule Suzie out of ruling anything.

“Let’s wait and see a little more. I have a long time left to head this chair. I also got Rika to work in this company somehow, which is half of the task already done. Now, I only need to convince her to take this chair, and we are done.”

Natasha leaned back in her chair and looked out of the window. This would be a relaxing day since there was not much work for her.

That happened before Mark marched into her office at the end of the day, his expression angry.