INTO THE UNKNOWN

6. THE INEVITABLE MEETING

Thanks to all my readers. Hope you will like this part too.

I won 't say much and distract you from the track...

Please excuse the grammatical mistakes..

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JEANETTE

I stared into the blurring scenario as Michael continued to drive the car. There was a pin drop silence within the confinements of the vehicle as neither of us spoke a word. I knew Ana and Michael both were waiting for a reaction from me but what could I do, I was myself puzzled to no extent. The man whom I met at the café was the same person for whom we were going to make the project.

There was a bubbling fear in my heart since the moment Ana disclosed the truth to me. They both have explained that they were truly unknown to this haunting reality but nothing got into my head except the words about the CEO of the Regulus industry. I could feel the tremors running down my spine as I recollected all the moments in the café- the glaring, the frowning, the emotions, the coldness of the eyes, that strange sensation when I was going out of the café. Everything was whirling in my mind like a huge tornado, creating a mess.

Since then I had been sitting by the window side, aimlessly looking at the cars and the building, ignoring every attempt they both took to talk with me. I knew I was just being childish and was letting my irrational thoughts cloud over my judgment but how could stay despite the fact that my entire body was shivering due to a sudden fear. It wasn’t humanly possible for me to face that cold-eyed man again, let alone stay in close proximity with him in the same room.

Being the CEO, he was going to be there in the meeting and that’s what I was dreading the most. What if he sees through my disguise? What if he recognizes me? What if-

My chain of questions was brought to a sudden halt as my body lurched forward without a warning. I hated my fall mid way, grabbing the driver seat in front of me. My hairs fell on my face as I barely kept myself from hitting the hard back of the seat.

Breathing hard, I finally composed my shaking frame and slowly sat back. Leaning onto the seat, I closed my eyes and gulped down oxygen hungrily. “Jean”, Michael called my name softly to which I replied in a soft nod, not even caring to open my eyes and confronting him. “I’m sorry, the car-“

“It’s okay. I’m fine”, I replied as I finally settled down and opened my eyes only to find both of them staring at me with concerned eyes. Furrowing my eyebrows, I was about to ask them when Michael beat me to it and informed that we were already at our destination.

Really?

In the middle of the freaking nowhere?

I looked around the car, sweeping my eyes through each and every point. And much to my horror, the entire place was bordered by the forests, the same forest where I was yesterday, well not exactly that particular place. As I stepped out of the car, I was met with a humongous structure looming over us like a mountain.

The building was so huge that I had to crane my neck and assess the entire height. How on earth could someone build such a huge structure and that also at the end of the city? I was gaping at the scenario, taking in every structure with my wide eyes and puzzled mind when suddenly a hand landed on my shoulders, putting an end to my unlady like gawking.

“Jean”, I couldn’t avert my gaze from the embellished building and the contrasting backdrop of the place. “Ana, is this place even real?”, I asked her without turning back when a soft chuckle came from her.

“Yes Jean, it’s very much real and stops ogling at it. What will other other think?”, she chided me in a soft yet a stern voice. Taking a deep breath, I gently shrugged my head and turned sideways, telling her to stand there to which she happily obliged. “Its amazing Ana, the forests, the serenity, the calmness, it's just too much to take”, I said in a dreamy voice but didn’t receive a reply from her. Frowning, I looked at her only to be shocked at her reaction. She was looking on the other side of the forest, her brows creased in deep thought, her shoulders stiff and her fists clenching at the sides.

“Annaise”, I called out to her while keeping gently tugging at her arm, “what happened?”

“Don’t you feel strange looking at the forests?”

Her question threw me off the table as I found it extremely hard to concentrate on my surroundings as the memory flooded in my mind. “No obviously not”, I replied urgently, spiking up her confusion as she turned towards me with raised eyebrows, “I mean, come on Annaise, it’s a vast forest and God knows what sort of creepy creatures are there inside. So yes, in that sense this place is strange but nothing much. I’m sure if you suddenly stand in front of the sss forest, you will have the same feeling”.

I myself cringed at the end, hearing my own explanation but it was too late. From the way, her eyes stared at me for a bit longer, I knew, she didn’t buy my words. She had just opened her mouth when Michael’s voice rang in the air and for the first time perhaps, I was thankful for his poking nature.

“Yes, we’re coming”, saying out loud I quickly ushered her towards the entrance where he was already waiting impatiently for both of us. As I took each step towards the entrance of the building, my heart skipped its beat. I felt thousands of chills were running down my spine as I neared the bulky men standing behind Michael.

There was something about them, something utterly exhilarating and yet disturbing at the same time and that only left me pondering over the fact. I grabbed Michael’s extended hand and stood by his side, feeling really intimidating under the scrutinizing gaze of the men in black.

Seriously, men in black?

I cringed at the thought and was about to shrug my head when one of them stepped forward and extended his hand. “Hello, Mr Gosling, I’m Devante Scalzo, the Head of the Finance department of Regulus Industries. Welcome here”, my eyes widened as the man introduced himself. By the way, he appeared and presented himself, I was able to judge that he wasn’t a normal employee but lest did I expected him to be one of the board members.

He wasn’t there in the café and that’s why identifying me was next to impossible for him. But did that put my mind at peace? Well, even if I took one second to let out a calm breath, the very next second my mind reminded me that the inevitable was yet to happen.

“Hello, Mr Scalzo, we conversed over the video call. These are the rest of the team, Annaise Raven”, Michael pointed towards Anna who shook her hands with the men, acknowledging them with a small nod and then he turned to face me, “this is Jeanette Aldaine, the head behind this amazing ides”.

