Our Chats

"I-um.... Rai, I think you can go home first." Angie seemed to hesitate as she said it. Maxime's arm around her waist tightened, and Angie could clearly see Rai's shocked expression at her words.

"W-What? What does that mean?"

Rai seemed ready to scold Angie at the sight of her proximity to the man. He couldn't help but think that not too long ago he had warned her that the man she found attractive could be dangerous.

"Okay, um... Maxime, I'm going to talk to Rai for a minute."

Angie tried to loosen Maxime's grip on her waist. Unfortunately, the effort was in vain. Maxime seemed reluctant to cooperate as he tightened his embrace around Angie's waist.

"Let her go!" Rai raised his voice. The situation between the three of them was getting really serious. Angie felt uncomfortable with people seeing them like a clown show. Come on, Angie had no problem with any image. She didn't care if other people judged her badly. The thing is, Rai is different from her. He is a member of the police. Behaving badly in a public place would ruin his reputation. Angie may have acted out and given her friend a hard time, but she still cared about Rai's life.

"Maxime..." Angie frowned. She looked at the man with a gesture to let go of his embrace. But Maxime didn't care. Instead, he grinned, as if to proudly show that he was happy with this chaotic situation.

"Angie!"

Angie forced a smile. "Uhm, now you better go home first, okay? We'll talk tomorrow, okay? Please."

Rai gritted his teeth. It was obvious that he was trying hard to contain the anger that was ready to explode at any moment.

Angie looked at Rai with a pleading expression. "Rai, you trust me, right?"

Rai finally took a deep breath and gave in. He looked back at Maxime, who was still faithful to his annoying grin.

"Okay, but you owe me an explanation."

Angie smiled broadly. "Yes! Yes! I'll definitely explain it to you."

Rai clenched his hands into fists. He hurried out of the nightclub before his anger got out of control. His head was full of questions and to be honest, he didn't trust Angie. It wasn't that he didn't consider Angie his best friend, it was just that he knew very well how Angie behaved, so he couldn't just trust her. This woman could easily put herself in danger. Rai couldn't stop worrying about her.

After Rai left, Maxime looked satisfied. He chuckled softly and immediately released his grip on Angie's waist. He sat down again and sipped his drink, not caring about Angie, who was still standing with a bad feeling towards Rai.

"Damn, you're really annoying." Angie grumbled. She took Maxime's drink and drank it without caring about the man.

Maxime laughed softly. It was obvious that he was pleased with the situation Angie was in. Seeing her in a difficult situation fascinated him and it was clear that Maxime was happy that he was the cause of her problems.

"Why? You kicked your friend out yourself."

Angie rolled her eyes. "I didn't kick him out!"

Maxime shrugged. "So what? It's obvious. You prefer me to your friend. Are you sure he won't get mad at you?"

"Well, Rai is always mad at me."

Maxime was silent for a moment. "Then why are you still with him? More importantly, isn't he a cop?"

"He's a detective, to be exact."

Maxime was surprised, but he managed to hide his expression and stay cool. To be honest, this was an unusual combination. A journalist full of madness, eager to uncover any scandal she could find, befriending a detective? How could the two of them maintain this friendship? Maxime wondered how the detective could put up with Angie being so curious about everything.

"Hey, say something. Why are you so quiet?" Angie asked.

Maxime cleared his throat. "No, it's nothing."

Angie snorted in annoyance. "So what did you mean before?"

"What?"

"Chasing Rai away like that. He's my best friend, you know!"

Maxime chuckled quietly. "I already told you that. You're the one who offered yourself to me as a 'payoff', so yeah... I don't want my stuff with anyone else."

Angie grumbled and elbowed Maxime hard in the waist.

Maxime was shocked. "What the hell?"

"How dare you call me stuff!"

"Oh? You still call yourself a person? Okay, let me tell you something, what kind of human would willingly give themself up to an unknown gangster just for a news story?"

Angie frowned. Maxime was right. Maybe Angie was too obsessed with the news company that had fired her some time ago. Her grudge was so great that she was willing to use extreme ways to get back at the company. Is she crazy? Well, Angie has never felt completely sane in her entire life. Maybe she was, or maybe Angie's interests were just different.

"You are silent."

Angie turned her head to look at Maxime. "What?"

"You think what I'm saying is right, don't you?"

Angie laughed softly. "Maybe. Honestly, I feel different than other people."

"Hah, so full of confidence."

Angie shrugged and took another sip of her drink. "What are you going to do after this?"

Maxime frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Of course, I want to come with you."

"What? You're crazy, aren't you?"

Angie laughed. "You just said it."

"No. Don't follow me."

Angie scowled. She immediately wrapped her arms around Maxime's and hugged him tightly.

"Damn it, let go of your hands."

Angie didn't care. She knew that what she was doing was dangerous. The man standing next to her was no ordinary man. He was a mysterious gangster who apparently could kill her whenever he wanted. Angie didn't know where her fear was going.

"Why are you so reluctant to touch me? You must want my body, too."

Angie's words were so direct. The hostess who served them was surprised how easily Angie could say such a sentence.

Maxime chuckled. He violently pulled Angie's arm away from him until it fell off. Then he pulled Angie's chin. They stared at each other for a long time. Neither wanted to break eye contact first. It felt like they were two people competing to see who was the strongest through that gaze.

"What? You're fascinated by me already?" Angie teased.

Maxime grinned. "Maybe you need a mirror to see yourself."

Angie laughed. She hadn't expected to be so close to Maxime, even if the context wasn't intimacy. Meh, how could it be called intimate. In fact, Maxime and Angie were just using each other.

"I have to go," Maxime said suddenly.

Angie grinned. "Then I'll come with you."

Maxime sighed, but he didn't seem to refuse. "You might regret following me."

Angie nodded. "Well, let's see."

***