Chapter 86 - Natalie

Sean and Halia remained awkwardly silent throughout the rest of the flight, but Sean did notice that Halia had set her alarm to go off every half an hour. The odd thing was, she simply switched it off each time. What was the alarm for? It wasn't for medicine nor was it a reminder to do something in particular. Was she just a nervous flyer and needed a reminder as to how much longer until landing? That was the only explanation Sean could think of, even though Halia did not look nervous about flying at all. If anything, she looked more nervous around him...

Soon, the plane landed right on time in Hong Kong International airport. As soon as they cleared immigration and grabbed their luggage, Halia and Sean walked out into the arrivals hall.

"We are staying in a hotel in Mongkok," Sean explained as he began to lead Halia to a taxi.

But, at that time, a woman suddenly approached Halia and squealed, "Haili (Halia's Chinese name), over here."

Halia's face lit up for the first time that day. "Natalie, it's so nice to see you," she cheered as she hugged a tall skinny woman happily. The woman hugged her back and gave her a cheeky pinch on the bum. "You're looking hot, babe."

Sean immediately glanced at the woman. Who was she? Why was she here and why did she call Halia by her Chinese name?

"Sean, Natalie is my father's secretary and a good friend of mine," Halia introduced.

"What are you doing here?" Halia asked Natalie, pretending to be surprised.

"Your father told me to pick you up from the airport. He's already arranged a car, a dress, and accommodation for you," Natalie replied with slight confusion. Didn't Halia already know this? After all, she was the one that called her father for help.

"Oh, what a surprise!" Halia exclaimed with her best acting.

She then looked at Sean awkwardly and walked over to him. In a quiet voice, she explained, "My father doesn't know I'm undercover, so I have no choice but to go with his arrangements. I guess we'll be living separately this week. If there's nothing else to brief me on, I'll just see you at the viewing event tonight."

Sean had already explained everything the previous day, so there was nothing he could say to hold the woman back.

Seeing that the man had no response, Halia quickly grabbed Natalie and pulled her away before she said anything that would expose her act. "Who was that guy?" Natalie whispered. "And weren't you the one that asked for your father's help? Why did you look so surprised to see me?"

"He's an old friend that I ran into on the plane. He was a bit clingy, so I wanted to get away as soon as possible," Halia laughed. "And I was surprised because I didn't expect my father to send you. Don't you have work to do?"

Natalie wrapped her arm around Halia's shoulder, "The Chairman didn't feel comfortable with sending a man. After all, we'll be staying together this week."

"You're here for the entire week?" Halia asked in surprise.

"Hey, it's not often that you ask for help. Your father wanted to make sure that you had the best possible time in Hong Kong. I have his credit card in my hand, just tell me what you want, and it's yours," Natalie winked.

...

That night, Halia changed into a beautiful silver ball gown that her father prepared for her. Her hair was tied into an elegant bun and Natalie had helped her apply some light makeup. The last time she got so dressed up, she was still a child. As she looked in the mirror, she was surprised by her own appearance; she looked like a totally different person.

The viewing event was held inside one of the conference rooms of The Peninsula Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels in Hong Kong.

Outside the hotel was a red carpet surrounded by reporters.

Halia looked out the window of her suite and breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, she was actually staying inside The Peninsula or the media would have definitely captured photos of her. Sure, this was her real identity, but she was still an undercover detective; the more low key she remained, the better.

While Natalie was getting changed, Halia quickly clipped a voice recording bug to her dress. It was actually a good thing that Natalie was around. She was a very social person and probably knew most of the people at the event since she was always around Halia's father. With her around, it would be easier to pick out the junkets.

Since the event was invite-only, the junkets were likely members of staff or someone that was accompanying a guest, like a secretary or an assistant. So, Halia's focus was on these accompanying guests, while Sean was sneaking in as a member of the staff and getting information from them.

Although Sean was still her handler, he was actually going out on the field this time.