A Wave Of Desire

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Ocean

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An older man with gray hair, a business suit, and a lot of excitement, was the one that was on the stage now. His voice was eager and his words were a little fast. There was something here that was making him a lot more giddy than he should be. It was either that he loved swimming so much, that he thought the girls, or the guys, in their swimsuits were sexy, or I guess it could be something else that was not swimming related. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, swimmers and coaches, I want to welcome you here to the National Swimming League that is sponsored by the Alpha Corporation. This competition is only possible because of your sponsors and their CEO, Reece Gray. Here with us today, are a few representatives from Alpha Corporation. And you will even hear from their CEO momentarily." OK, there it was. This man had to be overly excited about the CEO that was here. And I don't blame him either. The moment that I heard the name of the company, my heart started to race. 

As I listened to what the man on the stage was saying, I looked at the people that had joined him on the stage. I wanted to see which of them was the CEO of such a large company. I was guessing that it was the older man that was among them. He was probably about fifty years old with slightly grayed hair and brown eyes. With that man was a really tall black haired man with golden eyes, a man with dark brown hair that looked like the prime definition of an assistant, and lastly there was a woman that was about my height with long silver hair even though she looked really young. 

These people looked so different from the rest of us. I had no idea if it was just next level wealth, the confidence that they had in themselves and their positions, or if it was something else entirely. Whatever it was though, these people were intimidating and exciting all at the same time. 

I had basically been ignoring what the man that was starting the ceremony was saying. I don't know why, I just felt like the people on the stage with him were very unique and different. And I knew what Alpha Corp was. Most of the world did. It was the largest business in the world. They had their hand in just about every industry possible. They were literally the highest grossing company ever. And they had been around for generations. They even owned hospitals and sports clinics. They were my goal for when I graduated from college. I wanted to work for them so bad. Not just for the money, but for the way they ran their company. They were generous and did a lot of charity work all around the world. They were such an awesome place.

"You look like you're in love." Makai joked from beside me as I stared at the people on the stage.

"I..I can't help it. That is the company that I have dreamed of working at for a long time. Alpha Corp is my goal after college." I let the secret slip past my lips. This was the first time that anyone had heard those words from me. 

"You never told me that." I saw that Makai had smiled at me when I tuned my head to look at him.

"I haven't told anyone before. Not even my parents. It's a pipe dream really. I don't stand a chance of working there. I am nowhere near good enough for that. Even though I know that it won't ever happen, I still dream about it." I couldn't believe that I was saying this with so many other people around us.

"I think you can do it." He hugged me to his side then. "Maybe we will both get in there."

"That would be awesome." I felt the excitement rising inside of me.

"Make that three of us." Ryan called from behind me.

"Four." Ben added. "I love Alpha Corp. They're awesome. And why split up brothers, right?"

"Yeah. We should all try to get in there. It would be awesome. Especially since we're all going to the same school. That would be pretty cool." Makai agreed with them and it made me think about the future. I didn't want to be without my friends at all. They were truly like family.

"Now, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the CEO of Alpha Corp, Mr. Reece Gray." The words of the man on the stage finally broke through to me and I turned to look at what was going on. I wanted to see the CEO talk. I wanted to know what he was going to say.

"Welcome, all of you." The younger man, the tall one with black hair, walked up to the microphone then. This was unexpected. He wasn't that much older than me. He was maybe twenty-five or twenty-six. That was awesome if you consider that he had been the CEO for years now. He must be smart as well. "I am so proud of all of you. You've made it this far into this wonderful competition of ours. I don't know if many of you know, but I sponsor several of these events all over the country. I want to give students like you the opportunity to earn scholarships for college and cash prizes for the things that you want in life. You've all worked hard to be here and I am sure that the most worthy swimmers will take the grand prize. As you all know, each swimmer on the top ten teams will receive additional scholarships on top of the ones you already won. Those scholarships will range from ten thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars. Never fear, if you end up with more scholarship money than you need for your education you will receive the cash when you graduate. The top ten individual swimmers will win the same scholarship amounts. On top of that, there are cash prizes for the top ten as well. Each person that finishes in top ten, teams or individuals, will get anywhere from ten thousand dollars to two hundred thousand dollars. The total prize amount for the top ten this weekend is almost thirteen million. But there is more. Those that don't place in the top ten will still receive a consolation prize. All of you, for having worked so hard, will be leaving with something. I cannot overlook all that you have done to make it this far. Congratulations to all of you and do your best."

With that, Reece Gray left the stage amid a wave of applause. I had no idea that he was giving away so much money. This was so unreal. Why? Why was he doing this? He had to be the most generous man in the world.

"Thank you, Mr. Gray. We are so lucky to have you and the rest of Alpha Corporation." The announcer clapped after those words and then looked at us again. "Now, we will be starting almost immediately. The men's teams will be going first and you were given your numbers upon checking in. You will move to the pool that you are assigned to and begin when you are signaled to do so."

I rose to my feet with Makai, Ben and Ryan. We were swimming in pool number one as well as lane number one. I do believe that was because our school has supposedly finished in first overall for the state tournament. The bad thing though, was that Trent's team was next to us.

I had wanted to keep that asshole away from Makai, but here he was right beside us. I needed to protect Makai. I needed to do something.

"Makai, whatever side of the pool he goes to, you go to the opposite. That way he cannot say anything to you. I don't want him anywhere near you." I saw the light enter Makai's eyes then. It looked like he was happy right now. That was good. I wanted him to be happy.

"It's fine, Ocean. But I will do as you ask. I am not going to let him get to me, but I don't want to deal with him either. So, yeah, being opposite him is a good idea."

"Good. I will let the coach know about the plan."

"No need, Ocean. I am right here." Coach was right behind me and answered right away. "I agree it's for the best. I want you two swimming last so that you can make up the ground if we have to. So, wherever the creep ends up going, Makai you stand opposite of him. I want the two of you to show that idiot that you're the best that there is and nothing can stop the two of you."

"Sure thing, Coach." Makai and I nodded and answered at the same time.

The four of us got ready to swim. It looked like Trent was swimming last for his team. He, like me and Makai, was going to bring in the win, or so he thought. He wasn't going to beat me and Makai though. Not with Ben and Ryan on the team with us. They were fast swimmers and they had gotten even better than ever before.

We were all in position. Someone was in each lane of the pool and ready to swim for the first round. The announcer called us to the ready and blew his whistle.. It was time for the first heat to begin.