Page 56 of Claim Me
I have to admit, hearing all this makes my eyebrows rise slightly in surprise. It sounds like a genuine scandal, one that could seriously damage the Beta Activation program.
Some old part of me even feels a flicker of excitement because, back when I was still on Marcel’s leash, information like this would’ve been absolute gold to me. This could’ve been the kind of thing that drove a nail straight into the coffin of the entire reproductive program, especially if its unethical side came to light, with public opinion probably turning against it overnight.
But now I’m just Blue’s bodyguard, so I stand there quietly listening.
Gomez keeps talking to Blue, explaining details, clarifying things, but at that point something else catches my attention even more than their conversation.
About sixty-five feet away from Blue there’s a small group of employees, and several of them keep glancing over after clearly realizing that Blue Lowen himself is standing in the lobby, somewhere he probably never appears under normal circumstances.
I carefully shift a little closer while pretending to look casually out the window so they won’t think I noticed anything.
That’s when I catch a short sentence drifting over.
"Come on, he won’t even notice. Just do it."
Immediately my whole body tenses with alertness, even though my ability still hasn’t triggered.
It starts like always, before something bad is about to happen. I feel the distinct pressure at the back of my head. It may come even minutes before the five-second vision arrives. But right now, there’s nothing around me that looks suspicious. Maybe the danger isn’t severe enough? I have no idea, but I continue monitoring everything with my ability fully active.
The men stand close together, shoulders hunched inward as if they’re hiding something in their hands from everyone around them.
I clench my jaw and shift my weight restlessly, preparing for… I don’t even know what, silently hoping Blue will finish the conversation already.
Mr. Gomez continues whispering and rambling while fragments of sentences reach me, but I can barely focus anymore.
Something like:
"…he took the job because he’s desperate. In practice, he can’t function normally in society with pheromones that strong. Any AOs he gets near immediately want sex, either with him orwith each other. I’m not surprised he accepted Sidorov’s terms. He’s basically unemployable…"
The group of whispering men shifts apart slightly, and that’s when I notice one of them holding something that looks like a thick straw for drinking milkshakes.
My entire body tightens.
My five-second sense kicks into overdrive.
Blue seems to be wrapping up the conversation. Gomez thanks him for the discretion, and Blue calmly assures him he’ll handle the matter.
Gomez turns and leaves while Blue pulls out his phone and glances down at it. I slowly approach until I’m standing about three feet away.
Blue starts dialing someone.
And then the vision hits.
The man with the straw raises it to his mouth.
He inhales deeply, cheeks puffing outward before he blasts a tiny white ball through the tube straight toward Blue’s face.
Obviously, like anyone who survived middle school, I immediately recognize what it is.
A spitball.
Just a little wad of saliva-soaked paper. Nothing truly dangerous, nothing requiring some brutal intervention, but for some reason a wave of fury surges through me anyway.
The second the spitball leaves the edge of the straw, I’m already moving.
Right as it gets within about three feet of Blue, I slide between them, and the paper ball bounces harmlessly off my chest instead, going off course before it can hit him.
Blue instantly jerks his head up, catching only the last second of what happened, but it doesn’t take him long to identify where it came from.
