33 Exhausted

The moment Richmond finished his business with Maxwell, it was already in the middle of the night. And he left as casually as he came in, leaving Maxwell and Calaway in the empty space of BlueBass.

Jasir Jiwari, Richmond's aide, didn't leave immediately. Instead of following his employer, he approaches the bar counter where Maxwell was.

"Should we finish the property transfer now, or should we agree on another date to make an appointment?" Jasir politely asks Maxwell, glimpsing at the envelope on the counter.

Alex was still destabilized and irritated by Richmond, but when he heard Jiwari's mannerly question, Alex let out a long sigh with a breathing gesture.

After his little ritual, he returns to his collected and confident self. "If it is not inconvenient, should we finish this now?" Alex gives a bright smile.

"Of course. Please!" Jasir invites Maxwell to open the envelope.

Mathiew also comes closer and stands behind Maxwell, overlooking the documents through Maxwell's shoulder.

Alex pulls out the papers and skims through the content of the property documents lines. Then after turning a few pages, he suddenly stops.

He came across several photos of a skinny young woman taken from a distance, wearing a faded sweatshirt partially covering her face.

Yet, Maxwell still seems to recognize who she was.

He looks at Jasir, adjacent to him, and asks with a serious tone. "What is this?" Alex knows her identity but still asks to confirm his doubt.

Jasir carefully answers. "These are recent photographs of Miranda Loux."

Even if he already knows, Maxwell is still surprised.

Three years ago, Maxwell lost contact with Miranda after one year she settled abroad. He looked for her but never managed to find her whereabouts all this year.

Yet right now, he is clearly looking at her photos and wonders how they managed to accomplish this.

Although Maxwell is happy to get news about her, her appearance is saddening for him.

Maxwell remembers her past appearance, her long and soft brunette hair flowing down her shoulder, her healthy cheeks, and her pinkish lips making her lovely.

None of that remained, her hair disheveled, her cheeks showing the bone, and her lips cracked.

He also remembers her talking about her dream to become a teacher, her enthusiasm, and everlasting optimism about life. But all he sees now is a young woman defeated by the struggle of life.

After looking at the last picture, Maxwell's glare becomes more intense, urging Jiwari to explain himself.

"Richmond doesn't know that I shared this information with you," Jasir says, making Maxwell doubtful.

He continues. "I do not know what happened between the three of you. But three years ago, Richmond tasked me to investigate her."

"Then why are you sharing this with us?" Septical, Alex asks.

____

"Let me explain myself. Richmond and I were classmates in university, and Miranda Loux was a junior in a different department. You may already know that she was the most popular among her peers. But I do not know her personally, and then, she also went abroad." Jasir reveals.

He looks at Maxwell's expression and continues. "I didn't join Richmond until after I graduated, and one of the first tasks under him was to investigate her."

"And during my investigation, I often come across your detective. Later I found out that you, her, and Richmond were close friends."

"I do not know the reason, but I know that you and Richmond are looking for her," Jasir says.

Maxwell stays silent and continues to stare at Jiwari's face, inquiring about any indication of lies. Half-convinced, he finally speaks. "That does not tell me why you are sharing this with me."

"It is a gift." Jasir smiles, making Maxwell more suspicious.

"She was a madone in the past." His eyes wander a bit.

"It can be my personal wish, but I want to know what happened to her. And since the two of us are looking into this, I hope we can cooperate."

This reasoning did not convince Maxwell, squinting his eyes.

Jasir clarified quickly. "I know you and Richmond have differences, and it's not my place to pry."

He looks into Maxwell's eyes and adds. "But, I assure you, Richmond is not involved."

"For now, consider this an act of my goodwill. I only hope you can repay me in the future."

Maxwell sees the sincere look on Jiwari before finally compromising.

"I will hear you out."

Satisfied, Jiwari continues his explanation about his finding while Maxwell diligently listens.

"Miranda Loux was last seen in the suburb of the Union capital where she is working odd jobs. But one month ago, we lost her trace again. It seems that she is extremely on guard against someone. Like she is running away, hiding from someone."

Maxwell looks pensive but doesn't comment.

Finished talking about what he knew, Jasir concludes. "That is all that we know, and that is how much Richmond knows at the moment. We hit a new roadblock, and Richmond pulled us out of the investigation."

"However, as I've said before, the rest is for my personal affair."

Alex believes him this time and says, "Thank you!" Simply.

Jasir responds with a polite nod.

"I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise."

They shake hands then Jiwari walks toward the exit and leaves the nightclub.

____

Two days after the meeting at BlueBass, Maxwell starts the new week at his office.

He was in his chair, fixing the screen of his computer, looking to be in deep concentration to the eyes of his employee.

