They reached an empty workstation near the back of the department. Liam slid into the chair and immediately opened a drawer, rummaging through its contents. When his hand emerged, it held a small square packet—the distinctive silver-white packaging of a pheromone suppressant patch.

Neville’s eyes widened. His breath caught in his throat.

Liam didn’t meet his gaze directly, instead scratching at his cheek in a gesture that seemed almost embarrassed.

"I’m a little more sensitive than most," he explained, "The leave—is it because of that?"

For a moment, Neville couldn’t speak. He couldn’t help but stare at the patch Liam held out. His fingers trembled as he reached for it, and he couldn’t quite suppress the slight tremor in his hands as he accepted it.

"It’s a little irregular lately," Neville managed, forcing his voice to sound casual.

Liam nodded, his attention already turning to the quantum computer holographic display and pulling out Neville’s personnel file.

"That’s really a problem." He said it matter-of-factly, without judgment. "Have you seen a doctor?"

The question landed like a stone in Neville’s stomach. Doctors meant examinations. Examinations meant questions. Questions meant lies that would eventually unravel his identity as a mermaid. He still didn’t know whether there were other mermaids in this world and why they were being hunted down.

"I was thinking of going to one after it subsided," Neville said.

It wasn’t technically a lie. He was thinking about it and thinking about how impossible it would be.

"That’s good." Liam’s fingers moved across the interface, pulling up forms and documentation that Neville couldn’t quite see from his angle.

Then Liam paused, eyebrows rising slightly. "Seven days?"

Neville’s stomach dropped. "Is there a problem?"

Before Liam could answer, a woman appeared at the cubicle like a force of nature. She was shorter than Liam, with sharp eyes and an expression that suggested she had seen Liam’s antics from top to bottom. She scowled at the sight of Liam occupying what was clearly her workstation, hands planted on her hips.

"Mr. Rivera," she said, her tone was somewhere between exasperation and fondness, "if you personally work on these menial tasks like before and take over people’s workstations, why did you even get promoted in the first place?"

Liam stood immediately, raising his hands in surrender.

"Lisa, just forgive me this once, okay?" He gestured toward the corridor behind them. "There was some trouble earlier in Section C."

Lisa’s sharp gaze swept from Liam to Neville and back again. Understanding dawned in her expression, followed by a flash of annoyance that clearly wasn’t directed at either of them.

"That woman’s causing trouble again?" She clicked her tongue as she slid into her chair, her fingers already flying across the interface. "They should’ve fired her during the layoff."

"Lisa—" Liam’s voice carried a warning note, though his lips twitched with suppressed amusement.

"Don’t ’Lisa’ me." She waved him off dismissively. "If I were scared about that, I wouldn’t have said anything in the first place."

Her eyes quickly scanned Neville’s application.

"Company policy says we can’t give you a full week off, but you can apply for three days." She glanced up, her expression softening slightly. "If you felt okay after that, come back and ask for an extension. Since that woman will just slack off for sure, find me directly, okay?"

Three days wouldn’t be enough. But three days were infinitely better than nothing.

"Thank you," Neville said, and he meant it with every fiber of his being.

On impulse, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a half-empty bag of banana chips. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He held them out like an offering. "Please, take these."

Lisa accepted them with a raised eyebrow, but a smile tugging at her lips. "Appreciate it."

Liam seemed to be sulking a little, but then quickly changed his expression. He turned to Neville, his professional demeanor slipping back into place. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No. Thank you." Neville’s smile was bright enough that he saw Lisa blink in surprise and Liam’s expression soften. "Really. I can’t thank you both enough."

Liam opened his mouth, but then he seemed to remember something. His professional mask cracked, replaced by a cheeky grin.

"If you’re really grateful, how about treating me to a meal?" He leaned in conspiratorially. "I heard a lot of interesting things from the Secretarial Department."

The wink he added at the end was absolutely shameless.

Neville couldn’t help it and laughed out loud.

"I’ll sure do. Oh—" An idea struck him. "I heard the R&D department is making me an app so people can order food. Once that’s set up—"

Liam’s eyes lit up like a child.

"That’s really good!" He exclaimed, already pulling up his company app. He generated a QR code that floated in the air between them. "Don’t forget to message me when it’s done."

"Sure will." Neville scanned the code with his own light brain, watching as Liam’s contact information populated his list. He turned to Lisa. "Can I have yours too?"

Lisa looked surprised but pleased, quickly generating her own code. "Can’t say no to someone who bribes me with snacks."

After exchanging contact information, Neville felt the urgency returning, that prickling heat crawling up his spine with renewed intensity.

"I really need to go."

Liam caught his arm gently before he could bolt. "Wait. Although it’s already finalized in the system, you still need to inform your superior personally. This is an abrupt situation—protocol requires direct notification."

"Got it." Neville made an OK sign with his fingers, already backing toward the exit. "I’ll handle it."

Then he practically ran.

...

Grayson sat behind his massive desk, but something was wrong. His usually immaculate appearance seemed strained; his hand gripped the edge of his desk hard enough that the wood creaked, threatening to snap.

When he pulled away, Grayson saw the claw marks etched on the desk.

"Sir, the board meeting—" Bryan stopped mid-sentence, taking in the scene with a sharp assessment.

"I’m going back." Each word came out clipped, barely controlled.

Bryan blinked. "Sir?"

"Cancel." The word was more growl than speech. "Cancel everything."

Bryan’s expression changed from confusion to understanding to alarm in rapid succession. "For how long?"

Grayson’s eyes flickered to his calendar display.

"Seven days."