"It's not right, Victor. People are starting to talk."

Victor scoffed silently at the comment. What did he care if people were talking? It wasn't their place to have an opinion of him or his activities away from the Agency.

"I don't care." He said in a cool, calm voice. "What are the opinions of anyone to me, so long as I do my job well?"

Yakov slammed his fist onto the desk top, causing several objects to shake and threaten to fall.

"Victor, this is no joke! Get one, or the company will ask you to step down."

Victor chuckled humorlessly and shook his head. "I highly doubt that."

Yakov closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, taking deep breaths before speaking again.

"Victor, the shareholders will be here on Monday. They are excited to meet you and the company is worried that they will get the wrong idea if you show up without one. Please, just go down to the lower levels and pick one. Any one!"

Victor laced his fingers together delicately, letting his chin rest on them for several breaths.

"Fine. Just have someone pick one out and bring it up here." He said stretching back in his chair with a soft sigh. "I don't have time to go picking through the lower levels."

Yakov shook his head. "You know that's not how it works, Victor! Just take 20 minutes and pick one out." Yakov suddenly stood from his chair, nearly knocking it over in his haste. "I have to go to a meeting." He looked at his watch and snarled. "Do it. Today." He said warningly as he shut the door behind him.

Victor stared at the closed door for a long moment. This entire thing was absurd. He knew his job was safe because he was the best. The Agency's profit margin had gone up nearly 30% since he had taken over for his father nearly 4 years prior.

He had a head for business and numbers and there was no way they would let him go. But that didn't mean they wouldn't make his life a little less pleasant. Certain rules of society dictated that Alphas owned pets. And Victor had been without a pet for longer than any of his business colleagues had known him.

It was considered obscene to not have one. A pet was more than a social symbol, they were necessary to keep Alphas sated. Humanity had found that Alphas were passionate, violent and easily angered. They were brutal and domineering in a way that just had no place in polite society. Pets—well pets took care of that issue.

Betas trained from infancy, pets were taught how to read and understand emotions, they were educated on the finer points of diplomacy and could easily calm down a raging Alpha in a way no other person could. They were soft spoken, delicate and pretty—qualities that mimicked the long endangered Omega who had originally taken on the role of peace keeper.

Victor saw the need for him to have a pet as an insult. He had never shown an ounce of outburst anger, never lost his cool or even needed to step out of a meeting to gather his thoughts. He was calculated and poised in a way that most people saw as an accomplishment. But his 4 years of proving himself weren't enough to erase the ideals of centuries. An Alpha without a pet was dangerous and emotional, without a pet, his job may not be directly on the line, but the respect he had worked so hard to get would slowly start to slip.

He stood from his chair, grabbed his cup of coffee and walked to the door. The lower levels were where the Agency kept the pets that were ready for sale, and all Victor had to do was pick one and get it over with. So that's what he was going to do.

A pet could be used for a great many tasks. Depending on their training, they could work alongside their Alpha in the work place, but were more often used as a type of personal servant. The average pet would cook, clean, fetch coffee and make sure that their Alpha was able to focus on their work. And though the richer an Alpha was, the more decorative their pet became—it was always the pet's duty to make sure their Alpha was being taken care of.

Victor had been raised in a family who kept pets, as most aristocratic families did. It had taken him by surprise when he discovered that his parents preferred the company of their pets in bed to each other, and when his tutor had explained that 'their lot' always went with an advantageous marriage he suddenly realized why his father, the Alpha kept so many pets.

The Agency had been in Victor's family for decades, started by his great grandfather and then passed down through the generations. The Agency was in his blood, and he was good at the job. They sold pets to the masses, usually dealing with upper middle class citizens, they were known for having a healthy and helpful stock of pets.

Even without his job as the CEO and Chief of the Nikiforov Agency, he was in no danger of becoming poor. His family money had been left to him, the sole heir, when his father had died, and even after setting up his mother for life, he found plenty of money to keep generations of Nikiforovs from ever wanting for anything.

Victor stepped into the elevator and pressed the button that would take him to the lower levels. He sipped at the coffee in his hand and waited. There was no need to draw this out. By the time Yakov came back from the meeting the old man would find Victor hard at work, a pet sitting at his side. Simple.

