No Time For Bomb-Making

After Max left the lab, he went to run a few errands; he was planning to open a branch of his restaurant in Beijing and had just purchased a place, so he was trying to get some documents sorted for it. Afterwards, he ate some lunch, and then went to Halia's apartment to feed her dog.

However, when he reached Halia's floor of her apartment block, he noticed Cleo talking to a man in the corridor. The man was tall, refined and classy, like a gentleman. Max watched as the man bent down and patted Maximus naturally. Maximus quickly jumped up and licked the man on the face and Cleo giggled.

From a distance, these two looked like the perfect couple. Cleo was pretty and this man was handsome. Max subconsciously glanced down at his body. He'd have to lose at least 10kgs to look anywhere near as good as that man.

Thus, he felt a bit self conscious as he approached the two good looking people.

"Oh, hi Max, we've been waiting for you!" Cleo cheered.

"Me?" Max asked as he pointed to himself.

The man next to Cleo was Sean, he had returned to speak to Max.

Maximus saw Max and started wagging his tail happily, but Max subconsciously retreated a few steps in fear. Cleo giggled and placed the dog back inside her apartment.

While she was gone, Sean introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Sean, a good friend of Halia's," he said as he stretched out his hand.

Max quickly shook the man's hand when he realized Sean was there for Halia, not Cleo.

"I was looking for Halia, but I couldn't find her anywhere. Cleo mentioned that she went on a business trip and you were feeding her dog, so I thought I'd speak to you. Do you have any way of contacting her? I can't get through to her phone," Sean said.

"Oh yes, she mentioned she broke her phone. She's been very busy attending meetings and stuff, but I'll be having a video call with her on her laptop this evening. Would you like to pass on a message?" Max pretended.

Sean obviously knew that this was all a lie. But the fact that Max was coming to feed Halia's dog showed that he meant no harm. Plus, he recognized this guy. He was a friend of Jackson's, but he had never committed any crimes nor had he been on the police watch list, so Sean trusted him for now.

"Yes, can you tell her that Sean said happy birthday and ask her if I can treat her to something when she gets back?"

"Oh, yes of course!" Max replied.

"I'll come back at 2pm tomorrow and you can tell me her answer," Sean said.

Max nodded his head.

Sean then waved goodbye and left.

Cleo blushed a little as she watched the man walk off and Max naturally felt his heart sink. He understood the look on her face; it was a look that no woman had ever given him.

"He seems like a nice guy," Cleo said as she stretched her neck to catch one last glimpse of the man as he stepped into the elevator.

"He's not bad," Max agreed as he pulled out Halia's keys, trying hard not to look disappointed.

As soon as he opened the door, he walked straight into the apartment in a daze, forgetting about Halia's dog. Coco immediately ran up to his feet and started wagging her tail.

Max looked down in shock and screamed.

Cleo quickly picked up the little dog and chuckled.

"Go get the food, I'll hold onto her."

Max took a deep breath and calmed down. As he watched Cleo nurse the little dog in her arms like a baby, he sighed. He really needed to get over his fear if he wanted to be with her.

...

Meanwhile, Sean was sitting in his car downstairs, watching over the apartment block. As soon as Max got down, he was planning to follow him. Max said he was talking to Halia that evening. That meant, he was going to see her. Sean had to make sure Halia was safe. After all, he was her handler...and friend.

Sean subconsciously glanced at the gifts he got Halia and sighed, "I guess I'll be eating an entire cake tonight."

...

Back inside the lab, food and utensils lay strewn all over the floor without a person in sight. The place looked as though a bomb had gone off, but, just as Halia had planned, there had been no time for bomb-making.

From the bathroom came the sound of running water and the giggles of a man and woman."This was all your fault," Jackson laughed as he wiped some cake off Halia's cheek.

Earlier, after the boys left the couple alone, Halia had picked up her slice of cake and thrown it into Jackson's face. Jackson responded by rubbing his face all over Halia and Halia quickly struck back by throwing some bread at him. From there, a massive food fight ensued. Halia's distraction worked...

Finally, after the entire lab turned into a mess, Jackson lifted Halia in his arms and carried her into the bathroom...