Chapter 17: How Does He Know That?

Chapter 17: 17: How Does He Know That?

"Manager Selena?"

Ed’s voice snapped Selena’s eyes open.

"Ah. Sorry, Ed. I was thinking about something."

She brushed it off and looked down at the material he had brought her.

"Ahem. So, here..."

Selena walked him through it as she normally would.

But her eyes kept straying to the front of his pants.

’I’m insane. I really am.’

’Why does Ed walk around the office with his cock like that?’

Even when she tried not to look, it was impossible not to notice.

Ed was packing something substantial too.

Was he about the same size as Cam Guy? She couldn’t tell that much.

But it was obvious that he was... big.

She didn’t remember other men being that large. Was Ed just unusually gifted?

The thought made him look a little different to her.

"Ahh, I see. So I include this section too... Got it."

"...Good. I’m glad you understand."

Another glance.

For some reason, her incompetent subordinate looked... different today.

Judging a person by the size of his cock.

She really had lost her mind.

Maybe it was because she had only just discovered sex and lost her virginity.

Over thirty years of pent-up desire seemed to be erupting all at once.

"Will that be enough?"

"Yes. I understand it perfectly."

Ed bid her goodbye and went to his desk.

Normally, an answer like that would have sounded so unreliable that she would have checked his understanding again.

Right now, she was too distracted by his thick thighs.

’Why... am I disappointed?’

"Haa..."

With a long sigh, she forced herself back to work.

She had skipped overtime for two days, and the backlog had piled up.

For some reason, MonsterCam Guy wasn’t even reading her DMs today...

He wasn’t really going to make yesterday their last time, was he?

Irritation flared again, and she struck the keyboard harder than necessary.

"Whoa there, Manager Selena. You’re going to break that thing."

"—Eek!?"

That scared her.

She looked up to find Assistant Manager Barry leaning an arm over the partition.

"Ah... Assistant Manager Barry."

"Something put you in a bad mood today? Don’t tell me you struck out at that hunting bar yesterday."

"...I told you, I wasn’t at a place like that."

Assistant Manager Barry.

He was a decent person. As a person. He was competent and good with people, but...

There was something about him that got under her skin.

He had a habit of edging just over the line, then slipping back before anyone could call him on it. Selena had never liked that.

"Really? You’ve had the look of a woman who needs a man all morning."

"And what exactly does a woman who needs a man look like?"

"You know. That look. You know what I mean."

No. She didn’t.

Had she really been making a face like that?

That would mean the poker face she maintained at the office had cracked.

"Anyway, yesterday was a shock, Manager Selena. Never thought I’d run into you somewhere like that. I figured you were too busy working late."

"...Drop the subject of yesterday."

"Why are you getting mad again? Hm?"

Because I don’t want to discuss it in the middle of the office.

This was why she should never have done it near work...!

The realization came too late.

The memory of walking through the streets with that vibrator inside her sent heat rushing back to her face.

She couldn’t let it show.

Selena cleared her throat and addressed him.

"I’m not angry. This is an instruction from your manager. Did you submit the proposal we discussed yesterday? I believe I said it was due this morning."

"Ah, well, I’ve been so terribly busy."

"You have time to go drinking with your fiancée, but no time to write a proposal?"

"Come on, Manager Selena. We’re swamped with wedding preparations too. Cut me a little slack."

Barry scratch his chin and scraped with his usual oily grin, but Selena stood firm.

Admittedly, she was taking some of her frustration out on him.

"If you understand, get back to your desk and finish it."

"Yes, ma’am!"

At least he knew when to retreat. He went quietly.

"Haa..."

Stress.

She never let it show, but she had no way to deal with everything building up inside her.

Maybe she should meet MonsterCam Guy again tonight and... work it off.

Whenever she was with him, she could truly forget everything.

She could even let go of herself.

Those had been the most overwhelming moments of her life.

Knowing she could experience them again whenever she contacted him lifted her mood a little.

But...

(Unread)

The marker on her DM refused to disappear.

If he read it, she was going to ask him to meet again tonight.

Was yesterday... bad for him?

Come to think of it, both yesterday and the day before had been sex designed entirely around what Selena wanted.

It didn’t feel as though they had done much that the man himself would enjoy...

The books said sex was supposed to be about finding what felt good for both people.

That wasn’t what she had done.

Next time, I should try doing what he wants for once...

Men were exhausting. Subordinates were exhausting. Office life was exhausting.

Selena’s eyes drifted to her bag.

A paper shopping bag peeked out from inside.

"Ah..."

The sex toy she had bought yesterday.

She had walked around the city with that vibrator inside her...

Enjoying the thrill that someone might find out.

"...Gulp."

It was insane.

It was obviously something she shouldn’t do...

By the time she caught herself, Selena was already carrying the paper bag toward the restroom.

She did not return for quite some time.

