Desire Me If You Can [Novel] - Chapter 10
In the atmosphere filled with a mix of self-deprecation and futility, the woman lifting dumbbells and working her arms spoke with an indifferent expression,
“That great Miller family must have made a huge donation. How can we stop them? They’re the Millers.”
“Fucking hell!”
Another man cursed vehemently. They were all upset about the unfairness of the situation, but just as she said, there was nothing they could do about it. Except vent their frustrations by lifting weights faster than usual and spewing out curses.
“On the other hand, since they got something in return, there will be benefits for us too. Like better facilities, new equipment, or something.”
At the other woman’s attempt at consolation, everyone muttered curses under their breath, still annoyed.
“Anyway, the bottom line is still the same. This situation sucks.”
Everyone agreed with the clear-cut conclusion. Then, another colleague suggested,
“Since it’s come to this, how about we give him a fiery welcome?”
For a moment, they exchanged glances. At first, their expressions were puzzled. But they soon realized the meaning of the “fiery welcome,” and their faces lit up with mischievous smiles. Naturally, it was completely different from the “fun welcome party” the chief had in mind.
It might even be more enjoyable than that.
One by one, voices of agreement began to chime in.
“Oh, right. He’s from the esteemed Miller family. There’s no way we can just let this slide.”
“Let’s give him a passionate welcome, one filled with fiery enthusiasm.”
“He must be an Extreme Alpha, right? It’s the Miller family, after all.”
“I need to see what those famous pheromones are all about.”
Kekeke.
Chuckles and sinister laughter filled the air as their eyes burned with hostility towards the Miller they hadn’t even met yet.
We won’t let you off easy, Miller!
Fueled by their shared animosity, they each threw themselves into their workouts with renewed intensity. Then, suddenly, one of them turned their head and asked,
“Where’s Dane, by the way?”
“Huh?”
The firefighters, belatedly realizing their colleague’s absence, looked around in confusion. Ezra answered,
“He’s at the police station. Said he’ll be a little late.”
The startled colleagues repeated his words.
“Police station?”
“He’s at the police station? Why?”
At the completely unexpected words, everyone’s eyes grew wide, and they bombarded him with questions all at once. As his colleagues wore the same expression and asked the exact same question, Ezra answered with a bewildered look on his face.
“Well, that’s…”
***
“Dane Striker, please sign here.”
Dane took the document the police officer handed him with an impassive face and scribbled his signature in the blank space. The police officer immediately took back the paper and continued dully,
“We’ll contact you accordingly as the investigation proceeds. Until then, you absolutely must not contact the victim under any circumstances. Keep that in mind.”
He recited a few precautions, but Dane, despite it being his own case, yawned with a clear expression of boredom, as if he had no interest whatsoever. Seeing the police officer’s temple vein bulging at his flippant attitude, the lawyer hurriedly smiled and soothed him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he behaves. Thank you for your hard work, then we’ll be going now…”
After a hasty goodbye, the lawyer practically pushed Dane’s back out of the police station. Following Dane outside, the lawyer finally let out a sigh of relief and grumbled,
“Everything’s fine, but please don’t sleep with married women.”
As the fire department’s legal counsel, it was his job to handle any legal issues the firefighters faced, but he only felt a sense of accomplishment when resolving work-related matters. Getting involved in adultery cases like this was a pain.
“I told you she said she was single.”
But Dane continued to insist on his innocence, still annoyed.
“I hate getting into trouble too. How was I supposed to know her husband would suddenly come home? I just hit him once to calm him down because he wouldn’t listen to me and went ballistic.”
“That’s why I’m asking why you hit him! In fact, from his perspective, Dane, you were the intruder!”
Looking down at the lawyer, who was pressing him again with a slightly agitated tone, Dane clenched his fist.
“He was being noisy.”
At the cynical reply, the lawyer flinched and shut his mouth for the first time. As Dane looked forward again and unclenched his fists, the lawyer walked beside him, gauging his mood. He seemed to be looking for an opportunity to speak, but the wait wasn’t long.
“I know that one-night stands with women you meet at bars are an everyday occurrence for you. But why did you go to her house? Don’t you absolutely avoid staying out overnight? What about Darling?”
How does this guy know so much about me?
As if reading Dane’s mind, the lawyer continued, as Dane frowned and looked down at him,
“The chief specifically instructed me to get you out as quickly as possible if anything happened to you. He even mentioned that the cat you’re raising is blind and deaf, right? And old. It wouldn’t be easy to find him a new home if something happened to you, so it would be very problematic if you kept causing trouble like this. Be more responsible!”
“Haa.”
Of course, he was overflowing with responsibility. He was already feeling an immense amount of guilt about Darling, who would be waiting for him alone at home, because of his unexpected night out.
“Alright, I’ll refrain for a while.”
With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair, and only then did the lawyer nod.
“I’ll trust you. Then I’ll take care of this matter. Are you going straight to work?”
“No, I need to stop by home first. I have to feed Darling…”
Dane glanced at his wristwatch, roughly calculating the time, when the lawyer opened his car door and
said,
“Get in, I’ll give you a ride.”
Dane readily opened the passenger door and got in. The lawyer stared blankly at Dane, who had gotten into the car without a word and settled into the passenger seat before him, then suppressed his rising irritation and silently got into the driver’s seat.
“Oh, by the way, have you heard? The second son of the Miller family is coming to the station today.”
“What?”
Dane frowned and asked curtly at the lawyer’s words as he started the car. The lawyer answered perfunctorily, focusing on driving.
“I heard he decided to work as a firefighter. For a year. So I heard he’s starting this afternoon.”
“…Huh.”
Dane still didn’t say much. He simply let out a disbelieving, bewildered sigh.
This is ominous.
The fire chief felt a shiver down his spine as he looked at the flawless face of the man sitting across his
desk.
As expected of Ashley Miller’s son, his beauty was striking. It was a well-known fact that Extreme Alphas were exceptionally attractive, but seeing it in person was enough to make him momentarily dazed.
Those purple eyes, in particular, were so mesmerizing and mysterious that they drew you in, almost as if you were peering into the cosmos. Coupled with the faint, sweet scent of his pheromones, the chief felt as though he were dreaming, completely detached from reality. Because of this, even when Grayson Miller greeted him and offered a handshake, the chief simply stared blankly at his face for a few seconds.
Grayson, who had arrived fifteen minutes earlier than the appointed time, had sat patiently in the waiting area without a single complaint. Even now, after finally entering the office and facing him, the man simply offered a polite, standard greeting with a smile, as if such a trivial wait was nothing at all.
So far, his behavior has been impeccable. He was extremely polite, and he hadn’t uttered any unnecessary words. Above all, his appearance was simply magnificent.
The chief had clearly seen his own secretary, completely captivated, unable to take her eyes off him. At
this rate, even though he had used connections to get this position, the chief felt a flicker of hope that he might integrate well given enough time, and the tense atmosphere would eventually subside.
Even though he was well aware of his employee’s opposition.
