Meeting Mr. Mogul(15)

 

After a solid half an hour of talking, we stopped when the crowd was  called to the other room for dinner. I decided to take this time to head  out. I didn't want to sit in a room filled with posh people because I  just didn't fit in. Alexandra tried to convince me to stay, but I made  up an excuse of having an appointment I had to attend to. I tried to  make my appointment sound important so I could be excused. However, she  let me go under one condition: William was taking me home since Kevin  was dispatched elsewhere.

I wanted to protest her request, but the stern look in her eyes shut me  up and I relented right away. Alexandra is the kind of woman you  shouldn't question-especially when she has already made up her mind.  William looked unwilling as I was, and we both looked at her with  pleading eyes. After a moment, William sighed in defeat and offered me  his arm again.

"I'll drive you back to your apartment. I don't like eating dinner with  those people anyway," William mumbled to himself. "Please tell mom I'm  heading out," he added aloud as he glanced back at his sister.

I waved goodbye while William dragged me towards the main door. As we  got out, he ordered a man in a black suit, who was standing in front of  the door the whole time, to get his car. This was my cue to let go of  his hand. I slowly slipped my arm out of his grasp but he put his other  hand on top of mine and stopped me. So I stood awkwardly with him as we  waited for his car.

When I heard the soft hum of an engine, I looked up and saw a sleek  black car parked in front of us. William tugged me towards it as I  looked at his ride with wide eyes. He let go of my arm once he left me  in the front passenger door. The driver of the car got out when William  reached his side of the door then gave him the keys to the car. I  restrained my giddiness as I caressed the hood of the car while they  made the exchange. I've only seen this kind of luxury ride in the  movies. It might either be an Audi or a Mercedes.

"Are you going in?" William asked, breaking my trance.

I looked up at him in disbelief. "Are you for real?"

"Yes. Please get in before I change my mind," he commanded as he opened the driver's door and hopped in.

I shook my head at his overbearing attitude. I opened the door and got  in slowly, my eyes absorbing every single detail of the car. When I  finally closed the door, with the engine already revved up, William hit  the gas pedal and drove us to the freeway in less than a minute. The  rumbling engine brought life to the silent night.

In about thirty minutes, the car slowed down when we arrived at a  familiar street and he slowly parked the car in front of my apartment  building. I opened the door as quickly as I could before he could say  anything. But as I stood on the pavement, I felt guilty about my hasty  exit, so I stooped low enough to see his face again.

"Thanks for the ride," I choked out, my voice strained from the effort.

He looked at me with a poker face as he nodded. I waited for a moment  for him to reply, but he didn't say anything. It annoyed me as hell.

"You can at least say ‘you're welcome'," I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes.

"Sorry. And you're welcome," he finally said in a low and equally strained voice.

I felt exhausted just from having this conversation with a man who  didn't even like human company. I didn't say goodbye to him as I walked  towards the glass doors that led to the lobby of my apartment. When I  closed them behind me, I heard the faint sound of the car as it  screeched away on the street. I sighed in disappointment when I found  the pavement empty.

I stood there watching the empty street and I felt like a weight has  been lifted off my shoulders. But with my head now clear, it finally  dawned on me: How did he know where I lived when I didn't tell him  anything?





Ten





As I walked up to my place, I contemplated about what happened earlier  that night and my time spent with him. My mind raced on the thought of  how he knew where I lived. It was weird how he consumed my thoughts. He  clearly held some sort of power over me, and that sent a shiver down my  spine. So I decided to retaliate. For starters, I needed to know my  enemy. Luckily, I know the best person for the job.   





 

After I finished changing, wearing my usual white shirt, jeans, and  Converse, I knocked on the door across mine. I hoped that she wasn't  busy or asleep. In a few seconds, a female voice called on the other  side of the door and told me to wait. When the door opened, I gave my  new neighbor a small smile in greeting.

