15 – Cypress Mosaic

Joshua ​Lockhart ​was ​born ​to a male ​Alpha ​and ​a ​male ​Omega. Damon Lockhart, who ​passed ​away not long ​ago, was his ​paternal ​father, ​and ​the ​father ​who served as ​his ​birth ​parent was Damon ​Lockhart’s second spouse.

Before Joshua ​even entered ​kindergarten, his ​parents began ​living apart. ​By ​the ​time the two ​finally reached ​a divorce after a ​messy legal battle that ​had set the media ​ablaze, Joshua ​had ​only just finished his primary education.

Afterward, ​Joshua had to move ​to ​the ​West ​with ​his birth parent. ​Because of ​this, ​unlike other members ​of ​the Lockhart family, he was ​unable to ​complete ​his entire education ​in ​Ashford. ​After ​being ​scouted as ​an ​ice hockey ​player, he attended university in the West ​as well.

However, he ​had plenty of ​friends in New York.

That ​is, if ​one could call ​people ​”friends” simply because ​they hung out ​together and ​spent ​unproductive time ​together.

“Twelve, ​thir… teen, ​four… ​teen!”

Three or ​four ​people ​gathered around the ​leg ​press machine, ​slowly ​counting ​with ​mischievous looks on their faces. Conversely, the face of the person sitting in the machine, pushing up the platform, was twisted in agony.

“Ah, I can’t do any more!”

He finally shouted his surrender and pushed himself [stolen content][visit our site]up from visit our sitethe machine. Beads of sweat streamed down from his temples.

A hotel fitness center in Manhattan.

It was a place where Joshua and his group often gathered to kill time.

The dark-brown-haired man who had been sitting in the machine until a moment ago was the heir to this hotel.

“Max, don’t be so discouraged that you didn’t break Joshua’s record. Fourteen reps at 200kg is plenty impressive.”

“You’re comparing me to Josh? He’s a guy who was even on the national team’s reserve list.”

The dark-brown-haired man called Max scolded his friend while wiping away sweat with a towel. He pushed his friend toward the machine.

“You try it. Let’s see how many you can do.”

“Good luck, Beck. Whoever comes in last pays for all the nightlife expenses tonight, okay?”

The other friends chuckled.

Beck, who had looked so joyful while teasing Max, now listed excuses with an uncertain expression.

“What’s the rush? It’s just a bet between us anyway. Ah, I’m a bit thirsty right now…”

As Beck rolled his eyes, trying to avoid the spot, Joshua entered his field of vision. He was standing a short distance away from the group, staring at his phone with a serious expression.

Beck quickly shifted the topic to Joshua.

“Josh! When are you heading back to LA?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Joshua answered half-heartedly without even looking over.

“You’re probably trying not to go because you don’t have to commute as long while you’re here,” another guy giggled, prompting Joshua to shoot him an annoyed glare.

“Am I like you?”

“Right, Josh is more diligent about work than he looks.”

Whether it was mockery or sincerity, Beck spoke [stolen content]with a smirk, and Max [Read on Read BL Novels]frowned, taking Joshua’s side in his own way.

“Whether it’s Capital or Media, the headquarters are actually in the East. It’s probably because it’s easier to work from here.”

Max, the heir to the hotel, was the only one in the group with any real interest in business. The others were merely profligate sons who enjoyed irresponsible indulgence, holding hollow titles created for them in their parents’ companies.

However, whether the conversation was pathetic or somewhat grounded in the ways of the world, Joshua didn’t care much for their chatter. After all, they were just playmates who weren’t particularly helpful in a business sense. Rather, he was driven nearly crazy by the phone in his hand.

As Joshua reached the point of almost biting his nails, Max’s gaze landed on the scar remaining on his shoulder. It was a surgical scar from a major shoulder injury he had sustained during his days as an ice hockey player.

“Do you still go to the rink occasionally?”

“I don’t.”

“I heard some manager or coach keeps contacting you, asking you to come to their team’s practice.”

“Isn’t that the coach from Joshua’s junior days? I heard he’s with a college team now.”

At the other guy’s comment, Joshua clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“The skill level of those players is disastrous. There’s no fun in playing with them.”

“Well, you were the top scorer in the NCAA Western League; even among college players, you’re on a different level. If only it hadn’t been for that shoulder injury back then…”

Beck, who had been rambling thoughtlessly, realized he had made a mistake and quietly shut his mouth. Joshua didn’t show any particular reaction, but all the friends gathered there knew well that just because he was calm on the surface didn’t mean he wasn’t bothered.

Beck attempted an awkward change of subject.

“Oh, Joshua, I made money thanks to your brother.”

“What kind of nonsense is that now?”

Only then did Joshua take his eyes off the phone and properly look at his friends. Because someone he disliked had become the topic of conversation, his lips curled and his gaze turned fierce.

“I’m talking about Helion Life. I bought some shares when Lockhart acquired it.”

“Ah, that. It went up a lot, right?”

As someone chimed in, Beck began to chatter excitedly in earnest.

Helion Life. Formally known as Helion [stolen content]Life Sciences, it was a pharmaceutical [stolen content]company that the Lockhart Group had acquired through Lorenz’s active promotion.

