"Do I know you?" Standing in the middle of the noisy office, Tina asked Ben the question that had been bothering her since she saw his photo.
"I don't think so." Ben showed an innocent expression. 'I nutter-buttered your briquets.'
…
He was certain she'd never find out though. Not only was he in disguise, but even his little brother went through a growth spurt! 'If the condom does not fit, you must acquit!'
…
She narrowed her eyes. 'I'm not sure what but something about this boy bothers me…'
Despite being nervous due to this unexpected confrontation, another matter soon attracted Ben's attention—system alerts!
[Challenge conditions met]
[Special Challenge initiated]
[Special Challenge: Booty Burglar- Steal a woman from another male, ending their relationship. Target: Tina Baldwin]
[Reward: Mid Level Stat Growth Multiplier(Consumable, Rare, Random) x1
[Punishment: None]
'It seems finding out her identity caused this to unlock.' Ben glanced at Tina and pondered whether breaking apart a marriage was morally right… Then he saw Tina's tits and remembered Paul was a d*ck. 'Engines are ready to fly chief!'
There was no problem! He'd make sure it was orally right and add an M later!
…
With a goal to conquer the globes…Ben checked her system status.
[Target's current attraction level: indifferent(+2 slut bonus)]
[Target's current comfort level: stranger(+2 slut bonus)]
The levels were much lower than when they first met, but there were still some positive aspects. First, her comfort level remained visible despite her attraction dropping. Second: 'Once a slut, always a slut…' That bonus was like a huge aura buff! Along with her huge tits, the two auras improved the morale and hit chances of every man nearby!
…
Ben was certain of this judgment because in his memory, those tits were real pal-adins…
However, Tina was frowning. She thought she was talented at pulling things out of men's heads.
…
So she couldn't understand why she didn't manage to get any more information out of Ben, not knowing her talent already drained him dry…
It was unfortunate for her, but it was a double-entendre situation of nutted but she still sucking.
…
"Tch…" Seeing Ben's pure and honest expression, Tina turned around and walked into Paul's office to speak with him, having seen him go inside before she approached Ben.
As she entered and closed the door behind her, she saw Paul on the office landline. "He was? I see… I'll be sure to tell him. Yes, of course, that's natural. Thanks for the call." When he put down the phone, his expression became ugly…because the caller was the digital editor of Male's Health magazine! He rang up Paul to offer profuse praise for Ben! His compliments were many:
"Such an inspirational young man!"
"What a promising writer and athlete!"
"You have such keen eyesight to hire such a talented intern!"
They were glowing reviews! They shined so bright that Paul felt as if each one left a glowing red handprint on his face!
…
"How could this happen?!?" He asked Laura to get rid of Ben, so how did he get a prime feature in a premier magazine's website?!?" Confused by this news, Paul's frown threatened to lengthen his face… "Tina, call Laura inside…"
His wife wasn't aware of the issue, but sensing his agitation, she did as instructed.
A short while later, Laura was standing in front of Paul's desk, tense due to Paul's glare, as Tina watched from behind him. Paul pointed to his phone. "I just received a call from Male's Health, about Benjamin Romero… Tell me what happened."
Lowering her head, Laura described the matter with Owen, explaining that she was trying to do as Paul asked, but it slipped her mind that Jacob would be there to support Ben.
"Slipped your mind…" Paul's knuckles rapped on his desk…harder and harder…until the bang resounded throughout the office! "IF YOU CAN'T EVEN HANDLE SUCH A SMALL TASK! THEN WHAT GOOD ARE YOU?!?"
Staring at the ground, Laura's body shook as her face paled…
Meanwhile, watching all this, Tina started to feel bad, since the situation all started from her request. Even though she wasn't close to Laura because she married Paul when Laura was already an adult, that didn't mean she didn't sympathize with the hardworking girl. "Dear, I shouldn't have asked for such a thing before. Let's just forget about it."
"Shut up!" Paul's eyes turned red as he turned to Tina. "Forget about it? You've all already turned me into a fool!"
His outburst was so loud that by coincidence, Ben happened to overhear it from outside the office.
Even some corporate slaves passing by turned their heads in the direction of Paul's door, wondering why Ben had his ear against it.
…
As Paul continued shouting, Ben stayed at the door, still listening by coincidence…but although he found joy in the villain's rage, what Ben heard next also made him angry; It was the sounds of Laura's sobbing…
Almost on instinct, Ben opened the door and barged in.
Seeing this, Paul's face became ice-cold as he spoke through gnashing teeth. "What do you think you're doing?"
But Ben ignored him and raised his own voice. "How could you be so rude to your own daughter?!? Do you know she works harder than anyone here?!?"
