GABRIEL #9
Yeah, it probably sounds crazy or weird, depending on how you look at it, but it’s simply true.
At some point, Blue seems to notice me watching him. He looks up from his tablet, and our eyes meet. Still a bit dazed by my discovery, I don’t look away; I just keep staring at him, and he keeps looking back.
"How do you manage not to look your age?" I blurt out, blushing.
Blue is silent for a moment.
"Why does that interest you?"
A great question, really.
"Just curiosity. You have very youthful skin. Honestly, you don’t look much older than me, maybe twenty-five at max."
His eyes move over my face.
"I’ve spent my life working on tissue regeneration. I developed a number of therapies and methods to slow aging, almost to the point of stopping it entirely. I believe I’ll look like this well into my late eighties."
"Is that treatment available to everyone?"
"If they have around thirty million in their account, because that’s roughly what it cost me.
It’s targeted gene therapy. I developed it myself.
Replicating it would be very expensive, but possible.
I hope to create a cheaper version one day and sell the patent for it to a broader market, but that’s still a dream for tomorrow," he says with a faint, dry smile.
"For now, the technology isn’t advanced enough. "
"I have to admit, the result is impressive. You could blend in with students in my year."
He doesn’t respond, which is fair, since my compliment is kind of cheesy.
I hesitate for a second, then decide to just say it outright, mostly because there’s something ridiculously ironic about finding my new boss attractive, almost like another bad joke on Fate’s part.
Or maybe this is my awkward, nerdy attempt at breaking the ice? Either way, I try again.
"It was my lame excuse for a compliment, in case you were wondering why I said it. You kind of hide behind that fringe and those glasses, but you’re actually a very attractive omega."
Blue’s reaction is strange. A small twitch crosses his face, something almost hostile, and he frowns.
"That comment is inappropriate. I am your employer, not your friend. Maintain professional boundaries."
Well. There goes that. I guess my complete lack of social finesse strikes again. I can practically feel the cold radiating off him, enough to power a freezer for hours.
He lowers his gaze and returns to his tablet. The conversation is clearly over.
Letting out a breath, I blink a few times. Damn, that was strangely intense. And the better question is… what’s gotten into me?
I have a suspicion.
Last night, I was going through the terms of the marriage contract I have with him, though without much focus.
There were plenty of clauses stating I have no claim to his assets. The money I receive is a salary, a very large one, much higher than what bodyguards usually get, even those working for VIPs, but beyond that, I’m entitled to nothing.
Still… one thing caught my attention. An interesting clause near the end.
It basically said that as long as no form of closeness considered part of an intimate relationship occurs between the two parties, both are free to have relationships with others, provided the other party is not forced into contact with anyone outside the arrangement.
Perhaps my unruly subconscious decided it’s a strangely worded clause, especially since it was stated from the start that this marriage is only a formality. So… It shouldn’t be in the contract at all.
Those first words, "as long as it doesn’t occur."
What if it did?
It suggests that if something like that happened, Blue wouldn’t tolerate any kind of infidelity.
What were the CEO’s reasons for adding it? It clearly leaves a small door open to something more. How very weird.
A few minutes later, the driver pulls the limousine into the underground parking area beneath the cultural center.
I step out of the car first and scan the parking lot. There are quite a few vehicles, even though this is the VIP section.
"What kind of event is this?"
"A discussion panel about the future of testing for True Mate status. There will be a number of well-known geneticists attending."
"Is it open to the public? Like, can anyone just walk in?"
"Yes, but the advantage is that my presence wasn’t announced.
I agreed to step in at the last moment, and that’s how I prefer it.
I don’t like appearing at these kinds of panels when people know I’ll be there, because then there’s a bigger crowd and more…
" he adds the last part in a sharper tone, "more emotion. "
"Is it going to be some kind of auditorium or lecture hall?" I ask, scratching my chin beneath the mask, a little uncertain because I honestly don’t know what to expect.
After all, I’m not a professionally trained bodyguard. I’m basically improvising.
"Shouldn’t I… check the place out first?"
