"Good morning," Allen greeted Becca and Laura, who were sitting in the living room, before taking a seat not far from them.
"Morning," they each replied in turn.
However, Laura seemed a bit pouty toward Allen this time. It was clear she was upset that he didn't seem to notice that she looked a little different today — her outfit and makeup were clearly more put-together than usual. On top of that, Allen had apparently just spent the night with the new woman who had recently joined them in the apartment. That thought made Laura feel a twinge of jealousy — after all, she'd been here first.
Is it because of my mother that he's not interested in me? Laura thought bitterly, feeling a pang of sadness.
Of course, Allen had already noticed why she was sulking, but he deliberately pretended not to — just to tease her a little.
Before long, they all sat down for breakfast together. Svetlana and Rebecca had just woken up and joined them at the table, while Ada arrived carrying freshly cooked dishes. As Allen began eating, both Rebecca and Ada kept feeding him little bites of food, one after another.
Becca couldn't help but feel a bit envious of their closeness, and Laura… her heart practically ached watching the sweet scene unfold in front of her.
Allen, noticing Laura's expression, finally decided to stop playing around and turned his attention to her.
"You look really beautiful today, Laura — especially with that outfit and makeup," Allen said, complimenting her appearance.
Laura's face instantly turned bright red at the unexpected praise. "T-thanks," she mumbled, quickly trying to hide her flustered reaction.
But it was no use — everyone around the table had already noticed it.
A few hours later, the doorbell rang — it seemed the long-awaited guest had finally arrived. When the apartment door opened, it turned out to be Cindy.
"Becca!" Cindy exclaimed as she rushed forward and jumped into Becca's arms.
"Thank goodness… you're okay, right? You're not hurt, are you?" she asked, her voice full of worry yet relief, her smile bright with happiness at seeing her friend again.
"I'm fine, really. I'm perfectly okay," Becca replied, hugging Cindy tightly — clearly overjoyed to be reunited with her best friend.
Cindy and Becca soon decided to go talk somewhere more private, and of course, Allen let them be. Meanwhile, he returned to check the blood samples he had taken from January and Becca — just to be safe.
Meanwhile, Becca turned to Cindy with a curious look.
"Cindy, are you and Allen… dating?" she asked.
Cindy blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "No, we're not dating," she replied, sounding a bit confused as to why Becca would ask something like that.
"So, you and Allen are just… friends?" Becca asked, her tone thoughtful, as if something else was running through her mind.
"Yeah, that's right. Why? What's going on?" Cindy asked, tilting her head in mild confusion.
"It's nothing… I'm just a little unsure how to repay Allen for everything he's done," Becca admitted. She looked a bit lost — she didn't really have anything of value she could give him in return. To her, the only thing she could possibly offer was herself.
'Well… even though he seems like a bit of a womanizer, he's actually really kind and trustworthy. Maybe… if it's with him, it wouldn't be so bad— Wait, what am I even thinking?!' Becca thought, flustered and conflicted.
At the same time, Cindy found herself having nearly the same thought. The two women locked eyes in silence, as if both instinctively understood what the other was thinking without saying a word.
"Yeah… you're right," Cindy finally said, breaking the silence. "So, do you have any plans to give him something in return, or…" she trailed off, glancing at Becca with a knowing look. "Oh no—don't tell me you're actually thinking of that," Cindy said, eyes widening.
"Well… yeah, that's kind of what I had in mind," Becca admitted, her face turning bright red. "Besides, if it's him, I don't think it would really be a problem."
She knew Allen was a good man — though a little naughty and surrounded by women — yet after finding out that Alyssa and January had been with him the night before, she couldn't help but think about it herself. Maybe what people said was true — that women were often more drawn to bad boys than to perfectly nice guys.
"Hey, Becca, you don't have to do that," Cindy said quickly. "You know, I'm the one who asked Allen to go look for you in the first place. So you don't owe him anything like that."
It wasn't entirely clear whether Cindy was trying to protect Becca… or if she was just jealous at the thought of her friend getting close to Allen first. Either way, she felt her cheeks heat up from her own words, realizing how awkwardly ambiguous they sounded.
"Hey, Cindy, it's fine, really," Becca replied — but then she noticed how red Cindy's face had become. "Oh no… don't tell me you like him too!" she blurted out, covering her mouth.
"Too?" Cindy repeated, realizing what Becca had just implied. Their eyes met — and neither said a word, though the air between them said plenty.
….....
Meanwhile, after a few hours of letting the two women talk, Allen finally stepped out of his lab, having finished checking the blood samples from Becca and January.
Rebecca walked up to Allen, accompanied by Alyssa, who had just woken up from her nap.
"So, how did it go? Are they okay?" Rebecca and Alyssa both asked, curious about the test results.
"Well, they're fine. Thankfully, they weren't infected by any of Umbrella's viruses," Allen said, clearly relieved by the results.
Alyssa and Rebecca both let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the good news.
"By the way," Alyssa said with a grin, "how about we celebrate the good news with a little wine party?" She remembered that Allen still had several bottles of expensive wine in storage, and she wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by.
"Hmmm, sure, why not?" Allen replied. He had no reason to stop his girls from celebrating.
"Yay! Let's go then!" Alyssa cheered, immediately dragging Rebecca along to the room where Allen kept his wine collection. Rebecca could only sigh in defeat — there was no way she could say no to Alyssa's enthusiasm.