By now, Ben learned from other staff about the familial relationship between Paul and her, as well as about Laura's famous work ethic. Even though they were on opposite sides, Ben admired such dedication, knowing how hard it was…when he saw her in those office outfits.
…
He believed such solid work deserved to get Laura recumnized.
…
Pointing his finger at Paul, Ben channeled Greta Thunberg. "How dare you?!?"
…
This bastard was destroying his beautiful office environment! Even though he'd only been there a day…
"How dare you yell at her? Not only does she not deserve it, but it was a good plot!" He looked at Laura and reassured her. "It was a good plot, Laura!"
…
Seeing Ben defending her stunned everyone in the room into silence… They were all thinking the same thing. 'Hey buddy, you're aware she was trying to get you fired, right?'
Even Laura thought of herself in the third person!
…
It was that shocking!
Of course Ben knew! But so what? That was that and this was this. Even if they conflicted before, it wouldn't stop him from standing up for what he believed was right! Sure, she tried to plot him, but that was the past, and in the future, he was planning to have sex with her.
…
However, Ben wasn't only shallow. The biggest reason he was speaking up for Laura, was that if she got fired or sent to work somewhere else, he'd feel terrible! Because how would he do his oyakodon?
…
He only just learned Tina and Laura were related! And they were together now! He could tolerate a lot, but he'd never accept breaking up a happy family!
…
It's true he was confronting Paul, his superior, in the open. Yet, even though he knew Paul wanted to fire him, he was fearless! 'Anyways, if Paul could've fired me, he would've done so already. He wouldn't have needed to send Laura to go through all that trouble.'
At that moment, instead of getting angry, Paul smiled. "Thanks for giving me an excuse. Since you barged into the manager's office, that's enough of a reason to send you away…"
Hearing this, Ben's face died. 'I miscockulated…'
…
'This is weird, aren't I the protagonist?' He didn't understand how this could happen. Why couldn't everything work out perfectly for him regardless of his decisions?
Understanding Ben's fate was dismissal from the company, Laura looked at him with a complicated expression. 'He spoke up for me despite me going against him at every turn…' Guilt grew in her heart…
Even Tina couldn't help changing her mind after seeing Ben stand up for her step-daughter. 'Maybe this boy isn't so bad after all…but now that he's angered Paul, there's no way back.' She sighed…
As for Paul, he locked eyes with Ben, and sneered, feeling a thrill inside. In the next moment, he'd get to do the activity he found most pleasurable as a manager. Chuckling, he pointed at Ben. "You're…fi—"
Right then, in the middle of his sentence, the landline rang. Although he planned to ignore it, when Paul viewed the identity on the caller ID, his eyes bulged! He ignored everything in the room and hurried to pick it up!
"Hello? …Who? Yes…he works here…" Paul gave Ben a strange glance. "She did?!? Are you sure it's the right person?" He gasped…
After that, there was a long silence…as Paul held the phone to his ear…even though everyone could hear the dial tone from the caller on the other end having hung up!
Then, Paul chuckled as he spoke into the phone. "Yes, thank you! I'll continue doing my best! Goodbye!"
…
Everybody in Paul's office squinted as they looked at him. 'Guy, we heard it… We know you were talking to yourself.'
…
Yet, Paul ignored them, and returned to locking eyes with Ben. "As I was saying, you're…fi—nallly promoted!"
…
"Huh?" Everyone in the room made the same sound as they stared at Paul, unsure if they heard right.
Paul smiled. "Like I said, thanks for giving me an excuse…to deliver this splendid news myself!"
…
Ben had to stop himself from falling over from a slapstick earthquake!
Then Paul continued. "Since you barged into the manager's office, that's enough of a reason to send you away…personally! Wishing you best of luck upstairs!"
…
'That's not what you were saying at all!' Every person there believed none of it! But Paul ignored their cringing faces and chuckled as he got up out of his seat and approached Ben, shaking his hand with fervor!
Ben blinked, filled with confusion. He'd already grasped that he was somehow promoted, but what was with Paul's reaction? 'What's going on here? I just wanted to deliver some faceslaps. Was he so wary from last time, that he decided to play dead?'
…
Ben thought maybe Paul had watched Grizzly man recently…but skipped the ending…
Laura and Tina also didn't understand. They knew better than anyone how impossible it was for Paul to treat an intern with such respect. Watching this complete 180 in attitude, their jaws were on the ground!
It wasn't only them either. Outside the door, a passing janitor who overheard the whole thing also had a hanging jaw!
It was like fate brought him there because there weren't enough faceslap reactions!
Then kept him around for the shameless reaction!
…
Soon, he looked at his mop though and shook his head. 'Why am I watchin' this? These crazy people ain't my problem. Let's go! Clean clean clean.'