***

"Man, Manager Selena is really uptight today. Think she’s sulking because she doesn’t have a man?"

What a fucking asshole. Barry.

He got shredded for bothering Selena, so now he was coming after me.

He strolled over while I was quietly trying to work.

"Right? You see it too, don’t you, Ed?"

He patted my shoulder like we were close.

"I’m not sure."

"Ahh, sure. Maybe you wouldn’t know. Ed, you’ve never dated, right? Then you might think she’s just throwing a woman’s little fit for no reason."

Why did this bastard keep coming over to pick a fight while I was working?

"But as a man about to get married, let me tell you. That is absolutely the face of a woman craving a man. One hundred percent. Our manager has someone."

"...Does she?"

A man.

If Selena had one, it obviously wouldn’t be anyone else. It would be MonsterCam Guy.

If she was acting like that because she missed MonsterCam Guy, it made sense.

Still, the fact that Barry had read her so accurately pissed me off too.

"Well, if you work hard, Ed, maybe you’ll go permanent. Get promoted like me. Put in some reeeal effort and maybe you’ll find yourself a woman too. Someone eight years younger might be a stretch, though."

"Your fiancée is eight years younger, isn’t she?"

"Hm? That’s right. Just graduated college. Twenty-two. Perfect age, and she’s so set on marrying me she didn’t even bother getting a job."

The woman I saw yesterday was twenty-two?

No wonder she had looked so young beside Barry.

I hadn’t met her directly, but I had watched her talk to Selena.

I couldn’t hear exactly what they said.

But I definitely remembered her standing beside Barry, timid and awkward.

Honestly, she was too good for a bastard like this.

"Follow my lead and learn from me, Ed. I could even teach you how to land a younger woman like that. Hm?"

"Huh."

I couldn’t even be bothered answering anymore.

Maybe I should hit him right where it hurt.

"Assistant Manager Barry."

"Yeah?"

"Is your fiancée’s name Hana?"

Barry flinched.

"...Ed."

"Yes?"

"How do you know that?"

He was mad. Definitely mad.

The hand on my shoulder clamped down hard.

Fuck, that hurt. I endured it without letting it show.

"I wondered if she was someone I knew."

"You know her?"

"Yes. I had a junior in college with that name."

The moment I said it, his grip suddenly loosened.

"Ahh, a college junior?"

"Yes. Is it her?"

"Sure is. Hana. What are the odds?"

What odds? I didn’t even know whether we went to the same college.

I was just fishing for confirmation.

But why had his anger vanished the moment I said she was my junior?

"Heh... If you remember her, you must’ve had a thing for her too, huh?"

"Mm..."

"Sure, sure. Must sting to see her marrying an older guy like me. Shame. If you’d put in a little more effort..."

Ah, this fucking prick.

He thought he had stolen a woman I liked, and now he was enjoying himself?

Did he get a dopamine hit every time he found an excuse to feel superior? What an unbearable piece of shit.

Barry patted my back as if he were comforting some poor loser.

"Well, people’s lives get tangled up sometimes. Don’t let it bother you, Ed."

"...Right."

"Oh, then you probably haven’t seen what she looks like lately."

He suddenly pulled out his phone and showed me a picture.

Hana had both arms wrapped affectionately around his.

"This is how my Hana’s doing these days."

Did he seriously think showing me this would piss me off?

"I see."

"Look at this one too. We took it in Japan a while back."

He eagerly flipped through his gallery, showing me one photo after another.

Most were affectionate couple shots. There were vacation photos too.

The unspoken message seemed to be, I fucked this woman plenty.

I ignored the bait and studied Hana instead.

Her face, her clothes—everything I could use to recognize her.

"Look at this. Even when she was sick, my future bride worked so hard to make sure I had dinner."

"Whoa."

Okay, that was a lot.

Those tits were... Jesus. For once, I was honestly jealous.

They still weren’t quite on the level of our manager, whom I had fucked in the street yesterday, but they were delicious.

Barry studied my face and smirked.

"Ed, you suddenly look upset. Hmm?"

"I’m not."

"Sure you aren’t. Heh. It’s understandable. Don’t worry. Forget about her and start fresh, all right?"

The bastard genuinely seemed to think I had been in love with Hana.

Delighted with himself, he slapped my back a few more times and returned to his desk.

"Work hard. Reeeal hard. You know?"

"Yes, sir."

Sure. I’d work hard.

I carefully turned on my phone.

A message from @H_M.

(Deleted)

Her profile contained the same photos Barry had just shown me.

She had even uploaded that exact picture as an ordinary life update. This was definitely her main account.

My guess was simple.

She had accidentally DMed me from her main account and panicked, then deleted it.

Or maybe she had changed her mind.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that she had seen my photos and cam-show videos and wanted me badly enough to send a DM.

That was enough.

I slowly typed a reply to @H_M.