Chapter 27

So in the end, Dane is the final winner.

Just as everyone was thinking the same thing, someone suddenly remembered a forgotten fact.

"Wait, then who won this match?"

The atmosphere suddenly changed. This couldn't just be overlooked.

"Obviously Dane, because Miller cheated."

"Cheated? How?"

"I don't know, but anyway there's no way Dane would lose to that guy, so he must have done something cowardly."

"That's right, that sounds like Miller. He's a psychopath, being an extreme Alpha."

The guys who had been exchanging opinions as they pleased now turned their arrows toward Dane.

"Right? There was some kind of accident, wasn't there?"

"There's no way that bastard could beat you! He must have used some cowardly trick, definitely!"

"Tell us everything, Dane. We believe in you."

"Yeah, there's no way you lost to someone like Miller. You're Dane Striker!"

Everyone united in speaking with one voice. Dane glanced around with a not-so-pleased face. Greyson Miller was still standing in the same place. As if watching to see what he would say.

Haa, after sighing, Dane opened his mouth without hesitation.

"I lost."

"That's right, what?"

"What did you say? What did you just say? You lost?"

Ezra, who had been nodding as if it were obvious, was startled and opened his eyes wide. DeAndre was also flustered and repeated the same words several times. Dane rubbed the back of his head and said in a tired voice.

"You all saw it, me coming back late. That bastard won, just as you saw. Nothing will change that."

"B-but, but, that bastard cheated, right?"

Another guy asked urgently. He was so anxious that he stumbled over his words several times, and other guys chimed in from beside him.

"Right, if it had been fair and square, there's no way you would have lost. You're our station's ace!"

"Be honest, Dane Striker. Were you threatened? Is that it?"

"There's no way Dane would give in to threats, though money might be different!"

"What, did you take money? How much? Hey, I'll give it to you! So just tell us honestly!"

"I'll chip in too, this is a matter of our pride, we can't just let it go like this!"

"Me too, me too!"

Everyone waited for Dane's words with burning enthusiasm and shining eyes. They looked ready to immediately search their pockets and empty out all their money as soon as he finished speaking. Though that would amount to at most about 423 dollars and 82 cents.

Of course, Dane couldn't give them the answer they wanted.

"I'll say it again, I understand how you feel, but this is reality. I lost, Greyson Miller won."

Everyone who had placed their last hope on him fell silent with blank faces. The grand plan to break that unlikable guy's pride had now collapsed. Dane repeated the same words again.

"I was late. That bastard came in first. So the winner is Greyson Miller."

Dane pointed at himself with his finger, then directed it toward Miller. As a group of gazes followed his finger, Greyson, who was standing there, smiled broadly and waved his hand. As if to say, I won. Of course, none of the gathered guys smiled back at him.

The female employees who had been watching until then finally began to speak one by one.

"Too bad, Dane. But since you lost, you must have made some mistake, right?"

"You don't seem badly hurt, so that's fortunate. In the end, these things are about luck."

As words of comfort continued to Dane one by one, suddenly Valentina shouted.

"Greyson says he'll buy drinks, who's coming?"

It was almost quitting time. At this very appropriate suggestion, the reaction was split exactly in half. The women waved both arms joyfully, while the men glared at him with twisted faces.

"We can't lose."

Wilkins ground his teeth and gathered the male employees.

"I'll pay here. Let's drink until we throw up, got it?"

"Yeah!"

The men shouted in response, not to be outdone. When Dane raised his hand as if he had something to say, Wilkins immediately put on a stern expression.

"No, no matter what cat excuse you make, you can't skip today, understand? We all know you'd just be drinking beer at home anyway."

"It's not an excuse, my cat is really wait-"

"Don't be ridiculous. I know very well that it finds food just fine even without you."

"That's right, plus you got paid leave, two whole days. There's no way you can skip out."

Ezra chimed in from the side. Dane immediately frowned in displeasure but had no choice but to lower his hand. And as soon as they got off work, they headed to the bar as one. With colleagues forming a scrum around him to prevent escape, Dane couldn't even think of running away and was dragged to the bar without being able to move. However, before that, Wilkins had to receive a tremendous scolding from the chief.

At the loud bang of a fist hitting the desk hard, Wilkins flinched his large body. The chief glared at him with fierce eyes while breathing heavily.

"Why on earth do you do things that weren't ordered, huh? Do you have nothing to do? Are you bored? If so, why didn't you go volunteer at the school in front?"

"I'm sorry, Chief."

Wilkins bowed his head and apologized in a voice that was intimidated despite his size. But he did have something to say.

"But Chief, it was a desperate measure on my part. Since that guy arrived, the team's atmosphere has been terrible. He needed to have his nose flattened at least once."

"So did you succeed? Did you flatten his nose!"

At the shouted question, Wilkins again answered with a shrinking voice, "No." The chief, as if feeling stifled, pulled down his tie and pounded his chest.

"Did I tell you not to touch that bastard, or didn't I? Why cause trouble, making things complicated! Do you think I was just saying empty words when I told you not to touch that bastard? Huh?"

"...but we couldn't just leave things as they were. You must have seen it too, Chief. Since that guy came, the team members have been going crazy."

"You're really giving me a headache. It's one year, one year! You couldn't endure just that and caused this mess? You and your team members are all the same! Do you have no fear?"

"Of course I'm afraid of Miller, but..."

"Miller being Miller is the second problem! Greyson is the problem! That very bastard!"

The chief shouted wildly as if he would go crazy from frustration. Wilkins could only look at the chief in confusion, blinking his eyes. Isn't he just a dissolute playboy who likes to have fun? Though they say extreme Alphas are psychopaths, he hadn't particularly shown such aspects. To the team leader who was clearly showing signs of confusion, the chief, still breathing heavily, spoke in a somewhat calmer voice.

"Do you know what that guy did during his interview?"

"...No, I don't."

"Of course not, because I didn't tell you."

At the chief's confident words, Wilkins was dumbfounded. Looking at his subordinate's stupid expression, the chief continued in his still husky voice.

"The questions I asked Miller were very ordinary ones. Why he wanted to become a firefighter, what he wanted to do if he became one, whether he had experienced other jobs before, things like that."

As the chief said, these were basic questions asked in interviews. To Wilkins, who was waiting in confusion, the chief said.

"Do you know what Miller answered?"

"I don't know, since you haven't told me yet."

Wilkins quickly added, recalling his earlier experience. The chief seemed displeased with that answer and gave him a glance before continuing.

"His answers were perfect. Really, there was nothing to fault."

"...And?"

To Wilkins, who still didn't understand, the chief suddenly placed both hands on the desk, leaned his upper body forward, and met his eyes.

"That's exactly the problem. He said exactly the same things, perfectly matching the video."

"Video?... Ah!"

As Wilkins belatedly remembered and let out an exclamation, the chief nodded and straightened his posture again.

"Yes, that video we made. The educational material, the one uploaded on our website."