27 Mr Gonzalez

*Somewhere in the city…*

In the city where people never slept, the party never ended and the lights never stopped dancing. There lived the ones whose wealth over-flooded the banks and thus, Black Card was created, for the ultra rich - with no limitations on the credits they spend. Particularly today; above all these was a man, powerful enough to own the whole city but instead of indulging, he decided to wait for that one person. Renting out the luxurious restaurant, he sat on the top floor and gazed down at the traffic. Cars moving in slow motion like as if the world had suddenly come to a halt, moving only on his command. However, with each strike of the clock his disappointment grew and he lost hope yet again.

"Oliver, Ring Robert!"

He spoke, once his patience ran out. 

"But..He has already blocked us.." 

Oliver answered; Fearfully, as not to anger him further. 

"Find his location!"

With these final words, he rose out of his seat and headed down towards his awaiting car as Oliver hurriedly followed behind. 

* Hayley's POV *

I'm currently sitting with Prince Elijah and Robert, looking out of place and out of fashion. My fingers stiff due to typing out every important detail that came out of Prince Elijah and his business partner "David Gonzalez". They went about a bizarre word marathon before coming into an agreement. A new tourist attraction was to be built but the old history lies in that same area. However, with my input Prince Elijah was able to come to a decision, a new attraction was to be built and still keep the old artifacts. Emphasizing the history behind it while adding a modern touch. Once the meeting was complete Prince Elijah and Mr Gonzalez stood up to leave.

Before this, I was at home just laughing away with Rebecca. Luckily I was already dressed a little decently as she had forced me to go out to dinner with her but on my way out the door, a black Maybach car suddenly parked at our driveway. The driver seat window slowly rolled down to reveal none other than Mr Robert. 

"Miss Hayley, you must come with me now. An urgent business meeting that requires your attendance." 

At that moment, having no time to think, I jumped in the car and left. Called Rebecca multiple times to apologize and only relaxed once I received her forgiveness. 

Once we arrived at the location, I was surprised to see it was a luxurious restaurant, usually crowded  and bustling with customers but it was now a silence filled area. With just Prince Elijah and Mr Gonzalez, sophistically sitting in a high table facing each other and engrossed in conversation. 

When he saw me he gave a satisfied smile but his guest with a petrified stare. As if he had seen a ghost but catching Prince Elijah's gaze, he returned to normal and ignored me throughout the meeting. 

"You did good today."

He spoke before heading out.

Mr Gonzalez quickly agreed, finally acknowledging me. He was lingering his gaze at me, still holding that questioning look from before. He seemed to want to ask me a question, however he was once again interrupted by prince Elijah and dragged away.

He is a fit man, I could tell he worked out a lot. He looked to be in his thirties but looking through his character profile, I was surprised to find he was already 47 years old. As they say, appearance can be deceiving. He indeed is a fine looking man, he didn't look shabby nor greedy, I could tell he meant business. His aura was similar to that of Mr Robert, but his eyes were more intense and would pull you in to submit into his demands.

"Have you finished studying Mr Gonzalez or do you need more time?" 

Robert spoke, bringing my attention back to him. 

"I'm done!"

I replied and handed him my laptop full of typed notes for review.

"I hope it is at a satisfactory level but isn't this an inappropriate time for a business meeting?" 

"You do have a point there Miss Hayley. I'm Sorry, next time a notice will be given to you beforehand." He spoke, returning back into his refined manner. 

"He is, how should I put it, he's a special case." 

Mr Robert was definitely hiding something as he tried avoiding my incoming question. 

"What sort of special case, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Ok I'll tell you." He said finally.

"But you must keep this a secret or else it could put multiple lives at risk." 

"You can trust me."

I assured him and as if he made up his mind, he filled me in with the full truth. Well, I assume it was the full truth.

"He's of a high status from our neighboring kingdom and this meeting was supposed to take place tomorrow morning." He paused for a bit, fixed his glasses and continued. "However a very important figure has gone missing for a whole day today and we're doing everything we can to solve this issue, with no avail of course. Due to this reason, we've moved our meeting forward." 

I listen to him explain, wondering what must have happened to that poor person. 

"Have the authorities been informed?"

"Yes, they have already started their search party." 

He answered. 

"Is this going to negatively affect Prince Elijah?" 

I asked, worried he might also be inconveniently blamed. However, it would be inappropriate to play the blame game now. He had disappeared, it couldn't be undone now. 

"Don't worry about that Miss Hayley. He won't be held responsible." 

I felt relief wash over me, relief that even I didn't know was being kept within me until now. 

"Mr  Robert?"

"When is Prince Elijah coming back?" I asked him.

"It shouldn't be too long, if he needs any more assistance he will contact one of us; Don't worry and in the meantime let's order something to eat. I'm starving and I'm sure you are too." 

"Forget about all these issues, just focus on your task at hand. I'm here to handle all the complicated side of Prince Elijah." He gave me his reassuring smile and passed the menu over to me. 

Just at that moment a familiar voice interrupted us, I looked up to see a face that had been popping up everywhere.

"What a coincidence!"

He exclaimed with his loud booming voice, suddenly turning the quiet restaurant into a lively party atmosphere.