She dragged him until they reached an abandoned office room. He didn't get why she was so cautious.
She pulled him in and shut the door behind them.
"Well, say what you wanna say. I don't have all day to be here with you."
She moved to an office seat, dusted it, and sat down with her leg crossed, waiting for him to say something.
"We—I have something I want to discuss with you, and it happens to be mildly important."
"Well, go on. I'm listening."
"So, we've been working together for a while now and, well, that makes us partners, kind of. But I haven't told you about the other people I've been working with before I met you."
"So I was thinking, would you mind joining the circle? We all have different things that tied us together, and now we both share the same interest, which is—bringing down Kieran Maddox for what he has been doing behind everyone's backs." He completed
"Well, you do have a good point. But I'm not the group type of person. I don't see myself being in any groups of some sort. I'm a lone wolf, and it's better that way because they can't hold me back."
Liam drifted to the dusty office desk beside him, spread his handkerchief on it, and sat down carefully.
"I can't say your method isn't working, but when you need people to help you out in some sort of situation, we would be there. Besides, we're not the type to draw people back from achieving their goals—we help them out."
"And this is all for Kieran Maddox?" she questioned, squinting her eyes at him.
"Well, for me, it's more than that. And the others have similar goals as well. So that practically makes us a team that shares similar goals."
Jin spun the office chair around as she thought about his words. It wouldn't be right for a lone wolf to suddenly become a group person, especially how she's seen them tear groups apart and use them as a weakness to get what they want.
"I can't say for sure, but since you're sponsoring my research, I can't say no. But keep one thing in your mind—I won't have any relationships with any of you, to avoid being targeted."
Liam smiled a bit but kept his composure.
"I understand. So it's a deal?"
She nodded as she stood up.
"I've got to get back to work, so I can finish on time and continue the research."
Liam watched her leave the room, then sighed.
"I thought it would be harder, but I guess luck was on my side."
Then he brought out his fingers and began counting.
"Baker, ex-army, the genius, and the hacker. We're almost complete."
He dusted his clothes and handkerchief as he stood up, then walked out of the room.
'Instead of heading back, I think I'll stay at the office for a while.'
He moved to his office room, though it reminded him of his time at Maddox Corporation.
He opened the door softly, and Mary wasn't inside like she was supposed to be.
"Lazy Mary, never changes."
He walked up to the desk and sat on the chair behind the office desk where he relaxed his body. Then he spun and stared out the window glass, the cityscape just the way he liked it.
Then he turned back and opened one of the files on the desk. He had done this type of work before—back when his father was alive. From his memory, at least.
He read through the files and did the necessary. It was a feeling his body had long missed, and his brain had been wishing back in his former life.
After a couple of signings, he stood up and stared at the time before he walked out of the office.
On his way out, he saw Pema mopping the office floors diligently. Sentiments almost took the better of him, and he almost relieved her from the job, but Mary immediately walked in and stopped him.
"Don't, Liam. She'll never learn if you treat her that way."
He turned to her.
"And where have you been?"
She bent her head down.
"I went to do some important office work."
Liam held his thoughts. He didn't want to argue about anything with her, so he just nodded and moved out.
He watched as she stood there until he left the office premises.
"I don't trust that girl one bit. I don't even know how she got to be my acting CEO, but it's fine. It has happened anyway. I'll just have to keep a close watch on her."
He stared at the security for a while, then turned and walked away. He didn't want to take the chances of telling anyone in the office, since they might be working for her—directly or indirectly.
"I'll just communicate with Jin later about this."
He stepped into the cab, and it drove off as he stared at the office building.
'I still can't believe I own this.'
The day had ended for him, and so there was no need for him to head over to the bakery. All he wanted to do right now was go home and take a nice, long dump in the toilet. That's all he longed for at the moment.
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The night passed quicker than expected. It was like he closed his eyes, and the next time he opened them, 11 hours had passed.
"Damn, I still feel very much sleepy."
He moved toward the edge of the bed and stared at the time, which read 7:07 a.m.
"I never wake up this early," he murmured. "I'll just nap for a few more minutes—there's nothing much happening anyway."
He closed his eyes, then opened them again and stared at the bottom of the clock, which showed the date and day of the week.
"It's Saturday even, I don't have to worry myself."
It was Saturday, and the only work he was entitled to was cleaning up his small apartment, which wasn't a problem—unless he overslept.
Morning passed quicker than he anticipated, and the next time he was opening his eyes was by 2 p.m. in the afternoon.
He fell off the bed as he tried to stand up, then he glanced at the clock while yawning.
It wasn't a problem for him, because he could finish his chores as quickly as possible.
Then the doorbell rang.
"Huh? Who could it be at this early hour?"
He rose to his feet and shrugged toward the living room to check the emergency camera. He lazily turned on the camera and stared—but it turned out to be someone he wasn't expecting...