Chapter 105 - Going For A Ride

In the end, Halia had no choice but to meet with Emerson again. Over the past two days, she had already slipped in questions inconspicuously about his casino and its operations and she was fairly certain that he didn't know about the illegal activities that were taking place there. In fact, it didn't seem like he even knew that Thomas was a junket, let alone that he was a junket for his casino.

In that case, who was giving Thomas permission? And did he have a boss?

Halia didn't want to expose Thomas yet, so she didn't reveal the deal she made with him to Emerson nor did she mention that she would be going to Macau in a few weeks. She simply came to the conclusion that Emerson was clueless about the entire thing.

That day, Emerson's driver was waiting outside The Peninsula Hotel for Halia. As soon as she stepped out, the driver waved her into the car and started driving.

"Where are we going?" Halia asked.

"The Young Master is waiting for you at the wharf," the driver replied.

"The wharf?" Halia said in confusion. "I simply have a bracelet that I need to return to him. Can I just give it to you?"

"I'm sorry, Miss. I was told that the bracelet is worth almost a million Hong Kong dollars, if anything happens to it, I'm dead. I could never afford something like that. It's best if you hold onto it and give it to him in person," the driver replied.

Halia sighed and looked out the window. Emerson's intentions were pretty obvious at that point, but Halia had run out of questions for him and she didn't want to lead him on when she already had a partner, so she was determined to make things clear when she saw him.

Soon, the Rolls Royce arrived at the wharf and Halia stepped out. "The Young Master is waiting for you at pier #22," the driver explained. Halia smiled and began walking towards pier #22 as instructed.

It didn't take long before she located a pole with the number 22 on it. But, when she arrived, she looked around and couldn't see Emerson anywhere.

At that moment, she heard a honk. Halia quickly looked in the direction of the noise and spotted Emerson on board a yacht. His voice wasn't very clear, but Halia saw him wave as she walked towards him.

"Come for a ride," he said as she got closer.

"I'm just here to return your bracelet," Halia rejected politely.

"Oh, come on. I've been called in for work tomorrow, just keep me company for one more day," Emerson pleaded. "I don't know when I'll get to see you again."

Halia smiled. Even though she didn't have any romantic feelings for this guy, he had been very kind to her. Plus, she could tell he was a gentleman that didn't act recklessly, so she agreed in the end. After all, she considered him a friend.

After stepping onto the yacht, Emerson grabbed her hand with a smile and led her to where the steering wheel was. The engine started and a man began reversing the yacht out of the wharf.

"I own this yacht," Emerson explained. "This is Fred, he drives it for me."

Halia looked at the man behind the wheel and smiled.

After the yacht had fully reversed and began to drive straight, Fred moved aside and offered the wheel to Halia. Halia quickly shook her hands. "I don't want to crash it," she laughed.

But, Emerson suddenly grabbed her hands from behind and placed them onto the wheel. "The yacht's already going straight, you don't have to worry," he chuckled beside her ear.

Halia felt the man's chest pressed against her back. He wasn't as muscly as Jackson or Sean, but there was something warm and comforting about this man.

Emerson rubbed her hands reassuringly as the yacht moved deeper into the bay. "You're doing great," he said.

Halia smiled and stared out at the blue water in front of her. It was a beautiful spring day, so the sky was clear and the sun glistened between the waves. She took a deep breath and felt her body relax. She had been worrying about Jackson and stressing over work so much that she hadn't felt this calm in a long time.

"Thank you for bringing me on here. I really needed this," she said as she moved away from the wheel.

Emerson looked into Halia's eyes and smiled. He then grabbed her hand again and dragged her out of the captain's room, "Come, I have something else to show you."