Master Davian falling silent again wasn’t a surprise, but this time, Lake let it happen.
Because he had gotten a more than satisfactory answer to the questions he had.
"Thank you, Master Davian." He shot to his feet when he was done eating.
Without giving the Mafia King to say something detrimental to him, he immediately whipped around and hurried out of the dining room.
It took a lot not to flat-out run to the staff locker room, and when he got there, he could finally take a deep breath and decompress.
Lake picked up his bag and left for his apartment, still processing the absolute craziness of a day he had just had.
He just tossed his bag to the side and collapsed on his bed when he got to his apartment, ignoring the knock he got on his door shortly after.
He knew without a word that it was Avery so he just tuned the incessant knocks out, uninterested in having a conversation with the obnoxious Omega.
Lake had thought about it, and it would be beneficial for him to keep his job at the mansion.
He could just ask to be posted somewhere else so that he never had to cross paths with Master Davian again.
He doubted that even Arthur would have an issue with him asking to not return to the master wing.
Well, considering that the butler had caught him ’stealing’, he doubted that he would even have to ask.
He doubted that Arthur would even let him work there. It made Lake rethink his decision to go back to working at the mansion.
But the butler deferred to Master Davian so there was nothing he could do to stop Lake from working at the mansion.
Besides, all he could do really was be more insufferable. But Lake doubted it was possible for the butler to get any more insufferable than he already was.
So really, nothing would change in his dynamic with the Black House butler, but everything else would change.
Lake shot to his feet again, only remembering that Avery was still behind his door when he did.
He couldn’t hear the knocking anymore so he deduced that the Omega had given up and returned to his apartment.
He was sure that Avery would be camped outside of his apartment the next morning but that was something he would deal with when tomorrow came.
Tying scarves around his neck while wearing his uniform would make them stand out too much.
And he wouldn’t put it past Arthur to demand that he take the scarf off while he was at work, and Lake would have to comply.
He needed something that hid his neck while remaining inconspicuous.
Lake had no idea what he was looking for, he doubted he even had something that fit those requirements.
And it was truly no surprise he found nothing, he didn’t have many clothes to begin with, so he had no idea how he expected to find something that would work.
He went back to bed and got on, shimmying off his jeans and getting more comfortable.
He had no other choice, he would just have to take the day off the next day.
He deserved it for the kind of weekend he had, he should definitely be spending his Sunday sleeping in.
He also needed to shop for a replacement for his tacky scarves, so it worked out perfectly.
Lake woke up to sunlight streaming into his apartment, a miracle because he was rarely asleep past sunrise.
He cleaned up and got dressed up for the day, contemplating if he should mail Arthur about his impromptu day off.
On one hand, he didn’t want to be the one to inform the butler that he hadn’t lost his job.
But on the other hand, he didn’t want Arthur to have any dirt on him, so he picked up his phone and sent a quick formal mail.
He considered not taking the phone out with him because he was wary of the type of response he would get.
If he would even get a response.
Lake stepped confidently out of his room, certain that Avery wouldn’t be around, and he was right.
It was so freeing not to be hoarded down the hallway. There was no looking over his shoulder, no aimless nosy chatter.
For the first time, he decided to just walk to a nearby store instead of taking a cab to Central Area like he would have usually done.
He needed a clothes store, and a flashy boutique seemed to be the right place to start looking.
Because if any place would have something modest enough to wear around his neck at work, it would be a boutique.
Stepping into the establishment reminded him of Caspian’s walk-in closet, and he really hoped that the Omega was having a great time.
"Can I help you sir?" A fresh-faced employee approached him, the name of the boutique boldly written on her hot pink t-shirt.
"Yes," Lake said gratefully, "I need something to cover my neck while at work."
The employee frowned, not expecting such an unconventional request.
"No," Lake was quick to shut that down, "I can’t wear scarves at work."
He knew that anyone else would be able to get away with wearing scarves, but Arthur would use him as a scapegoat if he did.
"How big do you need the covering to be?" The employee asked more questions, genuinely wanting to help.
Lake decided to be honest with her, it would make both their jobs easier.
"I need to hide a mating mark." He said with a deadpan expression.
The employee’s eyes widened, and she looked around like she was hoping that she could signal over someone better equipped to handle the situation.
"Right," She nodded with a frozen smile, "Please come with me."
Lake hadn’t said he was trying to hide his own mating mark but clearly, their conversation up to that point was enough to deduce that it was for him.