By Zephyria 
two
A year was definitely a short time, but sometimes it felt incredibly long. Dane, arriving at work on time, couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief at the sight of Grayson flirting with yet another female employee.
He’d witnessed this exact scene repeated countless times already. It was almost enough to make him suspect he was trapped in a time loop.
But of course, that couldn’t be the case. The most obvious proof was that the face of the female employee changed every time. Once again, colleagues listlessly watched as a different employee than the day before was clinging to Grayson. Eventually, DeAndre, unable to bear it any longer, exploded.
“I can’t take this anymore.”
The men, who had been sitting together checking their personal gear, were startled and looked up at DeAndre as he gasped for breath and jumped to his feet. DeAndre pointedly gestured to one side and spat out,
“Are you guys okay with this? Are you just going to stand by and watch this crap every day?”
The direction DeAndre pointed to was where Grayson Miller was flirting with a new female employee.
The large-framed Grayson Miller had one hand casually in his pocket, a relaxed smile on his face, as he whispered something in her ear. The female employee lightly tossed her long hair and tilted her head slightly. She concentrated on his words, her eyes sparkling with a bright smile. Her slight shrugs conveyed a natural sense of familiarity. She shyly smiled, lightly stroked her arm, or twirled her hair with her fingertips, reacting as if she found him fascinating.
The air between them flowed as naturally as if they had known each other for a long time. Everyone who had turned their gaze at once looked back at DeAndre after seeing the scene. Among the bewildered faces, Ezra looked up at him, spreading his hands wide, as if to say, ‘What are you going to do about it?’
“That bastard is messing up our organization! Are we just going to let him? Are you just going to stand there dumbfounded?”
The reaction was still lukewarm. The men, who had been blinking blankly, reluctantly opened their mouths one by one.
“Then what are we supposed to do…? What can we do?”
“Are you saying we should grab Miller and beat him up?”
“I’m all for beating up Miller, but beating him up because he’s popular with the ladies? I don’t know… Anyway, the women aren’t interested in us, so what can we do…?”
“I went on a date with Ally last week. Anyone can do it if they try.”
Everyone’s attention immediately shifted to the speaker’s sudden confession. The speaker already had a confident smile on his face. He stroked his chin with one hand, deliberately acting relaxed, and a subtle smugness could be felt in his slightly raised eyebrows.
“Ooh, not bad.”
“You sneaky bastard! When did you pull that off?”
As people clapped and jeered from here and there, he became even more confident and puffed out his chest.
“It’s proof that women don’t only look at Miller. I’m going to match my next day off with her and go on another date. I’ve already picked out a good restaurant.”
“Buy flowers for the date. I always gave roses as a gift.”
He nodded at Wilkins’ advice and replied,
“I told the florist I was going on a date, and they made something for me. Ally wore a green dress on our last date, and she looked so sexy.”
The men cheered and supported their colleague, but DeAndre just thought they looked pathetic.
“You dumbasses!”
He shouted and suddenly turned around and walked away. Surprised, his colleagues watched his retreating figure and quickly got up. Was he really going to fight Miller? Should they stop him? Or was he just going to the bathroom? As they were thinking about this and that, he suddenly headed in the wrong direction.
“Huh?”
Wilkins made a bewildered sound in confusion. As everyone watched with the same thought, DeAndre stopped and suddenly shouted,
“What the hell? Aren’t you guys going too far? How could you betray us like this!”
The female employees who had been gathered together checking their personal gear all turned to look at him at once. They all looked bewildered by the sudden outburst. However, although his courage in bravely invading the women’s space and shouting was commendable, their reaction was cold.
“What do you mean by betrayal? Explain yourself.”
Priscilla, the Team leader of Team B, stood up and asked. Seeing her colleagues rising one by one with a fierce momentum, DeAndre hesitated and stepped back, but when he turned his head, he saw the male employees watching. Unable to retreat because of his pride, DeAndre stood his ground again and puffed out his chest, pretending to be nonchalant.
“I asked you out on a date three times, and you rejected me! It’s not just me, we’ve all been rejected! How could you treat us, who have been together for years, so coldly and then do that to a guy you’ve only known for a week? You’re all traitors, traitors!”
The women, however, all had cynical reactions to DeAndre’s resentful cry.
“So,”
Valentina, who had been standing behind, stepped forward and opened her mouth.
“You’re just asking why we’re sleeping with Grayson Miller and not with you, right? Do you all think the same way?”
DeAndre was startled by Valentina’s blunt question, whom he usually admired. The men standing behind him also looked embarrassed and shook their heads at the gaze directed at them.
