The Exiled Alpha's Human Male Mate.[BL]

Sleep was beginning to pull Bryce under after more than twenty minutes had passed since Adam left for the meeting.

But before he could drift off completely, the office door opened, he lifted his head, blinking away the haze of sleep as Adam walked inside alone.

"That was way longer than twenty minutes." Bryce’s voice came out unexpectedly rough.

"And the meeting isn’t over yet."

The answer immediately erased what little sleepiness remained.

"Why? Is something wrong? Did he reject the design? Has he decided to take part in designing it?" The questions tumbled from Bryce’s mouth before he could stop them.

"There’s good news and bad news," Adam said, far too calmly for Bryce’s current state.

"What?"

A satisfied smile appeared on Adam’s face.

"He was completely impressed by the design. Trust me, it’s difficult to impress that man, and somehow, we managed to do it on our first presentation."

Bryce should have felt relieved, but the mention of bad news didn’t give him that pleasure.

"And the bad news?"

Adam’s smile disappeared.

"There were some questions about certain parts of the design that we couldn’t answer properly. No matter how much we tried to explain them, we couldn’t remember the details well enough to satisfy him. Eventually, he became convinced that there was someone else who played a major role in creating the design."

Bryce’s stomach tightened.

"He demanded that I bring that person in. We couldn’t find a way around it, no matter what excuse I came up with. So I’ve come for you."

Adam paused.

"He doesn’t know it’s you yet."

Bryce’s heart seemed to stop before immediately hammering against his ribs.

Adam noticed his expression and quickly added, "There’s no reason to be afraid. I don’t think Mr. Walker has a problem with you. I think his wife is the issue. She clearly decided you didn’t deserve this position the moment she saw you, that’s how she is, difficult with almost everyone."

Bryce remained silent.

"Besides, once Mr. Walker realizes you were responsible for such a substantial part of that design, he might decide to move you into the position you actually deserve."

He paused briefly before adding in a low voice.

"I’ve even heard people saying he favors you, or at least reacts differently when it comes to you."

Bryce looked at him, stunned.

"What?"

"Think about what happened when you were sick. He carried you out himself. He even made HR apologize to you publicly. So I don’t think you need to be afraid of him."

"What are people saying?"

Adam seemed surprised that this was the part Bryce had focused on.

"Apparently, some people think you’re secretly related to him. I don’t know. Everyone has their own theory."

Bryce scoffed inwardly.

Related?

If only they knew.

"Come on," Adam said, already turning toward the door. "He doesn’t like being kept waiting."

Bryce slowly stood.

The exhaustion that had weighed heavily on him moments earlier had vanished completely, leaving behind only anxiety and the uneasy awareness that he was about to walk into a room with Vincent.

He tried not to dwell on what might happen, or on how Vincent would react when he realized who had been responsible for the design. Would he allow Bryce to continue working on the project, or would he dismiss him?

By the time they reached the conference room, Bryce’s pulse had accelerated further.

Adam pushed the door open, and Bryce stepped inside.

Vincent was seated around the conference table, positioned directly opposite the door. The moment Bryce entered, their eyes met.

Something inside Bryce stirred with sudden excitement at the sight of him, an instinctive response he immediately tried to suppress.

Vincent gave nothing away.

His expression remained composed, almost impassive, but his grey eyes stayed fixed on Bryce throughout his approach, following him until he finally took his seat.

"Give me a detailed explanation of this design, the way you would present it to the officials if you were given the opportunity," Vincent instructed, his voice quiet and deep.

The sound of it pulled at something inside Bryce before he could stop himself. He had missed hearing that voice far more than he wanted to admit.

Fuck.

He cursed inwardly.

He definitely still had feelings for Vincent.

But how had those feelings formed so quickly, and how had they managed to take root deeply enough to affect him this much?

Maybe Vincent had been right.

Perhaps whatever had happened between them that first night had been enough to create something Bryce had been trying desperately not to acknowledge.

He didn’t want to think about that night again, didn’t want to revisit the details or admit how much he had enjoyed being with Vincent.

But denying the truth wouldn’t change it.

He had enjoyed it.

Every part of it.

Vincent had made him feel alive in a way Dave never had.

That wasn’t to say Dave had ever been incapable of satisfying him. He had always been good at it, instinctively attuned to Bryce’s reactions, making sure Bryce was genuinely lost in the moment before allowing himself to surrender to it as well.

But with Vincent...

Something about being with him had reached a depth Bryce had never experienced before, stirring sensations and emotions he hadn’t even known he was capable of feeling.

The memory threatened to pull him deeper into his thoughts.

The strength of Vincent’s arms on his body...

Another thought he had tried desperately to dismiss distracted him.

Where had Vincent’s cum gone?

Bryce remembered vividly that Vincent had finished inside him. He wasn’t inexperienced with sex, and he knew what normally happened afterward.

It should have eventually come out.

But it never had.

"Mr. Jones?"

Bryce snapped out of his haze with a sharp intake of breath, the sudden awareness of the room cutting through the thoughts that had carried him away.

Everyone was staring at him.

He couldn’t tell who had called his name. It didn’t sound like Vincent. Vincent looked almost detached from the meeting despite sitting directly at the table, his grey eyes still fixed on Bryce as though nothing else in the room had managed to claim his attention.

"What are you waiting for?" Adam murmured.

Bryce cleared his throat and stood.

He pulled the design closer, positioning it where everyone, including Vincent, could see it clearly.

That seemed to bring Vincent back into the room as well. His posture shifted almost imperceptibly, his attention settling fully on the design in front of him.

"We thought depicting the pitch, the players, and the ball would set the design apart from everything that had already been created. But we also didn’t want the surface to feel static or predictable, as though it were merely displaying images. So we developed the idea of dividing the surface into multiple layers, each capable of shifting through remote control.

When activated, the layers move from their settled, flat arrangement, gradually repositioning themselves to create a three dimensional formation, eventually coming together in the shape of a sphere resembling a miniature globe.

The base..."

Bryce continued without pausing for nearly fifteen minutes, explaining each component and the reasoning behind it in meticulous detail.

He was almost afraid that if he stopped even briefly, his thoughts would wander again.

"You all did an excellent work, and I appreciate the effort you’ve put into this," Vincent praised, his voice retaining the same calm depth. "I’m confident in the design."

He paused briefly, his gaze moving across the three designers before settling on Bryce.

"Tomorrow, I would like only one person from the team to accompany me, and I hope you don’t mind that I’ve chosen Mr. Jones to represent you."

Bryce’s attention sharpened immediately.

"As for the three of you, you can take a break from now through tomorrow. You’ve been working without pause, and you need the time to rest."

Bryce could barely believe what he was hearing.

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