It's been a week now since I last saw that cute officer Kyle; I kind of miss him. I sigh!
"Knock knock!!!"A knock on the office door brings my soul back from my reverie.
"Come in!" Oh, it's Riley. Why even bother knocking when he always barges in whenever he wants?
"Hey Ryd, it's almost lunchtime. Wanna go eat outside, in the cafeteria, or order food delivery?"
Riley asked while walking towards my desk. Ryd is my nickname given by my buddies to shorten my name.
"Let's eat outside and take a walk after; I feel suffocated sitting here all day," I said while stretching my limbs and my neck.
"Ok, I'll call for table reservations right away." Riley then dialed the restaurant number for a reservation.
"Mn," I nodded.
At the restaurant,
"Good day, sir." "How may I help you?" The usher greeted us upon entering the restaurant.
"We have a reserved table for two," replied Riley.
"Please follow me, sirs." The usher then motioned with her hand and ushered us to our reserved table.
"Hey Ryd, Luke called me earlier and said he had something important to tell us."
"About what?" I asked."He didn't mention anything. He said to gather at the headquarters tonight."Mn, I think it's really important; let's go there tonight, then.
"Did you inform Marius?"Yeah, I already called them." Riley and I were in the middle of talking when the food was served.
"Let's dig in first; I'm starving," I said, interrupting him. He just nods and chuckles. Riley knew we couldn't have a conversation when I was this hungry.
Right before shoving a spoonful of food into my mouth, I saw a very familiar face approaching the next table. The cute face I've been missing for a week now
He has a stoic face and emits a cold air that looks intimidating. But not for me; for me, he is as cute as a puppy. Ah, I have this urge to tame that stoic face of his! I'm laughing internally at my wild imagination. I grin before I start to dig into my food; it seems like he doesn't notice me yet.
I keep on glancing at him from time to time, ignoring Riley, who keeps talking about who knows what he's blabbering about, as I am not interested in whatever he said. I'm busy stealing glances at my baby boy.
Yes, my baby boy. I have decided to make him my baby boy.
A few moments later, it seemed like he finally noticed my presence. Our eyes met and locked on each other for a few seconds. Thus, I gave him a captivating and very seductive wink-wink of mine.
I am mentally laughing, seeing how he instantly averted his gaze, picked up a glass of water, and drank it in one go.
It's fun teasing him, I thought, and I couldn't help but chuckle a little. His reaction is so cute, I feel like I want to tease him for the rest of his life.
I continue eating while Riley is still blabbering something. Thankfully, he's looking down at his plate, enjoying his favorite steak, and it seems like he didn't catch a glimpse of what is happening around him.
"So, Ryd, what do you think?" Riley asked, then lifted his head to look at me.
"Mn... what?" "Think about what?" I asked. I don't understand what he was asking. Oh, well, I didn't listen to him since my mind is full of weird and funny thoughts.
Riley waves his hand in front of my face.
"Hey, are you even listening, man?"
"Yes, I was listening, so what did you say just now?" I asked, and Riley's jaw dropped.
"Come on, dude," he said, looking at me in disbelief. "You're obviously not listening to me; what's wrong?"
"Nothing; I am just thinking about some things."
"So what about the things you're asking just now?"
"Ah, seriously, man." Riley puffs air. "It's about the anniversary of the company; what's your plan?"
"Hey, let's talk about that next time, not now; we're eating, man!"
Seriously, I don't really like to talk about work while having my meal.
After we finished our meal, I asked Riley to stroll around the nearby park for a bit before going back to the office.
It's not easy sitting there all day and tending to the mountain of work that needs to be done.
While passing Officer Kyle's table, I didn't forget to give him another smile and, of course, my very seductive wink. He is with someone that looks familiar to me too, but I shrugged it off; maybe one of his colleagues, I think.
It's so funny to see his flushed cheeks and rattled facial expressions.
Later at night at the headquarters,
"So what is that very important thing you have to announce, that you ask to gather all of us here?" I asked Luke
"Marius and Dylan are on their way; let's wait for a little while, okay? By the way, I have developed a new game, and it's already on the app store. "Wanna try, guys?"
"Oh, come on, I'm sure that was another brain-wrecking game again. No thanks. I don't want to have a mental breakdown; I still want to live, get married, have children and grandchildren, and travel freely after I retire." Riley recited without a pause.
"???" Luke and I frowned, our mouths hanging open. "Fftt!!! Puuhahahha…!" We glanced at each other and burst into laughter.
"Gosh, Riley, if you don't like it, just say no," Luke said while brushing his tears away from too much laughter.