"Andy, hey! I almost forgot. I'm taking you out for drinks tonight," she  stated, giving me a warm smile. "Please come in for a second as I get  my things," She gestured for me to enter.

"Thank you," I walked into the room and scanned her place. "I didn't  want to bother you, but I wanted to ask you about something," I said as I  reached the living room and stopped by the couch.

"Sit." She walked towards a sliding door on the left side of the room  before she stopped to point at the couch. "What do you want to ask?" her  voice was thick with curiosity.

"You know William Maxwell, right?" I asked, taking it slow rather than bluntly asking her about him.

"Vaguely. The magazine I work for did a spread about him. From time to  time, we feature him and his sister," she replied nonchalantly, "Why do  you ask?"

"Well," I paused for a second as I thought of a good excuse so that I  wouldn't sound like a stalker, "I'm going to be working for him this  Monday, and I don't really know the man."

"Okay. Sure, I can tell you what I know. Let me change first and we can  head out to the coffee shop across the street. The tenant who lives in  the apartment beside mine owns it."

After she said that, she opened the sliding door and disappeared into  the room. I waited as she quickly changed. When she stepped out, she  wore an outfit almost identical to mine, but her chic top outshined my  plain white shirt. I stood up by the time she walked towards the door,  trailing a foot behind her.

When we reached the coffee shop across the street, I was awestruck at  its warm and tasteful design. It had a vintage feel to it with the dark  red couches and wooden tables and chairs. It reminded me of the mansion I  just went to earlier in the evening.

We sat down at the far side of the room where two lounge chairs faced  each other with a wooden table in between. Ally stood up as she asked me  for my order. I wasn't much of a coffee drinker, so I asked for her  suggestion. It took a while before she came back with our drinks and two  bagels on a tray.

"Don't worry about paying. It's my treat tonight," she stated as she placed the drinks and food on the table between us.

"Thank you," I said as I gave her a small smile.

When she sat down on her chair, I grabbed the caramel-colored drink and  took a small sip. The drink was sweet yet it had a bitter aftertaste.

"What is this drink called?" I asked out of curiosity.

"It's actually my favorite. It's caramel macchiato," she replied with a beaming smile.

I took another sip of the drink again, tasting it a second time. Though I  usually don't like any bitter food or drinks, the sweetness of the  caramel balanced out the bitterness of the coffee. After a few sips, I  couldn't believe that I was starting to like its bittersweet taste.

"So, what do you want to know about Mr. Maxwell?" Ally asked, breaking  my fixation as I took another sip of my caramel macchiato.

I gulped down the drink and felt nervous as I asked the first question at the top of my head.

"Who is William Maxwell?"

She chuckled and shook her head, "Can you be a little more specific? The question is too vague."

"Oh. I mean what's he like personally and professionally?"

"Well, I don't know about his personal life, but when it comes to  business, the man is a force to be reckoned with," Blinking a couple of  times in awe. "He dropped out of Harvard Business School on his fourth  year after his father died to help build the Maxwell empire. In less  than two years, he kept the company afloat and increased its market  value. I think he didn't sleep within those two years. The company had  expanded from a small real estate company to a corporate conglomerate."

Her voice filled with admiration as she told me William's  accomplishments. Throughout the conversation, Ally revealed details  about William that I could have read in newspapers and magazine, but she  also added a piece of information that the tabloids didn't reveal. It  was the reason behind his hard, arrogant exterior. Though it was only  her assumption, it was substantial enough for me to ponder more later  on.   





 

William Maxwell was the heir and next in line to the Maxwell  Enterprises. During his adolescence, he was rebellious. Thus, he had  forfeited the fortune of his father to his sister, Alexandra Maxwell.  She ran the company alongside their father, but she didn't like the  business world. She wanted to be a chef. So she gave William a chance to  redeem himself by going to Harvard Business School. While he studied,  his father was diagnosed with a kind of cancer that had a very high  mortality rate. His father died before he could finish school. Their  company was handed over to his sister, leaving him with nothing. In his  resentment, he left school.