However, although he looked busy with his company's business, his mind was preoccupied with other matters.

Maxwell can't take his meeting with Richmond out of his mind, replaying the scene in a loop. Retrospectively asking himself why he didn't say something or regretting saying other things.

Kayla Mathias knocks at his office, but there is no response. She insists again and decides to open the door regardless of Maxwell's answer.

"Young Master," She calls.

"I'm sorry, young master!" Kayla increases her volume to get Maxwell's attention.

Maxwell jumps a little, woken by the hand of Mathias waving in front of his face.

"Kayla?" He exclaims, looking surprised.

"Are you alright, Young Master?" She remarks, looking slightly concerned with her wide green eyes.

Alex smiles awkwardly. "I am okay! Sorry about that. What is it, Kayla?"

"I need your signature on these files."

"Thank you." He takes the file and just puts it on the side.

Kayla, still standing in front of his desk, gets confused. Instead of reviewing the file, signing it, and returning it, Maxwell blankly stares at Mathias.

"Aren't you going to review it?" She tilts her head. "Or should I come back later?"

"Hahaha!" Alex laughs it off, a little embarrassed by his inattention. He quickly skims through the files, takes the fountain pen, signs what is needed, and gives the file back to Mathias.

"Here you go! My mind wandered for a moment." He says jokingly.

Kayla, on the other hand, seemed clearly worried.

Since this morning, she noticed that Maxwell wasn't in good shape. Dark bags formed under his eyes, and his complexion looked sickly.

But for the moment, she decided not to talk about it.

Time passes quickly, and the sun is setting down. At the end of the evening, most of Alex Ent's office desks are already empty.

Yet, Maxwell is still present. Mathias, who stayed with him until this late, enters his office and quietly approaches.

"You are staying this late, Young Master!"

"You were still there."

She silently looks at Maxwell's tired appearance, feeling helpless. She wants to alleviate his concerns but doesn't know what to do.

Alex notices her sad eyes, chuckles, and finally realizes the time it was. "It's already this late? I guess I should go home for today." He casually says, trying to reassure her.

"Then let me drive you home, Young Master!" She immediately exclaims, feeling relieved.

When they arrive in front of Maxwell's residence, Kayla sees Maxwell sleeping in the backseat from exhaustion. Instead of waking him up, she patiently waits in the driver's seat, letting the time pass quietly.

____

Kayla and Alex were still in the car in front of Maxwell's estate. They were there for a while, and Maxwell is still sleeping in the back. One can only hear his peaceful breathing in the vehicle.

After a moment, he wakes up and sees the dark sky outside the windows.

"You should have woken me up." He immediately feels guilty for making Kayla wait until the night.

"You were sleeping so soundly, so I didn't want to disturb you."

"Since it is like this, you should spend the night here!" Alex suggests.

She hesitates for a moment, but before she gives a reply, her phone rings, prompting her to answer.

The moment she accepts the call, they can hear a man yelling. The man unleashes incessantly, not giving Mathias any chance to retort.

She gets embarrassed by her interaction and quickly steps aside, hiding her reddened face from Maxwell.

Alex also wants to be considerate of Kayla and moves toward the entrance, where a butler greets him, then waits there for her.

Further down the poach, he sees Mathias energetically arguing with her interlocutor. She seems to be desperate to explain something. Alex can't hear the discussion but overheard enough earlier to know that it was her father.

He speculates about the tense relationship she has with her father.

After a lengthy exchange, Kayla's call finally ends. She quickly approaches Maxwell near the front doors and makes small bows, feeling sorry. "I'm sorry for the awkwardness, Young Master. It was a call from home." She explains, looking flustered.

"Is everything okay?" Alex asks calmly.

"Yes! There is no need to worry. My parents tend to exaggerate things."

"I see." He didn't ask any more questions. He looks at the butler and gives him some instructions.

"Prepare a room for Miss Kayla, change of clothes, and be sure to treat her like an important guest."

Alex turns back toward Kayla. "Please spend the night here for today. I feel bad for making you wait for me until nightfall."

"Thank you, Young Master!" She replies.

Despite being tired, Alex didn't fail to give a smile. "Well then, good night, Kayla!"

"Good night, Young Master!" Kayla answers with a worried look. Then she lingers a little at the entrance, watching Maxwell climbing the stairs slowly. She didn't move until he completely disappeared from her sight.

Strangely, she felt a little strange looking at the tired Maxwell. Her heart aches a bit, and an urge to hold him tight surges within her.

("Are you crazy?") She yells at herself, coming back to her senses.

("It's not that you like him or anything. You are just worried about your boss. That's all. Yes, that's all.") She deludes herself, trying to reason with the situation.

____ End of Chapter 33 ____

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