“At the time, I just figured it would go up eventually since Lockhart was acquiring it, so I bought some as a trial. Did I buy about five hundred thousand dollars worth? Then I just forgot about it. But a few days ago, an article about Lockhart Energy Solutions came out. Because of that wind power business, Helion Life’s profitability improved tremendously, and it rose 230% in the meantime!”

Beck was as excited as someone who had won the lottery, claiming he had no idea that simply buying pharmaceutical stocks would lead to a windfall from an energy company’s business.

“The offshore wind farm Lockhart Energy Solutions built in Massachusetts? You mean that?”

“Yeah, that!”

“What does that have to do with Helion Life?”

In response to the group’s ignorance of world affairs, Max added a supplementary explanation.

“Lockhart Energy and Helion Life signed a contract to supply the wind energy produced by Lockhart Energy to Helion Life. By reducing power costs, their operating profit improved dramatically.”

“That wind energy business… my parents also said Lorenz is putting a lot of effort into it. Well, as long as I make money, I don’t care about the details,” Beck said, shrugging with a playful click of his tongue. His gaze turned toward Joshua. His tanned face, from spending the whole summer yachting in the Mediterranean, wore a smirk.

“Anyway, Joshua, tell your brother thank you for me. I’m debating whether to buy that Basquiat painting I’ve been eyeing or upgrade my wine cellar.”

“Hey, stop it now.”

Max, who had been listening with an uneasy expression, glanced at Joshua and signaled the other friends. Only then did they realize they had gone too far and shut up. It was a well-known fact that Joshua did not have a particularly good relationship with his brother.

Sure enough, Joshua’s eyes flashed. He was smiling with his lips, but a sarcastic tone permeated his expression.

“Why tell me that you made money thanks to Lorenz Lockhart? If you’re so grateful, go to him yourself and hand him some pocket money.”

Joshua sneered coldly and took out his phone again.

Judging that it was a good time to change the subject, Max asked in a friendly, amused tone.

“But why do you keep checking your phone?”

“Are you waiting for a call? Business?”

Beck, peering at the phone in Joshua’s hand, wore a meaningful smile.

“That’s not a business phone.”

The group responded with a strange reaction, neither cheer nor jeer.

“Is there a woman who can make Joshua Lockhart wait?”

Joshua replied in an annoyed tone.

“It’s not a woman.”

“Then an Omega?”

“……”

The group exchanged glances among themselves.

Joshua was the type of person who, upon finding a partner he liked, would make a U-turn without even hitting the brakes while driving at 200 km/h and chase them at full speed. He didn’t know how to play hard-to-get. Before Joshua’s fierce advance, which gave no room for thought, even the most arrogant and sturdy defensive wall was useless. However, Joshua grew bored just as easily.

For such a man to check his phone several times in a short span, waiting for a contact—the friends’ curiosity was bound to be piqued.

Without answering that curiosity, Joshua picked up the towel he had draped over the machine.

“I’m leaving first.”

“What? Where are you going? I told you I found a fun bar in Soho!”

Watching Joshua’s retreating figure as he walked away without answering, Max nudged Beck’s shoulder and scolded him.

“Why are you so clueless? It’s obvious where he’s going.”

“Where?”

“Don’t you remember a few days ago?”

“What happened a few days ago?”

“The members-only bar in Tribeca. Platinum Blonde.”

Only then did Beck seem to understand, narrowing his eyes and nodding.

“Ah… that person was completely Joshua’s type.”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t unauthorized copyfind someone like that their type? Guys [visit our site][visit our site]like us wouldn’t even dare to make a move.”

Beck snorted, claiming it was nonsense.

“No matter how good-looking they are, they’re just someone working at a bar. You’re saying I wouldn’t dare make a move on someone like that?”

“Didn’t you actually fail to do so?”

Max subtly teased Beck, and another friend chuckled in agreement.

“You couldn’t. You were drooling the moment you saw them, but you figured you didn’t stand a chance, so you introduced them to Joshua.”

“You bastards, seriously!”

Leaving Beck, who looked as if he were about to pounce, Max grabbed his towel.

“When looks are at that level, it’s wealth and power. It’s like a lottery ticket with a Super Bowl jackpot.”

However, Beck could not agree.

“Don’t make me laugh. It’s only wealth and power if [stolen content]you actually visit our sitehave money and influence.”

“Max has a point to some extent. Just imagine if that person debuted as a model or actor. No, even if they just created a social media account and posted a few photos, they’d gather hundreds of thousands of followers in an instant. Then they’d earn about 20,000 dollars a month just from advertising fees.”

“If it were that easy, why would they be serving customers at a bar?”

“They don’t do it because it doesn’t suit their personality. I’ve seen entertainment industry people who frequent that bar give them business cards and try to persuade them more than once or twice.”

As the friends’ opinions seemed to converge, Beck stopped arguing. However, he did not abandon his contemptuous attitude of refusal to acknowledge it.

Max draped an arm over his shoulder and smirked.

“Why? You jealous?”

“Of what.”

“Thinking, ‘If it weren’t for Joshua, I would’ve made a move too.’ Is that what’s going through your head?”

Beck shoved Max’s heavy arm away and spat out irritably.

“Get lost. I’m not interested because they’re not my type.”

The group burst into laughter at their friend’s attempt to protect his meager pride until the very end.

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