THE PROFESSIONAL DETECTIVE - PART 7 (Patreon)

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Note: This story is intended for mature audiences (18+) and all characters depicted are 18 years of age or older.

Part 7: Getting To Know My Chairman

I lightly patted my red face to relieve some of the embarrassment. In less than a day, there was so much change going on inside of me. I'm stuck between task and emotion. As a professional detective who is always looking for sensational situations, I have never let my emotions get in the way. Sometimes, I have a thought in my mind: “Facing emotions, the task is not important.” I immediately denied this thought. Or rather, I'm afraid of it! I'm afraid that if this continues to happen, I will accidentally forget about my great ideal for more than 20 years!

Perhaps the only way for me to get out of this situation was to quickly complete the task I had taken over and forget everything about Duke. However, half of my thoughts don't want that to happen. I don't know since when, I have a feeling of wanting to see him again. I can't determine what this feeling is. It came so suddenly and in such a strange way. It shattered my previous worldview.

Anyway, for now, I need to find somewhere to go. I decided to go back to the restroom and use my phone to find more information from the Internet. Duke is the chairman of a company that produces women's lingerie, which, although not very large in the international market, is a favorite brand for women in Diamantia. So, with a little bit of my search trickery, I was able to glean a little bit of information about him.

Cozy Wardrobe is only strong locally, leading to information about the company's chairman is not too much. Not to mention, Duke is not the type of person who likes to get interviews and give speeches in the media. Perhaps this comes from the fact that he was once a member of the underworld. Most of the articles written about Duke were in local newspapers and most of them praised him as a brilliant man. There is not a single article written about his background. If it weren't for his wife's revelation, I would have no way of knowing that Duke was once a gangster.

Continuing to search for some related keywords, I took advantage of some loopholes in the search algorithm and found a social networking site of Duke. However, this account does not appear to be used by him. On the wall of this account are only pictures taken of Duke from a different angle. Information about Duke in this social network account is not much and there is no really useful information. Most likely, the creator of this account is Duke's manager. This account is only for the purpose of promoting the image of the company chairman.

I sigh helplessly. Not knowing what to do, I had to look at the pictures of Duke. Unexpectedly, it was a foolish decision of mine, because after looking at some Duke's pictures, I realized that… I couldn't stop. As time went on, I became more immersed in looking at his pictures. I can only stop what I'm doing after seeing the last picture in this account.

By the time I realized it was dark outside. The staff at the company left about an hour ago. I thought to myself, this might be the best time for me to break in upstairs and investigate the situation. I only have one day left to report the results to my client. Tonight, I'll probably try to find more information about Duke, surveying the terrain on the ninth floor for hiding places, convenient for tracking.

I worked out a pretty detailed plan in my mind. However, the plan fell apart soon after, because… as I walked toward the elevator, I came across a familiar figure standing there. He was leaning against the wall, just like at noon. That person, of course, is Duke, the chairman of Cozy Wardrobe. Why is he here at this time?!

Seeing me, he happily walked over to me. Duke asked: “Do you usually come home so late?” I said: “Ah… not really. I want to stay and look up some information!” Speaking of which, I'm blushing again. I absolutely can't let him know I'm leaving late just because I spent a few hours looking at his pictures.

Duke nodded and said: “So it is! No wonder why I've been waiting for you here since the office got off work but still haven't seen you.” Startled, I asked: “You waited for me for an hour? Why?!” Duke smiled: “You don't have to worry about it! Usually, I come home late too.” I waved my hand and said: “That's not what I mean! I just want to ask, why are you standing here for an hour just waiting for someone like me?”

Duke raised his hand to his chin: “Someone like you? Why can't I wait for you? I mentioned in the noon that you are a special person to me. Perhaps you have forgotten something, I once said, I will see you again.” I stammered: “Ah.. I…” Duke smiled again: “Then… can I invite you to another meal?” I had no choice but to reply: “I… okay. I will go with you.”

Duke started walking and said: “You're still not willing to come with me. But I won't cancel this opportunity for that reason.” I asked: “Opportunity?” Looking at a distant place, he spoke very quietly, as if in a whisper to himself rather than to me: “Yes, an opportunity. I haven't had dinner with a girl in a long time…”

He hasn't had dinner with a girl? Isn't he the one who got married? Every day, he doesn't eat with his wife? But anyway, I'm really sorry for him: “It might take some time for him to be able to have dinner with a girl, because the person he's inviting right now… isn't a girl!”

During dinner that night, we didn't talk too much. Since I am a longtime single man, I have never known how to control my eating habits. I eat naturally the way I eat every day. Duke, on the other hand, doesn't overeat. Not a few times, I raised my face and caught the moment he stared at me and smiled. My brain was full of question mark.

After eating, Duke offered to take me home in his car, but I refused, of course! I don't want my location to be exposed. We said goodbye to each other at the intersection where I began my task this time. In my heart, I felt a little reluctant to say goodbye to him. This feeling is very small, but I can still vaguely recognize it. Just when I was lost in thought, Duke suddenly placed a kiss on my cheek. This kiss left me stunned, then blushing. After the kiss, Duke said nothing. He quietly got in the car and drove away, leaving me standing there dumbfounded.

It took me a few minutes to stabilize the situation. Even though I was able to get out of the stupor, my heart was still beating very fast. I kept wondering, what was the situation just now? Shaking my head hard to dispel my wandering thoughts, I walked towards the station. I wasn't in the mood to go back to Cozy Wardrobe's building and explore the ninth floor.

As I was walking towards the station, I suddenly remembered something. That's right, I forgot to wash my clothes! If I don't want to wear dirty clothes tonight, I need to buy another clothes. My country at night is more bustling than day because when the street lights are on, it is also the time when entertainment activities begin. Therefore, it is not difficult to find a clothing store that is still open.

I plan to buy another pair of shorts, a men's T-shirt and another pair of men's underwear to wear tonight. But somehow, my foot entered the womenswear store I went to yesterday. Somewhere in my subconscious mind there is a thought: “If I have to buy an outfit to wear, it should be a woman's outfit.”

The person who greeted me this time was also the girl who was vivacious last time. At first, she didn't recognize me. But after seeing me wearing the outfit she chose yesterday, she immediately gave me a mischievous smile. She warmly welcomed: “Welcome back! I am seeing your slightly red face and somewhat rushed breathing, you must have had a wonderful moment, didn't you?” I was embarrassed to reply hastily: “Don't misunderstand me! I'm here for work, all for work!”

The girl didn't seem to believe me, she continued: “Yes, of course, ‘that’ is the job! Fortunately, today I switched to the evening shift to have the opportunity to advise a special guest like you. What do you want to buy today, my lady?” I don't bother arguing with her anymore: “An outfit can help me get a good night's sleep.” Then she whispered something that made me want to say: “Turns out, today's ‘job’ is to sleep with him!”

PART 8 >>