“No, we’re not that bad.”
“We’re just curious, you know, just curious.”
“Hey, I’m not even curious. There must be a reason. DeAndre, what are you doing? Just come on, hurry up.”
Ezra even gestured urgently, but DeAndre still stood his ground and waited for an explanation. You’re only making yourself miserable! The men watching from behind all felt sorry for him with the same thought, but there was nothing they could do. The women chuckled at the men’s lukewarm attitude, who were not actively dragging him away, perhaps because they were also curious about what kind of answer would come out.
“He’s handsome, and he has good manners.”
“Is that all?”
When DeAndre asked as if he had been waiting for Valentina’s words, Liz spoke this time.
“Grayson is actually kind and friendly when you get to know him. And he’s easy to talk to. It was the first time a man had ever empathized with me so much.”
“What?”
Not only DeAndre but also the men watching from behind were surprised by those words. What did that mean? As they were bewildered, another woman said,
“Besides, it’s like he reads my mind. He naturally catches what I want and what I want to hear. He approaches me without being pushy, and his attitude feels genuine. It’s not just superficial gentleness, but his way of caring for others is really meticulous.”
“Yeah, isn’t it amazing? And he listens to everything I say, so I fall in love at that moment.”
The women who had dated Grayson nodded in agreement from here and there. But DeAndre still couldn’t understand their words.
“Dominant Alphas are psychopaths! But he empathizes? That’s ridiculous, you must be mistaken!”
The women’s reaction to DeAndre’s protest was cold. As if to say, no matter how much you shout, we won’t change.
“I wanted to sleep with a Dominant Alpha. It’s a special experience, isn’t it?”
Thinking that they couldn’t communicate, they gave another reason. When Liz said that, there was agreement again.
“Yeah, and it was the first time I’d ever seen a Dominant Alpha. And sex with one, of course I’d be curious, right?”
Seeing them nodding from here and there, DeAndre could only open his mouth in disbelief and couldn’t speak. Valentina chuckled and looked at DeAndre.
“Still don’t get it? Women can be promiscuous as much as they want if there’s no risk of pregnancy.”
“Dominant Alphas control Conception. How wonderful is that? To have such amazing sex and not have to worry about getting pregnant.”
“I understand why men are so crazy about sex. You can enjoy it as much as you want because there’s no risk of pregnancy.”
“If men, not women, were the ones who got pregnant, you’d be forced to be careful.”
21 – 21
DeAndre was dazed by the torrent of words.
Crap, this is no time for this. Realizing this belatedly, he felt wronged and shouted vehemently.
“Wait, wait a minute. I always use protection. So why not me?”
His relentless persistence finally drove the women to reveal the angry truth. Valentina, with a fierce expression he had never seen before, shouted as loudly as DeAndre.
“Don’t you understand what we’ve been saying?”
She sighed deeply, waving her hand dismissively at the man who couldn’t understand.
“Get it. It’s good to be with someone you want to have sex with and not have to worry about getting pregnant! Don’t you know how convenient that is, how optimal?”
The other party opened his mouth as if to make an excuse, but Valentina didn’t wait. Instead, she pushed even harder.
“But with you? We can’t expect anything like that. So I don’t want to have sex with you, never! Never, ever! Forever!”
In the chilling silence, the word “never” echoed and dissipated. DeAndre was dazed and just stood there blankly.
“So wake up already. Please, just give up cleanly!”
Seeing his pitiful figure being relentlessly attacked by Valentina, the men who were watching rushed out and quickly dragged him back to his seat.
“Hey, DeAndre? Snap out of it. Get some water over here!”
Wilkins slapped him on the cheek and called his name, and only then did he seem to slowly regain consciousness. At the same time, the words he had heard echoed in his ears, and his eyes welled up.
-I don’t want to have sex with you, never! Never, ever! Forever!
No way. He’d rather be beaten to death. To kill someone with words like that, how could she be so cruel?
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Wilkins patted DeAndre’s back, who was trembling with a distorted face, as if to comfort him.
“Forget about it. Relax, I have a good idea.”
“An idea?”
“What kind of idea?”
The other men asked, blinking behind DeAndre. Wilkins glanced around at that moment, lowering his voice. He especially watched the women chatting over there, then put a short smile on his face.
“Let’s humiliate that bastard in front of the women. If we make him look utterly ridiculous, the women will lose all interest. Then we can laugh at him.”
“Do you have a way?”
“As expected, Team leader, I knew I could count on you!”
“Miller to the gutter!”