He didn't need to find a particularly attractive pet. His plan had always been to marry for love. There was no issue in marrying a wealthy young Beta who could add to the family wealth and help raise a well born family, but he didn't want the standard marriage his parents had been forced into.

He knew his parents had been fond of each other and that alone had given them a fairly easy time of marriage. But Victor didn't want his wife to find comfort with anyone but him—not even a pet. He wanted his wife to be the one to get him through his ruts, he wanted to be in love with her and even if having pets was part of the job, he wanted them to be there just for show.

The elevator doors opened and he stepped off into a brightly lit hallway. He had walked this hallway many times in his years. His father had started him off in the mail room when he was 15, and he had worked every job in the entire labor division until he graduated with his business degree. It had taught him a respect for the workers and was one of the reasons he was so successful. He walked the familiar path from the elevator to the front desk. The Lower levels were set up like an animal shelter. Clients would come in and walk the back room looking for a pet. Once they found the one they wanted, they would come back out here and fill out the paper work before being allowed to take their pet home.

The woman working the desk was dressed casually, her white lab coat signified her expertise in the Pet Field. Victor grinned as she tried to explain to a client that they couldn't purchase more than one pet in a two week period.

"I'm sorry sir, it's just policy. It's there to keep them safe and make sure that they aren't being trafficked. If you want another pet you have to wait the two week deadline and you have to bring proof that your first pet is still living with you."

She turned her head when she noticed Victor and he nodded politely as he passed her. He noticed a long line of clients behind the man, and he shook his head with a soft chuckle.

He walked passed the desk, heading for the glass door which lead to the room where clients were able to see and pick their pet. The room were large and well lit. Separated by half walls, the pets would sit or stand in their block as clients looked them over.

Workers were stationed in the room to answer questions and let the pets out into the bonding area where clients could look them over with a little more privacy. Victor passed them all silently, noting how all of the workers seemed to gasp and stare at him as he walked by.

He didn't want to explain his reasons for being down in the lower levels to anyone and he was sure they were all thinking it was some sort of inspection, but that probably wasn't the worst thing. Keeping people on their toes was a good way to ensure top rate conditions.

He walked to the very end of the room, along the back wall where the last row of blocks stood. His only thought for how to choose a pet was to be smart businesswise. This last row was reserved for the pets who had been here longest. These blocks had windows to the parking lot where clients would gaze in, hopefully falling for one of the pets on display before they even entered the building.

He wanted to choose one from here because the longer a pet was on display the harder it was to sell them. And the Agency had no use for pets who wouldn't sell. After a year in the display blocks, the Agency would send the pets to a facility where they would be retrained and tried to sell again. The facility they used, like most others, took the unwanted pets from Agencies at the original buy price. This was good business for the Agencies because after feeding and housing a pet for a year who never sold, it was unlikely they could make a decent profit from anyone.

The facilities would take the pets and sell them to a lower class of Alpha. The cheaper price for the sale worked out well for the facility because they didn't feel the need to pay top dollar to house and feed the pet. Their inner workings with the Agencies created a good business relationship that often led to decent tax breaks for them. Victor had tried for years to convince his dad to figure another way to deal with less popular pets to no avail. And when he had taken over, he found that disrupting this working relationship could mean a lot of lost business opportunities for the company.

He walked quickly past the blocks, heading toward the very end. The last block, closes to the entrance to the lower levels was where the longest housed pet was kept. He had never liked the practice of sending to the facility so taking this one would kill two birds with one stone. He grinned as he thought of what Yakov would do if he found that Victor had put so little personal thought into his pet. Doing it this way could lead to a very poor working pet/master relationship, and the whole idea was to get a pet and spend a few days with it so that when he met with his associates on Monday, it could at least appear that he'd had his pet for more than a day or two.

Victor looked through the gate of the last block and saw, to his surprise, a very attractive pet sitting down on the floor, looking out of the window into the parking lot. His hair was black, unkempt but not quite messy. His figure was slender and subtle, skin clear and slightly olive toned. He hadn't really cared about the looks of the pet, but now that he was here, he was a little delighted with him.