All the heads snapped towards mine and by the way, their eyes widened at my introduction, I was certain they couldn’t believe the idea was developed by a girl. In the eyes of Mr Scalzo, I saw appreciation, amusement and doubt. But what disturbed me was the doubtful look he gave as if he knew the woman standing in front of him was a disguise.

Perhaps, my nervousness was clearly visible on my face!

Gathering the left out confidence, I straightened my shoulders and stepped forward, extending my hands as a formal gesture. “Hello, it’s nice to meet such esteem personalities of the business world and thanks for giving us this opportunity”, I put on a formal smile to which I received the same expression they gave me initially- blank looks.

Mr Scalzo smiled and took my hands in his, returning the gesture. “It’s a pleasure to you finally. Welcome to the Regulus Industries Miss Aldaine. Please let’s get going, the CEO will arrive shortly”, his voice was undoubtedly welcoming but the moment he mentioned the word CEO, a cold sweat trickled down my back.

After a few introductions, we finally walked into the lavish lobby. And trust me when I say this, the Regulus headquarters is by far the most expensive and royal building I have ever seen. And not only me, by the shocked look on Anna’s face, I knew she was feeling the same way. But Michael, he wasn’t amazed and neither did he reacted to the lavishness of the place.

I wonder why!

The floor was literally shining like a glass, the high ceiling casting its serene reflecting on it. The front wall of the office was completely made out of glass wall, and so one can easily enjoy the outside view. There was this reception desk on the extreme left and to the right, there was a cafeteria, waiting for lounge and a small hangout area. There were five elevators in total but I presume each was of a different purpose. Otherwise, who would build 5 in the same building?

I thought Mr Scalzo would lead us to one of the five elevators but he turned in another direction, towards a far more lavished corridor. The walls were tinted with a golden hue and both the sides were lined with potted plants. “Ask away Miss Aldaine”, I flinched back at the suddenness of the statement when he took a turn towards a new lobby, much smaller than the front one.

My gaze fell on the two elevators standing side by side, the doors in a complete glass frame, the frames painted in gold. “Mr Scalzo, if you don’t mind I would like to know why there are so many elevators in a single place?”, I asked out of curiosity when the mysterious turned in my direction and regarded me with his own amused expression.

“Its quite shocking Miss Aldaine”, he explained in an amusing voice, his tone full of mirth, “that you have taken a notice about the number of elevators and not the interiors of the office”.

I flushed hard seeing as the men focused their gazes upon me while my friends too settled with the same mirthful look. “I… I.. I was just-“, Mr Scalzo stopped my fumbling before pressing the button to the elevator.

“Miss Aldaine, this is a sixty storeyed building and here, punctuality and seriousness are taken into account. The five you saw there are for different floors. Each of them is given a password. Don’t worry Miss Aldaine, you will come to know of everything.”

Somehow his statement meant more that he delineated and that thought didn’t settle with me well. We all walked into the spacious metal compartment, my eyes taking in the intricate designs on the inside. The area was secluded, as the elevator didn’t stop on any floor except on the 58th one.

I was afraid of heights, and from childhood, only I have been suffering from acrophobia. So when I saw the button glowing on the panel said 58, I literally lost my mind. Tucking myself close to Ana, I found her outstretched hand and started to take deep breaths. “Calm down”, she whispered near my ear, tightening her grip on my hand. From the corner of my eyes, I thought I saw Mr Scalzo slightly inclining his head in our direction as if he was hearing our words.

I immediately shut her down and told her not to speak further. The rest of the journey was filled with a little conversion with the men where Michael and Anna played the main role. As for me, I kept my mouth shut and decided to marvel at the beauty outside.

Stepping out of the elevator, I solely kept my focus on the corridor. One side of the entire alley was covered with glass from where one can have a view of the forest. The other side was though covered with couches, potted plants and a reception desk. “This is the floor where the board of directors usually sits. The conference room is that way. Please come along”, this time it was some another man who spoke up, leading the way ahead.

To say the conference room was beautiful would be an understatement. It was more of a surreal dream than a reality with the walls painted in a warm beige colour, a dark ebony round table sitting at the middle, the floor was made up of transparent glass under which there was an aquarium.

The room was empty and that spiked up my curiosity. Wasn’t the CEO going to attend the meeting? I was in fact about to ask this when suddenly my phone started to ring, disturbing the cacophonous silence of the hallway. “Sorry I’ll just take this call. You can go ahead. I’ll join you shortly”, after telling others to continue, I excused myself from the group and went to a side.

It was a call from one of my classmate back in the college. The call took about five minutes to end and when I heard the beeping sound from the other side, a sigh left my mouth as I was already getting highly pissed at the guy. Putting the phone back into my clutch, I turned around and started walking towards the conference room. I knew I was late and that’s why soon my walking turned into a sort of mini running.

But, just as I was about to enter the room, I crashed into a strong and sturdy wall. The hit was so unexpected that had me staggering back and I lost the balance. A silent screech escaped my lips when I realized that I was indeed falling down and for a moment I remembered the poem I studied once!

The London Bridge is falling down

Before I could hit the floor and crush my nose, a warm hand slipped into mine, holding my momentary and dramatic fall in the mid-air. I supposed I heard a plethora of gasps from inside the room but I was too occupied with the entrancing pair of cold, calculative grey eyes staring right back at me.

“And so we finally met”, the person with the grey eyes smirked at my flustered face as he pulled me up, “I didn’t realize it would be you”. His statement made me nervous as it felt utterly inappropriate.

Did he realize who I am?

“Miss Jeanette Aldaine, the great mind behind a great idea. Hope you do remember who I’m. After all”, he bent slightly towards me making sure no one else heard what he said the next, “everyone isn’t courageous to put on a disguise in front of Christian Oren Regulus”.

Oh, shoot!

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Keep reading this story, it's going to get interesting from here. After all, it's the King of Alphas entry.

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