"Right, right," I seconded, getting up as I rolled down while laughing.
"You're so hilarious, Riley. You know that," Luke commented.
"Ugh, whatever! I'm fine playing Candy Crush!" He rolled his eyes, stomped his feet towards the kitchen, and prepared for dinner.
A few minutes later, Marius and Dylan arrived.
"Hey, guys, wazzup?" Marius spoke as he dumped his ass on the couch.
"Still the same man, still handsome," I said while stroking my jawline.
"So full of yourself, huh?" Marius with his signature rolling eyes
"So what is happening here, Luke?" Dylan inquired, slumping his bottom on the couch as well.
"Jeez, let's have dinner first, guys," said Riley.
After dinner, we head down to the basement, as per Luke's instruction.
"So here's that thing, guys. I went for a walk early this morning. And guess who I saw? I followed the person who wasn't supposed to be here until I saw him entering the police chief's office."
"And who is that person?" Dylan asked.
"It's detective Jaxxon Wang. Remember the detective from Shanghai that kept on following Black Rose and Fox back then?" Luke states seriously.
"So what is his mission here in Beijing?"
"I found out after entering the police branch website. He is going to work here and will team up with Chief Wells' team. But what is more shocking is that they're going to team up to capture Black Rose."
"Well, what could we do?"
"Let's see about that," I said, shrugging my shoulders. This is going to be INTERESTING.
"Just be careful; you know thousands of people's lives out there will be affected once they find out the truth," Marius warned.
"I know; don't worry. After I finish my last mission, I will quit and focus on the company. I had a promise that was meant to be fulfilled; until then, I won't stop." I said this with my head hanging low.
Just thinking about the past drained all my energy.
"Well, that's good," Marius, Riley, Luke, and Dylan said in unison.
"It's late, guys; I want to go home now," I reasoned, as I didn't want to ruin everyone's mood.
"I'll drive you home," offered Riley.
"No need, it's fine; I can manage. You go home too; just pick me up early tomorrow. "Don't be late."
"Okay, as you wish."
"Bye, fellas, good night," I said upon opening the car.
"Hey, be careful when driving," Marius reminded me, and I just gave him a thumbs up.
"Good night," the gang said in unison.
I just waved my hand with my back facing them before I entered the car and drove home.
Third Person's POV
Marius, Luke, Riley, and Dylan just let out a sigh when Ryder is gone from sight.
"No one can stop him," Marius commented, shaking his head.
"You can't blame him; we all know what he's been through," said Luke.
"All we can do is support him; that's what he needs," added Riley.
Dylan just heaves another sigh while shaking his head. He knew Ryder very well, and he only wished for him to be happy again, just like before when they were still young.
Ryder drives until he reaches the Xiao mansion; the Butler greets him upon entering the broad main door of the mansion, and the maids greet him.
"Good evening, young master, welcome home." Butler Charles while taking off Ryder's coat.
"Welcome home, young master," the maids said in unison.
"Thanks, and good evening as well. You all can go back and rest now. Haven't I told you guys already?"
"You don't have to wait for me when it's already this late?"
"How can we do that when our master is still outside?" asked the elderly maid with a gentle smile.
"Ah, here we go again. I'm a bit tired today. You all can go and have some rest now."
"Yes, Master," the maids said in unison.
The butler motions to the maids to go and rest while he stares at Ryder's back, who is climbing the stairs to his bedroom. He could tell in one glance if his young master is in a bad mood or something is bothering him. That gloomy back looks so tired. He sometimes pities him.
“Good night, young master.” Butler Charles bowed to his back and quietly wished him goodnight
Despite Ryder's status in life, he is a very humble and down-to-earth person. He may look like an iceberg from the outside, but he is a very warm and caring person. He treats people equally as long as they are good citizens.
He refused to have bodyguards, as he is much more capable of protecting himself and doesn't like to catch too much attention. He is satisfied with Riley being by his side as a best friend, assistant, business helper, driver, and so on. as well as his best friends Dylan, Luke, and Marius.
After taking a shower and putting on a black-colored night robe, Ryder opens a bottle of whiskey and pours it into a drinking glass.
He glanced at the portrait hanging on the wall and trudged in front of it.
"Mom, Dad, I promise to give you the justice that you deserve. I won't stop until I find them. I will make them pay for their sins a hundredfold. Until then, please guide me from up there."
Ryder mumbles; he didn't realize his tears were streaming down his face.
Brushing his tears away, his eyes shifted to the smaller frame. "Shin," Ryder mumbles while his memory drifts into the past, 18 years ago…