No matter how many times he looked at the same photo, Joshua Bailey became stiff with disbelief. He zoomed in to confirm the face once more, pressing one hand to his forehead as he muttered to himself.
"God, what is this...?"
"Joshua."
"Ah!"
Suddenly, his name was called from behind, and someone hugged his waist, causing Joshua to scream loudly and drop the tablet. The tablet, falling onto the marble floor, immediately cracked the screen before turning off. In that moment, Joshua froze, his eyes wide, unable to move.
"Joshua..."
A panicked voice came from behind. Even though Chase was flustered, he didn’t let go of his embrace around Joshua’s waist. Joshua, staring blankly at the broken tablet, sighed and turned his head to look up at the man. Only then did Chase make eye contact and apologize.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think you’d be this startled."
"Well... no."
Joshua couldn't help but smile at Chase’s face, which looked so downhearted. How could he stay angry when he saw that face? Instead of throwing out harsh words, Joshua grabbed the back of Chase's head, pulling him in for a kiss on the lips. Chase accepted the kiss as though he had been waiting for it. Turning in his arms, Joshua embraced his waist and tilted his head to kiss him on the other side. Hah, a satisfied sigh escaped as their lips met. As he lightly tapped the sensitive part inside his mouth with his tongue, Chase immediately responded. Feeling Chase’s arousal grow, Joshua silently smiled.
"Didn’t we do enough last night?"
Still kissing, Joshua whispered, and Chase immediately answered.
"It wasn’t enough. I’ve been holding back for four months."
Right, that makes sense.
Joshua lowered his hand from Chase's waist and squeezed his buttocks as he thought. It had only been a week since he returned after finishing his work. He had already told the team leader that he would take a break for the next task. He had planned to spend some time with his family... but now...
Suddenly, the image of the photo he had just seen flashed through his mind, and he furrowed his brows. At that moment, the oven timer went off. Joshua kissed Chase's lips with a cute sound and then released him, heading toward the oven.
The smell of freshly baked bread spread through the kitchen, and Joshua's stomach grumbled. While the bread cooled down, he began preparing breakfast, only for Chase to follow him without hesitation. Watching him pull out meat from the fridge and start preparing to cook it, Joshua felt a sense of pride. This guy, who once could only spread jam on toast, had grown so much.
When Joshua wasn’t around, he remembered that Chase had been taking care of the kids alone. It seemed so natural now, but Joshua couldn’t help but be amazed every time. With a contented smile, he watched, but as Chase sprinkled whole peppercorns on the meat, he asked:
"What were you looking at earlier?"
"Uh, uh?"
Joshua stumbled over his words at the sudden question. Chase, looking puzzled, stared at him.
"Earlier, on the tablet. It looked like you were reading some article. What was it? Was it something important?"
Joshua didn’t say a word, just staring back at him. The silence lasted only two or three seconds, but in that brief time, Joshua’s mind raced, trying to imagine how Chase would react if he saw that article.
"No, nothing."
He decided to hide it.
Joshua smiled as usual and answered.
"It was just a gossip article. Don’t worry about it."
Then, he turned his body as though looking for sauce, trying to hide his expression. The article about Grayson Miller having a new lover would probably just make him angry and curse. The real problem was figuring out who the person was.
If he remembers Dane...
Now, it was a confusing situation, but Joshua never imagined this would happen. Back then, he had invited Dane to his wedding with Chase, telling him he could come empty-handed, and Dane gladly attended, making the event shine. Joshua had noticed him disappearing with Chase’s secretary during the event, but he pretended not to see. He thought everything had ended without much trouble...
But now, things were tangled?
He couldn’t make sense of it. How did Dane and Grayson get involved? The last mission had likely failed, so what happened then? Why hadn’t Dane told him? Wait, that guy never says anything unless asked. Damn it, what is Dane Striker up ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) to...?!
"I’ll be right back."
Joshua quickly said he was going to the bathroom and rushed out of the kitchen. He took out his phone and called Dane, but of course, he didn’t pick up.
So it’s come to this.
He had a bad feeling about it. Even if he met Dane and talked, he couldn’t be sure if he would explain the situation properly. Would he have to confirm it personally...?
After thinking for a moment, Joshua checked the time and quickly scanned through his phone's contact list. He stopped at one name and without hesitation dialed the number. After two or three rings, the familiar voice he had been waiting for came through.
"No, nothing like that."
Just as the voice turned from cheerful to worried, Joshua interrupted.
"I wanted to follow up on that thing you mentioned before, yeah."
After a brief pause, Joshua nodded.
"You said you were looking for a team to handle the security for Grayson Miller’s partner, right? Is that position still open?... Ah, I see."
Joshua cast a glance toward the kitchen. After confirming that Chase was still inside, he continued.
"One more thing, who is Grayson Miller’s partner? If you know, that would help."
The voice on the other end of the line replied, and Joshua squinted his eyes.
"It’s Dane Striker."
A short sigh escaped Joshua’s lips as he wiped his forehead with one hand.
"Alright, I’ll handle it."
His green eyes gleamed darkly.
"Since it’s related to Chase’s brother, I’ll help out too."
What’s going on?
After hanging up, Koi, his face flushed with excitement, paced around the living room, unable to hide his joy. He had been preparing to leave France after finishing his schedule when the phone call had come in, and it made him feel quite elated. Why had Joshua volunteered to take on this job? What had changed his mind? But he could trust Joshua. If he took this chance, maybe Grayson and Chase could at least have some conversation...!
Just then, the door opened, and Ashley entered. Koi, who had been pacing, stopped and immediately brightened as he walked over to him.
"Ash!"
"Koi."
Ashley, with a stiff expression, entered and managed to relax his lips when he saw Koi. Something seemed off—had something bad happened? Koi tilted his head in confusion before naturally pulling Ashley into an embrace and spoke up.
"Do you know who I just got a call from?"
"Who?"
At Ashley's question, Koi chuckled and answered with excitement.
"Joshua just called me! You know, you asked me to help find a bodyguard for Dane. So I asked Joshua if he could introduce some good people."
"Yeah, didn’t he refuse?"
Ashley furrowed his brows as he asked, and Koi's eyes sparkled as he shouted with excitement.
"Yeah, but he just called and said he’s going to do it! Personally! He’s going to handle Dane’s security himself!"
Koi felt Ashley’s arms tighten around his waist. Ashley blinked in surprise before frowning.
"Suddenly?"
"Yeah, maybe he figured it was better if he did it himself? Since he’s Chase’s brother, he said he’d lend a hand...!"
Koi believed those words with pure faith, but Ashley was different. There had to be a reason for this. What was going on... why did he think that...?
"Mr. Miller."
At that moment, as Ashley was thinking, his secretary rushed in and handed him something. With Koi still in his arms, Ashley reached out, and when he saw the tablet screen, he froze.
"Wha... what is this...?"
Muttering to himself, Koi looked up at him in confusion, but Ashley’s gaze remained fixed on the screen, and he said nothing further.
