They looked at each other in silence. Justin knew that the words that came out of Bella's mouth were just spontaneity and nonsense. But Bella's eyes said otherwise. There was a strong desire emanating from them, as well as doubt about realizing it.
"Don't joke with me about this! Because there are consequences you have to pay."
"Well, I have a black card. So, I will pay it at a fair price."
Bella touched Justin's shoulder. Her hand kept moving up until it reached his neck. Justin grabbed Bella's wrist, pulling it away from the area that could awaken his sleeping desire.
"Are you trying to tempt me so our contract will be cancelled?" Justin asked firmly.
Bella still looked at Justin. She withdrew her hand and walked away from him. Bella removed the blanket that had been covering her body. Justin turned his face away, giving Bella time to tidy herself up. Although, in reality, Bella didn't really take off her clothes just to tease Clea.
Through a mirror, Justin saw part of Bella's back slowly covered. The scars were still there. Scars that were suspected to come from Steven's men whipping her. He wondered if Bella had ever realized that and asked about the origin of her scars.
"I'm no longer involved in the tax evasion case of the conglomerate. In other words, I can't catch Jofran, Simon, or ...." Bella realized and stopped her rambling. "We can't work together anymore."
Justin turned around. He saw Bella taking out her black card from her purse. Quickly, Justin approached Bella.
"This is your credit card," said Bella as she handed Justin's card over to him.
Justin accepted it. He smiled and said, "Turns out, you're not as determined as I thought you were. Just because a strong gust of wind diverted your path, you became confused and gave up. But, this is just the beginning." Justin took Bella's purse from her. He slipped his credit card back in there. "Who said this was over? A homing pigeon will always reach its destination, even if it takes a different route. Isn't that right?"
Bella took her purse back. Her soft gaze suddenly turned sharp. "Did you order Ludwig to do that?"
"Does that accusation even make sense? I gave you Simon's criminal files. Why would I redirect you to another division?" Justin retorted.
"Oh, right."
Bella sat on the bed, heaving a long sigh. Justin pulled open the drawer of the cabinet near the bed. He took out a cigarette and lit it. Then, Justin sat down on the sofa.
"Our contract won't end unless I ask for it," Justin said.
"What do you really want from me? I know you also want to send Jofran to jail, but..."
"Are you hesitant because Jofran is my father's associate?" Justin interrupted.
"Yes. Steven even matched you with his son. They're not only business partners, but also best friends."
Justin chuckled. "You know, in the business world, there are only colleagues or opponents. For people like us, friendship is just empty talk. Steven matched me with Clea just for business purposes."
“And your reason for putting Jofran in jail?"
Justin stared at Bella intently. "Jofran is not a businessman. He is a criminal who wears a mask. Thousands of Oxim Group employees were suddenly fired without any clear reason. They also did not receive any severance pay. Some of them were declared missing, while others committed suicide. I'm sure there's something being hidden by the company."
"Wait! What do you mean? Weren't the fired workers protesting in front of their company?" Bella was confused.
"They're not former Oximell employees. I have investigated it. They are just people paid by Jofran to carry out demonstrations."
"I'm getting even more confused. What is Jofran's motive for paying them? Isn't that a futile act? The company's stock prices will obviously continue to fall if the protests keep going."
"To delay paying taxes. He suffered a huge loss due to the failure of a project. Jofran might shut down Oximell after all his money has been saved. If that happens, we won't be able to uncover the secret behind the company."
"Are you going to use it to bring down Oxim Group?" Bella guessed.
"You have a very old-fashioned way of thinking." Justin took a drag of his cigarette. "If it is just to bring down the company, I don't need to go this far. I just want to know the reason for the deaths of the former company employees and punish Jofran."
"It seems I did not investigate the case thoroughly. I will do it for you. There must be a case file of their deaths in the prosecutor's office. I will check it tomorrow and match the data with Oximell's employee records," Bella said, enthusiastically.
Justin smiled slyly. He put out his cigarette and then lay down on the sofa. Justin used both his hands as pillows. "Sleep! Tomorrow will surely be a tiring day."
"Hey, are you going to sleep here? Your house is very big. There must be many rooms," Bella said, slightly pushing him away.
"What will Clea think if a couple sleeps in separate rooms? Tomorrow you'll move in here. I've told someone to pack your things," Justin said casually.
"What do you mean? No! Tomorrow I'll go home and stay in my apartment."
"So, you're going to let your handsome and rich lover live in the same house with another woman?" Justin taunted.
Bella pretended not to care. She lay down on the bed in a supine position. "So what? You've been living with many female servants in this house anyway."
"Why do you bring them up? They have to live here to do their job. I have never brought in a woman, except for you. So, it feels very uncomfortable if Clea is here." Justin waited for Bella's comment, but the atmosphere in the room was too calm for a debate. "Okay, if that's what you want. I'll have someone take you home tomorrow. But if you want to come back, the door of this house is always open for you," he continued.
Justin looked towards the bed. Apparently, Bella had fallen asleep. Justin smiled faintly before closing his eyes.