"It’s a large lecture hall. The people attending have tickets. There will be students and scientists, so it should stay calm, although the topic itself tends to stir emotions."
Blue starts heading toward the building, so I quickly fall into step beside him. The driver stays behind in the limousine.
We go around the building, clearly heading for a side entrance. I try to keep up, and for someone who isn’t particularly tall, Blue moves fast.
He puts on thin light gray gloves and presses the intercom button, and a moment later a man comes out. "Oh, good morning, Mr. Lowen."
He reaches out his hand, but Blue doesn’t take it.
The man looks confused, then adds, "Welcome. The panel is about to begin."
We walk through winding corridors toward a large lecture hall in the center of the building.
I can feel my tension rising. From experience, I know that events like this often attract activists.
There’s an entire group that opposes the idea of True Mates.
They see fated mates as a freak-of-nature pairing, a kind of personal prison, being tied to one person, even a threat to individual freedom.
The whole concept has some very committed opponents.
As it turns out, I’m not wrong. Well, as an ex-activist, my instincts are pretty well tuned in that regard.
Blue is let into the hall through one door, but near another entrance there’s already a noticeable crowd, and I spot a few rolled-up banners.
When we step inside, I lower my voice and say,
"I saw people from NeverTrue. I’m betting they’ll make some noise. I know the type. I used to be in a group like that, as you know all too well."
"That’s the organizers’ problem, not mine," Blue replies shortly.
The audience hasn’t come in yet, but the panelists are already taking their seats at a long table. Behind them there’s a large colorful board with the event title printed on it.
There are about six people, plus the host, a heavyset older beta who walks up to Blue and extends his hand in a deferential way.
Blue ignores the handshake again.
"Mr. Lowen, we’re very pleased to have you here. Thank you for agreeing to replace Professor Dobrov. I’m sure this discussion will be exceptionally interesting."
Blue gives a minimal nod and takes a seat roughly in the center of the panel.
I position myself behind him, close to the wall so I have a good view of everything. I can feel some of the panelists glancing at me. There isn’t a single alpha among them, just betas and omegas, so I kinda look out of place standing there in my black mask.
Well, like many omegas and betas, they probably see alphas as muscleheads, people suited only for physical roles, which is why their expressions carry a mix of superiority and mild amusement.
Soon the organizers open the doors and people start pouring in, filling the rows. Luckily, the seats are assigned, so there’s some order, but I still notice that a group from NeverTrue gathers in the back rows.
I remember how it used to be. I went to events like this with Marcel and the rest of the group. We would shout across the entire hall. Sometimes I even annoyed myself with that kind of behavior, but wherever Marcel went, I followed.
Funny how now I’m still following an attractive, passion-driven omega, just a different one.
The panel begins with a short introduction from the host.
He talks about how, for years, science has been trying to find a way to determine who someone’s True Mate is before any physical contact occurs. The holy grail is a simple genetic test that could identify a True Mate from blood alone, possibly using ancestry databases like AO Ancestry.
"At this moment," the host emphasizes, "the closest to achieving this goal is Malden Pharmaceuticals. We are pleased to introduce a surprise guest, Blue Lowen himself, who will tell us more about the progress in genetic testing analysis…"
A murmur spreads through the room. People clearly didn’t expect that.
The reaction is especially loud among the NeverTrue activists.
I can imagine that for them this is a huge opportunity.
They probably came for Professor Dobrov, who already has controversial views, but now they have a much bigger target.
The host introduces the rest of the panelists, but their names don’t mean much to me, and the audience barely reacts either. Blue is clearly the only real star here.
Then the panelists start presenting their own research on compatibility detection. Honestly, I’m not paying much attention. Their talks aren’t that engaging, and I catch myself just waiting for Blue.
Eventually, it’s his turn.
He introduces himself and begins by talking about a case from four years ago, when a young man came to him wanting to eliminate incompatibility with someone he loved. That’s when Blue started researching how to genetically modify the body so it wouldn’t recognize the other person as incompatible.