DMYC Chapter 21

DeAndre was stunned by the barrage of words.

Wait, this isn’t the time for this. 

Snapping out of his senses, he felt a surge of indignation and shouted,

“Hold on, hold on. I always use protection too. So why won’t you go out with me?”

His unyielding persistence finally forced the women to reveal the frustrating truth. Valentina, with an intensity that matched DeAndre’s, shouted back, her expression harsher than he’d ever seen,

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

She sighed deeply and waved her hand dismissively at him, exasperated by his inability to comprehend.

“Try to understand. If I’m attracted to someone, it’s great that I don’t have to worry about getting pregnant even without protection! Don’t you understand how convenient that is, how ideal that situation is?”

He opened his mouth as if to argue, but Valentina didn’t let him. Instead, she pressed him even harder.

“But with you? I can’t expect that, can I? So I don’t want to have sex with you, ever! Never, ever, ever! Ever!”

The word “ever” echoed and dispersed in the chilling silence. DeAndre just stood there, dazed.

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

Seeing his pathetic state as Valentina berated him mercilessly, the men who had been watching rushed over and dragged him back to their area.

“Hey, DeAndre? Snap out of it. Someone get him some water!”

As Wilkins patted his cheek and called his name, he seemed to slowly regain consciousness. At the same time, the words he’d heard echoed in his ears, and his eyes started to sting.

-I don’t want to have sex with you, ever! Never, ever, ever! Ever!

It was unbelievable. He would have preferred a physical beating. To be killed with words like that, how could she be so cruel?

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Wilkins patted DeAndre’s back comfortingly as he trembled, his face contorted.

“Forget about it. Cheer up, I have a good idea.”

“An idea?”

“What? What kind of idea?”

The other men behind them chimed in as DeAndre blinked. Wilkins glanced around at that moment and lowered his voice, carefully watching the women chatting nearby, a sly smile playing on his lips.

“Let’s humiliate that bastard in front of the women. If we make him look like a complete fool, they’ll lose all interest in him. Then we can just laugh at him.”

“Do you have a plan for that?”

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

“Let’s drag Miller through the mud!”

The men cheered, swinging their fists in the air. They bumped shoulders and nodded at each other, their morale rising as if they were soldiers preparing for battle. But even in the midst of it all, DeAndre continued to glare at the gathered women with eyes full of resentment—yet, in the end, he did nothing.

* * *

“Hey, Grayson Miller.”

Grayson, who was once again flirting with another female staff member, turned around at the sound of his name and saw Ezra standing there. 

Ezra, without saying a word, jerked his chin, gesturing for him to follow, and walked away. 

But something felt off. 

Realizing there were no footsteps behind him, Ezra turned around and was aghast. Grayson Miller was still standing in the same spot, flirting with the woman. Furious, Ezra stomped back towards Grayson, his breaths coming out in short, angry huffs.

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

Grayson finally turned his head and looked down at him at his sharp question, his face clearly showing his annoyance.

“Hmm…? Did you say something like that?”

“What?”

Grayson’s reaction was utterly nonchalant. Ezra, dumbfounded, asked again, his voice rising involuntarily, and Grayson simply smiled, his expression still shamelessly cheerful.

“You just walked off, so I thought you were just calling out randomly. Right, Beth?”

The last part, directed at Beth, was completely different unlike his earlier tone with Ezra. His voice was soft and gentle, as if he were making a lighthearted joke. With a lazy tilt of his head and a playful smile in his eyes as he asked, he exuded nothing but confidence and ease.

As if mesmerized by his smile, Beth stared at him in a daze for a moment, then breaked into a bashful giggle and nodded.

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

“Hahaha! Beth, you’re not only cute, but you’re also funny.”

“Well, I do have my moments. Hahaha!”

Whatever was so amusing, the two laughed heartily, their bodies shaking as if they were sharing the joke of the century. They did so without hesitation or restraint. Ezra, however, didn’t laugh. His fists clenched, trembling slightly, he said through gritted teeth,

“Miller, cut the crap and come with me. Everyone’s waiting.”

At his angry tone, Grayson finally stopped laughing and looked at Ezra, a smile still playing on his lips.

“If you’ve got something to say, why don’t you just say it here?”

His response was far from what Ezra had expected. Exasperated, Ezra let out a short sigh, and then tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, he spoke in a calmer voice,

“It’s not something we can discuss here. Just come with me, and you’ll see. The team leader said if you refuse, you’ll be stuck in the office from now on, no calls or anything.”

As he relayed Wilkins’ words as a last resort, Grayson’s demeanor changed slightly. Even so, he still had a smile on his face but he seemed lost in thought.

He looked as if he was making a difficult decision, but thankfully, he didn’t take long and nodded.

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

To Ezra’s surprise, he suddenly leaned down and kissed Beth on the lips. It was a light, fleeting kiss, almost playful, but considering it was done in front of someone else, it was blatant. 

Ezra watched the shameless display, his eyes wide, for a full three minutes. When Grayson finally let go of Beth, waved goodbye, and turned around, Ezra, who had been waiting, quickly walked away without a word. But he couldn’t contain his seething anger, and after a few steps, he finally spoke,

“Since when were you and Beth a thing? I had no idea.”

Grayson, wiping his saliva-slicked lips with his thumb, replied to the sarcastic question,

“Let’s see… 30 minutes?”

“You disgusting bastard.”

“Me?”

Grayson tilted his head at Ezra’s remark and looked back. He then shouted to Beth, who was still standing there,

“Beth, this guy called you disgusting!”

“What?!”

“What?!”

Shocked, Beth let out a gasp, and even Ezra recoiled in alarm, shouting instinctively.

“W-w-w-what are you talking about?! When? When did I ever call Beth disgusting?! No, Beth! It’s a misunderstanding! I never said that about you! I’m innocent! Really!”

Ezra waved his hands frantically, and Grayson, stroking his chin, tilted his head to the other side.

“That’s strange. If I’m disgusting, wouldn’t Beth, who kissed me, be disgusting too? What’s the difference?”

“There’s a difference! There is! You son of a bitch! Are you trying to fuck me up?!”

Ezra yelled, frustrated and angry, but Grayson still looked unconvinced. His expression further infuriated Ezra, fueling his urge to punch him. But he was forced to suppress it when someone called out to him.

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

Unable to hold back any longer, the man, who had come to check on the situation, glanced at Grayson and tugged on Ezra’s arm.

“What are you still doing here? What if we suddenly get called out? We don’t have time for this!”

Damn it. 

Ezra gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. 

He stomped off, practically running towards the room where the team leader and the others were waiting. Then, the man who had come to get him followed, looking flustered, and lastly, Grayson followed leisurely, hands in his pockets, whistling calmly.