Chapter 129 - I M ICPO

After having dinner alone, Halia headed over to the bar to meet Emerson. They were meeting in a classy whiskey bar where smooth jazz was playing and everyone was dressed in suits and c.o.c.ktail dresses. It was far from the kind of bar that Halia once worked at. But, of course, she wasn't mentioning this to Emerson.

As soon as she walked into the bar, she saw Emerson sitting on one of the barstools, talking to the bartender. Since he was the owner of the casino, the staff naturally knew who he was and was surprised to see him at the bar. Especially the girls.

Emerson was actually quite a homebody. He often finished work and went straight home. So, it was rare to see him at the bar.

In fact, many of the female night staff around the casino had never seen him before, even though they had heard how good looking and charming he was. So, they were really excited.

"That's the CEO of this casino? He looks younger than I imagined."

"I heard he was good looking, but I thought everyone was just exaggerating, so I looked him up online and fell in love. I can't believe he's even better looking in real life!"

Halia walked over to the man and sat down beside him.

"I'm glad you came," Emerson smiled. "What would you like to drink?"

Halia turned to the bartender and ordered a gin and tonic.

"I'm honestly sorry for yesterday, I hope we can still be friends," Emerson apologized as he paid for Halia's drink.

"It's fine. It was all a misunderstanding," Halia replied.

At that moment, Emerson noticed Halia wasn't wearing her bracelet. "Why aren't you wearing your bracelet today? Did you get into an argument?" he asked.

Halia shook her head, "It's complicated."

Emerson took a sip of his wine and looked at Halia with blushed cheeks. 

"Do you drink often?" Halia asked curiously.

"No, I usually spend my time between work and home, and even when I'm at home, I'm usually working still, so I don't really get the chance to drink," Emerson replied.

"Don't you ever go on dates or hang out with friends?" Halia questioned.

"No, I don't have time," Emerson smiled gently. "Perhaps, you could say that I love this casino so much that I haven't found anything else that I'd much rather spend my time on."

Emerson stared at Halia and tucked a loose hair behind her ear.

"You are the only exception," he whispered under his breath as he took another sip of his wine.

Halia didn't hear this whisper over the noises in the bar, so she continued casually with the conversation, "If someone was to help you out with the casino and lighten your load, would it give you more time to socialize?"

"My father placed the casino in my hands. There's no one else out there that can do a better job," Emerson replied.

"What about Jackson? He's back now. I'm sure he has a share in the casino too," Halia suggested.

Emerson slammed his glass down on the benchtop. Fortunately, it didn't spill or shatter. "Jackson is just a gangster, who's to say when he'll disappear again," he frowned.

Halia jumped a little from the sudden outburst. This man always seemed so calm. Who knew he could get this angry.

"Ah, I think I've drunk too much. Sorry for losing my temper a little," he said with a smile.

At that moment, a familiar voice called out, "Hi Haili. Hi Emerson."

Halia turned towards the voice and saw Amelie entering the bar. Not too far behind her was Jackson.

The girls that were commenting on Emerson earlier, suddenly looked at Jackson in awe.

"It must be my lucky day to see two handsome men of this caliber on the same day."

"I thought Emerson was already good looking, but this guy is on a different level. He's completely my type."

"I wonder who he is. He seems to know Emerson."

Jackson walked up to Amelie and wrapped his arm around her hip.

"Oh, it looks like he's already taken."

"All the best men are. Let's stop dreaming and get back to work."

Halia watched as the girls walked away. They were so loud that she heard their entire conversation and it annoyed her a little. But, when she glanced at Jackson, the man gave her a sneaky wink.

Why was he winking at her?

Until he explained himself properly to her, she still had her doubts about him. How did he know her real identity and why was he being followed? Most importantly, was Amelie really his girlfriend?

All of a sudden, Amelie grabbed onto Halia's arm and smiled, "Let's go do some shopping while the brothers spend some precious time together."

Before Halia got the chance to respond, Amelie dragged her out of the bar and straight into a lingerie store downstairs. She knew exactly where she wanted to go. 

"I saw this place earlier and really wanted to check it out," she cheered excitedly at the entrance to the store.

As soon as they stepped foot inside, Amelie continued to drag Halia all the way until they reached the back of the store. "You see the man standing outside?" she asked inconspicuously as she pretended to browse through some bras.

Halia was surprised by Amelie's sudden seriousness but quickly took a glance outside.

Just like Amelie said, there was a man standing awkwardly outside, talking on his phone and peering into the store like he was waiting for someone. Usually, it was common to see men waiting outside stores for their girlfriends. But, Halia and Amelie were the only ones inside. Who was this man waiting for?

"He's been following us since this afternoon when we saw you in the elevator."

"What's going on? Why are the two of you being followed?" Halia asked.

At that moment, Amelie ran her hands across a display cabinet and tapped her long manicured nails on top. 

Halia followed behind the woman and wondered why she wasn't responding.

But, inside the silence of the lingerie store, she suddenly realized that Amelie was tapping out a deliberate rhythm.

"Why aren't you wearing your bracelet today?" Amelie asked as she continued to tap.

Halia's eyes opened wide as she listened carefully.

Two quick taps...

Two slow taps...

Two quick taps...

It was Morse code!

'I'

'M'

'ICPO'

ICPO? 

International Criminal Police Organization.

Was Amelie a part of Interpol?