Desire Me If You Can Chapter 15

“Really…? Hey, Wilkins! Wilkins! Yes, you. Come here for a second.”

The chief, who had been tilting his head in thought, called out to one of the men in the group he was drinking with and motioned for him to come over. Wilkins, who had been drinking with his fellow staff members, wandered over toward them with a beer glass in hand, looking thoroughly unenthusiastic.

“Yes, chief. What is it?”

After casting a glance of distinct disapproval toward Grayson, he listened as the chief spoke.

“There’s someone Miller is looking for. You were the one who took the team into the mansion that day, right?”

The chief introduced Wilkins to Grayson.

“This is Darius Wilkins. Wilkins, as you know, this is Grayson Miller. He’ll be working in your team from now on. Grayson, this is the captain of the team you’ll be working with.”

Wilkins’s face twisted instantly. He looked down at the chief and spread his arms wide, a gesture that seemed to scream, “What are you talking about?” Despite his blatant rejection, Grayson grabbed Wilkins’s hand and shook it forcefully.

“I look forward to working with you. Nice to meet you.”

Wilkins looked baffled again, pointing at Grayson with his remaining hand as he shrugged his shoulders, making it clear to everyone how he felt. The chief deliberately ignored Wilkins’s protesting gaze and patted both of them on the arms.

“Try to get along. Wilkins is a good captain, so follow his instructions well, alright? Miller.”

“Of course, I will naturally do so.”

Grayson spoke as if he had been waiting for the chance, but Wilkins didn’t look like he believed a word of it. Shaking Grayson’s hand off as if he had touched something filthy, he glared at him and spoke to the chief.

“Is that all you needed me for? I’m going back to my team members.”

“Wait, hold on.”

The chief called out to Wilkins just as he was about to turn and walk away. Wilkins turned back reluctantly, and the chief pointed at Grayson.

“You need to take your team member with you.”

Wilkins’s mouth dropped open, and he mouthed, “What?” Looking at him as he spread his arms wide again and shrugged, the chief scolded him sternly.

“Isn’t this a good opportunity? Take this chance to introduce yourself to your teammates and get to know them. That’s what this event is for.”

It wasn’t wrong. Wilkins sighed toward the ceiling and just turned around. The chief nudged Grayson slightly and said,

“Follow him. They are the colleagues you’ll be working with, so go introduce yourself…”

“So that team is the group that went into the mansion back then, right?”

Again, Grayson cut the chief off. Resigned to the fact that his attention had already shifted elsewhere, the chief nodded with a look of weariness, as if he were already used to this behavior.

“Yeah, go ask them and you’ll find out who it is…”

By the time he finished saying “ask them,” Grayson had already left. Left alone, the chief finished his sentence feebly and let out a sigh.

∞ ∞ ∞

When the captain had been called by the chief, he was clearly alone, but he didn’t return alone. Seeing him coming back with an unwelcome tail, the team members who had been waiting for him while drinking around a standing table stared at him in confusion. Wilkins mouthed, “I know,” but there was nothing he could do. The team members watched with sour expressions as Grayson naturally walked over to their table and claimed a spot.

“Hi, hello, hi.”

Grayson nodded lightly to acknowledge them one by one and beamed a wide smile, but no one smiled back. In such a situation, anyone else might have been intimidated by the awkward atmosphere, but unfortunately, the person in question was Grayson Miller. Just how thick-skinned was this shameless man? There wasn’t a hint of embarrassment on him. Instead, he smiled brightly and even offered a handshake, to the point where the team members were so repulsed they lost all motivation. As they drank their beer in silence with hollow expressions, Grayson brought up the topic first.

“When a fire broke out at Mendez’s mansion last time, this team went inside the mansion to rescue people, right?”

“Mendez?”

“You know, that pheromone party.”

To the team member who had asked without thinking, another teammate poked him in the arm with his elbow and said:

“You know, where those Extreme Alphas gather in crowds to jack off and vent their pheromones. ‘Yeah, I’m shooting cum! Burr-rrr-rr. Ahhhhh! Pheromones, my pheromones are escaping! My brain is escaping, too!’“

At the man’s performance—shaking his hips back and forth as he let out beastly cries—the gathered team members burst into laughter. Naturally, since it was a mockery aimed directly at Grayson, they enjoyed it all the more. However, the men who had been laughing loudly with their bodies leaning back stopped dead when they saw Grayson laughing along with them just as heartily.

What? Is he crazy?

Everyone had roughly the same thought. As their expressions faded one by one and they stared at him with bewildered faces, Grayson, who had been laughing his head off in the silence, stopped too. Seeing him become expressionless like a mask, everyone felt more than just confusion; they felt a chill crawl up their spines. What on earth? What is this guy?

“Why? Keep going. It was funny.”

“….”

“Is that all? Well, fine.”

Grayson shrugged as if to show off.

“Anyway, as it happens, I was at that mansion. Being the Extreme Alpha I am, I was just trying to vent some pheromones. Fortunately, the fire broke out, so I didn’t get to finish, but at least my brain didn’t leak out.”

As Grayson’s words continued, the complexions of the people standing there darkened by the second. They felt in their bones that he was not a man to be taken lightly. If he were simply bad-tempered or had terrible character, they could just throw hands or settle it with a fight, but everyone knew that avoiding a madman was always the best answer.

“Oh, uh, I… I have something to take care of.”

As the man who had mocked Grayson quickly tried to leave, the others rushed to move as well. But before they could even lift a foot, Grayson caught them.

“Stop.”

At that chilling word, those who were trying to run away stood stock-still. As they reluctantly turned back, Grayson spoke with a command-like tone, his face still devoid of expression.

“I have something to ask, so gather back together. Quickly.”

“….”

“Come here. Right now.”

At his action of tapping his finger against the table, they had no choice but to hesitate and return. In the awkward silence, they nervously watched each other. Grayson, who had surveyed them all, finally spoke.

“Are these all the people who went into the mansion that day?”

Unlike his previous tone, his voice was now cold, leaving the team members blinking in bewilderment. For some reason, it felt like an interrogation, making it hard for anyone to speak. Finally, Wilkins asked back.

“Why so suddenly? Why are you curious about that?”

Grayson smiled at the blunt voice. Once again, the team members felt a strange sensation. Is now really the time to be smiling like that? Smiling to soften an opponent’s hostility was a common human behavior. But there was something unsettling about that man’s smile. What could it be?

As they searched for the answer, Grayson opened his mouth.

“I want to find the person who saved me that day. I don’t know how I lost consciousness, but when I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital room. If that person hadn’t saved me, I would probably be dead.”

He placed a hand over his heart with a moved expression and let out a deep sigh.

“Thanks to them, I am alive like this, so I want to repay them. I at least want to express my gratitude, so could you tell me who it was?”

At that, Wilkins looked around at the rest of the team members, as if asking if anyone knew. Ezra, who was quick-witted, stepped forward quickly and asked in a loud voice.

“Well, I don’t really know, because it was total chaos back then. Does anyone remember?”

The other team members all shook their heads, repeating that they didn’t know. Grayson narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows, but their reactions didn’t change. Grayson slowly brushed his hair back and muttered, as if talking to himself but loud enough for everyone to hear:

“I’m trying to offer a reward, but everyone says they don’t know…”

Then, he smiled brightly and said:

“Then I guess I’ll have to find them myself.”