Victor cleared his throat, trying to capture his attention and the pet turned his head, gazing big brown eyes into the bright blue ones staring back. Victor tilted his head, wondering curiously why this one had never been bought. He as adorable, perhaps not sexy exactly, but adorable none the less.

"Come with me." Victor said plainly leaving the gate open and walking back through the viewing room. He felt no need to check that the pet was behind him, he could hear his faint footsteps and hear his soft breaths. The workers were staring nervously as they passed through and when Victor reached the door leading back to the desk, he turned to see that all of the workers were practically gawking.

They must have thought he was going to question the longest staying pet to see if it was any of their fault. That actually wouldn't be the worst idea. Victor had often wondered if the workers sometimes took advantage of the pets.

He gave them a reproachful look and when they all jumped and began asking to help clients again, Victor and the pet left the room. No need to quell their fears. Sometimes fear was healthy in workers.

He approached the desk and smiled at the worker, still slammed with a line of clients. He turned to the pet and motioned for him to turn around. On the back of all of the pets were pet id's, sewn into their shirts. Victor wrote the id down and then sat down at the second computer beside the desk worker.

He quickly typed in the id, pulled the pet's files and then grabbed them. The woman gave him a somewhat fearful look and he couldn't help a grin. He doubted a Pet Expert would have anything to fear in having him speak with a pet, but you never could tell.

"Is there something wrong?" The woman called a little desperately as Victor and the pet headed toward the elevators.

Victor didn't turn back as he pushed the button for the elevator, but called over his shoulder, "Yes." He said casually. "I think it's time we hired you some help to keep these lines down." He smiled kindly at her as he climbed into the elevator, pet following diligently.

He took another sip of his coffee and sighed happily as they rose in silence back to the top floor. He made a mental note that the pet needed to shower, he didn't smell bad exactly, but there was always a strange scent to pets straight from the lower levels. He also needed to get him some better clothes.

Pets often wore an odd sort of sweat suit; fitted well and all one color which usually correlated to their master. Victor's father had always used a dark midnight blue for his pets, and his mother used a light blue. He'd have to think about it a bit later though. Now all he wanted to was settle the pet in and get back to work.

They reached the top floor and Victor exited the elevator, walking back to his office and opening the door where he stood and waited for the pet to enter before closing the door silently behind him.

There. It was done.

Victor pointed to the seat where Yakov had been yelling at him and then took his own seat around the desk, sitting back comfortably before flipping open the files of his new pet.

"Katsuki, Yuri." He read aloud. "24 years old, Japanese decent, at the Agency for just shy of a year." He continued.

He looked up from the file and saw the pet looking around his office with interest. His eyes were big and excited, dashing from side to side as he tried to take in everything. Victor hadn't cared in the least about his office décor so it remained the same for him as it was for his father. He could see why it would be interesting for someone who'd only seen the likes of the lower levels though.

Dark cherry wood desk covered in papers and knickknacks along with a sleek white computer which had been the only change Victor had made. The chairs on the opposite side of his desk, where Yuuri was sitting were dark cherry as well with arm rests and a cushion to sit on. The cushions matched the red leather that upholstered the squishy armchair which sat beside a small bar where Victor kept his coffee station. The floors were done in oak and were covered with a large area rug that matched everything horribly. If it hadn't been for the straight wall of windows that made up the entire corner of his office, the whole thing would be too dark and depressing to work in. But Victor made do, he didn't have time to redecorate.

"You've been here for a long time, Yuuri." Victor continued cautiously.

The boy looked at him and nodded, his face suddenly reddening and his eyes glassing up slightly. Victor didn't want to draw it out, so he sat forward and stared him directly in the eye.

"Yuuri, I've selected you to be my pet. I've been in need of one, and I couldn't put it off any longer." He said, deciding to be straight forward. "I don't need a servant or a housekeeper. I don't need a cook or a personal secretary. You will be by my side, stay silent and don't touch anything. Is that clear?"

