Fake dating my enemy, The playboy billionaire-Chapter 97: Don’t drink it

"Oh Bear, it’s just pizza, beer, and despair,

Jun’s not here, and you’ve claimed his chair.

You snored through my jokes, ate half my food,

Now you’re staring like I’m the one being rude.

Jun, save me soon—Bear thinks I’m his dude!"

Bear barks sharply, then hops onto my lap with an offended huff. I run a hand through his soft fur. "Well, excuse me for trying to entertain us," This is my life these past two weeks—a box of half-eaten pizza, an empty beer can on the table, and stupid limericks that I share with my furry companion.

I scratch his ears, earning another grumble from my unwilling audience. "Did you like this one, babe?"

Bear whines, burying his nose in my lap as if to say, One more and I’m packing my toys and leaving, Mom.

"You’re a tough crowd."

"I love it!" Meimei’s voice crackles through the Bluetooth earpiece, full of amusement.

I pinch my lips together, suppressing a laugh.

"It’s been three days," she sighs. "Three days of sitting like ducks, and still no fish in the net. Who knew luring out a mole would be this boring?"

Mhmmm....

I hummed, pretending to sing a melody whereas I was talking to Meimei.

"Well, I could’ve told you that," I say, covering my mouth and pretending to sneeze. I balance the beer can on Bear’s head. He snorts in protest, swatting it off with his paw. "We’re just hoping they’re curious enough to take the bait soon. Otherwise, we’re going to run out of pizza."

"Or bad poetry," she teases.

"Hey! My poetry is art."

"Sure, sure," she chuckles. "And Jun isn’t going to kill me for letting you come to the construction site this late?"

Um... it is my idea when our bait didn’t showed up at my office. Apparently, when Suyin came to visit me on the construction site someone tried to break into my laptop while I was showing her the site.

If it was not for Meimei blocking him, God knows what could have happened. I have over 240 people working on this site, and it could be anyone from them. Hence the bait.

But trust be told, this site is scaring the hell out of me at this time of night. I’m scared of ghosts...

I reach for another pizza slice. But before I can take a bite, the motion sensor on the screen lights up.

"Meimei," I whisper, sitting upright.

"I see it," she says, her tone suddenly sharp and focused. "Someone’s on the move. Stay calm. Act normal. Let them think you’re busy working."

Bear growls low, sensing the shift in my energy. I grab the small monitor discreetly, zooming in on the feed. A shadow moves through the dimly lit site, heading toward my makeshift office.

I swallow hard, trying to ignore the tremble in my fingers as I pretend to engross myself in work. The Swiss knife in my pocket suddenly feels like a joke. Sure, I have the tiny gun Meimei gave me tucked in my sock, but what damage a baby sized gun could do?

The figure moves closer, his walk and stature triggering a vague sense of familiarity. My pulse quickens.

The door creaks open, and I instinctively clutch my chest, my heart leaping into my throat.

"Oh my god—Bruce!" I exhale sharply, my voice an octave higher than I’d like. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Bruce steps inside, lowers his mask, his face partially lit by the glow of my desk lamp. He places a cold hand on my shoulder, his expression calm, almost too calm.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" His voice is as smooth as ever, but something about it feels... off.

"Y-yeah," I stammer, my heart still beating like jungle drumps, "What are you doing here this late?"

"I thought I heard something near the office while I was doing rounds," he says, his tone casual. "I came to check, and saw your light on. Figured you might need some help."

"Thanks, but I’m good," I reply, keeping my tone even. My eyes drift to his hand, still resting on my shoulder. "Do you come here often for rounds?"

He hesitates for a fraction of a second before shaking his head. "Yeah... the lake looks beautiful at night."

Bear growls at him, his nose twitching as if he senses something wrong. This reaction from Bear is nothing new.... He always behaves like this around Bruce.

I tuck Bear in my jacket, lest he jumps st him like last time.

I force a smile. "Well, I appreciate the concern, but I’ve got everything under control."

Bruce’s eyes linger on me a moment too long before he finally steps back, his lips curling into a smile. "Alright then. But I can’t let you work here alone. I’ll accompany you and finish some of my work as well."

I watch him taking a seat next to me instead of sitting at his usual spot by the window. He takes out his laptop.

"He’s lying." Meimei says. "He came here to see the lake and bring laptop with him? Bullshit. He is going to make a move. Be alert."

My stomach churns. Bruce has always been around, always helpful, always friendly. Yeah there were things like the incident with Bear and my laptop... But now... now I’m not so sure.

"What new project are you working on?" Bruce asks casually, his eyes peeking at my laptop screen.

I keep my expression neutral. "You already know about all the projects we have going at the moment. Nothing new."

"Yeah..." he says, dragging the word out like he’s testing me. "But looks like you have been working on something different. This looks like a car’s design. Need help? I have work on lot of such things."

I stiffen but force a small laugh. "Oh, this? It’s nothing special. I can handle it. Your expertise is needed on the more complex stuff."

"You mind if I take a slice of the pizza?" Bruce asks, his tone light, though his eyes flicker back to the laptop. "The fragrance is tempting me."

I swallow hard "Help yourself."

Bruce slides the half-empty beer can aside and drags the pizza box toward himself with an easy smile.

"Yiren," Meimei’s voice crackles sharply in my earpiece, her tone urgent. "He dropped something in the beer can. Don’t drink it."

My eyes flick to the beer can, then to Bruce. He’s smiling casually, as though we’re just coworkers sharing a late-night snack.

"Yiren, don’t," Meimei warns again, her voice growing more insistent.

I slowly pull the beer can toward me, letting my fingers wrap around it. If I don’t drink it, how will he make a move?