Desire Me If You Can Chapter 21

Diandre felt dazed by the barrage of words.

Wait, this isn’t the time for this. Coming to his senses a beat too late, he suddenly felt a sense of injustice and shouted back at the top of his lungs.

“Wait, just wait a minute! I always use protection, too. So why is it a no-go for me?”

His unyielding tenacity eventually led him to blurt out a truth full of resentment to the women. Valentina, with a menacing expression unlike anything he had ever seen before, shouted back just as loudly as Diandre.

“Do you still not understand what we’ve been saying this whole time?”

She let out a deep sigh, waving her hand in annoyance at someone who simply wouldn’t listen.

“Try to understand! With the person I want to have sex with, it’s a good thing that I don’t have to worry about pregnancy even without birth control! Do you have any idea how comfortable that is, or how optimal that state is?”

The other man opened his mouth as if to make some excuse, but Valentina didn’t wait. Instead, she pressed him even harder.

“But with you? I can’t expect anything like that. So, I don’t want to have sex with you, ever! Never, never ever! Not in a million years!”

In the chilling silence that followed, the word “never” echoed and scattered. Diandre was so dazed he just stood there, blank-eyed.

“So, realize it now. Please, just give up already!”

Seeing him in such a pitiful state, being relentlessly pushed around by Valentina, the men watching rushed over and hastily pulled him back to their spot.

“Hey, Diandre? Get a grip. Someone get some water over here!”

As Wilkins tapped his cheek and called his name, his consciousness seemed to slowly return. At the same time, the words he had just heard played back in his ears, and his eyes began to sting.

—I don’t want to have sex with you, ever! Never, never ever! Not in a million years!

This can’t be happening. He would have preferred to be beaten to death. How could someone be so cruel, killing a person with just words?

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Wilkins patted the back of Diandre, who was trembling with his face twisted in agony, as if comforting him.

“Forget it. Let it go. I have a good idea.”

“An idea?”

“What, what kind of idea?”

The other men behind the wide-eyed Diandre asked in unison. At that moment, Wilkins glanced around and lowered his voice. Especially after checking to see if the women chatting over there were watching, he wore a short smirk on his lips.

“Let’s make that bastard lose face in front of the women. If we turn him into an absolute laughingstock, the women will get turned off too. Then, we just have to laugh at him.”

“Is there a way to do that?”

“As expected of our team leader, I knew I could count on you!”

“Let’s drag Miller into the mud!”

The men responded, pumping their fists in the air. They nodded at each other, bumping shoulders, and their morale was as high as soldiers facing a battle. Yet, even in the midst of this, Diandre was still glaring at the gathered women with eyes full of resentment, but he couldn’t actually do anything.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Hey, Grayson Miller.”

As Grayson, who was flirting with another new female employee, turned around at the call, Ezra was standing there. Without a word, Ezra gestured with his chin to follow him and turned away, walking off with long strides. But for some reason, he felt like no one was behind him. Realizing that there were no footsteps following him, Ezra turned back and was shocked. Grayson Miller was still standing in the same spot, flirting with the woman. Angry, Ezra gnashed his teeth and strode back toward Grayson.

“Miller, what are you doing here? Didn’t you hear me tell you to follow me?”

At his quick, demanding question, Grayson finally turned his head and looked down at him, his face clearly showing he was annoyed.

“Hmm…? Did you say that?”

“What?”

Grayson’s reaction was perfectly nonchalant. When a stunned Ezra asked in an unintentionally raised voice, Grayson still wore a shameless grin.

“I thought you were just leaving, so I figured you were just calling out. Isn’t that right, Beth?”

His tone for the latter part was completely different from what he had directed at Ezra. It was soft and gentle, as if he were making a light joke. Grayson’s demeanor, tilted head and smirking eyes, was slick and relaxed.

As if bewitched by that smile, Beth stared at him with a dazed expression for a moment before giggling and nodding.

“Yeah, I didn’t hear anything at all. I just thought Ezra was being silly.”

“Hahaha, hahahaha! Beth, you’re not just cute, you’re funny too.”

“I guess I am. Hahahaha.”

They doubled over laughing, enjoying themselves. Without any reservations. Of course, Ezra wasn’t laughing at all. Trembling slightly with his fists clenched tight, he spat out through gritted teeth.

“Miller, cut it out and come with me. Everyone is waiting.”

At the angry tone, Grayson finally stopped laughing and looked at Ezra, still with a smile on his face.

“If you have something to say, you can just come here and say it, can’t you?”

That was far from the answer Ezra had been waiting for. A stunned Ezra let out a short, frustrated sigh before throwing his head back and looking at the ceiling. After taking a deep breath, he spoke in a more subdued tone than before.

“This isn’t something to talk about here; you’ll understand once you come. The team leader said if you refuse, you’re to stay in the office for all deployments and everything else from now on.”

When he delivered Wilkins’ words as a last resort, Grayson’s attitude changed slightly. Though, even then, it was just him lost in thought with a smile still on his face.

He looked like he was making a difficult decision, but fortunately, he didn’t drag it out for long and nodded.

“I guess I have no choice then. Sorry, Beth. I’ll be right back.”

To everyone’s surprise, he suddenly leaned in slightly and even kissed Beth on the lips. It was a light, fleeting kiss like a simple prank, but considering he was doing it in a place where people were watching, it was blatant enough. Ezra stared at that shameless display with his own eyes wide open for three whole minutes. As soon as Grayson finally let go of Beth and turned around waving, Ezra, who had been waiting, walked away quickly without a word. However, it was impossible to calm his seething insides, so he eventually ended up speaking first after only a few steps.

“Since when did you have that kind of relationship with Beth? I had no idea.”

To the sarcastic question, Grayson wiped his saliva-slicked lips with his thumb and replied.

“Hmm? Thirty minutes?”

“You dirty bastard.”

“Me?”

At Ezra’s rebuke, Grayson tilted his head and looked back. Then, he shouted out loudly toward Beth, who was still standing in the same spot.

“Beth, this guy says you’re dirty!”

“What?”

“What the?”

Not only was Beth startled, but Ezra was also horrified as he shouted.

“W-w-w-what are you talking about! When did I? When did I ever say Beth was dirty! No, Beth! It’s a misunderstanding, I never said that to you, I’m innocent, I swear!”

As he shouted desperately and waved his hands, Grayson stroked his chin and tilted his head the other way this time.

“Strange, if I’m dirty, doesn’t that mean Beth, who kissed me, is also dirty? What’s the difference?”

“It’s different, you bastard! Are you trying to trap me?”

Ezra screamed, beside himself with frustration, but Grayson still looked unconvinced. That face made Ezra even angrier, triggering an urge to land a punch on Grayson. However, he was forced to stop when another guy called out to him.

“Ezra, what are you doing? Why is it taking so long? Everyone is waiting!”

The man, who had lost his patience and come to check on the situation, grabbed Ezra’s arm while glancing at Grayson.

“What are you doing here? What if we have to deploy suddenly? We don’t have time!”

Damn it. Ezra gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. In the end, he took aggressive, long strides, almost running in the direction where the team leader and the rest of the team were waiting. The man who had come to fetch him followed, looking flustered, and finally, Grayson followed slowly with his hands in his pockets, whistling nonchalantly.