Yuuri's eyes went wider, if that was even possible, and Victor could practically see the gears in his head working. There wasn't much for the pet to think over, but Victor was not a cruel man. He knew that this was a huge surprise to the pet. He had spent the last year in the lower levels being trained and taught how to care for some middle class family. He had been given rules and expectations, learned how to do several things that Victor was sure would come in handy in that sort of life. He had waited and waited, been passed over time and again and was nearly 3 days from being sent to the facility when his entire life had been changed.

"Perfectly clear." The words were soft and almost a whisper. His voice was a pleasant timber and though Victor could see the actual shaking, it was calm with a practiced ease.

Victor sat back in his chair and nodded his approval. "Good. Now I believe there's a pet cushion in the closet over there." He said pointing to the closet by the door. Yuuri nodded and stood from his chair. He got the cushion, a large, oversized round pillow covered in soft fur and a terrible polka dot design, and brought it to Victor's left side.

He nodded in approval again as the pet set it on the floor and fluffed it with his hands before sitting comfortably in the middle. Close enough so that if Victor wanted to touch him, he could but far enough so that he wouldn't accidentally touch him. It was a simple thing, but still nice to know that the pet knew how things worked.

When Yakov knocked on his door 30 minutes later, Victor had been finishing a report for the Pet Operational Bureau and he was glad he wasn't easily startled or his papers would have flown all over the office as Victor burst through.

"Victor, come on, I'll go down with you." Yakov said walking to stand at the chair Yuuri had vacated earlier.

Victor shook his head. "It's not necessary, Yakov." He said calmly, setting his work down and leaning back in his chair.

"Victor, we've discussed this! You agreed to get a pet, and you should get one today so that they have time to get used to you before the shareholder's meeting."

Victor sighed and stared at Yakov for a long time before extending his hand toward Yuuri. His intent had simply been to point the pet out, but Yuuri leaned into the gesture, silky soft locks flew easily through Victor's fingers and he felt as Yuuri sat up, resting his hands on Victor's thigh as he made to move into his lap.

The action stunned him for a moment, but Victor recovered easily, letting his legs make room for the pet as he crawled into place settling himself comfortably in Victor's lap and rubbing his cheek softly against Victor's neck.

The act of a pet moving into an Alpha's lap was not unusual. In fact, it was quite common. It showed the pet's desire for contact for their Alpha. It was a move that showed the familiarity and comfortability between Alpha and pet. The more comfortable a pet became the easier it was for them to deduce an Alpha's response to certain actions. Moving into Victor's lap had been a bold move. The pet had no idea how Victor would react to such a move, he had no way of knowing if Victor would tolerate such behavior and yet—he'd done it. And Victor was so happy with the reaction it got from Yakov that he hardly thought about the move itself.

"You were saying, Yakov."

The man stood, mouth hanging open slightly, staring though not believing.

"You—"

Victor nodded, "I told you I would, so I did."

Yakov shook his head. "And he's…well he's obviously comfortable with you." He said, trying to understand how easily that maneuver had worked if they had only met an hour or so ago. He would have thought it had been practiced, but he could clearly see that Victor had done a lot of work since he'd left. There wouldn't have been time for the Alpha to go get the pet, settle him in, practice the move and then get that amount of work done.

Victor nodded. "Indeed." He said calmly. "Now since our business here is done, would you mind…" he made a shooing motion with his hand and Yakov backed up, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene. The pet was rubbing his cheek lovingly along Victor's neck, though his movements seemed small enough to allow Victor to continue work, not impeding his ability at all.

Victor reached up and ran his fingers slowly through Yuuri's hair, causing the pet to snuggle closer to him. Yakov hesitated at the door, Victor could see he was questioning the existence of the pet all along, and as the door shut behind the stunned man, Victor couldn't help but let out a loud bark of laughter.

He felt Yuuri grinning into his neck and the pet looked up at him with the grin still plastered on his face.

"I had a feeling you'd enjoy that." Yuuri said with the same calm voice he had used before.

Victor shook his head in awe at the pet and laughed again. It was the first time in a long time that something had truly made him laugh. He pet the boy's hair kindly and nodded. "I would tell you to be careful of your actions in future, but I honestly don't really care."

Yuuri beamed at him and Victor felt a rush of affection flood through him at the sight. He hadn't exactly thought having a pet would be difficult, but suddenly the idea was starting to seem positively nice.