The men responded, waving their fists in the air. They bumped shoulders and nodded to each other, their morale high like soldiers before a battle. But even in the midst of all this, DeAndre still glared at the group of women with resentful eyes, but couldn’t do anything.
Desire Me if you can
“Hey, Grayson Miller.”
Grayson, who was hitting on another new female employee, turned around at the call and saw Ezra standing there. Without a word, Ezra gestured for him to follow, then turned and strode away. But something felt empty behind him. Only then did Ezra realize there were no footsteps following him, and he turned around in shock. Grayson Miller was still standing in the same spot, flirting with the woman. Annoyed, Ezra scowled and strode back to Grayson.
“Miller, what are you doing here? Didn’t you hear me tell you to follow me?”
At the quick questioning, Grayson finally turned his head and looked down at him. His expression was clearly annoyed.
“Really…? Did you say that?”
“What?”
Grayson’s reaction was nonchalant. Ezra, dumbfounded, asked in a voice that rose without him realizing it, and Grayson still wore a brazen smile.
“I thought you were just leaving, so I figured you were just calling out. Right, Beth?”
The last words were different from those he had thrown at Ezra. It was a soft, gentle voice, as if he were making a light joke. Grayson’s attitude, tilting his head naturally with a smiling face, was slick and relaxed.
As if captivated by the smile, Beth stared at him blankly for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
“Y-yeah, I didn’t hear anything either. I thought Ezra was being silly.”
“Hahaha, hahaha! Beth, you’re cute and funny too.”
“I’m a bit like that. Hahahaha.”
The two of them laughed so hard they bent over, as if it were so much fun. Without any hesitation. Of course, Ezra didn’t laugh at all. He trembled slightly with his clenched fist and spat out through gritted teeth.
“Miller, stop it and follow me? Everyone’s waiting.”
At the angry voice, Grayson finally stopped laughing and looked at Ezra. Still with a smile on his face.
“If you have something to say, you can come and say it?”
It was an answer that was too far from what Ezra had been waiting for. Dumbfounded, Ezra let out a short sigh, then tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling. With a deep breath in between, he opened his mouth in a calmer voice than before.
“It’s not something to talk about here, you’ll know once you come. Team leader said if you refuse, you’ll be stuck in the office for all Deployments.”
When he conveyed Wilkins’ words as a last resort, Grayson’s attitude changed slightly. But all he did was smile and think for a moment.
He seemed to be making a difficult decision, but fortunately, he didn’t take long to nod.
“Then I have no choice. Sorry, Beth. I’ll be right back.”
Surprisingly, he suddenly bent down slightly and even kissed Beth on the lips. It was a light kiss, like a simple joke, but considering he was doing it where someone was watching, it was blatant enough. Ezra watched the shameless sight with wide eyes for three minutes. Finally, when Grayson let go of Beth and waved, Ezra, who had been waiting until then, quickly moved away without saying a word. But it was impossible to calm the boiling inside, so he ended up opening his mouth before he had taken a few steps.
“Since when have you and Beth been like that? I had no idea.”
At the sarcastic question, Grayson wiped his saliva-slicked lips with his thumb and replied.
“Really? 30 minutes?”
“You dirty bastard.”
“Me?”
At Ezra’s retort, Grayson tilted his head and looked back. And he shouted loudly at Beth, who was still standing there.
“Beth, this guy is calling you dirty!”
“What?”
“What?”
Beth, of course, was shocked, and Ezra screamed in horror.
“Wh-wh-what are you talking about! When did I? When did I call Beth dirty! No, Beth! It’s a misunderstanding, I would never say that to you, I’m innocent, really!”
As he shouted urgently and waved his hands, Grayson stroked his chin and tilted his head to the other side this time.
“That’s strange, if I’m dirty, doesn’t that mean Beth, who kissed me, is also dirty? What’s the difference?”
“It’s different, it’s different! You son of a bitch! Are you trying to trap me?”
Ezra was distraught and shouted, but Grayson still had an uncomprehending expression. That face made Ezra even angrier, arousing the urge to punch Grayson. But he had to forcibly stop because another guy was calling him.
“Ezra, what are you doing? Why is it taking so long? Everyone’s waiting!”
A man who had come to check on the situation, unable to bear it any longer, glanced at Grayson and grabbed Ezra’s arm.
“What are you doing here? What if there’s a sudden Deployment, we don’t have time!”
Damn it, Ezra gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. In the end, he walked quickly, almost running, in the direction where Team leader and the team members were waiting. And the man who had come to meet him walked along, flustered, and finally Grayson followed slowly, whistling casually with his hands in his pockets.