The two men stepped out of the elevator one after the other and walked to the outdoor smoking area. Milo took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a couple of leisurely puffs before offering the pack to Dallas.
Dallas glanced at it and refused with a straight face, "Thanks, I don't smoke."
Milo didn't reply.
It was a cloudy day, the sky gray and dull, much like the ash in the man's hand. The sun was hidden behind thick clouds, barely casting a weak halo.
Milo didn't reply. Milo asked, "I heard you used to be Beatrice's bodyguard?"
"Yes."
"Has the McDowell family not been treating you well?"
"No."
"Then why did you change jobs?"
"It's a scheduling issue," Dallas said.
Milo smoked silently, and as half a cigarette burned down, he suddenly said, "Working for Averi must be better than working for Beatrice. Averi has no bad habits, a good temper, and is generous to her employees." As he finished speaking, he rubbed his forehead, a look of regret on his face, "I shouldn't have said that. Averi has absolutely no faults, good or bad. Don't go telling her I said this."
Dallas's eyes were inscrutable, and his rugged features showed no reaction.
Despite his coldness, Milo was unusually tolerant. He blew out a ring of smoke and asked with interest, "What does being a personal bodyguard entail? Do you go wherever she goes?"
"Yes."
"You followed her home?"
Dallas: "I only ensure Ms. Forbes gets to the door. Her home security is handled by the chairman's team."
Milo nodded and asked, "How has she been lately? I've been abroad recently and couldn't come back to see her right after the accident." He smiled, "She's the same whether she's happy or angry, hard to tell."
Dallas's fingertips tightened, and he said professionally, "Sorry, sir, I'm not at liberty to disclose my employer's private information."
Milo chuckled, flicked the ash, and raised his thin eyelids to look at him.
Milo stubbed out the remaining half of his cigarette and said, "Let's head back."
They returned to the elevator lobby, which was only one floor away from the parking garage. Milo didn't hesitate, and Dallas continued to escort him, all the way to his car.
Before getting into the car, Milo extended his hand again, "Dallas, right? My memory isn't great. Don't be so formal. Since you're Averi's bodyguard, we'll be seeing each other often."
Outside the parking garage was a traffic light. While waiting, Milo called his assistant.
"Mr. Hebert."
"Book a restaurant for tonight for two, preferably inside a hotel."
The assistant, thinking he was planning a date with another girlfriend, asked considerately, "Got it. Would you like me to arrange a driver? Also, we've prepared a new designer handbag as a gift—does that work for you?"
He asked just for formality's sake; Milo had no interest in whether it was a new model or not. These things were usually handled by his assistant, but today, the question revealed an issue.
Milo's voice turned cold, "Who do you think I'm going with?"
The assistant dared not speak, quickly realizing that the evening dinner was also with Ms. Forbes. Silence wasn't an option, so he forced himself to say, "Sorry, sir. Then for lunch today—"
Milo: "No, cancel the lunch and reschedule for tonight."
After hanging up, Milo fell into deep thought.
Averi's behavior had been normal, except for the joke she made when he asked the bodyguard to see him off. On reflection, she had joked before, so it wasn't out of the ordinary. He had even deliberately noticed Dallas's scent, which was different from Averi's.
Everything seemed normal, and Milo couldn't pinpoint what exactly was bothering him.
He never resorted to probing; it seemed petty. Whenever someone around him tried to indirectly check on their girlfriend, he would laugh and throw in a sarcastic comment.
But today, he found himself doing the same.
Not long after returning, Dallas was called into Averi's office.
She was still on the sofa, looking up at him with her chin and neck forming a graceful curve. "You were gone for so long."
"I stepped out with Mr. Hebert for a smoke," Dallas said.
Averi asked, "What did you talk about?"
Dallas maintained his usual expression, "Nothing much."
Averi examined him closely for a moment, pursed her lips, and then lowered her head to continue reading her documents. "You can leave now."
Dallas clenched his hand and left in silence.
Back in his office, he resumed reading On War, but when he encountered a long sentence, he kept forgetting the beginning by the time he reached the end. After several attempts, it proved futile.
Unable to continue, he closed the book, closed his eyes, and massaged his temples, frustrated by his loss of control.
He had known about Milo all along. What right did he have to be jealous or displeased now? His attitude in the office earlier was truly unbecoming.
His thin lips curved into a bitter smile. Dallas thought to himself, somewhat self-deprecatingly, that he had overestimated his self-control.
The sun set, and neon lights began to flicker. Milo had initially planned to pick up Averi himself but decided to send her a text with the address instead.
An Italian Italian restaurant inside the luxury hotel.
Averi sat in the back seat, making calls along the way.
Dallas was grateful for the call, as it made his silence less awkward and deliberate.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, okay... Hold on, I need to take a call." Dallas noticed a change in her tone and said, "I'm almost there... Alright, keep an eye on it."
He guessed the caller was Milo and instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror.
Averi lifted her gaze to meet his.
She responded a few times and said, "No need, I'll go straight up." Then she looked away.
Dallas averted his eyes, gripped the steering wheel tighter, and accelerated.
When they arrived, Milo was just stepping out. He wore a thin pullover and dark-patterned trousers, paired unexpectedly well with suede Chelsea boots. His hair was casually swept back, and his relaxed stance exuded an effortless charm that was undeniable.
Milo opened the car door for her, the epitome of gentlemanly manners.
His gaze swept over her bare calves, then he tightened the collar of her windbreaker, casually remarking, "I know you're pretty, but it's so cold out. You should wear more." He then bent down, half his body leaning into the car, and said to the man in the driver's seat, "No need to wait. I'll take her to the office myself in the morning."
Dallas didn't miss the seemingly offhand words "tomorrow morning."
Milo flashed a considerate smile and said, "It's rare to have a weekend off. Let's go out and relax a bit."
Click, Milo closed the car door and walked side by side with Averi inward.
The sky had already turned pitch black, and the dark tinted windows made the two figures even more indistinct, but Dallas could see clearly that Milo's right hand rested on Averi's waist.
