Zayn stared at the clock hanging above the door in the conference room. The meeting had spanned longer than he had planned for it to, yet there were still some important deliberations to be made. Usually, he would have asked his assistant to continue with the meeting while he caught some sleep, but the issue at hand was the opening of a branch of Graham Conglomerate in Hong Kong, and he needed to be there to see the different pieces form one huge picture.
“The space isn’t ideal,” he murmured, bringing his gaze to the projected building on the screen. “It is too small, and I really do not like the windows.”
“The windows?” One of the foreign investors repeated, his small eyes regarding Zayn like it was the most ridiculous thing he’d heard.
“Yes, Mr. Stone. The windows.” He scooted to the edge of his seat at the head of the table and clasped his hands. “The windows are usually one thing that gets overlooked when picking out the perfect site for a company’s activities. But not me. On a rainy day, the paters on the roof send a rhythm to every conversation held between the walls. And when stuck, I need to be able to see the droplets moving past, headed to the floor. It gives me the break I need from the issue at hand. I see the resolution in my head, the visuals playing before me.”
Mr. Stone angled his head, still confused. “What does nature have to do with important deliberations, Mr. Graham?” All the while, he kept a somber tone, knowing better than to mess with Zayn. It was a great opportunity to be able to be one of the investors in the branch in Hong Kong, as the returns were certain. Zayn was a great business mogul, and everyone who worked with him knew that.
“It has everything to do with important deliberations, Mr. Stone. When I have clients in my office, I don’t want them to feel shut out from the world. It is easy to make anyone feel like they are imprisoned, and that in turn sends them running to the other end of the room. I want them to feel welcome, instead. To feel open to whatever I have to offer on the table. Do you understand now, Mr. Stone? Nature makes everyone feel at ease, even you.”
He nodded, and moved to the next image, projecting it on the screen. Zayn wanted to finalize getting the spot that day, so he could move on to other important things, like staffing and publicity. He wouldn’t need to do a lot of publicity since Graham Conglomerate was already a known name in Hong Kong.
“I like that one,” Zayn said. It was the first time he had said that since the meeting started about three hours ago. “The first floor looks great as well. Let’s think about putting a small aquarium there, shall we? Talk to the team in charge of the interior and see what can be arranged.”
He got up from his seat and nodded in acknowledgment to everyone present. “The meeting is dismissed. Thank you all so much for coming around. Let’s do this again tomorrow. Same time.” Zayn stretched his hands out for a shake before walking out the doors, and getting into the elevator. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and called Rina. Her phone went straight to voicemail. Noting how strange that was, he called Igor instead.
“Where is Rina? Her phone isn’t going through,” he said the minute the call was received. The doors to the elevator dinged open and he stepped out onto the rugged floors, making his way down to his room to freshen up. He was staying at the most expensive suit in the hotel, and that meant he was the only person on that floor. Zayn didn’t fancy bumping into people and having to exchange pleasantries.
“She is at a new diner very close to O. S. N,” Igor answered. “I don’t know who she’s in there with, but I can take a look if you want, sir.”
“No, that’s fine. Just tell me when she gets to the villa. Ensure she doesn’t get followed and kindly get me intel on Nathan’s whereabouts. As much as I don’t want to bother myself about him, my father hasn’t heard from him in a while and he is worried.”
“Okay, sir.”
The line clicked dead, just as Zayn swiped his key card at the door and pushed it open. He sauntered to the room and got into the shower, sighing as he placed his hands on the warm tiles. Zayn had felt uneasy all day, and he knew it had nothing to do with his expansion. He was quite confident about its success.
So, it had to be something else.
It was the reason he had called Rina the minute he had a break from the meeting. Talking to her seemed to have made him feel better, but it was back unsettling his nerves. Done from the shower, Zayn got dressed in a pair of white slacks and a white mesh shirt, along with a pair of black slides before making his way out of the hotel room again. This time, his destination was a casino downtown. Those were the steps he made when trying to kill two birds with a stone.
His limousine dropped him in front of the building, and with his hands in his pocket, Zayn strolled in with all the confidence in the world. The name read “Grand Lisset” in neon lights, casting a soft glow on the dark street. The music greeted Zayn as he stepped in, and the smell of smoke tingled his nose. In the warm lights, his eyes searched for the face of the person he had come to see.
Mark Six lottery was being played in one corner, and knowing there was a high chance of meeting her there, Zayn allowed his feet to carry him, hoping to be gone in ten minutes. She was arguing with one of the other players when her eyes met him.