They quickly told the other girls about the plan, and of course, everyone happily agreed to join the wine party. Soon, the group gathered together — even Yoko Suzuki showed up, which surprised Allen quite a bit. It was rare to see her outside her workspace.
"Hmmm, boss, why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?" Yoko asked. This was actually the first time she had spoken to Allen so casually.
Meanwhile, the other girls were chatting and laughing among themselves.
"No, nothing's wrong," Allen said with a small smile. "I'm just surprised you finally decided to come out of your room."
Yoko pouted slightly. "Boss, please don't say it like that. The only reason I stay in my room is because every task you give me takes forever to finish — and I have to do them alone," she said, sounding mildly exasperated. It almost seemed like she regretted working for him sometimes, given how demanding the workload was.
"At least you could give me a bonus for all that work," Yoko added, crossing her arms.
"Ah, okay, sure. If it's about money, I don't mind," Allen replied easily.
"I don't want your money," Yoko said, shaking her head. "I want something else."
"Oh? Then tell me what you want. As long as it's something I can do, I don't mind," Allen said, sipping his wine with interest.
"Really?…" Yoko asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, really. Just say it," Allen replied, intrigued.
"Hmmm… I'll keep it to myself for now," Yoko said with a faint smile. "I'm not in a hurry anyway." She then took another long sip of wine — and another — until she eventually drank so much that she ended up getting completely drunk and passed out.
Allen didn't forget to spend some time chatting with Ada, Svetlana, and Rebecca before eventually calling over Alyssa, January, Cindy, and Becca for a talk.
He wanted to speak with Cindy in particular, since she was close to Becca and now aware that Umbrella was no longer safe for her. Because of that, Allen decided to offer her protection. He also took the time to explain his future plans to both Cindy and Becca — they were the only ones who still didn't know what he had been working on — and extended an offer to join his company.
He made the same offer to January as well, who by now, of course, was already one of his women.
"So, what do you think? Do you want to accept my offer?" Allen asked them.
"You don't even have to ask," January said with a blush. "It's not like I have much of a choice right now anyway." Her face turned even redder as she shifted slightly —and her ass is still sore from the previous night.
Allen then looked toward Becca and Cindy.
"Well… I'll try to help," Becca said quietly. "But I don't really have any special skills like the others."
"I'm the same," Cindy added. "I don't think I can be of much help either."
"Don't worry about that," Allen replied with an easy smile. "Just leave everything to me."
"Thank you, Allen. I honestly don't know how to repay you for all of this," Becca said, a faint blush on her face.
Meanwhile, Cindy just sat there, saying nothing — her eyes never leaving Allen as she silently watched him.
They continued drinking and chatting for a while longer until Allen eventually excused himself — he wanted to check on someone who, for some reason, had been staying out on the balcony instead of joining the others.
"So here you are," Allen said as he stepped outside and found Laura. "Why are you out here all by yourself?" he asked, sitting down beside her.
"I'm not alone… you're here with me now, aren't you? Hic!" Laura replied, her cheeks flushed red — clearly, she'd had more than a few drinks.
This was the first time Allen had ever seen her drunk like this. "Alright, I think you've had enough. Come on, give me that," Allen said, reaching for the wine bottle in her hand.
"Nooo… don't take my drink! Hic! Give it back!" Laura protested as she tried to stand up and grab it from him. But before she could, her foot slipped — and she lost her balance.
Luckily, Allen caught her just in time. "Phew…" he muttered, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. "Good thing I was fast enough," he said as he held her close, steadying her.
He set the wine bottle aside and carefully lifted Laura into his arms, intending to take her to her room so she could rest.
"No… let me go! I'm not a little girl — let me go!" Laura protested weakly, squirming in his arms. Her movements, however, caused a few of her shirt buttons to come undone, revealing more of her skin than intended — which made Allen momentarily freeze, his eyes unintentionally drawn to her exposed figure.
"Okay… stop that, don't be a naughty girl," Allen said to Laura.
"I told you, don't call me a little girl! And I'm not naughty!" Laura protested, struggling even more, making it a bit difficult for Allen to carry her to her room.
After finally getting her there, he gently laid her down on the bed. Allen then stood up, ready to leave so she could rest, but suddenly Laura grabbed his hand and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Please… don't leave me alone," Laura whispered.
Even though Allen tried to free himself, Laura's grip only tightened, holding onto him as if she didn't want to let go. Realizing he had no choice, Allen sighed softly and decided to stay for now.
Laura smiled faintly when she saw him give in and gestured for him to lie down beside her.
"Allen… do you hate me?" she asked quietly, still clinging to him.
"Hmm? Why would you think that?" he asked, turning his head toward her.
"I just… feel like you've been avoiding me lately," Laura said, her voice trembling as a few tears welled up in her eyes.
"Hey… don't cry," Allen said gently, wiping her tears away with his thumb. "Relax, I don't hate you, and I'm not avoiding you, okay?" he said softly, trying to comfort her.
Laura looked into Allen's eyes with a soft yet slightly sad expression. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Allen gave a small smile and nodded. "Of course I'm sure. You're my friend — there's no way I could ever hate you," he said in a calm but sincere tone.
"Huft… I don't want us to be just friends," Laura said with a small pout.
Allen couldn't help but be a little amazed by how different Laura acted when she was drunk.
******
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